Organizational Design Issues - Assignment Example

Organizational Design - Case Study (Course Instructor) (University Affiliation) (Student’s Name) Date Part one 1. Orange was launched in 1994 for the newly acquired Hutchison telecom’s united kingdom company that was acquired by France telecom (Orange, 2016). In 1997, the company reached a one million customer milestone in the united kingdom and in 1999 won the sunday times business enterprise award where the company was described as one of the most outstanding business success stories. By 2004, orange controlled over 50 companies that had over 50 million customers all over the world. The reason the company did so well is because it was launched at a time when most of the companies focused their efforts on serving mass markets for purposes of increased profitability rather than focusing on customer service (Jones, 2006). These factors have made it possible for orange to inspire the industry, especially in the United Kingdom. The changes embraced at the launching of the company and the feting in its tenth year anniversary that began in the spring of 2004 are some of the reasons and part of the success stories at orange company (Orange, 2016). According to the orange case study, Orange has built a brand that can be recognized all over the world with the company focusing most of its marketing on the young people, innovation and more so the telecommunication services (Orange, 2016). The company has marketed its services to the young people with the hope that brand name and brand recognition would become a significant concept in the industry now more than ever before as the number options available to the consumers increase (M-Brain, 2015). Orange advertises itself as a company that is committed to customer service and aims at being reponsive to the needs of their customers and staffed by responsive and flexible indiduals who have been provided with flexible working conditions by the organization. This is one prove that orange company is keen to create a loyal customer base amongst the young people in the United Kingdom as well as in other parts.This is one of the illustrations that the company has used a strategy that allows its customers to make use of the best technology through constant innovations (Orange, 2016). Orange company is one of the few companies who have manageged to constantly update theirt technology. The company has for instance been carrying out constant market researches that established that phone users in the current generation are not just after making phone calss but rather some add ons such as the internet connectivity and went on to be one of the pioneer telecommunication cpmamnies to enable internet connectivity. In August 2003, the telecommunication service provider became the founding member of an alliance that brought together T-mobile and Telfonica. A month later agreed to let Alcatel Nortel networks and Nokia to provide their 3G connectivity. (Jones, 2006). In 2002, Orange company came up with first smartphone powered by windows which had high resolution features, high speed and applications that included web access, wireless email connectivity, instant messaging all in a small and stylish handphone. Two years later, the company was the third company to launch the third generation phones that cost it a fortune to register. The use of large scale technology has enabled the company to enjoy the economies of scale which is the reduced cost of producing one cost of output as the organization produce more (Jones, 2006). Orange has made use of its temporal and the external environment to become one of the most successful telecommunication companies in the world. By keeping up with the latest trends and leading in so many practices that have become common in the industry. The company has become the leader through its ability to recognize the trends in the environment as well as providing the answers to the human beings about the future (Jones, 2006). 2. Orange company has over time undergone a tremendous change from serving the mass market to customer service as well as advancing innovation in the technology and most of all, the organization aims to satisfy the needs of the stakeholders (Orange, 2016). To attain this, the company must introduce a number of changes to its operations in different fronts. A stakeholder can be defined as any person whose life is directly affected by the performance of the organization (Jones, 2006) They include the shareholders who would want higher returns for their investments, the suppliers who would want to be paid for their supplies on a timely basis, the customers who would like to have value for their money through the best quality products. The other shareholders are the members of the society as well as the government whose main objective is to see that the organization meets its obligations of paying taxes as well as observing the set standards (M-Brain, 2015). Having its roots on the French and the English culture, the company has made use of a multicultural strategy to its business and provides the countries with a taste of both the English and the British cultures and history. This to a great extend has made it possible for orange products to cross the cultural and language barriers that have often curtailed the growth prospects of many corporate institutions (Jones, 2006). Orange has been able to sense the natural sense in human beings to face an uncertain future and have began positioning itself as one that could offer a solution to the future through the numerous innovations, placing itself not only as a company that offers telecommunications but one that can also provide features that could provide answers about the future (Orange, 2016). Additionally, orange company has built a recognizable brand not only in the United Kingdom, but also all over the world with the symbol of the company becoming synonymous with the young people, innovation and more so the telecommunication services. Orange company aims to introduce the best technology ever known to the telecommunication company. The idea is to become a pioneering company in the industry. Orange company for instance was the first telecommunication company to offer its clients a number of features that the telecommunication users are used to today such as the caller ID (Orange, 2016). Orange was also the first telecommunication company to offer masts that are aesthetically appealing tree shaped masts whose main aim was to improve the customer relations (M-Brain, 2015). This shows that the company is very keen in making sure that it becomes a global leader in the industry so that it can create a more loyal customer base, increase their sales and at the same time increase their profitability levels (Jones, 2006). At the launch of Orange company, the company had a vision of creating about the future rather than just serving the mass market with mobile phones. The company embodied a vision where it would be possible for people to communicate any time wherever they are. And this explains why the telecommunication company has a huge number of subscribers throughout the world and the numbers keep increasing (M-Brain, 2015). 3. The environment under which Orange operates in is very dynamic and only those companies that are up to the task with the dynamism would survive that tough and competitive environment. The consumers are now more informed and people no longer buy for the sake of it but rather seek to have some level of utility fulfilled (M-Brain, 2015). It is for this reason that orange and other players in the, market are constantly carrying out market researches in order to remain relevant. While the traditional telecommunication allowed people to cross the barriers that were associated with distance and time, there is a growing need to improve and with the onset of the wireless telecommunication, the industry is being revolutionized (Trivun et al, 2013). The changes introduced by the Orange company have been appropriate to the environment in which in operates in since it has been able to meet the expectations of the stakeholders. As mentioned above, the telecommunication company has undergone a lot of changes deliberated by the company have revolutionized the industry (Trivun et al, 2013). The company is very keen in making sure that it becomes a global leader in the industry so that it can create a more loyal customer base, increase their sales and at the same time increase their profitability levels. Through keeping up with the latest trends and leading in so many practices that have become common in the industry. Orange has become the leader through its ability to recognize the trends in the environment as well as providing the answers to the human beings about the future (Trivun et al, 2013. Orange company has been able to sense the market trends very well and used it to their advantage. For instance, there has been a growing trend towards quality amongst the consumers. People no longer buy products for the sake of the satisfaction they get from those products but rather the quality of the product that gives them value for their money (Trivun et al., 2013). People no longer buy mobile phones solely for communication, but rather for other added features such as internet connectivity; electronic funds transfer and so on. In all these, despite the fierce completion from other service providers, orange is a pioneering company that has been a leader in the industry for a long time (Trivun et al, 2013). A key concept that has suited the environment that it operates in is the focus of its operations. Orange company has shifted its focus from the product in this case the cell phone to the concern for the customer. The company has transformed the way people communicate including the modes in which they use while carrying out their advertisements (Trivun et al, 2013). The organization also launched the new orange film funding board advertisements that completely revolutionized the cinema industry in the world. Part two 1. It is understandable to note why most organizations start their operations with a functional organizational structure. This was the case at orange company. A function can be defined as a group of individuals working as a group who have similar skills, utilize the same tools and perform their tasks using homogeneous techniques (Koh, 2012). A functional structure on the other hand is one that is made up of all the departments that an organization requires in order to effectively carry out its operations. The traditional organizational structure at orange can curtail the ability of the organization to deliver quality services. To meet the needs of the customers, a more advanced approach is required in order to have the company retain its market share (Koh, 2012). A good example of this is the consumer supplier relationship by Orange that tries to establish a long-term relationship with its customers by predicting not only the daily requirements of the customers but also helping them to plan for an uncertain future (Orange, 2016). The contingency theory of management states that organizational structures are supposed to be designed to match the circumstances and the factors that are affecting the organization the most (Koh, 2012). Change has occurred in the environment under which orange company operates in and which the company needs to respond to in order to remain afloat. Specifically, many of the company’s clients such as the young people demand more services (Koh, 2012). Therefore the company needs to shift its global strategic approach from just concentration in a number of regions and go global, keeping in mind that the different regions of the world are no longer individualistic and isolated but has been connected and constantly interact through globalization (Koh, 2012). As the issues that are associated with growth and expansion increase over time, the management of the Orange company needs to choose a divisional organizational structure and come up with a series of organizational units each of which produces a particular kind of services for a particular type of customer base. When the organization is organized according to the type of good or service they produce, we call it a product structure. When organized according to the area of the world that they operate in, they are known as geographic structures and if organized according to the type of consumers that they serve, we call it a market structure (Koh, 2012). In the product structure, the manager places each product line its own distinct division and gives the divisional managers the responsibility over the management of that particular brand (Koh, 2012). Each of the divisions is self contained since it has a complete set of roles that it needs to provide the goods and services. The advantage of this structure is that it would allow the divisional, managers to concentrate their efforts in one area and develop their expertise for the good of the organization (Koh, 2012). The geographic structure on the other hand is meant for cases where the organization is expanding so fast both in the domestic market and in the international market. In this case, the divisions are broken down by their geographical locations where the magnifiers are likely to do this when the needs of the consumers are different from one country to another or from one region to another (Koh, 2012). The market structure on the other hand is where the functions are grouped in accordance to the type of the customers buying the product in order to suit the company’s services to each of the clients’ unique specifications (Koh, 2012). A market structure is an organizational structure where each of the customer type is served by a specific division. This allows the managers to be responsive to the needs of their customers and makes it possible for them to make decisions in accordance to the changing needs of the customers (Koh, 2012). 1. Construct a cultural web for Orange. The above cultural web shows the core of Orange’s organizational culture. The aspects represent the collective experiences without which the members of the organization would have reinvented themselves in the different situations that the organization faces (Cwmifg, 2012). One of the reasons Orange company is a leader telecommunication industry is because of its cultural orientation that has given it a positive rating amongst the consumers. The historical aspects of the company have also played a role in the cultural designation of Orange company (Cwmifg, 2012). The routine behaviors that the Orange’s teams display both internally and towards the external make of the organization which in this case is to deliver low cost and quality service delivery. The rituals on the other hand, are the specific activities through which orange company lays emphasis specifically on what is important (Cwmifg, 2012). The stories narrated by the members of Orange Telecommunication Company to one another to the outsiders include the history behind the development of the of the company during the French Revolution. Symbols such as logos, charts, titles and the offices can offer a summary of the nature of the organization. In the case of Orange company the company has its headquarters in Paris, France (Cwmifg, 2012). The control systems measure and establish a reward framework that emphasizes the important issues that need to be monitored closely at Orange company. The organizational structure reflects the power structure and shows the important tasks and relationships within the organization. Orange company currently has a functional organizational structure (Cwmifg, 2012). Lastly, there paradigm of the organization emphasizes and reinforces the behavior observed in the other components of the cultural web. Reference Orange 2016, Essentials2020, orange’s new strategic plan. Retrieved Oct. 17th 2016 from http://www.orange.com/en/Press-and-medias/press-releases-2016/press-releases-2015/Essentials2020-Orange-s-new-strategic-plan Cwmifg 2012, What is the cultural web? Retrieved Oct. 17TH 2016 from http://www.innovationforgrowth.co.uk/Blog/what-is-the-cultural-web/ Jones, G 2006, Organizational theory, design, and change: Text and cases (5th ed.), Harlow, Pearson Prentice Hall. Koh, Y 2012, The organizational structure that interpenetrates knowledge inside the company. International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 422-426. doi:10.7763/ijimt.2012.v3.267 M-Brain 2015, Framework for orange UK’s strategy process. Retrieved Oct. 17th 2016 from https://www.m-brain.com/insights/market-intelligence/case-interviews/framework-for-orange-uks-strategy-process/ Trivun, V., Mahmutćehajić, F & Silajdžić, V 2013, Company name, the Internet, and achieving competitiveness in a changing global environment. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2236675 Read More