Organisation Structure and Effectiveness

Part1

What is the difference between a task force and a team? Between liaison role and integrating role? Which of these provides the greatest amount of horizontal coordination?

In essence team and task force are established on the basis of working on a distinct, defined task. Complexity is their main difference wherein task forces have tasks that are unique and with duration that is finite. After accomplishing a task, a task force will be disassembled while teams don’t. Liaison role is more tended on coordination of the diverse groups while integrating role is more particular with synergism where result is known to be greater than the sum of individual effects or capabilities of groups. As such, integrating role requires greater horizontal coordination because of the necessity to synergistically combine efforts of people and groups to achieve organizational goals.

Part2

What are some forces that influence environmental uncertainty? Which typically has the greatest impact on uncertainty – environmental complexity or environmental change? Why?

Organisational decisions are built upon quality, dependability and cost as the general influences on environmental uncertainty. For example, decisions whether to be locally responsive will depend on the resources and capability of the company to sustain and respond to local market requirements. With this, decentralization or centralization decisions will be based. Hence, environmental complexity impact uncertainty more than environmental change. This is because complexities often involves organizational structure and level of decision-making and always incorporate resources requirements.

Why do organizations become involved interorganizational relationships? Do these relationships affect an organization’s dependency? Performance?

Eiether competitive, legal or symbiotic, interorganizational relationships are converged into so that industries could influence its environment thus to achieve contingency. Such relationship will only negatively impact organizations when one becomes opportunistic while also self-limiting strategies to broaden resource-base or diversification. Because interorganizational relationships aimed at effectively managing uncertainty and ambiguity, performance could be affected. Safeguarding performance means balancing power influences toward the relationship through formal control and coordination.

Part3

The concept of business ecosystems implies that organizations are more interdependent than ever before. From personal experience, do you agree? Explain.

I agree because as functional processes increasingly become more diffused, the tendency is to embrace interdependence. Survival of businesses is the main driver. This is to say that opening up the supply chain is required because of vulnerabilities. Co-existence therefore poses advantages for each business that is why more and more business are recognizing, dealing and embracing the concept. A perfect example would be the supplier-manufacturer relationship.

Part4

Find three different consumer products, such as a shirt, a toy, and a shoe. Try to find out the following information for each product, as shown in the table. To find this information, use Web sites, articles on the company from various business newspapers and magazines, and the labels on the items. You could also try calling the company and talking with someone there.

Product

What country do materials come from?

Where is it manufactured or assembled?

Which country does the marketing and advertising?

In what different countries is the product sold?

1. Lacoste

Materials are from France while dyes for colouring are from Africa

Production are present on countries including Peru, Morocco, Indonesia, Romania, Italy and El Salvador

Lacoste is headquartered in Paris where brand management decisions came from like marketing and advertising

Polo shirts are sold in over 110 countries in America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa

2. Barbie dolls

Raw materials come from Taiwan and Japan

Assembly takes place in Philippines, Indonesia and China and design and final coat of paint come from United States

Mattel Inc. which is headquartered in El Segundo, California decides for marketing of Barbie dolls

In over 150 countries, Barbie dolls are sold which include

3. Nike

Nike sourced their raw materials from China, Japan and Paris

Manufacturing was in Indonesia, Vietnam and China

Most marketing decisions are carried out in its Oregon headquarters

Nike sells products to over 25, 000 retailers in the US and in 160 countries worldwide

What can you conclude about international products and organizations based on your analysis?

At the onset, I can tell that luxury commodities are commonly sourced and assembled in low-cost countries, mostly Asian countries. This is in fact cost reduction strategies of these companies. Production is also dispersed while critical decisions concerning the products basically come from the headquarters. Global standardization is also critical but there are companies that pursue multidomestic strategy like Nike. I can also tell that a strong brand tends for geographical expansion. Efforts to build capabilities originates from the headquarters as decision-making is its main responsibility. Strategizing is commonplace where globalisation of functions and/or processes is imperative. This is done because to create and stabilise global presence.

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