Hello,

I need four responses of at least 150 words each for the below students discussions for this week. Also in the bold below are the questions the students at answering.

For a global business, organizational structure is not important. Do you agree with this statement? In 300 words, support your position.

Student one:

Organizational structure is important for any business including global businesses. The organizational structure shows the organizational hierarchy which helps to promote communication, defines the chain of command and show employees the path to advancing their career (Sullivan, 2019). Traditionally there are four general types of organizational structures. They are functional, divisional, matrix and flat. New approaches have given rise to team-based organizational and network organizational structure. Each organizational structure has its advantages and disadvantages which can either help or hinder various aspects of an organization’s functions, roles and strategies.

With globalization there is often issues of scalability as market size increases. To handle this organizations often go about increasing various departments and management teams. With more and more employees’ simple tasks can become more challenging. To solve this issue brought about by scalability various organizations have amended their organizational structures.

Recently, I viewed a documentary on Zappos after the company’s implementation of Halocracy. Halocracy promotes a unique structure where they decentralized management and organizational governance. Therefore, instead of a traditional hierarchy, rather there were self-organized teams which had its own authority and decision-making power.

Although, Zappos eliminated its traditional management structure for halocracy, the new unique structure still achieved the goals which would be attained by a traditional organizational structure. This included creating clear paths to communication, defined roles and responsibilities and a clear path to advancement. There were still opportunities for advancement within Zappos so there was still hierarchy. Team member still had to report to other members.

There are an infinite number of organizational structures and hybrids being used in global organizations. On a global scale culture, language and hierarchy can be distinctive. Even though each structure is different they all foster communication, problem solving and task completion. Therefore, several organizations adopt “transnational structures” which are specific to the location. (Puranam, 2014). Organizational structure is a key element in global success.

Reference

Puranam, N. K. P. (2014, August 1). Have You Restructured for Global Success? Retrieved from

https://hbr.org/2011/10/have-you-restructured-for-global-success.

Sullivan, J. (2019, February 12). Four Basic Elements of Organizational Structure. Retrieved

from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/four-basic-elements-organizational-structure- 288.html.

Student two:

I disagree with the statement. I believe that organizational structure is extremely important when doing business internationally. Organizational structure refers to the different levels or tiers within an organization. The most effective organizations are structured so that information can flow down, up, and sideways between the different levels in the organization so that everyone is on the same page.

Imagine, for example, what happens when a company stumbles across a new product idea that has the potential to bring large profits to the company. If that company is a domestic one, then all the employees are located in the same building, but every department would still be struggling to get started on the project before their competition has an opportunity to also discover that same idea. Now imagine that this is an international company we are talking about. The office who discovered the new idea is located in Los Angeles, while the company who has the most capable members to see this project to fruition are located in Tokyo. A strong organizational structure will allow for the office in Los Angeles to communicate their ideas effectively to the ones in Tokyo, while the employees in Tokyo will communicate back what they need from those in Los Angeles. While all of this is happening, higher level management has been notified about the new project, and the marketing department is also hard at work establishing a campaign to fit the new product.

DeCanio, Dibble, and Amir-Atefi conducted a study in 2000 that put two simulated companies against each other, one with a strong organizational structure and one without. Their study concluded that “organizational structure is indeed a crucial element in the diffusion of technological innovations” (Decanio, et.al., 2000). A strong organizational structure is important for all businesses to flourish, both domestic and global ones.

DeCanio, S. J., Dibble, C., & Amir-Atefi, K. (2000). The importance of organizational structure for the adoption of innovations. Management Science, 46(10), 1285-1299. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/docv…

Student three:

Personally, an organizational structure is advantageous for any global business. Every large or small business that exists can benefit from a well-developed organizational structure. It helps to establish how companies organize their operating components and how they correlate to meet business needs and objectives. Experiences with organizational structure have confirmed to have high effectiveness long-term, with productivity and growing sales volumes (Stverkova & Pohludka, 2018). With this being said, it affirms organizational structure is important for global business. Though the organizational structure has disadvantages, the advantages surpass them. Having a well-structured organization cannot only expand as it meets a customer’s needs, it additionally can adapt rapidly to other changes.

Furthermore, the base of a business’s organizational structure is its mission. For a business to accomplish its mission and reach its objective, it is necessary to have a sound structure. Personnel and departmental responsibilities are built within the structure. Every role in organizational structure is established on areas of specialization and have their unique functions. This structure determines how matters are accomplished in the business.

Many companies set priorities, high-to-low, trying to keep their overall brand image a top concern. Also, priorities like operational efficiencies, regulatory compliance, sales growth, and strategic initiatives are included in building a solid structure. How a company places its priorities can speak volumes. For example, a healthcare company’s priority would be more on compliance issues whereas a company that sells garden tools, it would not be as high as a priority (Magloff, 2017).

Since companies are operating globally, it is important also to assess the regional cultural diverseness of where they do business and how it can affect their organizational structure. As more and more businesses expand internationally and move their resources abroad, they need to look into altering the organizational structure and practices to suit the needs of that specific country. Although it is challenging for global organizations to establish and maintain a unified corporate culture and code of conduct when operating in multiple national and regional cultures, leaders should attempt to strike an appropriate balance and allow for the influences of local cultures (Murphy, 2018).

References:

Magloff, L. (2017, November 21). Advantages & Disadvantages of the Structure of an Organization. Retrieved November 18, 2019, from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-structure-organization-2767.html.

Murphy, M. (2018, July 12). Adapting Organizational Structure to Global Cultures. Retrieved from https://www.adp.com/spark/articles/2016/09/adapting-organizational-structure-to-global-cultures.aspx#.

Stverkova, H., & Pohludka, M. (2018, June 14). Business Organisational Structures of Global Companies: Use of the Territorial Model to Ensure Long-Term Growth. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/7/6/98/htm.

Student four:

I can finally say that I definitely, 100% disagree with this week’s statement….

Inherently, I feel like this statement is severely flawed. In order for a business to even consider going global, organizational structure needs to be a number one priority on their business plan. On a side note, this is not limited to just global companies, and should be equally important for any type of business, as it helps to define and accomplish the ultimate goals of the company.

“The way a company organizes itself – how it allocates responsibilities, how it organizes support services, and how it groups products, brands, or services – can have a substantial impact on its effectiveness.” (Heywood & Katz, 2012) An organizational structure can be based on a number of needs and functions, and is often a reflection of what the founders envisioned for the company. As “the goal of every global company is to grow steadily and gain maximum market share” (Stverkova & Pohludka, 2018), it is imperative that every company begin by clearly defining the ways they plan on accomplishing those goals.

With four differing broad structures to choose from – functional, which places employees in groups based on their expertise, allowing for higher specialization; product structure, which optimizes diversity and product development; customer structure, which places emphasis on the needs of the customer; or geography structure, which focuses on the specific needs of any given geographic location – organizations have a variety of options at their disposal. The key is knowing which of these structures will align with the vision for the organization, thus optimizing their success.

Though it may sound easy with all of the options available (as well as new, innovative ideas), “global companies find structure difficult because there are no simple solution – most global structural options create challenges as well as benefits.” (Heywood & Katz, 2012) Unfortunately, this will always be a major challenge, specifically because the workforce is constantly changing. Companies must learn to adapt to current social norms, as well as formal structural options, in order to be successful in a long-term setting.

References

Heywood, S. & Katz, R. (2012). Structuring your organization to meet global aspirations. McKinsey & Company. London, England. pp 29-34

Stverkova, H. & Pohludka, M. (2018). Business organisational structures of global companies: use of the territorial model to ensure long-term growth. Social Sciences, 7(98), 1-9. doi: 10.3390/socsci7060098