MS-10

Management Programme

ASSIGNMENT
FIRST SEMESTER
2010

MS-10: Organizational design, development and Change

School of Management Studies

INDIRA GANDHI NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY
MAIDAN GARHI, NEW DELHI-110 068

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 ASSIGNMENT

Course Code : MS-10

Course Title : Organizational design, development and
change
Assignment Code : MS-10/SEM-I/2010
Coverage : All Blocks

Note: Please attempt all the questions and send it to the Coordinator of
the study
center you are attached with

1) Discuss the meaning and purpose of the organizations design.

Describe the factors affecting organization design with the help of the
examples from the organizations you are familiar with. Briefly describe
the organization you are referring to.

Ans: Organization design or architecture of an organization as a

metaphor provides the framework through which an organization aims
to realize its core qualities as specified in its vision statement. It
provides the infrastructure into which business processes are deployed
and ensures that the organization's core qualities are realized across
the business processes deployed within the organization. In this way
organizations aim to consistently realize their core qualities across the
services they offer to their clients.
Effective organizational designs use functional structures, when the
organization is small, geographically centralized, and provides few
goods and services.
When the organization experiences bottlenecks in decision making
and difficulties in coordination, it has outgrown its functional
structure. Use a divisional structure when the organization is relatively
large, geographically dispersed, and/or produces wide range of
goods/services. Use lateral relations to offset coordination problems in
functional and divisional structures.
Although many things can affect the choice of an appropriate structure
for an organization, the following five factors are the most common:
size, life cycle, strategy, environment, and technology.

Organization design of apple computers:

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A worldwide product structure implements strategy that emphasize
global products each product division assumes responsibility to
produce and sell its products or services though out the world
A worldwide geographic structure implements a multinational or
regional strategy country-level divisions separate divisions for large
market countries
Apple’s geographic structure hybrids and worldwide matrix structure
support strategies that include local adaptation and concern for
globalization. Mix geographic units with product or function units
managers report to multiple supervisors conflict, confusion, loss of
accountability amplified by distance, time, culture, language.
The transnational network structure implements the transnational
strategy combines functional, product, and geographic subunits in
networks has no symmetry or balance in its structural form resources,
people, and ideas flow in all directions nodes or centers in the network
coordinate product, functional, and geographic information
Network structures have dispersed subunits specialized operations
interdependent relationships. Key characteristics of transnational
organizations multidimensional perspectives distributed,
interdependent capabilities flexible integrative processes
Multidimensional perspectives national subsidiary management
senses needs of local customers and host governments global business
management tracks competitors and coordinates response functional
management concentrates knowledge and facilitates transfer among
organizational units
Distributed, interdependent capabilities centralize activities for which
global scale or centralized knowledge is important involve relevant
national units in developing technology, products, marketing strategy
interdependence of worldwide units is high – the integrated network
Flexible integrative processes centralization formalization
socialization
Example product links control and coordination systems top managers
must design organizational systems to control and coordinate the

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activities of their subunits. Basic functions of control measure or
monitor the performances of subunits provide feedback to subunit
managers regarding the effectiveness of their units coordination
systems provide information flows among subsidiaries link the
organization horizontally control systems output bureaucratic decision
making cultural.

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2) Distinguish between the functional organization and the
product organization. Describe the structure of your own
organization or any organization you are familiar with,
Explain how this meets the challenges of the new environment.
Briefly describe the organization you are referring to.

Ans: Organizational structure depends on the product to be developed.

Wheelwright and Clark define a continuum of organizational
structures between two extremes, functional organizations and project
organizations. Functional organizations are organized according to
technological disciplines. Senior functional managers are responsible
for allocating resources. The responsibility for the total product is not
allocated to a single person. Coordination occurs through rules and
procedures, detailed specifications, shared traditions among engineers
and meetings (ad hoc and structured). Products that need a high level
of specialized knowledge require a functionally organized structure.
A functional structure is the bedrock of horizontal differentiation. It
is the first “structure” that organizations adapt as they grow. a
functional organization is best suited as a producer of standardized
goods and services at large volume and low cost. Coordination and
specialization of tasks are centralized in a functional structure, which
makes producing a limited amount of products or services efficient
and predictable. Moreover, efficiencies can further be realized as
functional organizations integrate their activities vertically so that
products are sold and distributed quickly and at low cost. For instance,
a small business could start making the components it requires for
production of its products instead of procuring it from an external
organization. But not only beneficial for organization but also for
employees faiths.

A product structure is a divisional structure in which products are

grouped into separate divisions, according to their similarities or

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differences. There are three different types of product structures seen
in organizations.

Marico is leading player in the Indian FMCG space. Marico product

and services in Hair care, Skin care and Healthy Food reach out to
more than 20 countries in the Middle East, Asian sub-continent,
Australia and USA. The company’s key management strategies are
built around differentiation and a way of thinking called ‘uncommon
sense’. These form the strongest pillar of growth in all walks of
Marico`s business-be it a line or a staff function, consumer centricity
or pioneer ship.

Management Structure:

Marico has flat organizational structure, with just five levels between
the Managing Director and the Shop floor operator. A few years back,
Marico had formed a system where in each division — such as nature
care for its brands like Parachute, and health care for Saffola and
Sweekar — was headed by a chief executive officer (CEO). The move
then was aimed at delivering better performance as each division
operated as a strategic business unit. This aim was achieved, said
sources, with the company reporting better performance over the
years. The move now to bring all marketing and sales aspects under
one roof is aimed at bringing in operational synergies.

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3) Explain different approaches to organizing and analyzing
work. Discuss the impact of information technology in
organizing work with suitable examples from an organization
you are familiar with. Briefly describe the organization you are
referring to.

Ans: Effective organizers ground their work in theories based on

knowledge of issues, groups, and practices of those that came before
them. Successful organizing campaigns involve thought, planning and
reflection. Organizing efforts often fail because they are reactive,
because they lack thoughtful strategies, and/or because they employ
the wrong tactics. Most labor and community organizers develop
their skills, often with inadequate preparation, in the heat of particular
campaigns. How to develop organizing strategies and methods of
evaluating campaigns are skills that can be learned.
In the quest for change, corporate structures are becoming less pyramidal
and more participate. Traditional hierarchies are being displaced by
networked organizations. These structures require different planning
approaches.

Understanding work context and planning for it, not around it, means
listening much more closely to people who do the work.

"Abandoning the idea that filling a position implies occupying one single
place does not happen easily. Because people are accustomed to equating
status with an office of a certain location and size, they cling to this equation
even when it is not longer suitable. Over and over again, managers appoint
committees or engage consultants to do the impossible, namely, take the
company organization chart and translate it into an optimal office layout
with each person assigned to a single, appropriate location," Phillip J. Stone
and Robert Luchetti, "Your office Is Where You Are," Harvard Business

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Review, March - April 1985.

We know, for example that people working many hours a day creating and
analyzing need work settings that provide high visual and acoustical privacy
to protect against interruption; while settings for people primarily engaged in
tasks that don't require that level of concentration (e.g. some routing
processing operations) can be more open.

The solution is relatively simple for workers who spend most of their time
performing one predominant task. For them a single work setting designed
and planned to support their specific work context may be appropriate.
That's the traditional paradigm: one person/one setting.

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4) Explain what is organizational analysis and organizational
diagnosis. Describe the methods of organizational analysis and
their concern being followed in an organization you are
familiar with. Briefly describe the organization you are
referring to.
Ans: All OD programs have three basic components:
i) Diagnosis,
ii) action
iii) and program management
Diagnostic component represents a continuous collection of data
about the total system, its subunits and its culture. The development of
a strategy for systematic improvement demands examination of
present state of things. This analysis looks at two broad areas. One is a
diagnosis of the various subsystems that make up the total
organization. These subsystems may be natural “teams” such as top
management, the production department, or a research group; or they
may be levels such as top management, middle management or the
wok force.
The second area of diagnosis is organization processes that are
occurring. These include decision-making processes, communications
patterns and styles, relationships between interfacing groups,
management of conflict, setting of goals and planning methods.
National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), a well-known and
large public sector organisation in the power sector, had gone through
an elaborate exercise through an internal process of participation and
consultation of identifying a set of core values around which they
would like to build their culture to respond to the current environment.
This was called COMIT consisting of the following values:
C: Customer Focus
O: Organisational Pride
M: Mutual Respect and Trust
I: Initiative and Speed
T: Total Quality.
As they moved along, they also set up task forces to identify the
operating values, which will enable the organisation to actualize the
core values. However, it was felt that for the actualization of core
values, the organisation needs to prepare managers as champions and
facilitators and a series of development programs for senior
management were envisaged. At this stage, the author was invited as

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an external facilitator to work with their senior managers and also
some identified managers as champions who will specially focus on
strengthening the NTPC culture to prepare them for this role.
Also, the managers in all regions of NTPC have been identified to
participate in similar workshops so that they develop a values-based
leadership style, act as a role model and support others in aligning to
and practicing NTPC values. This paper gives the design, process and
outcome of this intervention being carried out in NTPC to support and
facilitate its process of building the desired culture and to prepare the
organization to meet the challenges of the current environment.
These programs were aimed at helping the participants to develop
clarity of their own values, the concept of values and value-related
processes, their own practices and the gaps between the two. The
programs also created the opportunity to examine the current practice
of COMIT, the alignment between individual and organizational
values and make action plans to strengthen the NTPC culture.

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5) Explain the process of change and Management of Resistance
with reference to an organization you are familiar with. Briefly
describe the organization you are referring to.
Ans: Change is one of the most popular and widely used terms in
corporate circles. It gets lot of lip service. Commonly held notions of
‘Change’ are hardly challenged. Such is the reverence for this word
that anyone who challenges it in public will be rebuked. Resistance to
change is the devil here. It reduces the efficiency of many a change
program and halts quiet few of them. Resistance is easy to address
when it shows up in full glare and very difficult to handle when it is in
dark. Change is inevitable and every organization that aspires to grow
continuously should adapt to changing environment and customer
needs.
Air India’s bloated debt and losses in excess of $1 billion (Rs4,630
crore) looming in the current fiscal year haven’t deterred at least 140
top global airline executives from throwing their hat into the ring for
the post of chief operating officer, or COO, at the national carrier.
The airline had advertised in September in The Economist magazine
and the Financial Times newspaper for a COO to work with chairman
and managing director (CMD) Arvind Jadhav to implement a three-
year turnaround plan.
Apart from stemming losses, recasting Rs16,000 crore debt and trying
to pay for much-needed planes to bolster an ageing fleet, the COO
will need to fight with entrenched unions opposed to plans for cost-
cutting. The loss expectation for this year matches the figure for last
fiscal.

Several COOs and vice-presidents from European, American,

Australian and Caribbean carriers are among those vying for the job,
which includes completing the integration of domestic carrier Indian
Airlines with Air India.

State-run Air India has been facing stiff resistance from employees
who are opposing cuts in salaries. Cost-cutting is a key condition of
the government rescue package.

It appears that all managerial skills are being utilized to enforce a

salary cut rather than revenue generation through professional
management or ICPA, in a notice issued to the Air India management
calling for a strike from 24 November.

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