10 creating effective organizational designs professor john coy

10

Creating Effective Organizational Designs

Professor John Coy

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Learning Objectives

• After reading this chapter, you should have a good understanding of:

- The importance of organizational structure and the concept of the “boundaryless” organization in implementing strategies.

- The growth patterns of major corporations and the relationship between a firm’s strategy and its structure.

- Each of the traditional types of organizational structure: simple, functional, divisional, and matrix

- The relative advantages and disadvantages of traditional organizational structure

- The implications of a firm’s international operations for organizational structure

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Learning Objectives

• After reading this chapter, you should have a good understanding of:

- Why there is no “one best way” to design strategic reward and evaluation systems, and the important contingent roles of business- and corporate-level strategies.

- The different types of boundaryless organizations—barrier-free, modular, and virtual—and their relative advantages and disadvantages

- The need for creating ambidextrous organizational designs that enable firms to explore new opportunities and effectively integrate existing operations

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Traditional Forms of Organizational Structure

• Organizational structure refers to formalized patterns of interactions that link a firm’s

- Tasks- Technologies- People

• Structure provides a means of balancing two conflicting forces

- Need for the division of tasks into meaningful groupings- Need to integrate the groupings for efficiency and

effectiveness

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Question

Most organizations begin very small and ______.A) grow to become a medium sized organization

B) continually grow

C) remain small

D) often decrease in size

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Dominant Growth Patterns of Large Corporations

Adapted from Exhibit 10.1 Dominant Growth Patterns of Large CorporationsSource: Adapted from J. R. Galbraith and R. K. Kazanjian, Strategy Implementation: The Role of Structure and Process, 2nd ed. (St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Company, 1986), p. 139.

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Patterns of Growth of Large Corporations

• Simple Structure• Simple structure is the oldest and most common

organizational form- Staff serve as an extension of the top executive’s

personality- Highly informal- Coordination of tasks by direct supervision- Decision making is highly centralized- Little specialization of tasks, few rules and regulations,

informal evaluation and reward system

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• Functional Structure

Adapted from Exhibit 10.2 Functional Organizational Structure

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• Functional Structure- Found where there is a single or closely related product or

service, high production volume, and some vertical integration

• Advantages- Enhanced coordination and control- Centralized decision making- Enhanced organizational-level perspective- More efficient use of managerial and technical talent- Facilitated career paths and development in specialized

areas

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• Disadvantages- Impeded communication and coordination due to

differences in values and orientations- May lead to short-term thinking (functions vs. organization

as a whole)- Difficult to establish uniform performance standards

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Divisional Structure

Adapted from Exhibit 10.3 Divisional Organizational Structure

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• Organized around products, projects, or markets• Each division includes its own functional specialists

typically organized into departments• Divisions are relatively autonomous and consist of

products and services that are different from those of other divisions

• Division executives help determine product-market and financial objectives

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• Advantages- Strategic business unit (SBU) structure- Separation of strategic and operating control- Quick response to important changes in external

environment- Minimal problems of sharing resources across functional

departments- Development of general management talent is enhanced

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• Disadvantages- Can be very expensive- Can be dysfunctional competition among divisions- Can be a sense of a “zero-sum” game that discourages

sharing ideas and resources among divisions- Differences in image and quality may occur across

divisions- Can focus on short-term performance

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• Strategic business unit (SBU) structure- Divisions with similar products, markets, and/or

technologies are grouped into homogenous SBUs• Task of planning and control at corporate office is more

manageable• May become difficult to achieve synergies across SBUs

- Appropriate when the businesses in a corporation’s portfolio do not have much in common

• Lower expenses and overhead, fewer levels in the hierarchy• Inherent lack of control and dependence of CEO-level

executives on divisional executives

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Matrix Structure

Adapted from Exhibit 10.4 Matrix Organizational Structure

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Matrix Structure

• A combination of the functional and divisional structures

• Individuals who work in a matrix organization become responsible to two managers

- The project manager- The functional area manager

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Matrix Structure

• Advantages- Facilitates the use of specialized personnel, equipment and

facilities- Provides professionals with a broader range of

responsibility and experience• Disadvantages

- Can cause uncertainty and lead to intense power struggles- Working relationships become more complicated- Decisions may take longer

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International Operations: Implications for Organizational Structure

• Three major contingencies influence structure adopted by firms with international operations

- Type of strategy driving the firm’s foreign operations- Product diversity- Extent to which the firm is dependent on foreign sales

• Structures used to manage international operations- International division- Geographic-area division- Worldwide functional- Worldwide product division- Worldwide matrix

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Example

• Nike culture used to encourage local managers to focus on market share rather than profitability.

• This lead to Wall Street to comment on the lack of managerial control at Nike.

• Nike decided to implement a matrix structure to resolve this issue.

• This matrix structure clearly stated local managers’ responsibilities by region and product.

• Nike headquarters establishes which products to focus on and how to do it under the new matrix structure.

Source: “The New Nike,” Business Week. September 20, 2004

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Question

Does the relationship between strategy and structure imply that structure follows strategy?

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Relationships between Rewards & Evaluation Systems and Business-level and Corporate-level Strategies

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Boundaryless Organizational Designs

• Boundaries that place limits on organizations- Vertical boundaries between levels in the organization’s

hierarchy- Horizontal boundaries between functional areas- External boundaries between the firm and its customers,

suppliers, and regulators- Geographic boundaries between locations, cultures and

markets

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Making Boundaries More Permeable

• First approach• Permeable internal boundaries

- Higher level of trust and shared interests- Shift in philosophy from executive development of

organizational development- Greater use of teams- Flexible, porous organizational boundaries- Communication flows and mutually beneficial relationships

with internal and external constituencies

Barrier-free type Barrier-free type of organizationof organization

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Pros and Cons of Barrier-Free Structures

Adapted from Exhibit 10.7 Pros and Cons of Barrier-Free Structures

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• Second approach • Outsources nonvital functions, tapping

into knowledge and expertise of “best in class” suppliers but retains strategic control

• Three advantages- Decrease overall costs, leverage capital- Enables company to focus scarce resources on areas where

it holds competitive advantage- Adds critical skills and accelerates organizational learning

Modular type of Modular type of organizationorganization

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Pros and Cons of Modular Structures

Adapted from Exhibit 10.8 Pros and Cons of Modular Structures

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• Third approach• Continually evolving network of

independent companies linked together to share skills, costs, and access to one another’s markets

- Suppliers- Customers- Competitors

• Each gains from resulting individual and organizational learning

• May not be permanent

Virtual type of Virtual type of organizationorganization

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Pros and Cons of Virtual Structures

Source: R. E. Miles and C. C. Snow, “Organizations: New Concepts for New Forms,” California Management Review,” Spring 1986, pp. 62-73; R. E. Miles and C. C. Snow, “Causes of Failure in Network Organizations,” California Management Review, Summer 1999, pp. 53-72; and H. Bahrami, “The Emerging Flexible Organization: Perspectives from Silicon Valley,” California Management Review, Summer 1991, pp. 33-52.

Adapted from Exhibit 10.9 Pros and Cons of Virtual Structures

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Boundaryless Organizations: Making Them Work

• Factors facilitating effective coordination and integration of key activities

- Common culture and shared values- Horizontal organization structures- Horizontal systems and processes- Communications and information technologies- Human resource practices

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Creating Ambidextrous Organizational Designs

• Two contradictory challenges faced by firms- Adaptability- Alignment

• Ambidextrous organizations - Aligned and efficient in how they manage in today’s

business- Flexible enough to changes in the environment so they

will prosper tomorrow

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Creating Effective Organizational Designs

Professor John Coy

10 creating effective organizational designs professor john coy

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