Social Structure of Managerial Work - Work at Disneyland - Assignment Example

Portfolio Case Study Name Date Course Case study 1: Social structure of managerial work The hierarchical authority structure is commonly used in most of the organizations in the United States of America and other parts of the world. In this type of structure, the Chief Executive Officer is the senior most person at the company followed by managers the supervisors with the employees occupying the lowest rank. In this form of structure, the CEO and the managers yield a lot of powers over the employees. The centralization of authority has been used in organizations such as Covenant Corporation which has various divisions and thousands of workers. The relationship between the employees and the management staff members is dependent on whether the authority is centralized or decentralized (Percy, 2014). This has been useful to most of the organization in the process of developing the organizational culture. In the organizations where the managers yield a lot of power, it is difficult for the ordinary employees to approach them. In other instances, the employees are forced to cover for their bosses. It is the responsibility of the employees to ensure that their bosses do not make any mistakes. This is achieved through providing them with all the detailed information about the operations of the company. In the large companies with different divisions it is the responsibility of the managers in each of the division to ensure that it is able to meet the goals and objectives of the parent company. This includes ensuring that the division is able to obtain a specified amount of profits. This has led to the development of new concepts in management. Management by objective is increasingly becoming common in most of the hierarchies. This requires the managers to carry out their operations in accordance with the objectives that have been set by the organization. Management by objective has some merits as it increases the levels of commitments by the CEO as well as the lowest ranking employee. In the current management set up, an employee who questions any decision by the management is considered defiant (Thorson & Moore, 2013).The defiance to the authority leads to automatic dismissal of the employee. The subordinates therefore respect every decision made by the authority. In most instances, the subordinates have to go an extra mile to cover up for the inadequacies or inefficiencies of the managers. The position of the CEO attracts a lot of power in most of the organizations. A simple visit by a CEO to a division of the company may see a lot of money being spent on preparations. This is to ensure that the place looks attractive or much better. This form of authority has positive as well as negative impacts on the management processes. It provides the subordinates with little or no opportunity to make contributions to the growth and development of the company. However, it ensures that the subordinates are in compliance with all the rules and regulations that have been put in place by the authority. A consultative approach may be useful in ensuring that better relationship between the authorities and the subordinates is created. Case study 2: The smile factory: Work at Disneyland The management in most cases plays an important role in determining the success of the organization. In such cases, managers are directly involved in the activities of the company and ensuring that the customers are satisfied. However, at Disneyland, the situation is different as the employees are responsible for success of the company. It is the employees who are in direct contact with the customers. The smile factory has it rules and it governs how the employees conduct themselves. There is no place for rude employees or those who use careless words. The employees have to conform to the appearance rules which govern their dressing code as well as their appearance. This is a factor that all the potential employees have to consider. Each organization has a unique organizational culture that governs its operations (Berger & Iyengar, 2013). The most interesting aspect is that the employees do not apply for a specific job. It is the management that determines the jobs that the employees will be assigned. This causes disappointment to some of the employees who end up being dishwashers or pot scrubbers. However, regardless of the job, the employees must ensure that they satisfy the needs of the clients at all times. It is also important to note that the employees have to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times. A handbook is provided to all the employees for the purposes of ensuring that they fully understand their roles. In order to equip the employees with the necessary skills, training is usually conducted among the employees. The success at the organization can be attributed to the organizational structure and culture. This is an indication that the organizational culture and structure can influence the direction taken by an organization. About seventy thousand people usually visit the park on a daily basis during the peak. All the visitors are usually satisfied as a result of the measures that have been put in place by the management and the high levels of professionalism by the employees. The status is of the employees at Disneyland is greatly influenced by their rank. The rank of the employee is dependent on their skills as well as their experience. This is an indication that competence within an organization is an important asset. The levels of communication within the organization are quite high. This allows for the free interaction of the employees and the visitors. The high level of communication is a factor that has contributed to the ability of the company to satisfy the customers. It is also important to note that the organization has put in place measures to ensure that the employees are well remunerated depending on their positions. However, the main concern among the employees is the limitation in the movement of jobs. The failure of the organization to promote the employees may impact negatively on their morale (Snell, et al., 2015). This can also lead to high employee turnover rate or poor performance. Case study 3: Strategy and culture in practice: A tale of two rhetorics Strategy is an important aspect within an organization as it determines its growth and development. The lack of strategy has negative impacts on the growth and development of the organization. Currently most of the organizations appear to be operating without any strategy. The lack of strategy has however been influenced by various factors including the technological changes. Some of the strategies remain irrelevant in the presence of technological changes. Organizational culture is also an issue that has direct impact on the growth and development of the organization (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014). Organizational culture mainly involves a set of meanings and shared values within an organization. Strategy and culture are influential factors in terms of the survival of the business. It is also important to note that the long term survival has always been an issue in most of the organizations. Currently, more than 50% of the new businesses hardly survive past three years. This can be traced back to the issues of culture and strategy. To counter the challenges, most of the organizations are currently investing in the culture of excellence. Through this culture, the organizations are able to meet the needs of the clients leading to a long term survival. This is an indication that culture and strategy are closely related and linked. It is therefore important for the managers to consider the contributions that culture makes in enhancing the success of the company. Most of the organizations have tried to put in place wining cultures. This includes the companies such as ZTC. However, a proper understanding of the organizational culture is required in order for the company to be successful. This therefore requires a clear distinction between the official and unofficial culture. The failure of organizations to develop successful organization cultures is influenced by various factors including the methods used in the transmission process. Language is an important tool for transmission an organizational culture. A common language is therefore required in order to successfully transmit the organizational culture. However, some of the organizations have failed to achieve their objectives due to the lack of common language. Effective communication is enhanced in the presence of a common language. This is an indication that communication is a powerful tool within an organization. The success of a strategy is also dependant on the presence of effective communication (Rath & Conchie, 2008). An effective communication can be useful in communicating the strategy of the organization. A tradition as a function of moral order within an organization is also required and it is part of an organizational culture. Culture is closely linked to tradition and hence its relevance within an organization. A successful organization has an effective organization culture that promotes the strategies of the company. A strategic exchange can also play an important role in influencing the success of a strategy. The managers have to ensure that the organizational culture meets the needs of all the stakeholders including the clients. Case study 4: The copper cooled engine The crisis came up after the proposal to develop a new car to replace the conventional cars. This was in 1918 when du Pont made the proposal based on Mr. Kettering’s design. The new design was to utilize air-cooled automotive engine and replace the water cooled engine. It is at this point that the crisis began as different teams were to oversee the implementation of the program. According to the theories of crisis, it usually occurs in four stages. The first stage involves the incident gaining a lot of attention and people asking question (Percy, 2014). The first stage was thus characterized by attention from the management, divisions and the committee. Each party was interested in the actions that were to be taken next. Stage two of conflict is characterized by the focus on the victim and the response (Thorson & Moore, 2013). At this stage, the victims being the production as well as the Chevrolet which was to be affected directly by the decision of the committee. The central problem was conflicts and lack of understanding between various stakeholders. There was conflict between the research organizations, producing divisions, division managers and the top management members of the organization. Although all the stakeholders were in agreement with the standards that the new design should meet, they were in conflict with regards to how the processes should be implemented. The production team was reluctant to carry out the production process. The producing divisions were not sure about the design. The general manager at Chevrolet had different ideas and was against the total replacement of the old model. The diversity in opinions among the stakeholders is a factor that can contribute to a crisis (Berger & Iyengar, 2013). This happens when each of the stakeholders is firm on their opinions and is not in agreement with the opinions that have been provided by the other stakeholders. Sloan is considered as one of the top business minds during the 20th century. According to the theory that he developed, he indicated that every target should be pursued with purpose (Snell, et al, 2015). The difficulty in communication is an aspect that contributes to a crisis. The level of communication among the stakeholders is a factor that contributed to the crisis. Encouraging the collaboration between the stakeholders is useful in ensuring that the opinion of each stakeholder is considered (Samson & Daft, 2015). Each of the stakeholders had their own demand. Challenges are usually expected when members of a diverse team are working together (Rath, & Conchie, 2008). The approach that was taken by Sloan involved ensuring that each of the divisions is in charge of its own staff members as well as profitability. An executive committee was to oversee the performance of each division and creating the policy of the company. This initiative played an essential role in transforming the operations at the company and solving the crisis. Providing the staff members with the freedom to make decision play an essential role in ensuring that they are well motivated (Mello, 2014). Bibliography Percy, L, 2014, Strategic Marketing Communication, London: Routledge. Thorson, E., & Moore, J., 2013. Integrated communication: Synergy of persuasive voices. Psychology Press. Berger, J., & Iyengar, R., 2013. Communication channels and word of mouth: How the medium shapes the message. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(3), 567-579. Snell, S., et al., 2015. Managing human resources. Cengage Learning. Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S., 2014. Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Rath, T., & Conchie, B., 2008. Strengths based leadership: Great teams and why people follow. Simon and Schuster. Mello, J., 2014. Strategic human resource management. Cengage Learning. Samson, D., & Daft, R., 2015. Fundamentals of Management. 5th edition. Australia: Cengage Learning. Read More