Advantages and Disadvantages of the Primary Organizational Design - Assignment Example

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Primary Organizational Design DQ 6-1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the primary organizational design approaches including functional, business unit, matrix, network structure, or boundary less? What approach would you use to improve your current organization? Why? Explain your answer. Primary organizational design is essential for any organization that is a start up. It includes a few basic characteristics that touch on areas of business, network structure and functional activities among others. There exist some advantages and disadvantages that relate to primary organizational design. Among the advantages is the credibility associated with such a structure. Many people trust the results cultured from primary organizational design. Engagement accountability is also among the advantages of primary organizational design (Sims, 2002). Among the disadvantages of this design is that there is a lot of attention given to detail that eats up a lot of time. Attention to detail may also make a company veer of the main objectives of the company. Primary organizational design is also disadvantaged by the fact that the organization is result oriented (Sims, 2002). This makes an organization not to pay close attention to processes that lead to results hence misconduct, in trying to achieve high results, may come as a future problem. Aggressiveness also comes as a disadvantage that may affect primary organizational design. This is because the organization may not have learnt a thing or two about how the real market is hence may make some first-time mistakes that may prove to be costly (Schein, 2010). DQ 6-2. What is organizational strategy? Why is it important? From whom or which department should organizational strategy come from? Provide examples from your experiences to explain your answer. To improve my current organization, I would employ the alternative theory of organization and management. This is because it relies more on scientific and proven methods to run an organization (Schein, 2010). Also, this method is highly effective since it is strict and respects rules and regulations. This is very important as it helps an organization focus on its mission and not deviate from set targets (Sims, 2002). Organizational strategy is a strategy a firm adopts that relates the firms current performance to its expected future results. Here, a firm looks at its performance and the results it is posting to the current shareholders versus the expected results that the shareholders wait for. Organizational strategy is helpful in helping a firm maintain its focus on its goals. Managers, affiliates and workers need to be constantly working towards attaining agreed upon targets. A future vision is created by the creation of an organizational strategy. Companies evaluate their performance according to results versus the set targets. It is these targets that help a company in check and focusing on its goals (Schein, 2010). Hence organizational strategy enables a firm to keep its eye on its future vision. Every business needs to remain dynamic for it to survive. This is one of the importance’s of organizational strategy. Dynamic and diplomatic leaders help a company maintain its good performance by making employees feel part of the team (Dwivedi, 1995). Since it is an organizational strategy, corporation amongst employees is held in high esteem. This is to enable the workplace become one large and happy family working towards a common objective. With good cooperation, division of labor becomes effective and work gets to be delivered in due time and individual efforts are summed up to produce a firm’s overall success (Schein, 2010) s. Organizational strategy should come from the managerial department. This is because managers are tasked with the role of steering a firm to success. Managers also act as an organization’s leaders and hence are tasked with defining the tasks and objectives of the firm so that the employees gain enough focus on their work (Karami, 2012). DQ 6-3. Can organizational culture be created or designed? How might you change an organizational culture if you were in charge? Provide examples that support your perspective. Organizational strategy can be designed. The challenge of developing or reestablishing a clear strategy is often primarily an organizational one and depends on leadership to drive it into success. In many companies, leadership has degenerated into orchestrating operational improvements and making deals (Dwivedi, 1995). But the leader’s role is broader and far more important. General management is more than the stewardship of individual functions. Its core is strategy: defining and communicating the company’s unique position, making trade-offs, and forging fit among activities. The leader must provide the discipline to decide which industry changes and customer needs that company will respond to, while avoiding organizational distractions and maintaining the company’s distinctiveness (Dwivedi, 1995). One of the leader’s important job is to coach subordinates about strategy and lead them to correct decision making by learning about trade-offs needed to be encountered aligned with the organizational vision and customers demands into consideration. Indeed, setting limits is another function of leadership (Karami, 2012). Deciding which target group of customers, varieties, and needs the company should serve is fundamental to developing as strategy; In addition, the choices made in deciding not to serve other customers or needs and not to offer certain features or services. Thus strategy requires constant discipline and clear communication. In fact, one of the most important functions of an explicit, communicated strategy is to guide employees in making choices that arise because of trade-offs in their individual activities and in day-to-day decisions (Schein, 2010). Companies like Procter and Gamble have bean top innovators in their industry due to a clearly communicated strategy and the leadership style they engage in their management system and organization (Karami, 2012). Every employee in P&G has the opportunity and the tools to innovate and come up with new Ideas for next generation products, or new process to do a certain function with cost saving without compromising quality and limiting demand. P&G has been in business for over 170 years owning 300 brands and a distribution network reaching over 170 countries with global offices in over 80 countries (Liu, 2001). A company of this magnitude has really build their success because they do study and learn about their customer’s needs, asking the questions: what makes them happy, how can we improve the use of a certain product, how can we solve certain problem, how can we reach a niche-segment market within the core product range, what packages to make, how to differentiate our brands from imitators, how to counter in-store generic brands, how to build loyalty to the brand, and many more questions that teaches P&G to be the leader and own innovative products and brands that generate 80 to 90 billion dollars in sales per year (2008). Thus, in their industry are highly valued among their customers (Liu, 2001). DQ 6-4. Discuss the impact of technology on organizations. How might you use technology in a company if you were in charge? How might technology change organizations in the future? Provide examples that support your perspective. Technology in the workplace improves the efficiency of screening, recruiting and hiring potential candidates. Businesses utilize the Internet to spread the word about the organization and advertise job openings. Hiring managers can target candidates by using digital advertising technology that tracks the websites they visit (Eason, 2005). Technology like personality assessments and screening tools allow businesses to determine whether a potential candidate is an appropriate fit for the organization (Eason, 2005). Office technology saves times by speeding up the work flow process. Digital filing systems save space, paper and printing costs. The use of computer systems allows corrections to be made instantly. Resources like electronic files and access to information technology are available with the click of a button (Liu, 2001). Technology in the workplace practically eliminates space and time. Video conferencing technology lets businesses on any part of the globe interact with one another. Technology reduces travel costs because businesses can set up virtual meetings and distribute data without the need to be in the same room. Technology allows businesses to establish a global presence at a fraction of the cost (Eason, 2005). References Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership. John Wiley & Sons: United States. Dwivedi, R. K. (1995). Organizational Culture and Performance. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd.: India. Sims, R. R. (2002). Organizational Success Through Effective Human Resources Management. Greenwood Publishing Group: Connecticut. Karami, A. (2012). Strategy Formulation in Entrepreneurial Firms. Ashgate Publishing: United Kingdom. Liu, K. (2001).Information, Organization and Technology: Studies in Organizational Semiotics. Springer: Germany. Eason, K. D. (2005). Information Technology And Organizational Change. CRC Press: United States. Read More