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Instructor’s Manual - Chapter 8 Understanding Business 12e
INTRODUCTION
This Instructor’s Manual has been revised to include all teaching resources offered for your course. It is organized for ease of use, so you can
follow along in the classroom and use relevant materials as they are needed.
CONTENTS
Icebreaker Activity
Brief Chapter Outline, Learning Objectives, and Classroom Activities
Lecture Enhancers
Critical Thinking Exercises
Bonus Cases
Connect Instructor’s Manual
ADDITIONAL RESOURCE
For more lecture-enhancing examples and videos, visit our blog at www.introbiz.tv.
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Revisions:
Statistical data and examples throughout the chapter were updated to reflect current information. In addition:
• Section “Everyone’s Reorganizing” was retitled “Organizing for Success” and the introduction was shortened.
• Figure 8.4 was corrected (in the process of redesign the cells in the figure had been mislabeled).
Deletions:
• 11e Name That Company
• Boxes Spotlight on Small Business and Adapting to Change
• Taking it to the Net
• Video Case
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ICEBREAKER ACTIVITY
Set-up:
• Lock the classroom door. Project the “college communication” slide on the white board.
• Invite all but 10 students into the classroom. Tell the 10 students that you will get back to them.
• Hand out the student instruction sheet to the students in the classroom.
• Invite 1 student into the room and tell the rest that they will be coming in one at a time.
• Tell the student he has 90 seconds to memorize the scenario on the screen because it will be turned off. He is to invite a student into the
class room and repeat the information on the screen. Before he tells the scenario, he needs to let the student know that there will be no
opportunity to ask questions and he/she will invite the next student in and repeat all the information. When finished, take a seat.
• The process continues until the 10th student has retold the scenario.
• Put the original scenario back up on the white board.
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Student Instructions:
1. Your role is that of an “observer”. A student is going to repeat this paragraph to the next student. The students are not permitted to
ask questions and are to invite the next student into the classroom and repeat what they are told. Pay special attention to what each
student repeats and how the story diverges from the original. Make notes on this sheet so you can participate in the discussion.
"A man was walking through campus wearing a striped T -shirt and carrying a backpack. He stopped a passerby, presumably to ask for
directions to the Student Affairs Office. The female pointed in the direction of a 6 story building and continued on. The man, seemingly
oblivious to 2 students standing in front of another building, continued walking down the side walk."
Online: Instructor’s comments posted on the discussion page or a short “wrap-up” video (mini-lecture) of less than 20 minutes posted to the
course platform.
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Name That Company When this company eliminated all managers, PPt 7
it offered severance packages to all
employees who didn’t think self-
management was a good fit for them. Name
that company.
(Students should read the chapter before
guessing the company’s name: Disney)
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2. The key to success is to REMAIN FLEXIBLE and to see p. 52 of this manual for summary and
adapt to the changing times. follow-up activity.
B. BUILDING AN ORGANIZATION FROM THE BOTTOM UP
1. ORGANIZING THE BUSINESS lecture enhancer 8-1
a. The text uses the example of starting a Smith’s Folly
mowing business.
A lesson in accountability from Kenneth
b. A first step is ORGANIZING (or Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment
STRUCTURING), deciding what work needs to Corporation (now part of Hewlett-Packard).
be done and then dividing up tasks (called (See the complete lecture enhancer on page
DIVISION OF LABOR). 31 of this manual.)
c. Dividing tasks into smaller jobs is called JOB
SPECIALIZATION.
bonus case 8-1
2. As the business grows, the entrepreneur will hire
Structural Collapse: Responsibility and
more workers and will need to organize them into
Accountability
teams or departments.
Because of engineering errors and poor
a. The process of setting up departments to do planning, the skywalks of a newly constructed
specialized tasks is called hotel collapsed, killing over 100 people. (See
DEPARTMENTALIZATION. the complete case, discussion questions, and
b. Finally, you need to ASSIGN AUTHORITY AND suggested answers beginning on page 46 of
RESPONSIBILITY to people so you can control this manual.)
the process.
3. STRUCTURING AN ORGANIZATION consists of: lecture enhancer 8-2 PPt 9
a. Devising a division of labor Zappos Goes Bossless
b. Setting up teams or departments to do In 2015, Zappos changed the corporate
specific tasks structure and eliminated the traditional
c. Assigning responsibility and authority to hierarchy. (See the complete lecture
people enhancer on page 32 of this manual.)
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b. The appropriate span narrows at higher levels complete lecture enhancer on page 33 of this
of the organization. manual.)
2. The span of control VARIES WIDELY.
a. The trend now is to expand the span of
control as organizations get rid of middle
managers.
b. The span of control can be increased through
empowerment and the use of technology.
PPt 26
C. CHOOSING BETWEEN TALL AND FLAT ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURES
1. A TALL ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE is one in
which the pyramidal organization chart would be
quite tall because of the various levels of
management.
a. Tall organizations have MANY LAYERS OF
MANAGEMENT.
b. Communication is distorted as it flows
through these layers.
c. The cost of all these managers and support
people is high.
2. Because of these problems, organizations have
moved toward flatter organizations.
3. A FLAT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE is an
organization structure that has few layers of
management and a broad span of control.
a. These structures are much MORE
RESPONSIVE TO CUSTOMER DEMANDS
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Figures:
FIGURE 8.2
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PPt 23
CENTRALIZED VERSUS DECENTRALIZED
AUTHORITY
PPt 27
FIGURE 8.3
A FLAT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
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FIGURE 8.5
WAYS TO DEPARTMENTALIZE PPt 32-36
A computer company may want to
departmentalize by geographic location
(countries), a manufacturer by function, a
pharmaceutical company by customer group,
a leather manufacturer by process, and a
publisher by product. In each case the
structure must fit the firm’s goals.
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Figures:
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inverted organization
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Figures:
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VIII. SUMMARY
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LECTURE ENHANCERS
Kenneth H. Olsen, founder and CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation, was known for his autocratic style. However, at the same time
he strongly believed in delegating responsibility, something other computer entrepreneurs have found it difficult to do.
In delegating responsibility, Olsen was always willing to forgive worker mistakes. John F. Smith, Digital’s 12th employee and vice
president for 20 years, recalls buying a $7,000 soldering machine, a huge investment at the time, that proved unreliable. He says he
came in nights and weekends to adjust it so Olsen wouldn’t realize his error.
Ultimately, Smith bought a replacement machine, moved the lemon to a vacant storeroom, covered it with a canvas, and thought he
had gotten away with it. He served as chief operating officer at Digital Equipment from 1986 through 1994. Much later he came
across the machine and idly lifted the covering. He found a hand-lettered sign that read “Smith’s folly. [signed] Ken Olsen.
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The online shoe retailer Zappos has always set out to be an innovative employer as well as a successful business. Along with quality
benefits and perks, CEO Tony Hsieh grants his staff the freedom to do their jobs according to their terms. In fact, in 2015, the Zappos
boss put a radical new corporate structure into place that eliminates all traditional managers or job titles. Instead of a traditional
hierarchy, employees now work in “circles” that encourage more collaboration and agility.
While many of the retailer’s staffers transitioned smoothly into the new “Holacracy” system, others took advantage of an offer from
Hsieh to make a clean exit. The CEO allowed anyone who couldn’t adapt to the loose structure to leave with at least three months’
severance, a proposition that some 210 employees accepted. The number of departures amounts to 14 percent of Zappos’ staff,
which is no small amount considering how unaccustomed the company is to turnover. After all, the business media consistently
ranks Zappos among the best places to work. The fact that so many people left at once could be a sign that the company’s culture
has been damaged by this latest structural experiment.
Then again, it’s likely that many didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to collect three months’ salary for simply walking out the
door. What’s more, the improving job market gives these former Zappos staffers a stronger safety net than they would have enjoyed
even a year ago. “Some Zapponians took it because they are not in line with the vision of the company, others took it to pursue
other passions including starting businesses,” said Zappos technical advisor John Bunch. “Ultimately, however many people took the
offer is the right number because they are doing what is best for them and for Zappos.” The company hopes these dedicated staffers
will thrive in their new environment. If they do, similarly manager-less systems could start popping up in other parts of business.
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No formula exists for determining the ideal span of control. Several factors affect the number of people a manager can effectively
supervise. Variables in span of control include the following:
• Capabilities of the manager. The more experienced and capable a manager is, the broader the span of control can be. (A
large number of workers can report to that manager.)
• Capabilities of the subordinates. The more the subordinates need supervision, the narrower the span of control should
be. Employee turnover at fast-food restaurants, for example, is often so high that managers must constantly be training
new people and thus need a narrow span of control.
• Geographic closeness. The more concentrated the work area is, the broader the span of control can be.
• Functional similarity. The more similar the functions are, the broader the span of control can be.
• Need for coordination. The greater the need for coordination, the narrower the span of control might be.
• Planning demands. The more involved the plan, the narrower the span of control might be.
• Functional complexity. The more complex the functions are, the narrower the span of control might be.
Other factors to consider include the professionalism of superiors and subordinates and the number of new problems that occur in a
day. In business, the span of control varies widely. The number of people reporting to a company president may range from 1 to 80
or more. The trend is to expand the span of control as organizations reduce the number of middle managers and hire more educated
and talented lower-level employees. That is all included in the idea of empowerment. It’s possible to increase the span of control as
employees become more professional, as information technology makes it possible for managers to handle more information, and
as employees take on more responsibility for self-management.
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As early as 1939 Albert Einstein warned President Franklin Roosevelt that the new field of physics had opened up the possibility of
extraordinarily powerful bombs. In the summer of 1942, the government created the Manhattan Engineer District to meet the goal
of producing an atomic weapon under the pressure of ongoing global war. The project became known as the Manhattan Project. The
story of the bomb’s creation involved the extraordinary efforts of scientists, engineers, and military officials. But it is also the story of
a massive organizational endeavor.
The project was put under the direction of Brigadier General Leslie Groves of the Army Corps of Engineers. Groves had impressed his
superiors with this administrative ability, organizational skill, and decisiveness. Previously Groves had successfully supervised the
construction of the Pentagon. (Ironically, construction on the Pentagon began on September 11, 1941.) When he was assigned to
head the top-secret weapons project, Groves tried to get reassigned, preferring a posting overseas, but was unsuccessful.
Under Groves’s direction, secret atomic energy communities were created almost overnight in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, at Los Alamos,
New Mexico, and in Hanford, Washington, to house the workers and gigantic new machinery needed to produce the bombs. The
weapon itself would be built at the Los Alamos laboratory, under the direction of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.
Groves made all the important decisions governing the Manhattan Project himself. He personally recruited Oppenheimer and the
other key organization members. Groves drew up the plans for the organization, construction, operation, and security of the project
and took all necessary steps to put it into effect. Reporting directly to Secretary of War Henry Stimson and General George Marshall,
Groves routinely bypassed traditional lines of authority to ensure the success of the project.
Groves’s aggressive management style and determination were key factors to the success of the Manhattan Project. His detractors
called him egotistical, brusque, manipulative, and overly authoritative. However, he was decisive and able to cut through the red
tape to accomplish his goals.
By the time the bombs were perfected, Germany had surrendered, and some scientists on the project questioned whether to
continue bomb development. The project ultimately built four atomic bombs: “Gadget,” the test bomb exploded in the New Mexico
desert, “Little Boy,” dropped on Hiroshima, “Fat Man,” dropped on Nagasaki, and bomb no. 4, which was unused.
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Based on figures from the Atomic Energy Commission archives, the costs of the project exceeded $1.8 billion. The Oak Ridge gaseous
diffusion plant (which obtained the needed uranium isotope) alone cost $512,000,000. The Brookings Institute has translated these
figures into current dollars. The four bombs would today cost $20 billion, or $5 billion per bomb. The total value of all bombs, mines,
and grenades used in the entirety of World War II, in comparison, was $31.5 billion.
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According to a study conducted by the Manufacturing Institute, over the next decade American workers will miss out on two million
industrial jobs due to lack of training. While President Obama was in office, he tried to close this growing skills gap by promoting
German-style apprenticeships that provide on-the-job education for young workers. In Germany, roughly half of all high school
graduates opt for these intense training programs, not least of all because they are virtually guaranteed employment at the end.
Apprentices in these programs typically spend three to four days a week training on-site at a company followed by another couple of
days learning at a vocational school. Firms pay for their students’ tuition and provide wages as well. After three years, apprentices
must then pass an exam covering their chosen occupation. Those who earn certification often stay with the company that trained
them, thus providing a benefit both for the employee and the firm. This is true for American apprentices as well as German ones:
according to the Labor Department 87 percent of U.S. apprentices gain employment after completing training programs.
Domestic organizations like the Illinois Consortium for Advanced Technical Training (ICATT) want to make sure that more American
workers gain access to this kind of on-the-job education. For instance, the Illinois-based metal manufacturer Scot Forge recently
teamed up with ICATT to create a training program based around German certification standards. Students split their time between
working on the shop floor and learning in the classroom at a local community college. Those who make it through the three-year
program receive an associate’s degree as well as two years of guaranteed employment. According to Zach Ford, the head of Scot
Forge’s apprenticeship program, other companies would be wise to set up similar systems of their own. “If all manufacturers don’t
open their eyes and see what’s going to happen here, it will hurt our industry,” said Ford. “If you don’t have the people to do the
work, it doesn’t matter how much work there is.”
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Local governments across the country are looking for new ways to create jobs. Ironically, some communities are finding relief from
the very companies that were responsible for outsourcing their region’s jobs in the first place. For example, like many American
cities, Cincinnati lost scores of manufacturing jobs to cheap labor overseas. But Ohio Governor Ted Strickland didn’t let bad blood
get in the way while he was wooing the Indian tech company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to set up offices just outside of
Cincinnati. Encouraged by a promise of $19 million in tax credits, TCS agreed. The branch has already hired 300 American employees
and plans to employ as many as 1,000 Americans in the future.
While TCS processes data for many American companies, laws prevent it from sending data about the U.S. government or health
care projects overseas. As a result, Indian companies like TCS and Wipro Technologies are adding American branches in order to tap
into this market. Officials in cities like Dallas, Atlanta, and Minneapolis have been all too happy to court these companies in the
hopes of creating jobs for American workers. The cost for setting up shop in the United States is high for Indian companies, with an
employee in Ohio making $50,000 a year versus $7,000 for a staffer in Bangalore. Nevertheless, American employees show their
value through their knowledge of cultural nuances and their abilities to help their Indian bosses compete against rival American
companies.
Still, this brand of domestic outsourcing has its downsides. Though TCS employs 1,300 American workers, it also has 13,000 Indian
staffers on work visas employed in the United States. This practice could soon be outlawed, though, as proposed legislation could
limit companies with more than 50 U.S.-based employees from using temporary visas for half their American workforce.
Furthermore, TCS and Wipro both have admitted that they most likely will not create large amounts of American jobs as the
recession has stifled much of their U.S. growth. Even so, as long as jobs are in short supply, expect local governments across the
country to continue soliciting Indian companies to set up shop in their regions.
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When Michael Garrity founded CommunityLend in 2010, he thought his company was in a perfect position to capture an untapped
market. After all, the 2008 financial crisis made many banks wary of lending too much cash, presenting a golden opportunity to non-
traditional operations like CommunityLend. Plus, the company's peer-to-peer model was the first of its kind in Garrity’s home
country of Canada, marking a major advantage for the startup.
Despite these benefits, though, CommunityLend had trouble finding qualified borrowers for their service. With no one to lend
money to, Garrity quickly realized his company would need to switch business plans fast if it was going to stay afloat. Luckily, in its
first months of operation CommunityLend heard from many other potential clients besides those with bad credit. Garrity received
calls from dozens of small businesses checking to see if his company offered point-of-sale customer lending services like installment
plans. The recession had eliminated many of these lenders, leaving retailers desperate for additional consumer financing options.
Although Garrity initially brushed off these inquirers, he soon saw their worth and began to call them back.
Next, he needed to convince investors that pivoting to a new concept was necessary for the company to thrive. Shareholders didn’t
want to abandon CommunityLend entirely, though, so Garrity launched his retail lending firm FinanceIt as a sister operation. Within
months he signed up hundreds of new clients for FinanceIt, leading him to the conclusion that the two firms could not feasibly
coexist. Unfortunately, axing CommunityLend meant that many employees got shown the door. “We lost 80 percent of our team as
we moved from peer-to-peer lending to a point-of-sale financing company,” said Garrity. “We did a big management change-out,
because some hires made sense for CommunityLend but not for FinanceIt.” Nevertheless, the difficult switch seems to have been
worth it in the long run: FinanceIt has processed more than $650 million in loan applications from more than 3,500 clients in Canada.
With so much domestic success, the company is now looking to expand its retail lending strategy to the U.S.
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With 158 million users and a $25 billion valuation, the photo and video sharing app Snapchat has grown into one of the most
powerful social networks around. Still, just because the app is popular doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to become a moneymaker.
Twitter, for instance, has more than 300 million users and has struggled to be profitable for years. So in order to become a true tech
giant, Snapchat is teaming up with old media firms to create original content that can generate ad revenue.
So far the company has brokered partnerships with networks like NBC, ABC, Discovery, ESPN, and many others. These outlets will
produce short, television-like videos that show up in Snapchat’s “Stories” section. Along with attracting advertisers, executives also
hope these videos will encourage people to spend more time on the app. Most users are active on Snapchat for an average of 25 to
30 minutes a day. To ensure they can keep people’s attention even longer, Snapchat is working closely with media companies as
they develop content for the app.
For example, NBC initially created some videos based on existing television shows that the social network thought were too
promotional and gimmicky. “They were very much in a TV mind-set,” said Snap vice president of content Nick Bell. “We wanted
something as premium as television itself.” So representatives from the two companies worked together to create a Snapchat
version of the singing competition The Voice. More than 20,000 users submitted 10-second auditions for a chance to perform on the
live TV show. Snapchat plans to release other repurposed versions of both reality and scripted programs as it heads down the path
to profitability.
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For many fresh hires, a new office environment can seem alien and uninviting. Habits that were commonplace at the employee’s
previous job may be unacceptable in their new one. Initial interactions with colleagues can be awkward or even hostile, sometimes
leading to fissures in working relationships that are difficult to mend. A clear understanding of a company’s culture is vital to every
employee’s success, and sometimes a simple orientation just isn’t enough. To help new hires effectively assimilate into the
workplace, some companies use initiation rituals to break in their new members. Besides working as an icebreaker, such rituals
create an instant bond by establishing the character of the company to the employee through various activities.
For example, at Foot Levelers, a manufacturer of chiropractic products, employees will occasionally notice a sign on the conference
room door reading “Rudy in Progress.” Inside the room, a group of new hires eat snacks and watch the 1993 football drama Rudy, a
movie about a tenacious student who strives to play on the Notre Dame gridiron. After the movie ends, Foot Levelers CEO Kent
Greenwault collects everyone’s impressions on the film and together they compose a list of the traits Rudy utilized to finally gain
success. Employees are meant to emulate Rudy’s determination and ceaseless work ethic that drove him on even in the bleakest
moments. The ritual also clues staffers in on Greenwault’s favorite management catchphrase. Whenever an employee comes to a
manager with a work problem, the manager will first ask them, “Did you Rudy that?”
Some companies use rituals to test the physical mettle of new staffers. At the Massachusetts-based moving company Gentle Giant,
CEO Larry O’Toole requires new hires to join him for a run up and down the steps of Harvard Stadium. First of all, the ritual acts as an
effective indicator of the employee’s physical capabilities. O’Toole often won’t allow new hires onto a moving truck until he has
observed them on the steps. Symbolically, though, O’Toole hopes the run shows staffers how he expects them to push themselves
even in the most uncomfortable situations.
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Dr. Rea Searge is president of Peabody Researchers, Inc., a pharmaceutical company. Peabody uses a line-and-staff structure to
organize its employees. In addition to Dr. Searge, Peabody has the following employees:
On a separate sheet of paper, draw an organization chart for Peabody Researchers, Inc. Use solid lines for line authority–
responsibility relationships and dotted lines for staff authority–responsibility relationships. Use the diagram in your text as an
example.
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Director of personnel
Vice president of research and development
Administrative assistant to the president
Research and development department
Quality control officer
Let the students draw the chart on the board with as little assistance as possible so they can think it through. A possible solution is
given on the following page.
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Corporations use their websites and social media pages to communicate with investors, customers, and the general public. Just by
visiting the company’s site you can usually discover the organization’s chain of command and approach to departmentalization. Go
to the websites for each organization below and identify the primary organizational units. (Hint: Look for the “Corporate
Information” or “Investor Relations” sections.) Based on that information, speculate on the type of departmentalization used. i
1. Coca-Cola Company
Primary Organizational Units:
i
The Internet is a dynamic, changing information source. Web links noted in this manual were checked at the time of publication, but content may change over
time. Please review the website before recommending it to your students.
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4. Kraft Foods
Primary Organizational Units:
5. Boeing
Primary Organizational Units:
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BONUS CASE
To publicize its newly opened nightspot, a major hotel instituted weekly “tea dances” in the lobby of the hotel. A local band played
1940s-era music while dancers competed in friendly contests. On a Friday night in July, the band was playing Duke Ellington’s “Satin
Doll” when two skywalks spanning the lobby of the year-old hotel collapsed. Sixty-five tons of concrete, metal, glass, and dance
spectators plunged four floors to the sidewalk below, killing 114 persons and injuring 216 others.
The investigation after the collapse revealed that the collapse resulted from poor judgment and a series of events that, in
combination, produced a disastrous result. The study showed a history of oversights, misunderstandings, and safety problems
plaguing the 40-story, 780-room luxury hotel during construction and for months after its opening.
Mishaps aren’t uncommon on big projects, of course. But this huge project, which was built on an accelerated schedule,
encountered a series of accidents and near-accidents during construction. At one point the building’s owner dismissed its general
contractor and barred an inspection company from bidding on future company projects.
The hotel was erected using the “fast-track” method, a fairly common procedure in which construction proceeds before all drawings
are complete. With a $40 million construction loan outstanding and all building costs soaring, the owner wanted the hotel up and
open as quickly as practical.
Design changes are common on fast-track projects, making clear communications more critical than usual. The owners of the
building had circulated a 27-page procedures manual explaining the proper channels for design changes and approved drawings. But
the procedures weren’t always followed, and other mistakes slipped in. Because some connections were misplaced on the drawings,
for instance, workers installed a sweeping cantilevered stairway without fully attaching it to a wall.
The investigation found that the skywalks fell as a result of a design change made during a telephone call between the structural
engineering company and the steel fabricator. Stress calculations would have shown that the redesigned skywalks were barely able
to support their own weight, let alone the weight of dozens of dance spectators. However, court depositions of the two engineers
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who made the telephone redesign indicate that each person assumed it was the other’s responsibility to make new calculations, and
neither did.
Edward Pfrang, then chief of the structures division of the National Bureau of Standards and a participant in the investigation, says,
“One thing that’s clear after . . . [this] failure and a few others is that there isn’t a clear-cut set of standards and practices defining
who is responsible in the construction process.
2. Identify several key time points at which the problem could have been corrected.
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2. Identify several key time points at which the problem could have been corrected.
During construction, during the safety inspection, when the times were set for competition—safety considerations don’t take
place at any one time. They must be in mind at all times.
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The Direct Response Group (DRG) at Capital Holding is a direct marketer of life, health, property, and casualty insurance. In the past,
it sold a mass-produced product to a mass market. Over time, however, sales slowed, profits eroded, and the company decided it
had to refocus its efforts. That meant, for one thing, selling to particular, identifiable customers and giving those customers a
customized product/service package that was world class, enabling the company to compete globally.
An analysis of the corporate culture showed that people were more concerned with pleasing their bosses than pleasing the
customer. People hoarded information instead of sharing information because the people with information had power. The
information system had to be changed to encourage sharing.
Organizational change began with a vision statement that emphasized caring, listening to, and satisfying customers one-on-one. To
accomplish that goal, the company formed a cross-functional team to study the sales, service, and marketing processes and
completely redesign those functional areas. The idea was to have a world-class customer-driven company. That meant gathering as
much information as possible about customers.
Frontline customer-contact people were empowered with user-friendly information systems that made it possible for one contact
person, working with a support team, to handle any question that customers had. Management used external databases to get
detailed information on some 15 million consumers. The combined internal and external databases were used to develop
custom-made products for specific customer groups.
The whole company was focused on satisfying customer wants and needs. That meant changing processes within the firm so that
they were geared toward the customer. For example, one case worker is now attached to each customer, and that case worker is
responsible for following an application through the entire approval and product design process. Previously, many people handled
the application, and no one person was responsible for it.
A pilot program was started whereby a customer-management team was formed to serve 40,000 customers. The team consisted of
10 customer service representatives and their support team (a marketer, an expert in company operations, and an information
systems person). Employees are now rewarded for performance, and merit raises are based on team performance to encourage
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team participation.
2. Anyone who has worked in team situations has discovered that some members of the team work harder than others;
nonetheless, the whole team is often rewarded based on the overall results, not individual effort. How could team
evaluations be made so that individual efforts could be recognized and rewarded?
3. What service organizations, private or public, would you like to see become more customer oriented? How could this case be
used as a model for that organization?
4. What are some major impediments to implementing customer-oriented teams in service organizations?
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2. Anyone who has worked in team situations has discovered that some members of the team work harder than others;
nonetheless the whole team is often rewarded based on the overall results, not individual effort. How could team
evaluations be made so that individual efforts could be recognized and rewarded?
Team contributions are team contributions and difficult to isolate as individual efforts. In fact, the purpose of team
organization is to combine the best efforts of many individuals rather than relying on only one. Team members exercise
informal pressure to ensure continued quality effort. Such informal pressure is much more effective than organizational
efforts.
3. What service organizations, private or public, would you like to see become more customer oriented? How could this case
be used as a model for that organization?
The chances are that almost every student’s list will contain (1) the U.S. Postal Service and (2) your school. This case shows
that the entire organization must be committed to the customer-oriented team approach for it to be effective. Such an
approach would be difficult in a public organization such as USPS. The potential for creating a customer-oriented school
should be interesting to pursue.
4. What are some of the major impediments to implementing customer-oriented teams in service organizations?
Service organizations are quite different from product-producing organizations in that there is no distance between the
production of the service and the customer. The service is created when the customer receives it. Most service organizations
already have a customer-oriented focus. This case shows, however, that much improvement can be made in the delivery of
that service.
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Helpful Suggestions Regarding Assignment Policies: Connect gives instructors a wide array of flexibility in making assignments and
creating grading policies. Instructors may choose to:
● assign as many assignments as he/she deems appropriate
● determine point values for each question/exercise individually
● make available multiple attempts per assignment with options of accepting the highest score or averaging all the attempts
together
● deduct points for late submissions of assignments (percentage deduction per hour/day/week/etc.) or create hard deadlines
● show feedback on exercises/questions immediately or at the time of his/her preference
● create new assignments or questions from scratch, such as web-linked assignments, LearnSmart study modules, writing
assignments, blog assignments, discussion board assignments, or upload questions from a pool
Recommendations: Here are some recommendations you might want to consider if you are using Connect for the first time.
● Assigning Application Exercises: consider assigning only 1 or 2 exercises per chapter.
● Assigning LearnSmart: You might also want to assign less than an entire chapter segment of LearnSmart in Connect. The
system allows you to do this by dragging the toggle lever left or right to increase or decrease the time of the activity. You can
also reduce the time based on which learning objectives you select and deselect for the chapter.
● The entire LearnSmart module is available to your student at all times; however, assigning 30 minutes or so will prompt
students to try it. You are required to select a due date for LearnSmart. However, this will not prevent the student from
LearnSmart access; it is designed to show you that the student has taken the LearnSmart assignment. LearnSmart is an
adaptive study tool designed for students. It can also show you where students are struggling to understand specific
concepts.
• The student’s LearnSmart score in the Connect reports is based on their mastery of the material at the time the assignment is
due. Mastery is an evaluation of the number of learning objectives they completed via performance on answering questions.
• Students may, and are encouraged, to continue to use LearnSmart throughout the semester. After the assignment due date,
they can continue to access LearnSmart. Continued use of LearnSmart will not affect their LearnSmart assignment results in
the Connect reports, but has shown to improve test scores by as much as a full letter grade.
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Time-Saving Hints:
● Instructors may want to give students unlimited or multiple attempts on the first few assignments so the students have a
chance to learn and navigate the system before selecting the option for one attempt only.
● The value of each question should probably be relatively low, since multiple questions are usually assigned for each chapter.
A good rule of thumb would be to make “Quiz Questions” worth 1 point each and “exercises” worth 5–10 points each since
these require more time and thought.
● Feedback given to students is time flexible. Selecting feedback to be displayed after the assignment due date helps to limit
students from giving the correct answers to other students while the exercise is still available.
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Application Exercises:
Organizational Structuring Click and Drag
Adapting an Organization Video Case
Broad and Narrow Spans of Control Click and Drag
Line vs. Staff Personnel iSeeit! Video Case
Language Toolkit:
Language Toolkit 08a Click and Drag
Language Toolkit 08b Click and Drag
Language Toolkit 08c Click and Drag
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Organizational Structuring
Activity Summary: This activity involves determining advantages and disadvantages of centralized/decentralized authority. Students
are presented with eight descriptive scenarios from different organizations, and they must correctly identify the scenario as an
advantage/disadvantage of either a centralized or decentralized organization. Topics include centralized and decentralized control,
lines of authority, unity of command, departmentalization, empowerment, efficiency, and effectiveness.
Follow-Up Activity: The instructor could ask students to list some of their favorite products/services, and then list any dislikes about
that product or the way the service was provided. Once that list is created, the student could then list ways to correct those
problems. The finished result might help the student understand how decentralized control or the increase in empowerment could
result in positive efficiencies being created within the organization. Students could also list organizations that do not change much
and identify why centralized control might actually be the most efficient structure to use.
Adapting an Organization
Activity Summary: This video case takes an in-depth look at New Belgium Brewery, in Fort Collins, Colorado. New Belgium Brewery
is known for its strong, positive organizational culture, empowerment programs, open-book operations with employees, and low
employee turnover. Interviews are shown from the founders and executives down to nonsupervisory employees to gain an
understanding of its organizational culture and structure. Questions are presented periodically during the video to test student
engagement. Topics include organizational culture, centralized and decentralized control, division of labor, and unity of command.
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Learning Goal 08-03: Evaluate the choices managers make in structuring organizations.
Learning Goal 08-04: Contrast the various organizational models.
Learning Goal 08-05: Identify the benefits of interfirm cooperation and coordination.
Learning Goal 08-06: Explain how organizational culture can help businesses adapt to change.
Difficulty: 2 = Medium
Blooms: Understand
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Follow-Up Activity: The instructor could ask students to research New Belgium Brewery to find out more about its origins and initial
organizational structure. Students could identify common practices that created the tight, positive organizational culture, and then
they could list ideas that would maintain this culture in the future while growth is experienced. Students could also write about their
experiences with organizational culture at past/present workplaces. A discussion could ensue about what makes a good
organizational culture.
Follow-Up Activity: The instructor could ask students to list several different companies that would need or work best in a broad
span of control, and then the students could list those companies that would require a narrow span of control. The students could
then analyze why companies often start out with broad spans of control and eventually end up with narrow spans of control. The
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instructor could engage students in a discussion of a technology company (such as Apple) and how information flows from top to
bottom and back again, to determine why speed and accuracy is important in this flow of communication.
Follow-Up Activity: These short videos are designed to help students understand specific terms and concepts that are often key to
understanding the overarching subject. Instructors could use these short videos as quick ways to launch into the subject matter at
the beginning of a chapter or unit.
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors could ask students to explain the definition of these terms in greater detail or explain how terms
relate to a specific business.
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors could ask students to explain the definition of these terms in greater detail or explain how terms
relate to a specific business.
Follow-Up Activity: Instructors could ask students to explain the definition of these terms in greater detail or explain how terms
relate to a specific business.
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Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
especially the older and larger roots. Reputed to cure anything from
a cough to a boil to an internal disorder, it was also considered an
aphrodisiac and a source of rare, mystical properties. But scientific
research has never yielded any hard evidence of its medicinal worth.
Settlers used ginseng sparingly, for it brought a high price when sold
to herb-dealers for shipment to China. The main problem lay in
locating the five-leaved plants, which grew in the most secluded,
damp coves of the Smokies. Sometimes several members of a
family would wait until summer or early fall, then go out on extended
“sanging” expeditions.
The search was not easy. During some seasons, the plant might not
appear at all. When it did, its leaves yellowed and its berries
reddened for only a few days. But when a healthy “sang” plant was
finally found, and its long root carefully cleaned and dried, it could
yield great financial reward. Although the 5-year-old white root was
more common, a red-rooted plant needed a full decade to mature
and was therefore especially prized. Greed often led to wanton
destruction of the beds, with no seed-plants for future harvests.
Ginseng was almost impossible to cultivate.
Ginseng-hunting became a dangerous business. Although Daniel
Boone dug it and traded in it, later gatherers were sometimes killed
over it. One large Philadelphia dealer who came into Cataloochee in
the mid-1800s was murdered and robbed. Anyone trying to grow it,
even if he were successful, found that he would have to guard the
plants like water in a desert. Indeed, the rare, graceful ginseng
became a symbol for many in the mountains of all that was unique,
so readily destroyed, and eventually irreplaceable.
As much as the pioneers drew on Indian experience, they also
depended on their own resourcefulness. One skill which the early
settlers brought with them into the Smoky Mountains involved a
power unknown to the Cherokees. This was the power of the rifle:
both its manufacture and the knowledge of what the rifle could do.
The backwoods rifle was a product of the early American frontier.
Formally known as the “Pennsylvania-Kentucky” rifle, this long-
barreled innovation became a standby throughout the Appalachians.
To assure precise
workmanship, it was
made out of the
softest iron
available. The inside
of the barrel, or the
bore, was
painstakingly “rifled”
with spiralling
grooves. This
gradual twist made
the bullet fly harder
and aim straighter
toward its target.
The butt of the
weapon was
crescent-shaped to
keep the gun from
slipping. All shiny or
highly visible metal
was blackened, and
sometimes a
frontiersman would
rub his gun barrel
with a dulling stain or
crushed leaf.
But the trademark of
the “long rifle” was
Alan Rinehart just that: its length.
Weighing over 2.5
Aunt Sophie Campbell made clay kilograms (5.5
pipes at her place on Crockett pounds) and
Mountain and sold them to her measuring more
neighbors and to other folks in the than 1.2 meters (4
Gatlinburg area. feet), the barrel of
the backwoods rifle
could be unbalancing. Yet this drawback seemed minor compared to
the superior accuracy of the new gun. The heavy barrel could take a
much heavier powder charge than the lighter barrels, and this in turn
could, as an expert noted, “drive the bullet faster, lower the
trajectory, make the ball strike harder, and cause it to flatten out
more on impact. It does not cause inaccurate flight....”
The Pennsylvania-Kentucky rifle became defender, gatherer of food,
companion for thousands of husbands and fathers. Cradled on a
rack of whittled wooden pegs or a buck’s antlers, the “rifle-gun” hung
over the door or along the wall or above the “fire-board,” as the
mantel was called, within easy and ready reach. It was the
recognized symbol of the fact that each man’s cabin was his castle.
Equipped with a weapon such as this, pioneer Americans pushed
back the frontier. The fastnesses of the Great Smoky Mountains
gradually submitted to the probing and settling of the white man. The
fertile valleys were settled, the hidden coves were conquered. The
Oconaluftee Turnpike to the top of the Smokies was completed in
1839. And in that fateful year, disaster was stalking a people who
had known the high mountains but who had not known of the ways
of making a rifle.
Rifle Making