Using the Metaphor of the Sailship Success within a Functional Analysis of a Fintech Company

Abstract

The author describes the application of the transactional analysis model of Sailship Success (Hay, 2017) within a functional analysis case study in a Fintech company based in Bulgaria but with locations in several other countries. Details are given of the way in which the consultancy project was established, its objectives and the methods that were used. Although the design and results of a questionnaire are also described, the focus is on how the Sailship Success was introduced as a metaphor during interviews with managers, leading to identification of significantly different perspectives about whether the organisation was more like a peaceful ship or one going into battle. Other issues highlighted included there being no clear idea of the intended destination of the ship, a lack of awareness of potential threats such as competitors, and lack of any consciousness of being a part of a fleet of companies.

Keywords

• Sailship Success
• organisational structure
• organisational systems
• organisational process
• organisational strategy
• organisational design