Dynacorp had been a leading information systems and communications company globally. They were pioneers in developing high technology applications that were highly commended in the industry. As the company grew and expanded, the innovative processes slowed down and the current organization structure was believed to be the root of the problem. The existing organization structure shown in Figure 1 shows that Dynacorp is structured functionally. “The three line divisions, each led by an executive vice president, were engineering, manufacturing, and marketing. These were supported by a number of corporate staff divisions, including finance, human resource management, and corporate affairs.”[1]
If I were on the Dynacorp task force, my first choice for an alternative organisational structure design would be the product division structure as shown in Figure 2 with each division for each business led by a chief manager. This scheme is proposed to tackle the company’s two major issues, communication among each divisions and the company’s retardation to the market. “This structure organizes on the basis of the service or product provided.”[1] Everyone works on different tasks contributing to the same final output. This structure has two major advantages. “First is transparency of performance: it makes the
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The proposed structure’s strengths encourages most large American corporations in the 1980s employ this structure as the dominent form[1]. Unorthodoxly, the basic structure is insuffiecient to be an effective solution for enterprise as large and complex as Dynacorp.The change would mean a few years of organisational shift that would profit the company or bring loss to it. By meticulously comprehending the companies workflow and the humans, who are part of the machine, can the company benefit from the big
If I am on the Dynacorp task force, my first choice for an alternative design would be front /back structure of strategic design. This structure divides the organization into two parts such that the back end products which include engineering, manufacturing and the logistics and the front end is faced by the marketing and sales division. As Dynacorp is spread across the US and as well as the world, this front/back
Problems inside Dynacorp: When Dynacorp has changed its structure, there are problems of linkage and alignment in the light of Strategic Design Lens. According to the new structure, Research and Advanced Development Group and Business Units (BUs) are
Alternative structures such as grouping by output/product or grouping by market are not options as they would result in “duplication of activities and resources, the erosion of deep technical expertise, missed opportunities for synergies and learning” (Ancona, Kochan, Scully, Van Maanen, & Westney, 2009, p. M2-19). The matrix structure provided a potential positive aspect in that it would provide a needed cross-functional linking mechanism by mixing the functional structure with grouping by output/product, but the complexity, cost, dual systems, and dual roles resulting from the matrix structure historically resulted in either the functional or the output/product system becoming more powerful than the other.
Organizational structure is a system used to define a hierarchy within an organization which improves operational efficiency by providing clarity to employees at all levels of a company. A systematically outlined structure can also provide direction for internal promotions, allowing companies to create employee advancement routes for entry-level workers. In other words, it identifies each job, its function and where it reports to within the organization. Harley-Davidson’s organizational structure, for example, assists centralized control of the business through the company’s arrangement of its components in terms of their interactions and functions. As one of the world’s oldest motorcycle manufacturers in the world, Harley-Davidson Inc. maintains this organizational structure and centers its current focus on a limited number of markets. While the business continues to grow by international expansion, Harley-Davidson’s corporate structure focuses mainly on the fact that most of the company’s revenues are generated in the United States. Thus, Harley-Davidson has a functional organizational structure that is based on the company’s current focus on the motorcycle markets in developed countries, especially the United States, in addition to ensuring centralized control of business activities. The basic characteristics of Harley-Davidson’s organizational structure include Function based groups, Centralization, and Global hierarchy.
The company is geographically located in most major united states locations. It employs a hierarchal organizational design. One of the contributing factors to its success is the company’s success in providing a dining experience for its customers that excel in choices, price, customer service, and serving size. The company is known world-wide for its delicious cheesecakes with the key factor being the variety.
Strategic linking at Dynacorp was to be accomplished, in the first instance, by linking development, manufacturing, and marketing within each Business Unit through a change in the formal reporting structure. Carl Greystone expressed his conviction that a “tremendous amount of progress” has been made since these changes were instituted and that his personnel are “thinking about the business in new terms…” Even Greystone, however, was forced to admit that his group had been “consistently behind plan in both revenue and profit” for the past year and a half and that the “Business Unit presidents have expressed some frustration with the performance of his group.” Martha Pauley, a Branch Manager in Greystone’s division who supervised six teams that “handle
In Phase II we ensured external competitiveness by analyzing the external market survey data on total
Each division is operating independently with its own division manager. Also, each division’s performance had been judged on its profit and return on investment (ROI). The company policy of decentralizing responsibility and authority for all
Dynacorp adapted functional structure since it was established. The company has three divisions which are engineering, manufacturing and marketing. The precondition of the company’s development is that each division work closely with one another. Whereas one of serious problems is sharing common goals. Manufacturing was complained to be the cause of high costs and delays. They would request for iterations on designs, which holds back engineering to repeat the work that they have done while they have already
The purpose of this book is to make us see that nearly all-operating prescriptions for creating large-scale corporate change are nothing but myths and that changes do not happen from one day to another by a miracle, the change from good to great is the result of a successful plan who
According to Miles et al. (1978, p. 547), an organization is both its purpose and the mechanism constructed to achieve the purpose. It means that the concept of organization is embracing both goals and all the elements that represent unique combination. Miles et al. (1978, p. 553) draws the conclusion that structure and the processes taking place inside the organization are closely aligned; it is hard to speak about one without mentioning the other. It is important to understand the conclusion drawn by Miles et al. (1978). It illustrates how the
Aside from educating a manager through formal training in managing an organization through change, there are many ongoing activities that will increase a manager's awareness and aid them in supporting a more complex organizational structure as it develops. A company's organizational structure is a road map of its communication patterns. A well-designed structure can also make it easier to identify inefficiencies and new problems as the organization grows. Reviewing the organizational structure on a regular basis will help ensure that the organization set up for optimal growth well into
* There should be division of segments under each head like marketing, logistics and administration team for the entire company.
Businesses have numerous key departments which keep the structure running appropriately and supports the business to build and embellish in all worldwide markets. This report will consider what the key departments do for the business, in addition, this report will enlighten the research procedure used and significant complications which have been encountered throughout.
It did so in order to better focus its resources on changing customer needs as well as emphasize its strengths in the market place. The organizational structure now consists of centralized engineering and marketing organizations. This way the company has the ability to prevent product and resource overlaps and more effectively allocate its resources to areas yielding optimum profitability. The engineering side has eleven technology groups with people heading multiple groups and reporting to one person who then reports to the CEO. The marketing side has one head who reports to the CEO as well.