ORGANISATIONAL DESIGN & THE TRANSFORMATION OF WORK

Organisational Design & the Transformation of Work

Organisational Design & the Transformation of Work

(1) The major manufacturers of footwear, such as the International and Brown realized a line of women's shoes and are able to drop below the prices charged by the Shoe Corporation of Illinois, primarily because the strategy of large firms to produce a large number shoes "no changes", like the neckline and moccasins. They do not try to change styles as fast as the smaller competitors, and so, without constant changes in production processes and in preparing the collections for the shows, they can keep costs substantially lower.

Charles F. Allison, the chairman of the Shoe Corporation of Illinois, believes the only way to be competitive for a small independent company, is to change styles frequently, seizing the benefits of the flexibility of a small organization to create a design that pleases customers. Thus, the application can be created, and the price set high enough to make a profit. Allison, among others, seems to have an artistic talent as a designer and a history of judgments in approving apt models over the years have shown their ability to achieve high sales volumes.

Explanation

Matrix Structure

A good organisation structure is one with the optimal number of layers of leadership, which demonstrably add value to the work of the others. This includes the design and delivery of mission and strategy. It provides space and challenge for individuals to achieve, continue to learn, grow and enjoy their work and be duly rewarded for their performance. (Robbins, S.F., Judge, T.A. 2007, 66-78)

The theory is clear. The problem for managers is how to design it in practice. How many vertebrae should there be in this spine of accountability? What are the key functions?

How are they identified? What is the impact of removing a function from this spine? What impact will this have on the development and motivation of the incumbents?

Surprisingly, at the beginning of the 21st century this is still an area of guesswork and fashion in most organisations. Shoe corporation of illinois has a matrix ortganizational structure. In a matrix organisational structure, people have to report to two bosses, one being the head of the department in which they are working, and the other being the leader or coordinator of the project on which they are working.

A matrix structure of organisation helps the organisation run smoothly according to the projects that have to be completed by the employees at a given point of time. It starts from the general manager of the company at the top, and then goes down to the heads of the production, research and development and marketing departments, besides all the heads of the other departments in the organisation. (Robbins, S.F., Judge, T.A. 2007, 66-78)

The activities of the staff working on each project are effectively coordinated by all the levels of management. This is done to ensure that the functions of a specific department are clearly defined to every member working in ...