Deck 4: Asection 4: Global Forces: How Is Canada Faring in the Global Village

Question 1

How has networking become a major trend regarding the changing nature of organizational design?

Answer 1

We have increasingly been observing organizations limiting themselves to fewer activities in which they have expertise and assigning specialists to handle all other functions. This is also associated with the notion of integrated or networked organizations. Through networking, organizations can engage in cooperative relationships with suppliers, distributors, or competitors. The aim is to improve their efficiency and flexibility in meeting new consumer needs. For example, a close relationship with a distributor might offer the supplier company more information about the changing needs of customers.

Question 2

In what way is the notion of formalization an important element of organizational structure and how has it been changing in many organizations?

Answer 2

The level of formalization in an organization refers to the degree to which rules, regulations, procedures, and the like govern how work is performed. In other words, formalization reflects the degree to which jobs within the organization are standardized. A high level of formalization means highly standardized work-that is, clear rules regarding how the work should be performed. Highly standardized work, or work that is very much rule-directed, suggests that there is little individual discretion in how that work can be performed. Workers know what is expected of them and how, exactly, they should be performing their jobs. In addition, the greater the degree of formalization, the less reliance there is on individual discretion. Essentially, what we have witnessed in many organizations is a shift from high formalization and standardization of work practices to less formality. Given the need to adapt to the rapidly changing external environment, organizations have found they must be willing to scrap the old way of doing things in favour of methods that better accommodate the changing demands of their environment.

Question 3

What are the main reasons that downsizings may fail?

Answer 3

There are at least three fundamental issues that have been repeatedly linked with the failure of downsizing. These issues reflect shortcomings in the planning for and execution of organizational downsizings: 1) Lack of strategic planning: The poor performance of downsizing has been associated with the tendency of downsizing programs to be hastily formulated and not linked with the organization's strategic plans. 2) Lack of concern for, and involvement with, employees: Many downsizings do not involve those who are affected in the planning stages. That is, those in charge of the downsizing do not expect to get objective feedback or advice from those who will potentially be terminated, and so many employees are cut off from the actual planning of the organizational downsizing.. 3) Careless removal of corporate memory: Downsizings can eliminate individuals who are a central part of the organization's knowledge base-the notion of corporate memory. While intangible, the cost of corporate memory loss to an organization can be significant. This can go beyond simply losing the expertise of a valued, experienced employee.

Question 4

What is a keiretsu and how is it an example of a virtual organization?

Question 5

How is the machine metaphor relevant to the management philosophy referred to as scientific management?

Question 6

An organization found that the task of processing a credit application was extremely slow and inefficient, taking anywhere from six days to two weeks to complete. After a credit request was received by phone it was recorded on a piece of paper. This paper was then passed along to credit checkers, pricers (who determined what interest rate to charge), and to many other individuals who performed single, compartmentalized tasks. Credit applications typically were bounced around to different areas before they were properly completed. How does could this process be re-engineered?