Replies

The major problem or concern in adjustments of the group structures is the way of dealing with the development of relationship between the subordinates and the bosses. This is due to the change in the area of control for every person which may be applied in the new structure. Therefore, looking at each of the structures from the HR manager’s perspective will be as follows.

Concerns with Product Based Structure

            The HR director in this case should be in charge of groups that are formed to deal with each individual structure. The HR thus must address the concerns given the distinctive ability with regard to intricacy, the aptitude required and correspondence level between groups. Likewise, there are issues that are identified with particular work done for each of the product groups that may not be operating well. This can be done through properly developed HR strategy (Cummings, & Worley, 2014).

Concerns with Functional Structure

            In the functional structure, each specialized area has a team regardless of the products they are in charge of. They are best for organizations producing standardized commodities and service it in large quantities at a low cost. They are thus the most efficient for a firm operating in a stable and less dynamic environment. Organizational structures for example the divisional structure are best applied in firms operating in an uncertain environment and in complex situations. In addition, functional structures are categorized by high levels of formalization, making every function reliant on the established mechanism of operation (Scott, & Davis, 2015). This leads to the placement of the responsibility of making decisions to a higher authority. The HR should be involved in developing and implementing measures that help to deal with issues of formalization in the organization. As can be seen in the BP case, the HR had a great role to play in the company’s functional structure but the environment was more complex for this structure.

 References

Cummings, T. G., & Worley, C. G. (2014). Organization Development and Change. New York: Cengage Learning.

Scott, W. R. & Davis, G. F. (2015). Organizations and organizing: Rational, natural and open systems perspective. Boston: Routledge.