Case Study: In Chapter 12, you learned about the star model of organization desi

Question

Case Study:

In Chapter 12, you learned about the star model of organization design.

In this exercise you will practice applying those concepts to a fictional organization.

ProRunnerGear.com is an online and specialty retailer of high-end running shoes, apparel, and accessories for the professional runner, competitive runners (e.g., high school, college track), and advanced recreational runners. The company aims to be the first choice for the running athlete by offering a wide variety of innovative products to meet their customers’ needs. They may not be the cheapest running store, but they offer exceptional customer service and stock products that cannot be found elsewhere. They have a rapid product delivery timeframe and offer an easy and flexible return policy. Competitors include other online retailers, specialty running stores, and “big box” retailers for some products.

1.      Create alternative organizational charts for ProRunnerGear.com based on one of the following structure types (note that you will need to make assumptions about the size or location of the organization as you do this):

a.      Functional structure

b.      Geographic structure

c.      Customer structure

d.      Matrix structure

2.      Identify the advantages and disadvantages of the structure you created.

3.      How might the different departments you created interact with one another? What lateral capabilities might be needed to help these groups connect and share information? Explain which of these lateral capabilities you would incorporate into your design and why:

a.      Networks

b.      Lateral processes

c.      Teams

d.      Integrative roles

4.      Imagine that ProRunnerGear.com decided to transition to a different structure type. What do you think would be the greatest challenge for them in doing so?

In an essay, using 6th Edition APA format, respond to the requirements

TEXT BOOK : Anderson, D. (2014). Organization Development: The process of leading organizational change. 3rd Ed. Sage ISBN 978-1-4522-9157-4

Explanation / Answer

Case study of ProRunnerGear.com:

ProRunnerGear.com is an online and specialty retailer of high-end running shoes, apparel, and accessories for the professional runner, competitive runners (e.g., high school, college track), and advanced recreational runners. The company aims to be the first choice for the running athlete by offering a wide variety of innovative products to meet their customers’ needs. They may not be the cheapest running store, but they offer exceptional customer service and stock products that cannot be found elsewhere. They have a rapid product delivery timeframe and offer an easy and flexible return policy. Competitors include other online retailers, specialty running stores, and “big box” retailers for some products.

1.Now Geographic structure :

Mr. Jones R Chairman & CEO

Johnson

VP American region

Mr. Gates

VP EU Region

Brij Patel

VP Asia Region

Marketing, Finance, Sales/Manufacturing

Marketing, Finance, Sales/Manufacturing

Marketing, Finance, Sales/Manufacturing

2. Advantages and disadvantages of the above Geographic structure:

The above graphic structure clearly indicates who is who. Hence let us see their merits and demerits.

Merits:

Communication and Collaboration:

In a geographical organizational structure, Communication between representatives of the different business functions is easy and personal. Employees in a geographical structure often work side by side with personnel from various departments instead of establishing working relationships with people on the other side of the world through email and telephone. Clubbing employees this way encourages the formation of strong, collaborative teams that work well together, engage in planning and decision-making together. They understand each other's personalities and work styles. An added advantage of this close working proximity is the ability of the team to adapt quickly to changes in divisional goals and processes, and to bring everyone on board with new strategic initiatives.

Local Managers:

Hiring local management offers companies the advantage of having leaders who are completely familiar with the local business environment, culture, and legal climate. Local marketing managers will be having good understanding on what drives local purchase behavior. Local staffing managers understand the management practices that are most effective in the region and local accounting managers understand the tax structure and financial reporting requirements of the region. Decision-making can be enhanced by relying on the knowledge and experience of local talent. Placing a mix of local and home office leaders has the advantage of melding local culture with company culture, ensuring that the company is sufficiently adaptable to local conditions, while still being true to its core business methodologies.

Geographical Focus:

Customer service quality can be enhanced by implementing a geographical structure. Handling customer issues will be much more efficient for Customer support representatives. Customers can feel more at ease when speaking with local representatives who fully understand their language beside their idiomatic expressions. For example, in a functional structure, a customer support representative in India might speak with a customer from England, then call an account manager in Germany to obtain the information to help the customer. In a geographical structure, the support representative in India would speak with a customer from India, then ask an account representative down the hall for the needed information. Product attributes can be altered to suit local tastes. Sales practices can stay within culturally acceptable boundaries and pricing schemes can fit local trends.

Demerits:

When organization commits to specialized sales forces allocated by geography, Sales representatives have a hard time developing a product or market specialization. Territory sizing can be a challenge, resulting in uneven revenue/opportunity across the geographies. Coordination will be required when more sales reps have the same geography/accounts.

Some customers move around the world, whose data might get duplicated like when a Chinese person, visiting US may give his details to the local store while the Chinese branch have his details entered. There is a greater need for coordination among all branch team mates to meet in order to achieve the organizational goals.

3. In this competitive world, the different departments of the same organization can interact with one another through Telephone, e-mails and other technology in order to accomplish the organizational goals. The internet fundamentally shapes our experiences of the everyday allowing us to communicate with each other virtually or orally.

And the Integrative roles would be my choice to incorporate into the above design because Executive management integrates all projects with the corporate strategic plan. They determine how the organization's portfolio of projects supports the overall business strategies of the organization.

And the greatest challenge for them to accomplish would be, Everyone is producing contents these days while quality and attractive design might be a need but still under the budget any indi

Mr. Jones R Chairman & CEO

Johnson

VP American region

Mr. Gates

VP EU Region

Brij Patel

VP Asia Region

Marketing, Finance, Sales/Manufacturing

Marketing, Finance, Sales/Manufacturing

Marketing, Finance, Sales/Manufacturing

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