Essay about Organizational Structure

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Pages: 6

Case Study 02 – BoldFlash: Cross-Functional Challenges in the Mobile Division

Introduction:

In this case study Roger Cahill has been acting as the head of mobile division for less than a year. Currently he is struggling as he faces great difficulties adapting BoldFlash to a changing marketplace. The problem really started a year ago when Mr. Jim Harrison appointed the young Roger Cahill to a VP position. Although Roger has led a research project in his previous work, he is only 24 years old and inexperienced to manage a company at VP level. Positions at those levels require years of strategic leadership and management skills. Nevertheless in the last 12 months, the company focused primarily on the redundant production of customized
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Managers may have a hard time relating to marketing, for example, which is often in an entirely different grouping. As a result, anticipating or reacting to changing consumer needs may be difficult. In addition, reduced cooperation and communication may occur.

• Decisions and communication are slow to take place because of the many layers of hierarchy. Authority is more centralized.

• The functional structure gives managers experience in only one field—their own. Managers do not have the opportunity to see how all the firm's departments work together and understand their interrelationships and interdependence. In the long run, this specialization results in executives with narrow backgrounds and little training handling top management duties.

Divisional structure

Because managers in large companies may have difficulty keeping track of all their company's products and activities, specialized departments may develop. These departments are divided according to their organizational outputs. Examples include departments created to distinguish among production, customer service, and geographical categories. This grouping of departments is called divisional structure (see Figure 2 ). These departments allow managers to better focus their resources and results. Divisional structure also makes performance easier to monitor. As a