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Full Organizational Theory Design and Change 7Th Edition Jones Solutions Manual Online PDF All Chapter
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CHAPTER 6: DESIGNING ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE:
SPECIALIZATION AND COORDINATION
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Explain why most organizations initially have a functional structure and why, over time,
problems arise with these structures that require a change to a more complex structure.
2. Distinguish among three kinds of divisional structures (product, geographic, and market),
describe how a divisional structure works, and explain why many organizations use this structure
to coordinate organizational activities and increase their effectiveness.
3. Discuss how the matrix and product team structures differ, and why and when they are chosen
to coordinate organizational activities.
4. Identify the unique properties of network structures and the conditions under which they are
most likely to be selected as the design of choice.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
A functional structure is a design that groups people because they have similar skills or use the
same resources like groups managing the finance, R&D, or marketing needs of an organization.
All organizations begin as functional structures and move on to more complex structures as they
start to produce products or when they are confronted by special needs, such as the need to
innovate quickly or to deal with different customer groups, or expand. This move to a more
complex structure is based on three design choices: increasing vertical differentiation, increasing
horizontal differentiation, and increasing integration. Most organizations move from a functional
structure to some kind of divisional structure: a product structure, a geographic structure, or a
market structure.
The three kinds of product structures are product division structure, multidivisional structure, and
product team structure. The product division structure is used when an organization produces
broadly similar products that use the same set of support functions. Multidivisional structures are
available to organizations that are growing rapidly and producing a wide variety of products or
are entering totally different kinds of industries. In a multidivisional structure, each product
division is a self-contained division with the operating structure that best suits its needs. Product
team structures put the focus on the product being produced through teams of functional
specialists.
Geographic structures are used when organizations expand into new areas or begin to
manufacture in many different locations. Market structures are used when organizations group
activities to focus on the needs of distinct customer groups.
Matrix structures group activities by function and product. They are a special kind of structure
that is available when an organization needs to deal with new or technically sophisticated
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products in rapidly changing markets. Network structures are formed when an organization
forms agreements or contracts with other organizations to perform specific functional value-
creation activities.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
A functional structure is a design that groups people together on the basis of their common
expertise and experience or because they use the same resources. A functional structure is the
bedrock or foundation of horizontal differentiation. An organization groups different tasks into
separate functions to increase the effectiveness with which it achieves its principal goal of
providing customers with high-quality products at competitive prices.
Jeff Bezos enjoyed phenomenal success with his concept for an online bookstore largely because
of the functional structure he created for his company. He encouraged R&D to work on the
development and improvement of the in-house software that he had initially developed for
Internet-based retailing. He established the information systems department to handle the
working of the software. He also created the materials management / logistics department to
devise the most cost efficient ways to obtain books from book publishers and distributors and to
ship them quickly to customers. Next, as Amazon.com grew, he created a separate financial
department and a strategic planning department to help chart the company’s future.
Question: What were the measures taken by Amazon.com to maximize the use of its proprietary
Internet software?
Answer: Bezos created Amazon.com’s R&D department to continue to develop and improve the
in-house software that he had initially developed for Internet-based retailing. Then, he
established the information systems department to handle the day-to-day implementation of these
systems and to manage the interface between the customer and the organization. This helped
Amazon.com’s proprietary Internet software to be used so effectively to link employees to
customers.
Question: Describe one way in which Bezos’ materials management improved customer service?
Answer: Bezos created the materials management / logistics department to devise the most cost-
efficient ways to obtain books from book publishers and distributors and to ship them quickly to
customers. For example, the department developed new IT to ensure one-day shipping to
customers.
Functional structure develops first and foremost because it provides people with the opportunity
to learn from one another and become more specialized and productive. All organizations
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become divided into independent functions because this promotes specialization and the division
of labor, a major source of increased effectiveness. Another advantage of the functional structure
is that people who are grouped together by common skills can supervise one another and control
one another’s behavior. People in a function who work closely with one another over extended
time periods develop norms and values that allow them to become more effective at what they
do, leading to commitment organizational values.
Communication problems: As more organizational functions develop, each with its own
hierarchy, they become increasingly distant from one another. They develop different subunit
orientations and differences in perception that create communication problems and reduce
coordination and mutual adjustment.
Measurement problems: As organizations grow and the number and complexity of their
functions and products increase, the information needed to measure the contribution of any one
function or product to overall profitability is often difficult to obtain. The cost of each function’s
contribution to the development of each product becomes increasingly difficult to measure and
without this measure, exercising control becomes difficult.
Location problems: As a company grows, it may need to set up shop and establish
manufacturing or sales facilities in different geographic regions to serve customers better.
Geographic spread can pose a control problem within a functional structure when centralized
control from one geographic location prevents manufacturing, sales, and other support activities
to become responsive to the needs of each region that the company has expanded to.
Customer problems: As the range and quality of an organization’s products increase, more and
more customers are attracted to the organization and they have different kinds of needs.
Servicing the needs of new kinds of customer groups and tailoring products to their tastes are
relatively difficult in a functional structure and lack of judgment in this regard may lead to lost
sales opportunities.
Strategic problems: As an organization becomes more complex, top managers may be forced to
spend so much time finding solutions to everyday coordination problems that they have no time
to address the longer-term strategic problems facing the company. This may lead to the
organization losing direction.
Sometimes managers can solve the control problems associated with a functional structure, such
as poor communication between functions, by redesigning the functional structure to increase
integration between functions. Instead of having separate functions with their own hierarchies,
many organizations have recognized the need to alter this design and have combined those
activities into one function. (Refer to Figure 6.2)
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When creating an organization, managers must ensure that they arrive at the correct division of
labor within a function and between functions by listing the existing functions and their tasks.
Mapping and evaluating the task relationships both within and between functions and
experimenting with different ways of altering the design of the functional structure is
recommended too. This would help increase efficiency and eliminate unnecessary roles.
A functional structure best serves a company that produces a few, similar products at a few
production sites and targets one type of customer. When production expands to more products at
more locations and to several types of customers, a company requires a complex structure.
While adopting a more complex structure, managers focus on three design choices and the move
to a complex structure normally involves changes in all three characteristics. These are:
The structure that organizations most commonly adopt to solve the control problems that result
from producing many different kinds of products in many different locations for many different
types of customers is the divisional structure. A divisional structure groups functions according
to the specific demands of products, markets, or customers. The goal behind the change to a
divisional structure is to create smaller, more manageable subunits within an organization.
The type of divisional structure managers select depends on the specific control problems. If the
control problem is due to the number and complexity of products, the organization divides its
activities by product and uses a product structure. If the control problem is due to the number
of locations in which the organization produces and sells its products, the organization divides its
activities by region and uses a geographic structure. If the control problem is due to the need to
service a large number of different customer groups, the organization divides its activities by
customer group and uses a market structure.
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Notes_________________________________________________________________________
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A product structure refers to a divisional structure in which products (goods or services) are
grouped into separate divisions, according to their similarities or differences, to increase control.
Whether an organization continues with centralized control or creates multiple support functions
depends on the degree of complexity of and difference among its products. An organization
whose products are broadly similar and aimed at the same market will choose to centralize
support services and use a product division structure. An organization whose products are very
different and that operates in several different markets or industries will choose a multidivisional
structure. An organization whose products are very complex technologically or whose
characteristics change rapidly to suit changing customer needs will choose a product team
structure.
A product division structure is characterized by the splitting of the manufacturing function into
several different product lines or divisions; a centralized set of support functions then services
the needs of all these product divisions. (Refer to Figure 6.4) In such a structure all support
functions are centralized at the top of the organization as creating separate support functions for
each product division would be expensive, and the cost could be justified only if the needs of the
different divisions were so diverse and dissimilar that different functional specialists were
required for each type of product. Thus, each support function is divided into product-oriented
teams of functional specialists who focus on the needs of one particular product division. (Refer
to Figure 6.5)
Multidivisional Structure
A multidivisional structure is a structure in which each product division is given its own set of
support functions so they become self-contained divisions. (Refer to Figure 6.6) This structure
has two innovative advances over the product division structure: independence of each division
and corporate headquarters staff.
For divisions to be self-contained, each division has its own set of support functions and
controls its own value-creation activities. Further each division needs its own set of support
functions because it is impossible for one centralized set of support functions to service the needs
of totally different products leading to greater horizontal differentiation.
The corporate headquarters staff is composed of corporate managers who are responsible for
overseeing the activities of the divisional managers heading up the different divisions. The
corporate headquarters staff is functionally organized, and one of the tasks of corporate managers
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is to coordinate the activities of the divisions. This layer in the hierarchy plays an integrating role
and increases vertical differentiation.
Alfred Sloan took over GM’s twenty independent product divisions in 1923 when Ford was
highly centralized and achieved economies of scale by producing only one model. Sloan
developed a multidivisional structure with diversity in R&D, design, and marketing skills, but
centralized control for economies of scale, cost, and strategic planning. Divisional managers
made decisions and corporate managers evaluated performance and created strategic plans. In
1984, competition forced GM to consolidate divisions, but centralized control resulted in look-
alike cars and the thirteen layers of hierarchy slowed down decision making. Then GM returned
design control to the divisions and retained R&D to regain its market share.
Question: Why did Sloan not organize GM using a product division structure after he took over?
Answer: Sloan recognized the advantages of developing the diverse sets of research, design, and
marketing skills and competencies present in the small car companies and did not want to lose
the diversity of talent at his disposal by combining them to a centrally located R&D department.
Moreover, he felt that such a move would lead to all GM cars looking alike.
Question: What was the main drawback of the multidivisional structure at GM?
Answer: The duplication of R&D and engineering and the purchasing of inputs by each division
independently were costing the company billions of extra dollars. This was the main drawback of
the multidivisional structure at GM.
Increased Control: The extra control provided by the corporate office encourages the stronger
pursuit of internal organizational efficiency by divisional managers. The divisional managers
being accountable to the corporate managers may curb their inclination to increase the size of
their personal staff and help rein in costs.
Profitable Growth: When individual profitability can be clearly evaluated, then corporate
headquarters can identify the divisions in which an investment of capital will yield the highest
returns and this will enable them to make better capital resource allocation decisions to promote
corporate growth.
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Internal Labor Market: The most able divisional managers are promoted to become corporate
managers. Thus divisional managers always have an incentive to perform well because superior
performance results in promotion to high office.
Coordination Problems between Divisions: One problem with this approach is that divisions
may begin to compete for resources, and rivalry between them may prevent them from
cooperating. Such rivalry can lower organizational performance when a company’s effectiveness
depends on the divisions’ sharing of knowledge and information about innovations to enhance
the performance of all divisions.
Transfer Pricing: Problems between divisions often revolve around the transfer price—the
price at which one division sells a product or information about innovations to another division.
To maximize its own return on investment, one division will want a high transfer price, but that
will penalize the other division, which is, after all, part of the same organization.
Bureaucratic Costs: Multidivisional structures are very expensive to operate as each division
has a full complement of support functions, including R&D. Thus there is extensive duplication
of activities within the organization—plus there are the costs of corporate headquarters managers
and these costs must be continually evaluated against the benefits the company obtains from this
structure.
A product team structure is a cross between the product division structure and the multidivisional
structure. It is a divisional structure in which specialists from the support functions are combined
into product development teams that specialize in the needs of a particular kind of product. Here
specialists from the support functions are combined into product development teams that
specialize in the needs of a particular kind of product. Each team is a self-contained division
headed by a product team manager who supervises the operational activities associated with
developing and manufacturing a product. The product teams focus on the needs of one product
(or client) or a few related products, and are ideally committed to their product team. (Refer to
Figure 6.8)
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This structure is more decentralized than product division structures; it allows for greater
integration and collaboration and is the second most common method organizations use to group
activities, after grouping them by function.
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A geographic structure is a divisional structure in which divisions are organized according to the
requirements of the different locations in which an organization operates. A geographic structure
allows some functions to be centralized at one headquarters location and others to be
decentralized to a regional level and thus helps regulate those control problems that companies
experience as a function of geography and expanding consumer base to new regions. (Refer to
Figure 6.9)
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A market structure is a divisional structure that aligns functional skills and competencies with the
product needs of different customer groups. Marketing, not manufacturing, determines how
managers decide how to group organizational activities into divisions. Here, each customer
division has a different marketing focus, and the job of each division is to develop products to
suit the needs of its specific customers. Each division makes use of centralized support functions.
As the market structure focuses the activities of the whole organization on the needs of the
customer, the organization can quickly sense changes in its market and transfer skills and
resources to satisfy the changing needs of this vital stakeholder group. (Refer to Figure 6.10)
The Houston Independent School District (HISD) became ineffective and inefficient because of
its faulty geographic organizational structure. The case illustrates that reorganizing HISD into a
market structure and reorienting employees to its rightful focus and purpose has helped run the
organization in a better way along with eliminating redundancies and reducing costs.
Question: What became the focus of the HISD after the change in its structure?
Answer: HISD’s new organizational structure was grouped by the needs of its customers—its
students—and three “chief officers” oversee all of Houston’s high schools, middle schools, and
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elementary schools. The focus of HISD was now on the needs of its three types of students, not
on the needs of the former five regional managers.
Question: What was the significance of the support function called school improvement?
Answer: HISD introduced a new support function called school improvement that was formed
with managers charged to share ideas and information between schools and oversee their
performance on many dimensions to improve service and student performance.
Managers must be sensitive to the need to change a functional structure to improve the control of
organizational activities. They must consider using the appropriate form of divisional structures
based on the specific control problems they experience. Finally, they must objectively evaluate
the costs and benefits associated with moving to a new organizational structure to estimate its
worth in terms of organizational effectiveness.
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The search for better and faster ways to develop products and respond to customer needs has led
some companies to choose a matrix structure, an organizational design that groups people and
resources in two ways simultaneously: by function and by project or product. In the context of
organizational design, a matrix is a rectangular grid that shows a vertical flow of functional
responsibility and a horizontal flow of product responsibility. (Refer to Figure 6.11)
Functional employees report to the heads of their respective functions and the work of functional
personnel is determined primarily by membership in one of several cross-functional product
teams under the leadership of a product manager. The members of the team are called two-boss
employees because they report to two superiors: the product team manager and the functional
manager.
First, the use of cross-functional teams is designed to reduce functional barriers and overcome
the problem of subunit orientation and this facilitates integration, adaptation, and learning for the
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whole organization. The second advantage of the matrix structure is that it opens up
communication between functional specialists and provides an opportunity for team members
from different functions to learn from one another and develop their skills. Third, the matrix
enables an organization to effectively use the skills of its specialized employees who move from
product to product as needed and finally, the dual functional and product focus promotes concern
for both cost and quality.
With a flat hierarchy and few rules and SOPs, the matrix lacks a control structure that allows
employees to develop stable expectations of each other. While in theory, team members
continually negotiate with one another about role responsibilities, and the resulting give-and-take
makes the organization flexible, in practice, many people do not like the role ambiguity and role
conflict that matrix structures can produce. Matrix structures have to be carefully managed to
retain their flexibility and place high demands on team members who report high levels of stress.
Over time some people come to be recognized as experts leading to a status hierarchy within
teams and people may begin vying for power and authority, making the structure less flat and
flexible. Thus, matrix structures are not designed for use in everyday organizational situations.
A multidivisional matrix structure is a structure that provides for more integration between
corporate and divisional managers and between divisional managers. The multidivisional matrix
structure makes it much easier for top managers from the divisions and corporate headquarters to
cooperate and coordinate organizational activities jointly. Many large international companies
that operate globally use this structure.
Hybrid Structure
Large complex organizations that have many divisions often simultaneously make use of many
different structures; that is, they operate with a hybrid structure that has many divisions and
simultaneously uses many different types of organizational structure. Several industries use a
multidivisional structure and create self-contained divisions; then each product division’s
managers select the structure that best meets the needs of the particular environment, strategy,
and so on and use different strategies together. Companies that operate only in one industry but
choose to compete in different market segments of the industry also may use a hybrid structure.
Nestlé, which was pursuing a global expansion by acquiring many famous companies, began
experiencing major problems coordinating and evaluating the functioning of thousands of its
global operating divisions. The problem was resolved by creating seven global product groups,
grouping divisions into national and regional SBUs, and by linking these two through a matrix
structure.
Question: What was the goal behind Nestlé’s decision to use a matrix structure?
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Answer: The goal of this matrix structure is to allow the company to obtain the benefits of
learning how to create new products to satisfy customers in different countries and from
achieving cost reductions by promoting higher cooperation between divisions inside each
product group.
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First, to the degree that an organization can find a network partner that can perform a specific
functional activity reliably, and at a lower cost, production costs are reduced. Second, to the
degree that an organization contracts with other organizations to perform specific value-creation
activities, it avoids the high bureaucratic costs of operating a complex organizational structure.
Third, a network structure allows an organization to act in an organic way and respond quickly to
environmental changes and new opportunities. Fourth, if any of its network partners fail to
perform, they can be replaced with new partners. Finally, it enables organizations to gain access
to low-cost overseas sources of inputs and functional expertise.
Using a network structure successfully requires a considerable level of mutual adjustment and
managers must be there to integrate the activities of the groups to make sure their activities mesh
well. The coordination problems arising from having different companies perform different parts
of the work process would be enormous. It is difficult to obtain the ongoing learning that builds
core competences over time inside a company because separate companies have less incentive to
make such an investment. Consequently, many opportunities to cut costs and increase quality are
lost. In general, the more complex the value-creation activities necessary to produce and market
goods and services, the more problems are associated with using a network structure.
The boundaryless organization is composed of people who are linked by computers, faxes,
CAD systems, and video teleconferencing and they may rarely or ever see one another face to
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face. People working in this manner are not formal members of an organization; rather, they are
independent functional experts who form an alliance with an organization, fulfill their
contractual obligations, and then move on to the next project. The use of outsourcing and the
development of network organization are increasing rapidly as organizations recognize the many
opportunities they offer to reduce costs and increase flexibility.
E-Commerce
E-commerce is trade that takes place between companies, and between companies and
individual customers, using IT and the Internet. E-commerce is carried out in different forms.
(Refer to Figure 6.14)
Business-to-business (B2B) commerce is trade that takes place between companies using IT and
the Internet to link and coordinate the value chains of different companies. Companies use B2B
commerce because it allows them to reduce their operating costs and may improve product
quality.
A main B2B network application is the B2B marketplace, an industry-specific trading network
set up to connect buyers and sellers using the Internet. To participate in a B2B marketplace,
companies agree to use the network software standard that allows them to search for and share
information with each other.
Business-to-customer (B2C) commerce is trade that takes place between a company and its
network of individual customers using IT and the Internet. When a company uses IT to connect
directly to customers, they have increased control of their network.
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1. As organizations grow and differentiate, what problems can arise with a functional
structure?
2. How do the product division structure and the multidivisional structure differ?
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There are structural differences:
• The divisions in a multidivisional structure are independent with their own support functions;
product structure divisions share centralized support functions.
• A multidivisional structure has a corporate headquarters staff; this is not a feature of product
division structures.
• A multidivisional structure permits a company to run many businesses, while a product
division structure is appropriate for one business.
• In a multidivisional structure, various divisions can have different structures.
3. Why might an organization prefer to use a product team structure rather than a
matrix structure?
A product team structure allows employees to report to only one boss—the team manager—not
two. This reporting structure reduces role conflict and role ambiguity, making responsibilities
clear. Because of a clearly defined hierarchy, a product team structure avoids conflicts over
resources. Established procedures are used because team membership is fixed; in a matrix,
people rotate and feel unstable. Employees may create their own structure, which leads to more
bureaucracy and a taller hierarchy.
4. What are the principal differences between a functional structure and a multidivisional
structure? Why does a company change from a functional to a multidivisional
structure?
A functional structure is simpler and is used for one business. A multidivisional structure has
more integration, more horizontal and vertical differentiation. Corporate headquarters is a level
with a division of labor between corporate and divisional managers. Control increases because
corporate managers oversee and measure divisional performance. An internal labor market
allows for the promotion of divisional managers to corporate positions. A company adopts a
multidivisional structure because the number and complexity of different products cause control
issues.
5. What are the advantages and disadvantages associated with network structures?
Advantages:
1. Production costs reduced through partners with lower costs
2. High bureaucratic costs avoided with a flat structure
3. Organic organizational behavior
4. Partners replaced for unmet performance expectations
5. Access to low-cost foreign sources of inputs and expertise
Disadvantages:
1. Coordination problems emerge, followed by lack of cost reduction and improved quality
2. Difficulty in replacing partners and keeping proprietary information from competitors
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ORGANIZATIONAL THEORY IN ACTION
1. Debate the pros and cons of the different possible organizational structures.
Students’ answers will vary. The functional structure helps brings about specialization and
greater productivity but cannot support multiple product lines or those spread over different
geographic locations or markets. The divisional structure can be tailored to the specific demands
of products, markets, or customers. Its various subtypes provide a range of advantages like
product structure that provides utmost control or multidivisional structures that are used in
managing complex and diverse value-creation activities. The matrix design is useful when
people work as a part of cross-functional teams; it helps reduce functional barriers and overcome
the problem of subunit orientation. Additionally it facilitates integration, adaptation, and learning
but requires a great deal of effort on the part of the whole organization. The hybrid structure
helps organizations help in simultaneous use of many different structures. Finally, the network
structure helps reduce costs, access cheap resources, and behave in an organic and flexible
manner. However, it requires a massive coordination effort across multiple vendors around the
globe.
2. Which structure will allow you to best achieve your goal at (a) lowest cost; (b)
give you most responsiveness to customers; or (c) both?
Students’ answers may vary. The functional structure, which facilitates specialization, would be
the most economical structure. To enhance responsiveness, a geographic structure would be
recommended as it helps meet the customer requirements of the different locations in which an
organization operates. To meet both these goals, a network structure would be suitable. A
network structure is often described as being organic due to its maximal ability to respond to
changes (customer needs and preferences). It also minimizes production and bureaucratic costs
when used effectively.
1. Does it make good business sense to outsource? What are the potential advantages
and disadvantages?
Students’ answers will vary. When the outsourced functions are given to vendors such that the
costs on those functions are significantly reduced, it would be a good business move. This would
help a company to function in a cost-effective manner and focus on its core functions. It would,
however, create a degree of uncertainty about quality of service; it would also be heavily
dependent on communication systems. Finding the lowest priced vendors presents a challenge as
well.
2. Given these advantages and disadvantages when, and under what conditions, is it
ethical to outsource?
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Students’ answers will vary. The move to outsource is a complex one. Reduction in costs is the
biggest motive behind outsourcing and, since the primary responsibility of organizations is to use
its resources most effectively to earn profits for its stakeholders, it can be considered ethical.
However, ethical concerns regarding this are many; hiring outside vendors means laying off
some domestic employees. This must be executed sensitively by helping these employees find
other jobs and treating them with dignity.
Ask students to find an example of a company that has changed its horizontal differentiation.
When Liz Claiborne’s profits continued to fall despite its major product expansion strategy in the
1990s, the company hired McComb to reverse the course. He believed the company had
developed a “culture of complexity” due to its rapid growth and overly complex organizational
structure. To rectify the situation, he cut down the number of brands to 20 and divided them into
two categories: direct and partnered. He also eliminated an entire managerial level in his attempt
to cut costs. Upon realizing that CEO McComb realized that to further reduce complexity and
allow each division to build the right merchandising culture, it was necessary to change Liz
Claiborne’s organizational structure from one based on the quality or price to that based on the
needs of each division’s customers—either retailers or wholesalers.
1. What were the problems with Liz Claiborne’s old organizational structure?
Liz Claiborne’s old organizational structure was overly complex following a period of rapid
growth. The company had created five different apparel divisions to manage its 36 brands;
brands were grouped into different divisions according to nature of the clothing or accessories
they made. A separate management team controlled each division which performed all the
functional activities. This rising complexity led to the brands not being sensitive to changing
consumer tastes and operational costs rising due to duplication of functions.
2. How did McComb change Liz Claiborne’s structure to improve its effectiveness? Go to
the WWW and find out how his design changes have worked.
Students’ answers may vary. McComb streamlined Liz Claiborne’s structure to improve its
effectiveness in the following ways:
• by focusing exclusively on 20 brands that had the best chance of generating good profits
in the future.
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• by eliminating an entire level of top management to reduce operational costs on
duplication of functions.
• by regrouping clothing products based on the needs of each division’s customers:
retailers or wholesalers.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
1. To illustrate control problems with a functional structure, group students into the finance,
production, and marketing functions of a company that manufactures ice cream. Marketing
wants to offer many flavors. Production says it can produce only three flavors, and finance is
concerned with costs. This exercise should show control problems associated with a
functional structure. If the company also offered yogurt, it could attract more customers.
Management is too busy resolving coordination problems to determine the organization’s
strategy. Students should suggest a more appropriate structure. To make this even more
realistic, separate the functions geographically by using several classrooms. Students will get
a better idea of how difficult it is to coordinate activities when they are not all in the same
room.
2. A role-play exercise can be used to demonstrate the problems with a matrix structure. Ask for
three students to volunteer. One student will be a financial specialist who works on a certain
product team and reports to the finance manager and to the product manager. Show how role
ambiguity and role conflict arise. The product manager wants speed and low costs, and the
functional manager wants quality.
3. A good discussion topic is how the matrix structure violates Weber’s bureaucratic principles.
Ask students what they think of this, and what their experiences are with working with
multiple bosses.
4. In small groups, students are assigned a structure and are asked to list its advantages and
disadvantages and give examples. Structures: functional, divisional (product, geographic,
market), matrix, and network.
5. Look up General Motors on the Internet and report to the class about GM’s structure.
6. To illustrate the value of a proper structure, have students design a really inefficient structure,
such as a restaurant that is organized by product instead of function. Show them how this
would make the restaurant very inefficient because it would need staff and cooks from
multiple departments in order to serve the customer. Although this would be very costly and
a poor dining experience for the customer, it is a good example to show how important
structure really is in an organization.
87
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Exploration
Team
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Illustrator: Ed Emshwiller
Language: English
Illustrated by Emsh
The arrival bell clanged, and Huyghens jerked up his head to stare at
it. Semper, the eagle, opened icy eyes. He blinked.
Noises. There was a long, deep, contented snore from below.
Something shrieked, out in the jungle. Hiccups. Clatterings, and
organ notes—
The bell clanged again. It was a notice that a ship aloft somewhere
had picked up the beacon beam—which only Kodius Company ships
should know about—and was communicating for a landing. But there
shouldn't be any ships in this solar system just now! This was the only
habitable planet of the sun, and it had been officially declared
uninhabitable by reason of inimical animal life. Which meant sphexes.
Therefore no colony was permitted, and the Kodius Company broke
the law. And there were few graver crimes than unauthorized
occupation of a new planet.
The bell clanged a third time. Huyghens swore. His hand went out to
cut off the beacon—but that would be useless. Radar would have
fixed it and tied it in with physical features like the nearby sea and the
Sere Plateau. The ship could find the place, anyhow, and descend by
day-light.
"The devil!" said Huyghens. But he waited yet again for the bell to
ring. A Kodius Company ship would double-ring to reassure him. But
there shouldn't be a Kodius Company ship for months.
The bell clanged singly. The space phone dial flickered and a voice
came out of it, tinny from stratospheric distortion:
"Calling ground! Calling ground! Crete Line ship Odysseus calling
ground on Loren Two. Landing one passenger by boat. Put on your
field lights."
Huyghens' mouth dropped open. A Kodius Company ship would be
welcome. A Colonial Survey ship would be extremely unwelcome,
because it would destroy the colony and Sitka and Sourdough and
Faro Nell and Nugget—and Semper—and carry Huyghens off to be
tried for unauthorized colonization and all that it implied.
But a commercial ship, landing one passenger by boat—There were
simply no circumstances under which that would happen. Not to an
unknown, illegal colony. Not to a furtive station!
Huyghens flicked on the landing-field lights. He saw the glare in the
field outside. Then he stood up and prepared to take the measures
required by discovery. He packed the paper work he'd been doing
into the disposal safe. He gathered up all personal documents and
tossed them in. Every record, every bit of evidence that the Kodius
Company maintained this station went into the safe. He slammed the
door. He touched his finger to the disposal button, which would
destroy the contents and melt down even the ashes past their
possible use for evidence in court.
Then he hesitated. If it were a Survey ship, the button had to be
pressed and he must resign himself to a long term in prison. But a
Crete Line ship—if the space phone told the truth—was not
threatening. It was simply unbelievable.
He shook his head. He got into travel garb and armed himself. He
went down into the bear quarters, turning on lights as he went. There
were startled snufflings and Sitka Pete reared himself very absurdly
to a sitting position to blink at him. Sourdough Charley lay on his back
with his legs in the air. He'd found it cooler, sleeping that way. He
rolled over with a thump. He made snorting sounds which somehow
sounded cordial. Faro Nell padded to the door of her separate
apartment—assigned her so that Nugget would not be under-foot to
irritate the big males.
Huyghens, as the human population of Loren Two, faced the work
force, fighting force, and—with Nugget—four-fifths of the terrestrial
nonhuman population of the planet. They were mutated Kodiak
bears, descendants of that Kodius Champion for whom the Kodius
Company was named. Sitka Pete was a good twenty-two hundred
pounds of lumbering, intelligent carnivore. Sourdough Charley would
weigh within a hundred pounds of that figure. Faro Nell was eighteen
hundred pounds of female charm—and ferocity. Then Nugget poked
his muzzle around his mother's furry rump to see what was toward,
and he was six hundred pounds of ursine infancy. The animals looked
at Huyghens expectantly. If he'd had Semper riding on his shoulder,
they'd have known what was expected of them.
"Let's go," said Huyghens. "It's dark outside, but somebody's coming.
And it may be bad!"
He unfastened the outer door of the bear quarters. Sitka Pete went
charging clumsily through it. A forth-right charge was the best way to
develop any situation—if one was an oversized male Kodiak bear.
Sourdough went lumbering after him. There was nothing hostile
immediately outside. Sitka stood up on his hind legs—he reared up a
solid twelve feet—and sniffed the air. Sourdough methodically
lumbered to one side and then the other, sniffing in his turn. Nell
came out, nine-tenths of a ton of daintiness, and rumbled
admonitorily at Nugget, who trailed her closely. Huyghens stood in
the doorway, his night-sighted gun ready. He felt uncomfortable at
sending the bears ahead into a Loren Two jungle at night. But they
were qualified to scent danger, and he was not.
The illumination of the jungle in a wide path toward the landing field
made for weirdness in the look of things. There were arching giant
ferns and columnar trees which grew above them, and the
extraordinary lanceolate underbrush of the jungle. The flood lamps,
set level with the ground, lighted everything from below. The foliage,
then, was brightly lit against the black night-sky—brightly lit enough to
dim-out the stars. There were astonishing contrasts of light and
shadow everywhere.
"On ahead!" commanded Huyghens, waving. "Hup!"
He swung the bear-quarters door shut. He moved toward the landing
field through the lane of lighted forest. The two giant male Kodiaks
lumbered ahead. Sitka Pete dropped to all fours and prowled.
Sourdough Charley followed closely, swinging from side to side.
Huyghens came alertly behind the two of them, and Faro Nell brought
up the rear with Nugget following her closely.
It was an excellent military formation for progress through dangerous
jungle. Sourdough and Sitka were advance-guard and point,
respectively, while Faro Nell guarded the rear. With Nugget to look
after, she was especially alert against attack from behind. Huyghens
was, of course, the striking force. His gun fired explosive bullets
which would discourage even sphexes, and his night-sight—a cone of
light which went on when he took up the trigger-slack—told exactly
where they would strike. It was not a sportsmanlike weapon, but the
creatures of Loren Two were not sportsmanlike antagonists. The
night-walkers, for example—But night-walkers feared light. They
attacked only in a species of hysteria if it were too bright.
Huyghens moved toward the glare at the landing field. His mental
state was savage. The Kodius Company station on Loren Two was
completely illegal. It happened to be necessary, from one point of
view, but it was still illegal. The tinny voice on the space phone was
not convincing, in ignoring that illegality. But if a ship landed,
Huyghens could get back to the station before men could follow, and
he'd have the disposal safe turned on in time to protect those who'd
sent him here.
But he heard the faraway and high harsh roar of a landing-boat rocket
—not a ship's bellowing tubes—as he made his way through the
unreal-seeming brush. The roar grew louder as he pushed on, the
three big Kodiaks padding here and there, sniffing thoughtfully,
making a perfect defensive-offensive formation for the particular
conditions of this planet.
He reached the edge of the landing field, and it was blindingly bright,
with the customary divergent beams slanting skyward so a ship could
check its instrument landing by sight. Landing fields like this had been
standard, once upon a time. Nowadays all developed planets had
landing grids—monstrous structures which drew upon ionospheres
for power and lifted and drew down star ships with remarkable
gentleness and unlimited force. This sort of landing field would be
found where a survey-team was at work, or where some strictly
temporary investigation of ecology or bacteriology was under way, or
where a newly authorized colony had not yet been able to build its
landing grid. Of course it was unthinkable that anybody would attempt
a settlement in defiance of the law!
Already, as Huyghens reached the edge of the scorched open space,
the night-creatures had rushed to the light like moths on Earth. The
air was misty with crazily gyrating, tiny flying things. They were
innumerable and of every possible form and size, from the white
midges of the night and multi-winged flying worms to those revoltingly
naked-looking larger creatures which might have passed for plucked
flying monkeys if they had not been carnivorous and worse. The
flying things soared and whirred and danced and spun insanely in the
glare. They made peculiarly plaintive humming noises. They almost
formed a lamp-lit ceiling over the cleared space. They did hide the
stars. Staring upward, Huyghens could just barely make out the blue-
white flame of the space-boat's rocket through the fog of wings and
bodies.
"Hah!" said the just-landed man. "Where are the robots? What in all
the nineteen hells are these creatures? Why did you shift your
station? I'm Roane, here to make a progress report on your colony."
Huyghens said:
"What colony?"
"Loren Two Robot Installation—" Then Roane said indignantly, "Don't
tell me that that idiot skipper dropped me at the wrong place! This is
Loren Two, isn't it? And this is the landing field. But where are your
robots? You should have the beginning of a grid up! What the devil's
happened here and what are these beasts?"
Huyghens grimaced.
"This," he said politely, "is an illegal, unlicensed settlement. I'm a
criminal. These beasts are my confederates. If you don't want to
associate with criminals you needn't, of course, but I doubt if you'll
live till morning unless you accept my hospitality while I think over
what to do about your landing. In reason, I ought to shoot you."
Faro Nell came to a halt behind Huyghens, which was her proper
post in all out-door movement. Nugget, however, saw a new human.
Nugget was a cub, and, therefore, friendly. He ambled forward
ingratiatingly. He was four feet high at the shoulders, on all fours. He
wriggled bashfully as he approached Roane. He sneezed, because
he was embarrassed.
His mother overtook him swiftly and cuffed him to one side. He
wailed. The wail of a six-hundred-pound Kodiak bear-cub is a
remarkable sound. Roane gave ground a pace.
"I think," he said carefully, "that we'd better talk things over. But if this
is an illegal colony, of course you're under arrest and anything you
say will be used against you."
Huyghens grimaced again.
"Right," he said. "But now if you'll walk close to me, we'll head back to
the station. I'd have Sourdough carry your bag—he likes to carry
things—but he may need his teeth. We've half a mile to travel." He
turned to the animals. "Let's go!" he said commandingly. "Back to the
station! Hup!"
Grunting, Sitka Pete arose and took up his duties as advanced point
of a combat team. Sourdough trailed, swinging widely to one side and
another. Huyghens and Roane moved together. Faro Nell and Nugget
brought up the rear. Which, of course, was the only relatively safe
way for anybody to travel on Loren Two, in the jungle, a good half
mile from one's fortress-like residence.
But there was only one incident on the way back. It was a night-
walker, made hysterical by the lane of light. It poured through the
underbrush, uttering cries like maniacal laughter.
Sourdough brought it down, a good ten yards from Huyghens. When
it was all over, Nugget bristled up to the dead creature, uttering cub-
growls. He feigned to attack it.
His mother whacked him soundly.
II
There were comfortable, settling-down noises below. The bears
grunted and rumbled, but ultimately were still. The glare from the
landing field was gone. The lighted lane through the jungle was dark
again. Huyghens ushered the man from the space boat up into his
living quarters. There was a rustling stir, and Semper took his head
from under his wing. He stared coldly at the two humans. He spread
monstrous, seven-foot wings and fluttered them. He opened his beak
and closed it with a snap.
"That's Semper," said Huyghens. "Semper Tyrannis. He's the rest of
the terrestrial population here. Not being a fly-by-night sort of
creature, he didn't come out to welcome you."
Roane blinked at the huge bird, perched on a three-inch-thick perch
set in the wall.
"An eagle?" he demanded. "Kodiak bears—mutated ones you say,
but still bears—and now an eagle? You've a very nice fighting unit in
the bears."
"They're pack animals, too," said Huyghens. "They can carry some
hundreds of pounds without losing too much combat efficiency. And
there's no problem of supply. They live off the jungle. Not sphexes,
though. Nothing will eat a sphex, even if it can kill one."
He brought out glasses and a bottle. He indicated a chair. Roane put
down his traveling bag. He took a glass.
"I'm curious," he observed. "Why Semper Tyrannis? I can understand
Sitka Pete and Sourdough Charley as names. The home of their
ancestors makes them fitting. But why Semper?"
"He was bred for hawking," said Huyghens. "You sic a dog on
something. You sic Semper Tyrannis. He's too big to ride on a
hawking glove, so the shoulders of my coats are padded to let him
ride there. He's a flying scout. I've trained him to notify us of sphexes,
and in flight he carries a tiny television camera. He's useful, but he
hasn't the brains of the bears."
Roane sat down and sipped at his glass.
"Interesting ... very interesting! But this is an illegal settlement. I'm a
Colonial Survey officer. My job is reporting on progress according to
plan, but nevertheless I have to arrest you. Didn't you say something
about shooting me?"
Huyghens said doggedly:
"I'm trying to think of a way out. Add up all the penalties for illegal
colonization and I'd be in a very bad fix if you got away and reported
this set-up. Shooting you would be logical."
"I see that," said Roane reasonably. "But since the point has come up
—I have a blaster trained on you from my pocket."
Huyghens shrugged.
"It's rather likely that my human confederates will be back here before
your friends. You'd be in a very tight fix if my friends came back and
found you more or less sitting on my corpse."
Roane nodded.
"That's true, too. Also it's probable that your fellow terrestrials
wouldn't co-operate with me as they have with you. You seem to have
the whip hand, even with my blaster trained on you. On the other
hand, you could have killed me quite easily after the boat left, when
I'd first landed. I'd have been quite unsuspicious. So you may not
really intend to murder me."
Huyghens shrugged again.
"So," said Roane, "since the secret of getting along with people is that
of postponing quarrels—suppose we postpone the question of who