1. What are typical integration problems?
Different backgrounds and interests of people in different departments
Minimal communication between groups
Difference among groups in priority of roles and goals
2. What are common mechanisms to help organizations with integration?
Provide for integrator or liaison roles
Require interaction across groups
Assign joint responsibilities for common goals
Go “up” the chain of command
Create task forces, teams, or committees
Improve efficiency and access of information systems
Hold direct meetings
3. What is relationship between a company’s most important sources of revenue and that company’s org structure?
4. What are organizational systems?
Processes that attempt to coordinate those divisions of work
Recruiting, information processing, performance appraisal, purchasing, communications, production, accounting, financial reporting, etc. etc.
5. What can you learn about an organization by looking at its org chart?
Reflects the way in which work in an organization is divided
The org chart does not necessarily reflect actual reporting or decision-making relationships in an organization.
6. What is span of control? 控制跨度
The number of people who report to a manager
The larger the span of control, the flatter the organization
The smaller the span of control, the taller the organization (hierarchy)
Leadership style affects span of control
Low orientation to hierarchy—delegate, empower 委托,授权
Strong orientation to hierarchy—centralize, instruct 集中,指示
7. What is the definition of all of the different org structures we have studied?
Functional Structure: Divides work by type and skills needed to perform clusters of tasks
For example, marketing, finance, operations, accounting, production, sales, r&d, etc.
Product Structure: Groups jobs associated with specific products under the direction of “product managers”
Customer Structure: Departmentalization by customer
Geographic Structure: Departmentalization and division by location or geography
Divisional Structure: Organized by “business” or “SBU” (Strategic Business Unit) with responsibility for entire business from start to finish yet still some shared resources among SBU’s.
Matrix Structure: Organized with two or more lines of authority: One line is usually functional and the other line may be project, product, geography, customer, etc.
Amorphous Structure: Grows on its own accord. Each group develops in its own way with its own resources and needs.
Hybrid Structure: Combinations of any of the previously described structures -- the most common being functional/product and geographic/customer hybrids
8. What were the root causes of Chattanooga Ice Cream’s problems?
9. What is informal org structure?
10. What is a deterministic model and how useful is it?
Proper structure determined by age and size of company
Must design an organization that can adapt over time!
11. What are advantages and disadvantages of each of the different org structures?
12. What is differentiation? How is it related to org design?
Differentiation is referred to as “division of labor.” Work is broken down into component pieces and assigned to specialists in various parts of the organization.
13. What is informal structure?
14. What were Mr. Sakai’s ultimate goals for his company, management philosophy, and methods of achieving these goals?
Splitting up, develop employment,