Management Project

CHAPTER ELEVEN VIDEO CASE ORGANIZING FOR SUCCESS

Teaching Tip: This video contains an introduction to various types of departmentalization, and then has four segments describing each type in detail. You could pause after eah segment, and discuss the information presented in that segment before viewing the others.

Chapter 11 introduces the basic elements of organizing. Key topics covered in the chapter are designing jobs, grouping jobs via departmentalization, establishing reporting relationships, distributing authority, coordinating activities, and differentiating positions. In addition, the universal perspectives and situational perspectives on organization design and the basic forms of organization design are described. The chapter concludes with a discussion of emerging trends in organization design. Overview and Objectives After completing this video case, you should be able to: 1. Understand the complexities inherent in the organizing process. 2. See the different ways that a business can be organized. 3. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each type of organization design. Video Case Background The Ritz-Carlton is a premium hotel chain known for its amazing service, luxurious rooms and amenities, and high prices. But the people who can afford to stay at a Ritz-Carlton seldom complain about the prices. They recognize that they are getting unsurpassed service for their money. The Ritz- Carlton, similarly, understands that if it wants to continue its enviable record of sales and profit, it must continue to cater to the individual needs, preferences, and whims of the well-heeled clients it serves. Accordingly, each hotel within the company functions as an autonomous enterprise with a manager totally responsible for its performance. General Mills is a major food products company. The firm is the second largest in the breakfast cereal market, its biggest business (Kellogg’s is a bit larger). But General Mills also has an enviable array of other profitable product lines as well. For example, General Mills also makes Betty Crocker bakery products, Yoplait yogurts, Pop Secret popcorn, and Gold Medal flour. Xerox Corporation, as virtually everyone knows, makes photocopying machines. But Xerox aspires to be much more, now calling itself “The Document Company.” The firm has recently tried to focus its attention on being the premier provider of equipment and services for all phases of document processing—from document creation to storage to formatting and printing to distribution. It sees its major clients as being other businesses, hospitals, educational organizations, and the government—in short, any entity that uses documents in any form. TGI Friday’s is a fast-growing restaurant chain. At the present time, the company has about 480 restaurants scattered all across the country, and another 165 in 53 other countries. TGI Friday’s tries to provide the same basic menu in each country, with only minor modifications for local tastes. It hires all of its employees from the areas around its restaurants and then teaches those employees how to conduct business the “Friday” way.

Video Case Questions 1. Describe the type of organization structure in use at each of the four companies. Is this the best

organization structure for that company? Why or why not? 2. Some of the firms are not following a “pure” organization structure; rather, they are combining

elements of more than one type of structure. In what ways does this benefit the firms? In what ways is this a potential weakness for the firms?

3. What alternative methods of organizing might be called for in the future at each company?