Organizational Environment Uncertainty
Acme is made up of five key departments,
they include: purchasing, drafting,
productions, industrial engineering and
mechanical engineering. Omega, on the
other hand, is made up of four key
departments: mechanical engineering,
electrical engineering, industrial
engineering and drafting. Both are similar.
These departments play an
instrumental role in the success of both companies. It
is evident that Acme
operates under a mechanistic structure whereas Omega
operates under a more
decentralized organic structure. It can be stated that in
regards of
complexity, both organizations have a moderate number of sectors and
operate
at a low level of environment complexity. In order to fully understand
the
organization environment of the firms we must also define the levels
of
stability. In this particular case it is evident that both firms operate
in an
unstable environment. The electronic market is unpredictable at best
and little
planning can be done to predict the changes in the market. In the
case, the
demand for the memory units was unexpected by both firms. In this
particular
case, the demand for memory chips by the photocopier firm was an
unpredictable
event. This created an unstable environment for both firms. It
can be concluded
that Omega, being simple and unstable, is operating at
high-moderate levels of
uncertainty. Acme, on the other-hand, is more complex
but is also unstable. They
are operating at low-moderate levels of
uncertainty. Resource Dependence "The
environment is the source of scarce and
valued resources essential to
organizational survival." Both Acme and Omega
rely heavily upon environmental
resources. They are extremely resource
dependant as they acquire their essential
materials from external sources
(external environment). The success of the firms
is directly related to how
quickly and easily they can obtain their resources.
In this case, both
Acme and Omega had to delay their shipment of prototypes
memory chips to the
photocopier firm due to the delay of the external materials
needed to produce
the chips. This clearly indicates the resource dependence of
both firms.
Strategy Both Acme and Omega manufacture similar products. In this
case it is
the printed circuit board. Also, both firms are in direct competition
with
one and other seeing as they are in the same geographical region and
they
presumably acquire their resources from the same supplier(s). With this
in mind,
both firms realize the importance of competitive emphasis within
their corporate
culture. Seeing as the characteristics of strategic planning
are directly
related by the dynamics of the external environment, both firms
are trying to
gain an "edge" on one and other. In this particular case, Acme
decides to
run a "tight ship" (mechanistic structure) in order to increase
productivity
and efficiency, and to decrease costs. The advantage of this
strategy is that
they can undersell their competition (Omega) by selling at a
lower cost. Omega,
on the other hand, is nearly to opposite. They run a more
organic structure,
which relies heavily upon communication, delegation and
teamwork. This strategy
allows Omega to effectively compete with Acme by
stressing reliability and by
placing emphasis on quality. Organization
Structure John Tyler, President of
Acme Electronics, credited his firm’s
greater effectiveness to his managers’
abilities to run a "tight ship." He
retained the original functional
structural form developed by Technological
Products in which detailed
organizational charts and narrowly defined job
descriptions would produce
efficient performance and high company profits.
These characteristics describe
Acme as a very mechanistic company with
high standardization and formulation.
Vertical communication is method of
information flow from John Tyler to the
department heads and then each
department’s workers. Only departmental
managers have contact with Tyler who
makes any major decision for Acme and thus
maintains a high span of control.
Acme’s President John Tyler believes that
through an intense level of control
and specialization the company’s
efficiency can be maintained and thereby
achieving Acme’s continued success.
Yet Acme’s organizational design
promotes structural differentiation and Tyler
limits the development of many
managers. According to Woodword’s
classification of the technological
structures, Acme should use a mass
production method. Since Acme is already
highly centralized and formalized along
with low degrees of communication,
there is no problem. But there was clearly a
problem with the work flow
interdependence among departments with regards to
Thompson’s
classification. Acme is a mixture of pooled and sequential
interdependence in
which there is low communication and there are strict
procedures. This work
flow process needs to be addressed by the management. On
the other hand Omega
Electronics Incorporated is a much more organic company.
Even though
Omega and Acme have similar departments, Omega’s President Jim
Rawls
operates with a low span of control with a belief that the implementation
of
organizational charts put an artificial barrier between departments
and
individual employees. Rawls stresses the necessity of a cross-functional
work
place in which teamwork with vertical and horizontal communication is
the most
prominent characteristic. By utilizing an environment of open
communication, the
decision making process is decentralized. Rawls’ concern
with the need for
employee participation in the organization and employee
satisfaction results in
moderate standardization and formulation at Omega.
There is also a medium level
of specialization as described by a new member
of the industrial engineering
department, "When I first got here, I wasn’t
sure what I was supposed to do.
One day I worked with some mechanical
engineers and the next day I helped the
shipping department design with some
packing cartons." As an organic
organization, Omega emphasizes cooperation
between departments and individual
specialists thus allowing latitude and
development in the work force. However
with this type of structure there will
be a low degree of consistencies with a
low span of control. The
possibilities of confusion and contradictory procedures
in various
departments could result in numerous administrative conflicts. With
regards
to Omega’s technological structure in Woodward’s classification,
the
characteristics are the modest levels of standardization and
centralization with
high verbal communication and skilled workers. This
classifies Omega as a
unit/small batch production organizational type whereas
it is currently
producing in large batch/mass production method. This problem
should be
corrected as soon as possible to achieve better levels of success.
Omega
maintains a reciprocal interdependence according to Thompson, where
there is
high communication with teamwork and adjustments. Staffing Patterns
In
recognizing the benefits of employees within an organization, the
organization
must work to minimize requirements of qualifications and
maximize qualities of
the individual. Many companies, as in the example of
Acme Electronics, focus on
qualifications when hiring and developing an
integrated workforce. However, as
this case had proven, cultural diversity
through teamwork and individual
personality can be a greater asset in the
long run. The very culture of the
organization is built by qualities of
individuals, not by their qualifications.
These qualities work to create
the framework for efficiency and productivity
among the organization and its
employees. Quoting an unknown source, "put
round pegs in round holes" is not
always the solution. A mechanical engineer
may be able to assemble a printer
board efficiently, however, he/she may not be
able to integrate solutions
among other employees and offer support to other
departments and tasks within
their own organizational niche. In this way Omega
has produced a capable
organization. They have put round pegs in round holes and
connected these
pegs to square pegs in square holes. Their success is measurable
by their
internal employee satisfaction and the overall quality and reputation
for
their products. Again, the organizational hierarchy of Acme has
produced
departments of skilled workers but has failed to implement the
diverse, united
workforce into their strategic plans for the future. Again,
the difference in
staffing patterns is related to the success in production
of a no-defect
product. Because Acme was able to slash costs to win the
project, does not mean
that their organization is in a situation of control
or efficiency within the
industry. Organization Control Systems Information
is that which alters or
reinforces understanding. It is a tool and asset that
is essential for every
organization and their operational systems. To
successfully manage uncertainty
(the absence of information), and the
subsequent efficiency of the organization,
certain control systems must be in
place. Strategic control being the overall
evaluation of strategic plans,
organizational activities, and results that
provide information for future
action, differs much between Acme and Omega. Acme
is a company of distinct
hierarchical structures that focus on an information
flow design through many
controlled sequences. It has departments focusing on
specific set tasks that
are to produce benefits for the overall efficiency of
the organization. Much
information flows in the way of memos and instructions,
and it is a more
formal process. Departments may not see one another to know of
the
possibilities of overlap in product stages. The goal of such a
strategic
control system is one to produce a quality product with minimal
interruption
between tasks. However, as tasks are being completed the
organization is divided
in a series of teams on different sides, rather than
a complete organizational
efficient team. Omega is an organization of
efficiency through informal control
systems. Its strategic vision is similar
to that of Acme, however, it believes
that efficiency and quality come
through an organization of informality and
various task job descriptions. An
employee may work in more than one department
on a variety of tasks. In this
way every employee is aware of the possible flaws
and task overlapping is
decreased. This control system is an example of why
Omega was the
organization to recognize the design flaw within the photocopier
plans, and
also why their team was on time with a quality no-defect product. The
goal of
Acme was simply an on-time, quality, no-defect product. For Omega the
goal
was to produce an on-time, quality, no-defect product as well however
with
teamwork being the measurement of quality rather than individual
department
tasks as in the case of Acme. It is clearly shown how such
management control
systems vary across organizations and all have their
possible advantages and
disadvantages. The formalized routines, reports and
procedures in this case
provided success for Omega and its engineering unity,
however, it also shows the
ability of a hierarchical task specific
organization in cost-cutting procedures
and such subsequent industry success
as is experienced by Acme Electronics.
Managerial Actions For Future
Success The world of hierarchical structures in
organizations is quickly
changing as organizations face unique competition in
their respective
industries. The "blue suit" IBM organization of the
1980’s has changed to
reposition them among the modern day approaches to
efficiency and success.
Organizations and successful management teams have
realized the importance of
implementing a team approach in the workplace. The
end result is proven
success. Working together is a solution for efficiency and
cost minimization
as in any part of life. Acme Electronics has positioned itself
among industry
leaders with their hard-nosed business tactics, however, this
approach is
representative only of sacrifices made to compete within their
niche. They
have shown in this example that their organizational control systems
are
lacking in productivity and efficiency. There is no control system for
tasks
as they are all specific. Omega Electronics Inc. has positioned itself
as a
model company for the future of many industries. There control systems
are in
place, however, somewhat informal. This has shown to produce a
team-oriented
environment with highly effective personnel of employees. In
this example they
picked up on design flaws and produced the final product in
time in good
standing. There is less form of miscommunication because
departments are less
specific and tasks are done in variety. In this way
Omega has shown to be in a
position for future success. The future of many
industries lies with cultural
diversity through a team oriented work
environment. As the world integrates into
a global village, firms must focus
on their qualities and become not just good
managers but influential leaders.
In this way Omega has created change, and
change is the key to effective
leadership. If Acme remains without change, it
will strive to compete with
business tactics rather than quality and efficiency,
something that in the
long run is somewhat unreasonable and unprofitable.
Reputation is the
game. It is like the old saying, "an author is only as good
as their last
book". The future is full of change and implementation of
change, only the
willing will survive.