Unit 4: Designing an Organization

That Scales
Sanjay Singh, Ph.D.
 Case Study
Matthew Wong & Darren Meister (2016)
Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (2011-2017)
Profile of the https://www.linkedin.com/in/su
khinders/
Founder
Joyus Profile
+ Founded in 2011 as a internet’s first video shopping network- an online video
commerce platform
+ Crunchbase Profile: https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/joyus
+ Median Age of Customers: 37 Years (30-60 Y Women)
+ 1.5 million page views/month
+ 400,000 registered users
+ 8000 products
+ 800 brands
+ US$ 44m Funding (2015)  US$67.4m (2019)
 Leadership at Joyus

Mission: to delight and empower women every day with

compelling products, great advice, and easy entertainment.
Current Leadership Team
 Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, co-founder and CEO (January 2011)

 Diana Williams, co-founder and VP of Product (January 2011)

 Sin-Mei Tsai, chief technology officer and VP of Engineering (January 2011)

 David Lazar, president and chief customer officer (May 2014)

 Jennifer Sharp, VP of Partnerships (September 2014)

 Gavin McLaughlin, VP of Finance (August 2013)

Questions before Leadership (Y. 2015)
 What kind of company do we want to create together?

 What kind of a network will we most look like in three to five years?

 Who are our key competitors, and how would/should Joyus’s strategy differentiate in an effort to win?

 What key values do we want in our team?

 What values and skills are essential for moving the organization forward, compared with what we
have today?

 What categories make sense for us to pursue?

 Planning to hire 17 new employees, means half of Joyus team would be new.
Culture & Values (POWERRS). Y 2014
 Possibility (be optimistic and open to possibilities)

 Ownership/Accountability (take ownership/accountability for your work and actions)

 Will (exercise willpower and perseverance)

 Excellence (strive for the best)

 Results (deliver results)

 Realness (be authentic and genuine)

 Service (serve the customers and each other)
Questions
+ What are opportunities and challenges facing Joyus?
+ Comment on the personality of Sukhinder Cassidy. What implications it
has for Joyus work culture?
+ Imagine yourself in the position of Sukhinder Cassidy. Think about your
organization’s strategy, what you would be looking for in the senior
management team?
a. What skills and experiences you think would be most relevant?
b. What are some key positions for which hiring should be done? Why
and where they should be placed in organizational hierarchy?
Questions
+ Describe and evaluate Joyus culture and values. What you
would change in POWERRS to reflect new strategic shift toward
growth?
+ Create an organizational chart to denote existing and new
positions at Joyus in the organization reflecting the new
strategic shift.