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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
Organization Structure
Chapter
8
CHAPTER CONTENTS
Learning Objectives 2
Lecturettes 206
Examples 218
8-1
Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
3 Define the roles of the board of directors and the chief executive
officer.
4 Discuss how span of control affects structure and managerial ef-
fectiveness.
5 Explain how to delegate effectively.
6 Distinguish between centralized and decentralized organizations.
7 Summarize ways organizations can be structured.
8 Identify the unique challenges of the matrix organization.
9 Describe important integrative mechanisms.
This chapter is such a wealth of information that you may be overrun with student questions as you lec-
ture. Two popular topics for questions include specifics about organizational design, and delegation. For
instance, your students may ask:
1. “What is the most widely used approach to organizational structure in
U.S. businesses and what are the reasons it is used most?”
2. “What is the difference between the board of directors and the chief
executive officers?”
3. “How can a manager overcome his or her fears of delegating?”
4. “What different things can managers do to increase the likelihood that
their associates will follow through with delegated tasks?”
While these questions generally have straightforward answers, they also provide opportunities to examine
some of the complexities of organizational structure. For example:
1. While most mid- to large-size organizations in the U.S. today have a functional structure, the majority
of U.S. companies are small, entrepreneurial firms. These firms tend to have very organic structures
since they have few employees, so all employees must do everything.
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
2. The apparent answer to this question is that the CEO is an employee of the organization, while the
board of directors is an outside governing body, whose members are not employees of the organiza-
tion. Most organizations have strict independence standards which apply to the board of directors.
However, when answering this question, you might also discuss how boards of directors pick new
members (they are typically chosen by the CEO) and what kinds of rewards people get for being on
boards of directors (everything from deferred compensation, to life insurance, to limousine service!)
3. The answer here is that “fear” is often a manager’s sense that what has been delegated will not be
done, or will be done incorrectly. This can be overcome by working with the employee to clarify ex-
pectations, giving the employee the right training to do the job, and setting up regular checkpoints to
assess progress. This question also presents a good opportunity to discuss how delegation differs from
the perspective of the employee and the manager.
Teaching Tip:
Ask everyone in the class to write down what they think the word “fear” refers to in this question.
Then get students who have been managers to share their answers, followed by students who
have been employees. The employee group is likely to see ‘fear’ as worry about being upstaged
by an employee, while the manager group is likely to see “worry” as concern that the employee
won’t do the job right.
4. Employees will be more likely to follow through on their tasks if they know why they are doing those
tasks, if they consider the tasks to be important, and they have a say in how to do the tasks, and if they
are rewarded for those tasks. In addition, clear expectations, training, and regular checkpoints also
help to be sure that the tasks will be done on time.
CLASS ROADMAP
Management Connection
How Cisco Systems is Cleaning Up Its Organizational Chart
Cisco systems established itself as the leader in hardware for wired networks. After years of rapid
growth, internal struggles have hampered Cisco’s ability to identify and seize new business opportunities.
John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, recently announced what he hopes will be a solution to this dilemma: a
new way or organizing the company structure. He defined five areas of information technology and as-
signed an engineering staff to each area. He also divided sales into three geographic regions: 1) the
Americas, 2) Asia, and 3) Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. These changes reversed the matrix struc-
ture that was put in place a few years ago to facilitate rapid business growth and expansion by appointing
employees from across the organization to internal councils which made major business decisions. Ini-
tially it served it purpose, but over time this model created confusion and distractions for managers.
Chambers hopes a more traditional management approach will allow employees to devote themselves to
greater efficiency in executing their business strategy.
8-3
Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
C. Integration
8-4
Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
B. Hierarchical Levels
1. Top management
a. Hierarchy is the authority levels of the organ-
izational pyramid.
b. The CEO occupies the top position and is the
senior member of top management.
c. Corporate governance is a term describing
the oversight of the firm by its executive staff
and board of directors.
d. Presidents and vice presidents are also includ-
ed in the top management.
2. Middle management LO 4: Discuss how span of
a. This is the second broad level. control affects structure and
b. Made up of managers who are in charge of managerial effectiveness
plants or departments.
3. Operational management
a. This is the lowest level of management.
b. It includes office managers, sales managers,
E.G.
Use Example 8.3 –
supervisors, and other first-line managers as Span of control here
well as the employees who report directly to
8-5
Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
them.
c. Subunits are subdivisions of an organization
D. Span of Control
1. Span of control is the number of subordinates
who report directly to an executive or supervisor.
2. Narrow spans build a tall organization with many
reporting levels.
3. Wide spans create a flat organization with fewer
reporting levels.
4. The optimal span of control depends of a number
of factors:
E. Delegation E.G.
Use Example 8.4 – Delegation
1. Delegation is the assignment of new or additional here
responsibilities to a subordinate. (Figure 8.2)
2. Responsibility and accountability must be looked
at before delegating any authority.
3. Responsibility is an assignment of a task that an
employee is supposed to carry out.
4. Authority means that the person has the power
and the right to make decisions, gives orders,
draws upon resources, and does whatever else is
necessary to fulfill the responsibility.
5. Accountability is the expectation that employees
perform a job, take corrective action when neces-
sary, and report upward on the status and quality
of their performance.
6. Advantages of delegation
a. Allows managers to accomplish much more
than they would be able to do on their own
b. Helps develop effective subordinates
7. How should managers delegate?
8-6
Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
F. Decentralization
8-7
Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
8-8
Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
must
a. choose the right specialty
b. choose collaborators that are also excellent,
but provide complementary strengths
c. make certain that all parties fully understand
the strategic goals of the partnership
d. be able to trust all parties with strategic infor- LO 9: Describe important in-
mation and trust that collaborators will deliver, tegrative mechanisms
even when business demands are heavy.
8-9
Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
d. Teams
e. Product, program, or project managers
f. Matrix prganizations
TEXT REFERENCE
3. Managing high information-processing demands Management Connection – Onward
(Figure 8.8) Cisco’s attempts to “flatten” their organization
resulted in confusion for many senior managers
who felt frustration and distracted from running
their own units. The approach also required
hiring more managers and sometimes failed to
IV. LOOKING AHEAD identify who was accountable for results of
each board or council. Cisco has retained three
1. Organizations are more like a motion picture – they boards and three councils with their new organ-
izational model. Chambers has announced that
move. restructuring will “empower teams, integrate
major functions, and allow people to focus on
2. Organizations are becoming more flexible and inno- inspiring and important work.”
vative, even virtual are forming. • Has Chamber’s prediction proved to be
3. No organization is static. correct? What is the current status of Cisco
Systems?
• How has the change from the councils and
boards, back to a more traditional divisional
model impacted Cisco?
____________________________________
Accountability The expectation that employees will perform a job, take corrective action when neces-
sary, and report upward on the status and quality of their performance
Authority The legitimate right to make decisions and to tell other people what to do
Broker A person who assembles and coordinates participants in a network
Centralized organization An organization in which high-level executives make most decisions and pass
them down to lower levels for implementation
Coordination The procedures that link the various parts of an organization for the purpose of achieving
the organization’s overall mission
Coordination by mutual adjustment Units interact with one another to make accommodations to achieve
flexible coordination
Coordination by plan Interdependent units are required to meet deadlines and objectives that contribute
to a common goal
Corporate governance The role of a corporation’s executive staff and board of directors in ensuring that
the firm’s activities meet the goals of the firm’s stakeholders
Decentralized organization An organization in which lower-level managers make important decisions
Delegation The assignment of new or additional responsibilities to a subordinate
Departmentalization Subdividing an organization into smaller subunits
Differentiation An aspect of the organization’s internal environment created by job specialization and
the division of labor
Division of labor the assignment of different tasks to different people or groups
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
Divisional organization Departmentalization that groups units around products, customers, or geograph-
ic regions
Dynamic network Temporary arrangements among partners that can be assembled and reassembled to
adapt to the environment
Formalization the presence of rules and regulations governing how people in the organization interact
Functional organization Departmentalization around specialized activities such as production, market-
ing, and human resources
Hierarchy The authority levels of the organizational pyramid
Integration the degree to which differentiated work units work together and coordinate their efforts
Line departments Units that deal directly with the organization’s primary goods and services
Matrix organization An organization composed of dual reporting relationships in which some managers
report to two superiors – a functional manager and a divisional manager
Network organization A collection of independent, mostly single-function firms that collaborate on a
good or service
Organization chart the reporting structure and division of labor in an organization
Responsibility The assignment of a task that an employee is supposed to carry out
Span of control The number of subordinates who report directly to an executive or supervisor
Specialization A process in which different individuals and units performs different tasks
Staff departments Units that support line departments
Standardization Establishing common routines and procedures that apply uniformly to everyone
Subunits Subdivisions of an organization
Unity-of-command principle A structure in which each worker reports to one boss, who in turn reports
to one boss
LECTURETTES
1. The managerial span of control refers to the number of subordinates that a given manager can effec-
tively direct. For decades, management thinkers have struggled with the issue of the managerial span
of control because it directly impacts the size and shape of the organizational structure of a business,
and it impacts both the effectiveness and efficiency of the work process.
GRAICUNAS’S THEORY
1. In 1933, A.V. Graicunas published an article, “Relationship in Organization,” in The Bulletin of the
International Management Institute in which he established his theory of the span of managerial con-
trol. Graicunas noted that when dealing with subordinates, the manager had to consider not only the
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
direct relationships between himself or herself and each subordinate as an individual, but also his or
her relationships with different groups of subordinates as well as the cross relationships among all
members of the work group. Graicunas recognized that the total of these relationships was quite nu-
merous within a large work group.
2. Graicunas’ research led him to find that the manager’s direct relationships increased in proportion to
the additional size of the group. However, he found that the group and cross relationships increased
more than proportionately.
3. The resulting Granicunas Theory calculates the number of possible relationships in a work group
from the formula:
R = n (2(n-1) + n – 1)
Where R = the number of relationships, and n = the number of subordinates managed. For example,
if a manager must supervise three subordinates, the total number of possible relationships in the work
group is calculated as R = 3(22 + 3 – 1) = 18. As the number of subordinates is increased, the total
number of possible relationships grows rapidly. For instance, if the number of subordinates is in-
creased to five, the number of relationships increases
to R = 5(24 + 5 – 1) = 100.
1. Since the number of relationships with which a manager must deal increases geometrically as subor-
dinates are added to the work group, the span of management becomes a critical organizational factor.
For many jobs, it is found that a manager has difficulty directing more than five or six people. In oth-
er jobs, spans of managerial control have been expanded to 50 or more.
2. Where the work is unstructured, as in a research laboratory, the span of management is quite low.
However, on an assembly line, where the work is highly structured, larger spans of control are usually
possible.
3. Subordinate relationships are more positive and control is maximized by small or “narrow” spans of
management. However, narrow spans of control cost money in terms of salaries, fringe benefits,
space and other support factors. Perhaps an even more serious problem with narrow spans of control
is the cost of longer communication and authority channels. Narrow spans slow down the flow of es-
sential information and delimit the delegation of authority.
4. On the other hand, wide spans of managerial control often result in overworked and stressed-out
managers, ineffective decision-making, and inefficient operations that tend to go out of control.
1. Obviously, it is in the best interests of the organization to keep the spans of control as wide as possi-
ble without allowing the process to get out of control. As a result, researchers have established a
number of ways by which organizations may attempt to increase the span of management without ad-
verse effects on the organization. Some of those techniques for increasing the span of control are
listed below:
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Based on the description of Cisco in this chapter, give some examples of differentiation in that
organization. In other words, what specialized tasks have to be performed, and how is labor
divided at Cisco? Also, how does Cisco integrate the work of these different units? Based on
what you have learned in this chapter, would you say Cisco has an effective structure? Why or
why not?
Cisco’s structure follow the divisional model with five areas: 1) routing and switching, 2) collabora-
tion, 3) video, 4) data center virtualization, and 5) cloud. In addition, they have three sales divisions
consisting of: 1) the Americas, 2) Asia, and 3) Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
The five divisions are based on the five key product areas. They each have very specialized takes to
be performed. However, some redundancy exists in that Chambers is allowing each division to retain
their own engineering team to facilitate changes and updates for the division’s products. To integrate
the work of the units, Cisco retained the three councils: 1) a service provider council, 2) an enterprise
council, and 3) an emerging countries council. These councils evaluate new ideas and concepts and
help each division implement changes and upgrades when they are ready. This model appears to be
much more simplified than the previous model and will likely be more useful and successful. If the
new model creates less confusion and conflict, then it is more likely that the company can focus on
delivering products and services that customers want and be able to do this in a timely manner.
1 Adapted from G.G. Fisch, “Stretching the Span of Management,” Harvard Business Review, September-October 1962, 80-81; A.V
Graicunas, “Relationship in Organization,” Bulletin of the International Management Institute, 1933; Harold KoontZ, “Making Theory
Operational: The Span of Management,” The Journal of Management Studies, October 1966, 229-243; Lyndall Urwick, “The Man-
ager’s Span of Control,” Harvard Business Review, May-June 1956, 39-47; Lyndall Urwick, Scientific Principles and Organization
(New York; American Management Association, 1938).
8-13
Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
2. What are some advantages and disadvantages of being in the CEO position?
The advantage of being a CEO is that, from an organizational perspective, it is the position of deci-
sion-making and power. In theory, whatever the CEO says is implemented. It is a position that pro-
vides the individual with an opportunity to focus on the overall strategy and development of the com-
pany. A CEO’s compensation generally consists of relatively high salary and a bonus package as
well as perks such as a company car, an expense account, etc.
The disadvantages of the position are that the CEO is usually responsible to a board of directors and
stockholders. He or she is the person on whom everybody focuses when things go wrong. The posi-
tion usually involves a lot of work and can be extremely stressful.
3. Would you like to sit on a board of directors? Why or why not? If you did serve on a board,
what kind of organization would you prefer? As a board member, in what kinds of activities do
you think you would most actively engage?
The idea of serving on a board of directors will appeal to some students and not to others. Some will
see it as an opportunity to be involved, on a limited basis, in the direction of an organization, and
some may mention the financial benefits of board membership (although many board members serve
on a voluntary basis—especially in the case of nonprofit organizations). Others, however, will be
afraid of the responsibility given the increased visibility of board members and their growing legal re-
sponsibility for the actions of the organization.
As to the type of organization they would prefer, many may choose a nonprofit essentially as a means
of serving society. They may feel there is great satisfaction to be gained from giving time and effort
to helping those who are less fortunate. Others might see serving on the board of a business entity as
a more meaningful role…and there may be additional compensation!
Students will see their potential involvement in terms of their own interests. Some may see them-
selves serving on the finance committee while others may feel more comfortable on the compensation
committee.
4. Interview a member of a board of directors and discuss the member’s perspectives on his or her
role.
Suggest to the students that they ask some of the following questions:
➢ How much time do you devote each month to the board’s activities? Do you think this is suffi-
cient? Or too much?
➢ Do you feel you really understand what is going on in the organization? Or do you sometimes
feel that you are getting a distorted view?
➢ Do you really understand the financial data with which you are provided? Are you given all of
the financial data that is needed to gain a realistic picture of the organization’s results?
➢ Are the board meetings meaningful? Or do you sometimes feel they are a waste of time?
➢ What would you like to see changed so that the board might be more effective in its role?
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
5. Pick a job you have held and describe it in terms of span of control, delegation, responsibility,
authority, and accountability.
Students who have not held a management position may not relate to the aspects of authority and span
of control. However, they should be able to describe the responsibilities that were delegated to them
and the ways in which they were accountable.
Students who have held a managerial position may be able to demonstrate the various factors (such as
span of control, delegation, and etc.) by drawing an organization chart and showing the working rela-
tionships.
6. Why do you think managers have difficulty delegating? What can be done to overcome these
difficulties?
Ultimately, in any organization, managers are responsible for the activities of those individuals who
report to them. If they do something themselves, they know that it was done correctly (or at least in
the way they think it should be done). Delegating responsibility represents a loss of control, and
managers are often reluctant to do so because it puts their reputation and, possibly their career, in the
hands of someone else.
What can be done to overcome this? Managers can be trained how to delegate effectively. There are
numerous courses offered on “how to delegate” and “effective delegation for the manager.” From a
practical point of view, managers can delegate a task to subordinates, oversee their efforts, and ensure
ongoing reporting so that, at no time is the task out of control. Once a task is delegated, the manager
should serve as a resource person and check in with the employee repeatedly to ensure that progress is
made towards achieving the task. Then, as subordinates learn and demonstrate their ability, the su-
pervision and reporting can be withdrawn until, eventually, the manager can be confident that the
subordinates will do the task as well as the manager would.
7. Consider an organization in which you have worked, draw its organization chart, and describe
it using terms in this chapter. How did you like working there, and why?
Most students have held a position in some organization and thus should be able to draw the organiza-
tion chart. It may help for them to do it by name rather than position.
Among the terms that should be used are span of control, delegation, responsibility, and authority.
In terms of whether or not they liked working there, it may be helpful to ask whether or not the organ-
ization’s structure (i.e., the organization chart and the reporting relationships) helped in making it en-
joyable…or perhaps the organizational structure was one of the reasons why students did not enjoy
working for the organization.
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
A functional organization is one in which the unit or group focuses on one activity (e.g., production,
marketing, finance, etc.), whereas, in a divisional or product organization, the group handles all the
functional activities (such as production and marketing) for the product.
Some students may prefer the functional organization because they wish to specialize and become
highly skilled in some specialization. They may comment that they “want to be accountants not
marketers.” Others may see the product organization as giving them a much wider range of opportu-
nities and may state that it will: “offer the opportunity to learn everything about the business.”
Question: Why do some students select one approach and some another? Answer: They have differ-
ent personality types, different goals and objectives, etc.
9. If you learned that a company had a matrix structure, would you be more or less interested in
working there? Explain your answer. How would you prepare yourself to work effectively in a
matrix?
It might be appropriate to start the discussion question with another question, namely: What differ-
ence do you think working for a company with a matrix organization has from the employee’s per-
spective.
Some students will welcome the idea of working for two superiors. They will feel that it will give
them a broader perspective on the company and provide more opportunities for learning and ad-
vancement. Others, however, will view the prospect of working for two superiors rather frightening.
They will feel uncomfortable working in an environment with multiple demands and, sometimes,
conflicting orders.
The key to working for two bosses is communication and working in a matrix organization probably
means that the individual has to be more proactive or assertive in determining the exact requirements
and in communicating effectively with both individuals when there is conflict or ambiguity.
10. Brainstorm a list of methods for integrating interdependent work units. Discuss the activities
that need to be undertaken and the pros and cons of each approach.
This may be a challenging question for students to answer. Some typical responses might include:
• Clarify the vision or common goal that people share.
• Help people get to know one another’s strengths.
• Focus on the things that each person brings “to the table” and recognize efforts to succeed as
well as those who get results.
• Emphasize effective communication and follow through on tasks.
• Specify the person who is accountable for any new tasks assigned and follow up to make sure
task is completed in a satisfactory manner.
• Students may offer other ideas. The goal here is to help students think about the future and to
challenge them to think about the outcomes of their actions.
8-16
Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
CONCLUDING CASE
Case Summary:
The Stanley Lynch Investment Group is a large investment firm headquartered in New York. It has
12 major investment funds, each with analysts in a separate department. Part of their strategic ad-
vantage is its advanced information technology system. However, with IT employees assigned to
specific funds, it was nearly impossible to obtain consistent or comprehensive information. A new
manager, J.T. Kundra, decided to have his employees download all of their programs to a wiki and he
convinced other high-level managers to require their employees to do the same as part of their per-
formance appraisals. The IT employees discovered that the wiki would help them perform more ef-
fectively and it provided a trail of information from the original documents to the more recent docu-
ments on any topic which was downloaded. The wiki eventually came to be viewed as one of their
most important systems.
Suggested Response:
Various organizational charts are to be expected in the individual student response to this question.
However, acceptable responses must incorporate the following guidelines and information: (1) the
greater the diversity of products, the greater the decentralization, (2) the larger the organization, the
greater the decentralization, (3) a rapidly changing environment demands greater decentralization,
and (4) designing timely control processes and training managers how to delegate effectively are key
factors in managing decentralization.
Suggested Response:
While decentralization reduces direct control by strategic leaders over employees’ daily work, it does
empower employees to address problems, respond to opportunities, and to take action to protect the
best interests of their assigned areas of responsibility. Decentralization builds on the belief that spe
8-17
Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
cialists can obtain better results in situations that require a great deal of knowledge, information, and
insight.
Suggested Response:
Decentralization tends to limit the communication between departments and units in a company. It
can also be a source of infighting and internal discord as employees act to protect their own interests
without regard for the impact of their decisions and actions on other units. Decentralization can also
produce a considerable amount of redundancy in the organization in areas of business services and
employee positions.
EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES
Teaching Tip:
Students can do the first part of this assignment (identifying the org. chart for their school) prior
to coming to class, then the second part (designing a new organization) can be assigned after you
have covered the material in the chapter.
Objectives
8-18
Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
Suggested responses
Board of Trustees
Counselors Division
Chairs
Recommended changes would include a finance division to be added to the organization structure
Board of Trustees
Foundation
Counselors Division Chairs Director
One strength of this organization’s structure is that it has a functional approach to its structure. It is sim-
plistic, easy to understand, and is able to meet the mission of this institution. Strategic plans are imple-
mented to permit growth and meet the student needs. A weakness would be to create a matrix organiza-
tion to have members of the staff cross over and formulate a team approach to resolve some of the aca-
demic issues.
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
Most students probably will conclude that, in a general sense, their business school is well organized.
However, some students may, as a result of their interviews, have received comments suggesting that
while the school is well organized in some areas (such as teaching), it is not well organized in others
such as research, community service, and etc.
Students tend to see their school as being mechanistic. They likely view it as being bureaucratic, in-
flexible, fragmented, and possibly indifferent to the needs of students.
3. In what ways is the school’s structure designed to suit the needs of students, faculty, staff, the
administration, and the business community?
Students are apt to consider the school to be organized to suit administrative tasks and to functional-
ize the faculty relationships and believe that too little is done to serve the needs of the students. They
may fail to consider the needs of staff and the business community.
Teaching Tips:
The instructions call for each student to explore the organizational structure of the school and to
draw an actual and proposed organization. You might add a behavioral element to the exercise
by dividing the class into small groups and proceeding as follows:
1. Each small group of students begins by holding two brainstorming sessions—the first to iden-
tify the organizational structure as they know it and the second to identify those organiza-
tional factors that need to be investigated (levels of administration, spans of control, chain of
command, working relationships, etc.).
2. Each group member is assigned a particular organizational feature to investigate through in-
terviews with faculty, staff, administrators, student leaders, advisory personnel, etc.
3. Each small group reconvenes and shares the results of the investigations. Another brain-
storming session is used to draw both an actual and a proposed organization chart.
4. The whole class reconvenes and hears presentations by the small-group spokespersons. Then
the class brainstorms a final organization chart proposal.
Overview
Designing a student-run organization is a good beginning activity, as it helps students realize that de-
sign involves far more than an organization chart and job descriptions. Students find it easy to relate
to the task. We have found it useful to introduce the topic of organization design in the prior class
session, by showing Galbraith’s “star” model and discussing the importance of integrating multiple
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
design dimensions (Strategy, Task, Structure, Information Technology, and Decision Making, People,
and Rewards).
Activity Procedure
The following is the sequence of activities, the necessary time required and some tips.
Tasks 1 and 2: The activity takes little introduction, and in fact is helped if the instructor’s beginning
comments are brief. Announce that the entire class session will be devoted to this design activity.
The sequence will be instructions, working for 40-60 minutes in a group of (10-20) students, sharing
the results (20 minutes), and finally, instructor’s concluding remarks (10-20 minutes).
Read the learning objectives along with other objectives you may have for the session. Read the
background statement and be prepared to answer student questions about the task. Typical questions
including “Is the $20,000 separate from the space, equipment, and materials money?” (yes). “Can
we spend the money on anything we think is needed?” (yes, subject to faculty advisor approval).
“Who do we have to satisfy with this organization design?” (the dean).
Teaching Tips:
We have found that it is important to emphasize that the task involves Total Organization Design.
That is, they are to brainstorm all design dimensions to be dealt with, before working on a single
dimension, such as organization structure. You can provide them examples, if needed, such as a
mission statement and set of goals.
Environment
• Scan the environment
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
Strategy
• Learning experience, education as an overall theme
• Students will design the organization, and will create mission statement, vision,
goals, guidelines for consulting, and list of services to be offered
• To help nonprofit groups to be more successful and efficient
• The focus must be clear, such as supporting organizations that help youth, e.g.,
YMCA
• Nonprofit, student-run, offering low cost and innovative services
Transformation Process
• Based on a model of consulting – students take a course to select and modify the
consulting process
• Students from all programs and concentrations are involved to bring a variety of
ideas to the consulting process
• Generalists make initial contacts, followed by multifunctional teams which diag-
nose specific client needs
• Faculty and community executives provide oversight during start-up and beyond
• Relies on unique college capabilities including information technology
• Relies on strong project management system, intranet and internet
Structure
• A flat organization with little or no hierarchy
• Based on a “club” concept, emphasizing fun activities and social support
• Links to existing functional clubs in the college, such as accounting, marketing
• Functional expertise and resources brought together based on project needs (ma-
trix)
• A team leader is point of contact both internally and externally to the client, but
otherwise, leadership is shared
• Beyond the teams, support groups are needed to sustain this organization, such as
internal fund-raising, social events planning, advising, etc.
• Some jobs such as team leader require experience
People
• Recruitment of skilled personnel, resolution mechanisms needed for staffing
• Orientation, training issues
• Guidelines for gaining experience and for advancing in the organization
• Building a community – through work that is socially worthwhile, allowing crea-
tivity and learning
Rewards
• Incentives to participate: course credit, internships, senior projects
• Challenging assignments, personal and professional growth
• Team and individual recognition
• Social events
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
Other
• Formal linkage to the college, legal liability considerations met, long term finan-
cial viability considered
• Develop the actual start-up steps for establishment of this organization
Objectives
1. To explore the reasons for, as well as the pros and cons of, decentralizing.
Suggested responses
1. Product diversity creates the need for increased decentralization of authority with greater flexibil-
ity required for the organization structure due to increased product diversification.
2. With increased size and power of an organization, there is a need to decentralize responsibility
and authority to become customer driven and customize the product to meet the customers’
needs.
3. In a fast paced environment an organizational change is required. Thus there is a need to create
decentralized responsibility and authority.
4. Timely accurate controls are required for a decentralized environment due to the need to create
accountability of people’s actions and their responsibility for implementing these action plans.
5. Managers must delegate and implement employee empowerment to permit employees to be re-
sponsible and have authority to make timely decisions.
6. The principle of delegation is the reassigning of responsibility and authority in having individuals
account for their actions. The act of delegating is a procedure that creates employee empower-
ment of performing one’s job. Yes, the statement is true that when a manager delegates to an em-
ployee authority or the right to make a decision is transferred to this individual.
Teaching Tips:
1. Divide the class into groups of six and have each student focus on one of the questions with
the assignment of identifying specific companies that can be placed from one end of the other of
the characteristic. Have the students who focused on, say, question #1 present their findings to
the class.
EXAMPLES
Example 8.1 - Integration: The KSS Design Group is an architectural and design practice that
was founded in 1991. Their core competency is integration - their home page boasts that “Our
range of services includes master planning, architecture, interior design, graphics and branding,
and we can bring these disciplines together into a seamless package for any given project.” In an
article in “Design Week”, Sara Wilkins discusses the need to break down the traditional division-
al structure of most creative companies - KSS tries to “actively and positively mix our varied
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
skill sets.”2 She stresses the role education and communication have played in helping to integrate
the various functions of her organization, and she says that KSS continually invests in training,
both for their employees and their clients. They also pull people together by making sure that
everyone in the organization works in all of the diverse industry sectors served by KSS, and by
having regular internal project reviews, where everyone in the organization is given the oppor-
tunity to offer objective opinions about projects.
Example 8.2 – Board of directors: Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) provide their inves-
tors with income based on owning and operating real estate, including apartments, shopping cen-
ters, homes, and other properties. Like many other types of organizations, their boards of direc-
tors have seen changes related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. One REIT, the Mills Corporation, was
acquired in 2007 after an SEC investigation found problems with the company’s accounting rec-
ords. The CEO stepped down as a result of the investigation, but there were several questions
raised about whether or not the company’s board of directors should have reined in Mills’ expan-
sion plans before they got out of control. An example of more appropriate board behavior can be
found in the story of Developers Diversified Realty (DDR), which was considering going into a
joint development venture in China. DDR’s board of directors voted down the plan, saying that
any investment in China should be part of a long-term strategy, and not a one-time deal.3
Example 8.3 – Span of control: The Friendly Ice Cream Corporation manufactures and serves
ice cream, along with operating 530 company and franchised restaurants throughout the North-
east. In 2005 Friendly’s restructured their management team, and 1) reduced spans of control for
front-line and second-line supervisors, 2) created a new recognition and reward program for serv-
ers, and 3) created an Internet-based guest feedback system. These changes were designed to
help Friendly’s obtain higher margin revenues by helping employees to work more efficiently.4
Example 8.4 - Delegation: Students may not realize it, but one of the most important things a
first level fire officer does when first arriving on the scene of a fire is to delegate responsibilities.
The way firefighters approach a fire depends on the officer’s ability to:
According to a 2007 article in “Firehouse”5, these actions are equivalent to “calling a play” in
football. If the fire officer calls the right play, all of the responding firefighters will know exactly
what they are to do, and chances of injury will be minimized.
Example 8.5 – Functional and divisional organization: The Allstate Insurance Company com-
bines functional and divisional organization structures by separating the company into three divi-
sions - Personal Property & Casualty, Business Insurance, and Financial (Life and Savings).
Within each of these divisions are functional departments such as Human Resources, Finance,
Underwriting, etc. The Sales and Claims departments are company-wide departments, since all
Allstate sales agents sell all three kinds of insurance, and claims representatives can handle any
type of claim.
2
Design Week, “The one stop creative shop” September 20, 2007, pg. 22.
3
Filisko, G.M., “Looking out for shareholders.” National Real Estate Investor. Aug. 2007, Issue 8, pg. 40
4
Business Wire. “Friendly Ice Cream Corporation reports second quarter 2005 results.” August 4, 2005. Online at
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050804/45877.html.
5
Emery, Mark. “The ten commandments of intelligent and safe fireground operations.” Firehouse. Aug. 2007, Vol. 32, Iss. 8, pg. 72.
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
Example 8.6 – Matrix structure: Phillips, a large Dutch electrical company, has had a matrix
structure from the end of World War II, organized on both national lines and product divisions.
For example, the head of a washing machine division in Italy might report to both the head of
Philips in Italy as well as a washing machine executive in the Netherlands. Recently, however,
the company began modifying its matrix structure to improve accountability within the organiza-
tion. Under the slogan “One Phillips”, the company is gradually encouraging employees to col-
laborate with people outside of their divisions, and to move around in their careers, rather than
staying in one geographical location or with one product.6
Example 8.7 – Network organization: Jay Galbraith has coined the term “The Front-Back Or-
ganization” to refer to companies which are structured one way near customers, and another way
near operations. For example, The Gap organizes its stores geographically, giving individual
store managers a fair amount of autonomy in operations. However, the manufacturing operations,
research and design, accounting, and other corporate departments are organized functionally,
making them more efficient. The “go-between” is the Marketing Department, which is charged
with taking information from the stores and making sure it gets to the corporate departments, and
vice-versa.7
Example 8.8 - Standardization: According to the telecom glossary the International Standards
Organization (ISO) is “An organization established to promote the development of standards to
facilitate the international exchange of goods and services, and to develop mutual cooperation in
areas of intellectual, scientific, technological, and economic activity.” Most large global high-
tech companies proudly display banners stating that they are “ISO XXXXX certified.” In 2009,
ISO will publish an International Standard for social responsibility.8 If a company chooses to fol-
low ISO 26000, it will be one more way for it to coordinate the activities of its employees with
regard to social responsibility around the world.
SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES
Please see the following materials in the Asset Gallery on the text website.
CHAPTER VIDEO
Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, says that his desire is to create a community, to build a third place
between home and work to provide a human conection. Starbucks, which began over 40 years ago with a
single store in Seattle, has grown to over 17,000 stores around the globe. In 2000, Schultz stepped down
as CEO to focus on expansion.
Starting with the recession in 2007, it all came crashing down including reductions in stores and employ-
ees. In response to worries that Starbucks might go under, Schultz returned to the CEO role in 2008 and
closed hundreds of stores to reduce costs. He was under pressure to reduce health insurance for employ-
6
The Economist. “The matrix master. January 21, 2006.
7
Galbraith, Jay. Designing Organizations: An Executive Briefing on Strategy, Structure, and Process. Jossey-Bass, 1995.
8
Parkinson, Alex. “ISO takes steps to standardize social responsibility.” The Accountant. Oct. 31, 2006, pg. 7.
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
ees. Starbucks was a pioneer in providing insurance benefits to its employees. He remembered how as a
child, his father was injured on a job which had a major impact on his family due to a lack of insurance.
He also tackled concerns such as why the breakfast food was making the stores smell like burned cheese
and why partners were hidden behind espresso machines.
Schultz says there is now a renewed focus on coffee, the product that put Starbucks on the map.
Every day in the tasting room in the Seattle headquarters the tasting team “tests” dozens of batch-
es of coffee from around the world. Starbucks is now steaming ahead in a more controlled
growth mode these days by installing new coffee brewing systems in their stores which Schultz
says brew the perfect cup of coffee and they by releasing new products including tea, nutrition
bars, etc. Schultz remains a “man on a mission” in which coffee is just the beginning. He pro-
claims that Starbucks is in the people business of serving coffee.
SELF-ASSESSMENTS
• Identify Your Preferred Organizational Structure
Expanded PowerPoint Slides include most Basic PowerPoint slides, along with additional material that
can be used to expand the lecture.
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
EXPANDED POWERPOINT
EXPANDED POWERPOINT EXPANDED POWERPOINT
SLIDE 8
SLIDE 7 SLIDE 9
Integration
Differentiation Authority in Organizations: defn.
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
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Chapter 08 - Organization Structure
EXPANDED POWERPOINT
SLIDE 40
VIDEO: STARBUCKS
8-30
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
regularly curved outline from north to south, looking like the segment
of an immense circle.
AN UNPLEASANT
As Ambinàny, the Tanàla[28] chief, whose village we RIDE
were bound for, did not make his appearance, we
went off in the afternoon to another village, Iòlomàka, about three or
four miles away to the south-east. It was a cold unpleasant ride in
the drizzling rain. We reached the village, which is situated on a bare
hill, in an hour and a quarter, and with some difficulty found a
tolerably level place on which to pitch the tent, but everything was
wet. The rain came down faster than ever, and began to come
through the canvas in some places. During the afternoon we in our
tent formed for the villagers a free, and evidently popular, exhibition,
which might have been entitled, “The Travelling Foreigners in their
Tent.” We and our belongings, and our most trivial actions, were the
subject of intensest interest to the people. They came peeping in
and, uninvited, took their seats to gaze. I suspect they thought we
travelled in a style of Oriental magnificence, for my companion’s
gorgeous striped rug evidently struck them as being the ne plus ultra
of earthly grandeur. But we did not look upon ourselves this evening
quite in that light; for the slightly higher ground on two sides of the
tent led the water into the structure, and there was soon a
respectable-sized pool on my friend’s side of the tent, above which
the boxes had to be raised by stones and tent-hammers; while the
drip upon our beds raised the probability that we might be able to
take our baths in the morning before getting up. It was our dampest
experience hitherto of tent life.
The following evening found us at Ivòhitròsa, after one of the most
difficult and fatiguing journeys we had ever taken in Madagascar. It
was quite dark when we arrived here, wet, weary, muddy and
hungry, having eaten no food since the morning.
But to begin at the beginning. Bed was so much the INTERESTED
most comfortable place, with a wet tent, a small pond PUBLIC
at one end of it, and a mass of mud at the other, that we did not turn
out so early or so willingly as usual, especially as there was a thick
mist and heavy drizzle, as there had been all night. The general
public outside, however, evidently thought it high time the exhibition
opened for a morning performance; and so, without our intending it,
there was a performance, which, if there had been a daily paper at
Iòlomàka, might have been described as consisting of five acts or
scenes, as follows:—Scene first: Distinguished foreigners are seen
lying in bed, so comfortably tucked up that they feel most unwilling to
get out on to the wet and muddy floor. Curtains only half drawn (by
an eager public) during this act. Scene second: Somewhat of a
misnomer, as D. F. were, by the exercise of some ingenuity, not seen
during the operations of bathing and washing. Scene third: D. F.
seen by admiring public—who again admitted themselves—in the
act of brushing their hair and performing their toilet. Scene fourth: D.
F. seen at their breakfast; the variety of their food, dishes, plates,
etc., a subject of mute amazement. Scene fifth and last: D. F. seen
rapidly packing up all their property for their approaching departure.
N.B.—Probably their last appearance on this stage. We packed up in
the heavy drizzle, and fortunately, just as we were about to start,
three or four Tanàla came up and agreed to be our guides. We had
to wait until they had their rice, but at last we got away, soon after
ten o’clock, rather too late as it turned out.
Our way for more than two hours was through the outskirts of the
forest: a succession of low hills partially covered with wood, and
divided from each other by swampy valleys. In these we had two or
three times to cross deepish streams by bridges of a single round
pole, a foot or two under water, a ticklish proceeding, which all our
luggage bearers did not accomplish successfully. After crossing a
stream by the primitive bridge of a tree which had fallen half over the
water, we entered the real forest, our general direction being to the
south-east.
And now for an hour and a half we had to pass through dense
forest by a narrow footpath, where no filanjàna (palanquin) could be
carried (at least with its owner seated on it). Up and down, down and
up, stooping under fallen trees, or climbing over them, soon getting
wet through with the dripping leaves on either hand, and the mud
and water underfoot—we had little time to observe anything around
us, lest a tree root or a slippery place should trip us up. At two-fifteen
we came to an open clearing, and thought our difficulties were over,
but presently we plunged into denser forest than ever, and up and
down rougher paths. Notwithstanding the danger of looking about, it
was impossible to avoid admiring the luxuriance of the vegetation.
Many of the trees were enormously high, and so buttressed round
their trunks that they were of great girth at the ground. The tree-ferns
seemed especially large, with an unusual number of fronds; and the
creeper bamboo festooned the large trees with its delicate pinnate
leaves.
It soon became evident that we were descending, A DEEP GORGE
and that pretty rapidly. For a considerable distance we
had a stream on our left hand, which roared and foamed over a
succession of rapids, going to the south-east; and every now and
then we caught glimpses of the opening in the woods made by the
stream, presenting lovely bits of forest scenery in real tropical
luxuriance. The sun shone out for a few minutes, but presently it
clouded over, and heavy rain came on. The increasing roar of waters
told of an unusually large fall, and in a few minutes we came down
an opening where we could see the greater part of it, a large body of
water rushing down a smooth slope of rock about a hundred feet
deep, and at an angle of forty-five degrees. Three or four times we
had to cross the stream, on rocks in and out of the water, with a
powerful current sweeping around and over them. We found after a
while that we had come down to the side of a deep gorge in the hills
which rose hundreds of feet on each side of it, and down which the
stream descended rapidly by a series of grand cascades to the lower
and more open country which we could see at intervals through
openings in the woods.
At half-past four we emerged from the forest and came down by a
steep slippery path through bush and jungle. And now there opened
before us one of the grandest scenes that can be imagined. The
valley, down which we had come, opened out into a tremendous
hollow or bay, three or four miles across, and more than twice as
long, running into the higher level of the country from which we had
descended. The hills, or, rather, edges of the upper plateau, rise
steeply all round this great bay, covered with wood to their summits,
which are from two thousand to three thousand feet above the lower
country. Between these bold headlands we could count four or five
waterfalls, two of them falling in a long riband of foam several
hundred feet down perpendicular faces of rock. Between the opening
points of this great valley, three or four miles apart, could be seen a
comparatively level undulating country, with patches of wood and the
windings of the river Màtitànana. On a green hill to the north side of
the valley was a group of houses, which we were glad to hear was
Ivòhitròsa, our destination. This hill we found was seven hundred
feet above the stream at its foot, but it looked small compared with
the towering heights around it. At last we reached the bottom of the
valley, crossed the stream, and presently commenced the steep
ascent to the village. It was quite dark before we reached it, muddy,
wet and tired out; we had been eight hours on the way, and five and
a half on foot over extremely rough and fatiguing paths. The native
chief and his people had overtaken us in the forest and went on first
to prepare a house for us.
We found that the best dwelling in the village was A STRIKING
ready, and a bright fire blazing on the hearth. It was PICTURE
with some difficulty that we got all our baggage arranged inside, for,
although the largest house available, it was rather smaller than our
tent, and nearly a quarter of it was occupied by the hearth and the
space around it. At one side of the fire were sitting four young
women, the daughters of the chief. A glance at these young ladies
showed us that we had come into the territory of a tribe different from
any we had yet seen. They were lightly clothed in a fine mat
wrapped round their waists, but were highly ornamented on their
heads, necks, and arms. A fillet of small white beads, an inch or so
wide, was round their heads, fastened by a circular metal plate on
their foreheads. From their necks hung several necklaces of long
oval white beads and smaller red ones. On their wrists they had
silver rings, and a sort of broad bracelet of small black, white, and
red beads; and on every finger and on each thumb were rings of
brass wire. In the glancing firelight they certainly made a striking
picture of barbaric ornamentations; and notwithstanding their dark
skins and numerous odd little tails of hair, some of them were comely
enough. We had soon to ask them to retire in order to stow away our
packages and get some tea ready. The house was raised a foot or
so from the ground, the inside lined with mats, and so was a
pleasant change from our damp lodgings of the previous evening.
Next morning, on opening our window, we had RICE-HOUSES
before us, two or three miles across the great basin or
valley, three waterfalls, one descending in a long white line and
almost lost in spray before it reaches the bottom. The sunlight
revealed all the beauties of the scene around us, and made us long
for the power to transfer to canvas or paper its chief outlines. Were
such a neighbourhood as this in an accessible part of any European
country, it would rapidly become famous for its scenery. We found
the village of Ivòhitròsa to consist of twelve houses only, enclosed
within a ròva of pointed stakes; but besides these are several rice-
houses or tràno àmbo (“high houses”) mounted on posts five or six
feet above the ground, each post having a circular wooden ring just
under the flooring rafters, and projecting eight or nine inches, so as
to prevent the rats ascending and helping themselves to rice. I
sincerely wished last night that the dwelling-houses had a similar
arrangement, for the rats had a most jovial night of it in our lodgings,
being doubtless astonished at the number and variety of the
packages just arrived. The house we are in, as well as others in the
village, has carved horns at the gables, not the crossed straight
timbers so called in Hova houses, but curved like bullocks’ horns.
The people appear to have no slaves here, for the daughters of the
chief, in all their ornaments, are pounding rice, four at one mortar.
At this part of the island the high interior plateau seems to
descend by one great step to the coast plains, and not by two, as it
does farther north; for our aneroid told us that we came down
twenty-five hundred feet yesterday, and that the stream at the foot of
this hill is only five hundred or six hundred feet above sea-level. And
the two lines of forest one crosses farther on are here united into
one.
The men and many of the women wear a rather high round skull-
cap made of fine plait; the women wear little except a mat sewn
together at the ends, so as to form a kind of sack, and fastened by a
cord round the waist, and only occasionally pulled up high enough to
cover the bosom. Those who are nursing infants have also a small
figured mat about eighteen inches square on their backs and
suspended by a cord from the neck; this is called lòndo, and is used
to protect the child from the sun or rain, as it lies in a fold of the mat
above the girdle. Some of the men wear a mat as a làmba, and only
a few have làmbas of coarse rofìa or hemp cloth. The people here
blacken their teeth with a root, which gives them an unpleasant
appearance as they open their mouths; not all the teeth, however,
are thus disfigured, but chiefly those at the back, leaving the front
ones white; in some cases the lower teeth are alternately black and
white.
The morning of one of our four days at Ivòhitròsa was employed in
trying to get a good view of the largest of the waterfalls which pour
down into the large valley already mentioned. Mounting a spur of the
main hills, we had a good view of this chief fall up a deep gorge to
the south, and so opening into the main valley as not to be visible
from the village. This is certainly a most magnificent fall of water. The
valley ends in a semicircular wall of rock crowned by forest, and over
this pours at one leap the river Màtitànana. Knowing the heights of
some of the neighbouring hills, we judged that the fall could not be
less than from five hundred to six hundred feet in depth, and from
the foot rises a continual cloud of spray, like smoke, with a roar
which reverberates up the rocky sides of the valley; even from two or
three miles’ distance, which was as near as we could get, it was a
very grand sight.
While on this little excursion we had a feast of MALAGASY
another kind. On our way home we came across a RASPBERRIES
large cluster of bushes full of wild raspberries. This fruit is common
on the borders of the forest, but we never before saw it in such
quantities, or of so large a size, or of so sweet a taste. The Malagasy
raspberry is a beautiful scarlet fruit, larger than the European kind;
and while perhaps not quite equal in flavour to those grown in
England, is by no means to be despised; and we were able on that
day to enjoy it to our heart’s content.
A Group of Tanàla Girls in Full Dress
Tanàla Girls Singing and Clapping Hands
IVÒHITRÒSA
O
UR Sunday at Ivòhitròsa was such a novel and interesting
one that I shall depart for once from my rule of omitting in
these chapters mention of our religious work. It was a wet
morning, so that it was after eleven o’clock before the rain ceased
and we could call the people together. A good many had come up
from the country round on the previous day to see us, and we
collected them on a long and pretty level piece of rock which forms
one side of the little square around which the houses are built. When
all had assembled, there must have been nearly three hundred
present, including our own men, who grouped themselves near us. It
was certainly the strangest congregation we had ever addressed, for
the men had their weapons, while the women looked very
heathenish. Some few had put some slight covering over the upper
part of their bodies, but most were just as they ordinarily appeared,
some with hair and necks dripping with castor oil, and with their
conspicuous bead ornaments on head, neck, and arms. One could
not but feel deeply moved to see these poor ignorant folks, the great
majority of them joining for the first time in Christian worship, and
hearing for the first time the news of salvation. And remembering our
own ignorance of much of their language, the utter strangeness of
the message we brought, and the darkness of their minds, we could
not but feel how little we could in one brief service do to quicken their
apprehension of things spiritual and eternal. We had some of our
most hearty lively hymns and tunes, our men assisting us well in the
singing; after Mr Street had spoken to the people from a part of the
Sermon on the Mount, I also addressed them, trying in as simple a
manner as was possible to tell them what we had come for, what that
“glad tidings” was which we taught them. On account of the rain,
work in the afternoon had to be confined to what could be done in
our tent, which was crammed full, and in our house.[29]
That there was great need for enlightenment may be seen from
what we heard from the people themselves—viz. that there are (or
were) eight unlucky days in every month, and that children born on
those days were killed by their being held with their faces immersed
in water in the winnowing-fan. So that on an average, more than a
quarter of the children born were destroyed! The Tanàla names for
the months are all different from those used in Imèrina; they have no
names for the weekdays, and indeed no division of time by sevens,
but the days throughout each month (lunar) are known by twelve
names, some applied to two days and others to three days
consecutively, and these day names are nearly all identical with the
Hova names for the months. Each of the days throughout the month
has its fàdy, or food which must not be eaten when travelling on that
day.
After our four days’ stay at Ivòhitròsa, we managed to get on our
way towards the coast, not, however, without having considerable
difficulty with our bearers, who were afraid of any new and hitherto
untried route, for we were the first Europeans to travel in this
direction. By tact and firmness we managed to secure our point; and
on the Thursday afternoon we came down to the river Màtitànana,
which is at this point a very fine broad stream, with a rapid and deep
current. It flows here through a nearly straight valley for four or five
miles in a southerly direction, with low bamboo-covered hills on
either side, and its channel much broken by rocky islands. To cross
this stream, about a hundred yards wide at this place, no canoes
were available, but there was a bamboo raft called a zàhitra.
Of all the rude, primitive and ramshackle THE ZÀHITRA
contrivances ever invented for water carriage,
commend me to a zàhitra. This one consisted of about thirty or forty
pieces of bamboo, from ten to twelve feet long, lashed together by
bands of some tough creeper or vàhy, which said bamboos were
constantly slipping out of their places and needed trimming at every
trip, and the fastenings had to be refixed. The zàhitra would take
only two boxes and one man at a trip, besides the captain of the raft,
and when loaded was from a third to a half of it under water. The
civilisation of the people about here seemed to have not yet
produced a paddle; a split bamboo supplied (very imperfectly) the
place of one. Owing to the strong current and the feeble navigating
appliances available, not more than about four trips over and back
again could be made in an hour. And so there on the bank we sat
from a little after two o’clock until nearly six, watching the ferrying
over of our baggage, and then of our bearers. At sunset a good
number of our men were still on the wrong side of the water, and so,
as there was no possibility of getting them all over that day, and
neither Mr S. nor I relished the prospect of a voyage on a zàhitra in
the dark, we crossed at a little after sunset. We made a safe
passage, but got considerably wet during its progress; Mr S. took an
involuntary foot-bath, and I a sitz-bath. The rest of our men returned
to a village overlooking the river, while we went a little way up the
woods and, finding a level spot, pitched the tent there, our bearers
who had crossed occupying two or three woodcutters’ huts which
were fortunately close at hand.
During the three or four hours’ waiting on the river A VILLAGE BELLE
bank we had a good opportunity of observing the
people from the village just above, who came down to watch our
passage over the water. Amongst them was a girl whose
appearance was so striking that I must attempt a description of her.
She was a comely lassie, although a dark-skinned one, and was so
ornamented as to be conspicuous among her companions even at
some distance. Round her head she had the same fillet of white
beads with a metal plate in the front which we had observed at
Ivòhitròsa, but from it depended a row of small beads like drops. On
each side of her temples hung a long ornament of hair and beads
reaching below her chin, several beads hung from her ears, and a
number of white and oblong beads were worked into her hair at the
back. Round her neck she had six strings of large beads, and
another passing over one shoulder and under the arm. On each wrist
were three or four silver bracelets, while on every finger and thumb
were several coils of brass wire. Her clothing was a piece of bark
cloth fastened just above the hips, over a skirt of fine mat, and on
each toe was a brass ring. Thus “from top to toe” she was got up
regardless of expense; she was probably the daughter of the chief;
anyhow, she was evidently the village belle, and seemed well aware
of the fact.
Tanàla Spearmen
Note the wooden shields covered with bullock’s hide, and
the charm on a man’s breast. They are very expert
spearmen
Our route towards the sea was now over a comparatively level
country, but not without many steep ascents and descents, and
generally following the valley of the Màtitànana. As I took with me a