Organizational Design Research Worksheet

Heinz-Divisional Structure-SuccessfulThe H. J. Heinz Company, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the most global of all U. S. -based food companies and one of the world’s largest food-processing companies. In more than 50 countries Heinz is considered number one or number two in the market position. Beside ketchup, Heinz also sells other products ranging from sauces, meals, snacks, and infant/nutrition. Among them are our 15 Power Brands, which comprise approximately 70% of our global sales. A divisional structure is when divisions operate as autonomous businesses under the larger corporate umbrella.

Because of Heinz using the divisional structure they are able to evaluate the performance of each of their departments individually. Because divisions are relatively autonomous, Heinz can take action with little to none disruption to its remaining operations. Divisions can maintain a healthy competition among themselves by sponsoring separate campaigns, different identities, etcetera. Because Heinz chose a divisional structure they have had their divisions work well together because each area is focusing on a single product and there is not the stress of trying to conduct projects across the board.

Heinz’s divisional structure has lead to a culture being formed which has contributed to higher employee morale and a better knowledge of the goals and vision that Heinz is trying to accomplish. Wal-mart-International organizational structure-SuccessfulMany businesses today manufacture, purchase, and sell abroad and that’s referred to as international organizational structure. Wal-mart has been around since 1962 with the first store being in Rogers, Arkansas. The company expanded to 276 stores in 11 states by the end of the decade. When Wal-mart expanded outside the U. S. in 1992 they put a special team in place to take care of the logistics. Because of the success they had introduced a small international department oversee the overseas expansion. By the time 2002 arrived, international operations were so important to Wal-mart that the international division was split up into other geographic areas. We all know that Wal-mart has become a powerhouse worldwide and implementing an international structure has allowed them to stay ahead of competitors. Because of this venture Wal-mart is leading the way to a more global economy and market.

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Chris-Southwest Airlines-SuccessfulWhen one thinks about Southwest Airlines they often will think about the one of the company’s recent slogans, “You are now free to roam the country. ” However, Southwest Airlines represents more than just a catchy phrase in the world of organizations who often dare not say that another organization is doing well much less better than them, company’s often use Southwest Airlines as a benchmark, a standard, for their own organizations. Southwest Airlines view has been that of not being the norm and shaking it up a bit.

They take a different approach when it comes to organizational design. The goals of the airline were to make a good profit, retain employees and give the consumer reasonably cheap flying. Southwest’s visionary organizational design of treating everyone like a person, even their employees. Southwest has become the nation’s fourth largest carrier from a customer statics standpoint. Southwest operates nearly 2,800 flights per day. Southwest has the best on-time record for ensuring that their flights leave and arrive “on-time. In addition, Southwest Airlines has the fewest customer complaints in the airline industry. In short Southwest is the only Airline that has consistently returned a profit for it’s shareholders since the company’s inception in 1973. What is the Southwest secret? The secret for Southwest is really not a secret at all rather it is based in concepts based in organizational design. Southwest uses innovation in their offering of their products and services. Southwest is simply more innovative in it’s ability to be open to new ideas and technology and simple though processes.

For instance, many airlines would not sign on to fly to the “Red-neck Riveria,” but Southwest has agreed to not only sign on but to begin flights to and from it’s major hubs Baltimore, and Love’s Field. This shows innovation in that Southwest’s history has always been create flights to what other major airlines such as American or Delta just scoff at. This increase in flexibility shown by Southwest has put them above their competitors and increased overall productivity thus they have provided great returns for investors.

Southwest has also shown innovation in their concept of organizational design in their approach to where they flew. By providing low fares, southwest made it easier and affordable for more people to fly. They became known as the low fare, no frills airline. One of Southwest’s organizational concepts is based upon the principle that if the customer is satisfied the company will make money. Southwest’s additional areas for differences in organizational design are in their management. Their management believes that their people are Southwest’s greatest asset.

Southwest prides itself on hiring people who are not just good in their field but experienced in their field. Their mission is to have managers do things by the book and follow company policy, while leaders follow their own intuition, which may in turn be of more benefit to the company. Southwest Airlines has in many arenas achieved the recognition as being the best airline operating within the United States; and on a more personal note it has won my recognition as being the best airplane for my family and me.

Chris-Google-Successful When Google went public in 2004, their history of creativity and innovation had long been a fixture and set in place. Larry Page and Sergey Brin who were Ph. d students that worked together on the Stanford Digital Library Project who incorporated Google in 1998. Since that time of incorporation in a friend’s garage in Menlo Park, CA. Google has created a culture of “why not? ” They are known for their innovative culture by allowing their employees a creative and safe place where they can create and share and exchange ideas.

They foster this environment in a number of ways. One of the first ways is by looking at how they approach “failure. ” Failure is not considered failure at Google rather they believe that failures are lessons learned. In fact Google specifically hires individuals who “fail fast. ” According to Davila, Epstein and Shelton (2006) i. e. fail fast so that not many resources are spent on developing the new ideas and fail often so that more ideas are tried and tested to eventually come-up with a successful product or idea.

An additional concept by Davila, Epstein and Shelton again comes from the “top down” methodology in that when Google is in the candidate process they include in their job recruitment description that if hired the candidate will have up to 20%-35% or more time dictated solely to one’s need to create and innovate. While most companies would relegate that time to basing it solely on what would make their company look good Google is different in that they do not specify that it has to be “related” to Google business.

Rather the management team at Google believes that it is a “time to step-away” from their daily grind and just “get away. ” If Sherman Computer Repair was to benchmark Google they would find that Google’s management team is what makes the difference for Google. In addition, they would be able to easily implement Google’s technique of “fast failing” and learning from their mistakes. In addition, Sherman Computer Repair would also be able to learn from Google’s example of taking time in their day of just getting away to be innovative rather than always wielding control of their employees.

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