Organizational Forms II Flashcards Preview

Entrepreneur > Organizational Forms II > Flashcards

Flashcards in Organizational Forms II Deck (21)
Loading flashcards...
1
Q

Process organization

A
- Process = sequences of activities
Characteristics: 
- Market (aim at business-partner) 
- output (clearly defined output)
- business objective organization (Processes to achieve organizational goal)

–> differentiation and integration within functional structure leads to several challenges (e.g. communications between functions) –> hierarchy based on process

2
Q

Objective of process organizations

A
  • Reduction of process costs
  • Reduction of lead times
  • Increased flexibility
  • Improved delivery time
  • Reduction of costs associated with defects
  • Increasing customer satisfaction

–> Process organizations are based on the assumption that organizations can only persist if they can provide their customers with additional benefits.

3
Q

Principles of Process Organizations

A
  • Avoid unnecessary task differentiation: Low levels of integration efforts
  • Work is simplified and hierarchy is flattened by combining related tasks
  • Decentralization
  • Integrate all activities into process-teams
4
Q

Hierarchy of Processes

A
  1. Core processes (strategically important, focused on satisfaction of customer needs; differentiate organization from competition)
  2. Supporting processes (provide necessary resources for smoothly execution of core functions)
  3. Managing processes (efficient coordination for achievement of organizational objectives –> process interdependencies)
  4. Sub-processes (structuring processes of core, managing and supporting processes)
  5. Activities (individual tasks –> depending on importance of process organization may develop them within their boundaries or acquire them on external markets)

–> not all processes are equally important

5
Q

Business Process Management (BMP)

A
  • creation and reformation of processes within established organizations
  • reduction of interfaces
  • re-design of organizational structure based on processes
  • top-down approach
6
Q

Evaluating Process Organizations: Advantages

A

+ Process teams operate autonomously, reducing managerial duties
+ High levels of flexibility
+ Cost savings due to flat hierarchies
+ High levels of customer orientation, shorter “time to customers
+ Within process teams, higher levels of: Task identity, Task variability, Social interactions, Autonomy, Learning possibilities, Feedback (increase motivation)

7
Q

Evaluating Process Organizations: Disadvantages

A
  • different technical specialities work side by side due to flat hierarchy lateral transfer are more common that vertical promotions
  • break traditional unity of command principle
8
Q

Matrix organizations

A
  • Organizational design is simultaneously based on two criteria (e.g., functions and products, or functions and processes)
  • Structure can benefit from functional structures (specialization) and benefits from process orientation (strong coordination)
  • Employees are working in cross-functional and product-specific teams
  • High level of decentralization
9
Q

Teams as Basic Mechanisms for Differentiation & Integration

A
  • Flat hierarchy within teams
  • Team membership is not fixed (change teams)
  • structures are highly flexible
10
Q

Management of Matrix Org.: Functional vs. Product Team Management

A
  • conflicts are solved by mutual adjustments
  • Functional team management (managers are responsible for efficient tasks execution)
  • vs. product team management (horizontal integration of all functional tasks)
  • -> Both managers have equal rights The main task of matrix managers is to discuss and solve coordination problems
11
Q

The Role of Top Managers

A
  • institutionalize conflicts
  • conflicts are regarded as a prosperous source of productive solutions (not a disturbance)
  • balance the power distribution between both parties promoted by truthful/respectful climate
12
Q

Evaluating Matrix Organizations

A

+ highly flexible
+ balance between quality and costs
+ communication

  • responsibility/authority between functional and product manager
  • dual attention for functional/product goals
  • imbalance between interests
13
Q

Network organizations

A
  • focus on core functions but cannot react to fast changes
  • outsource functions which are still interdependent with functions that the organization owns and operates
  • Intellectual property can leak from one company to another
14
Q

Fundamental Decisions in Networking Organizations

A
  • What role in network should organization play?
  • specialist in few capabilities vs. player in all networks that need specific capabilities
  • which capabilities should organization own/control and which should be outsourced?
  • own activities important to customer/influence the brand
15
Q

Challenges

A
  1. Partner (selection)
  2. Define relationships
  3. Managing
16
Q

Partner (selection)

A
  • understanding of potential partners strategic intention (goals, time horizon, values, norms, etc)
  • types of partnership: operator model (one partner), shared model (together), joint venture (decision made by venture)
  • -> can be managed as dynamic process (from small joint venture project to all joint venture)
17
Q

Define relationships

A
  • design processes to coordinate the activities performed by strategic partner
  • interdependencies with network, market, contract, alliance, equity, ownership –> drives organization to complex form of relationship
18
Q

Managing

A
  • dilemma of partnering due to interaction between people with different organizational culture; reward system must encourage employees to look for win-win outcome between involved parties
  • -> people + reward system influence actions, norms and values
19
Q

Network organizations (Vor- und Nachteile)

A

+ low production costs; flexibility; easier to manage (compared to process org.)
+ simple to terminate contracts
+ dynamic environments (organic structure)

  • low level of organizational learning and resource efficacy
  • the more complex value creation the more problems cause on implementation
20
Q

Borderless organization

A
  • individual functional experts connected via IT

- project specific activities

21
Q

E-Commerce

A
  • between organization (B2B) or to customer (B2C)