Deck 6: Organizing for Action

Question 1

Brainstorm a list of methods for integrating interdependent work units. Discuss the activities that need to be undertaken and the pros and cons of each approach.

Answer 1

Interdependent units are often integrated by people who have boundary roles.  Boundary roles are those in which an individual spends time outside the organization, interacting with other people and organizations.  Examples of boundary roles are jobs in sales, purchasing, customer service, public relations, advertising, and recruiting, and the roles of these individuals should be reasonably easy to define.  Student responses will vary according to the pros and con's associated with their chosen approach.  The advantages and disadvantages may depend on the business experiences of the student.

Question 2

What is a core competence? Generate some examples of companies with distinctive competencies, identifying what those competencies are. Brainstorm some creative new products and markets to which these competencies could be applied.

Answer 2

A core competence is the capability - knowledge, expertise or skill - that underlies a company's ability to be a leader in providing a range of specific goods and services.
It may help students if they address this question in terms of the functional areas of business. For example, Intel obviously has a core competence in the research and development area. It continues to develop new chips that enable it to be a leader. To date, other firms always have been one step behind. Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola both have core competencies in the advertising and marketing areas that enable them to lead the field. Firms located in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea have core competencies in the production area as a result of their low labor costs, etc.

Question 3

If you were going into business for yourself, what would be your core competencies? What competencies do you have now, and what competencies are you going to develop? Describe what your role would be in a network organization and the competencies and roles of other firms you would want in your network.

Answer 3

Students (especially those at the undergraduate level) may feel that although they have a number of attributes (enthusiasm, willingness to work hard, a bright idea for a new product or service, etc.), they have no core competencies (nothing that will enable them to be leaders in a specific field). They may well argue that not very many people are leaders and that relatively few firms have core competencies unmatched by their competition.
Students should be instructed to make a list of their skills and attributes…and of the skills and attributes they plan to develop in the years ahead. This will enable them to develop some ideas as to their core competencies.
As students identify their core competencies with regard to a network organization, they should also begin to recognize some of their personal weaknesses and thus the skills that they would hope to find in others in the network. An accounting student might want to see expertise in the areas of sales and marketing while a student who felt at home in the production area might look for an individual with engineering capabilities.

Question 4

Using an Internet search engine, search for "strategic alliance," and identify three recently formed alliances. For each alliance, identify whether the companies' other products are generally competitors or complementary products. What are the goals of the alliance? What brought them together? Discuss whether you think a strategic alliance is an effective way for these organizations to meet their goals.

Question 5

What skills will you need to work effectively in (1) a network organization; (2) a learning organization; (3) a high-involvement organization. Be specific, generating long lists. Would you enjoy working in these environments? Why or why not? What can you do to prepare yourself for these eventualities?

Question 6

Considering the potential advantages of large and small size, would you describe the "feel" of your college or university as big, small, or small-within-big? Why? What might make it feel different?

Question 7

What are some advantages and disadvantages of being in the CEO position?

Question 8

Would you like to sit on a board of directors? Why or why not? If you did serve on a board, what kind of organization would you prefer? As a board member, in what kinds of activities do you think you would most actively engage?

Question 9

Interview a member of a board of directors and discuss the member's perspectives on his or her role.

Question 10

Pick a job you have held and describe it in terms of span of control, delegation, responsibility, authority, and accountability.

Question 11

Why do you think managers have difficulty delegating? What can be done to overcome these difficulties?

Question 12

Consider an organization in which you have worked, draw its organization chart, and describe it using terms in this chapter. How did you like working there, and why?

Question 13

Would you rather work in a functional or divisional organization? Why?

Question 14

If you learned that a company had a matrix structure, would you be more or less interested in working there? Explain your answer. How would you prepare yourself to work effectively in a matrix?