Introduction to Organisations and Management Essay - 9

Introduction to Organisations and Management - Essay Example The structure is strictly hierarchical and there is a long history of conflict with the unionised workforce that comprises the majority. There seems to be an issue of trust between management and workers. The changing business environment is putting pressure on the company to achieve more with less. The company has a number of issues in its ability to manage existing and new business requirements due to internal capability limitations – poor inter-department communication and coordination, lack of flexibility among teams and poor internal control mechanisms. The leadership is, in the meanwhile, focusing on personal plans. Watson represents a company that has omitted the task of creating a vision or strategy for itself. The owner believes in responding to situations after they arise, an attitude that runs through the organisation and stifles the capability of talented resources. This is demonstrated in the absence of unified focus at all levels in the company and that of Ã¢â‚¬Ë œclarity to business units’ to provide direction (Johnson, 2008, p. 304). The H&M Consulting Group employs a highly-skilled specialised workforce that can cater to business requirements of a diverse client group. The company is following a strategic path of inorganic growth through acquisitions and recruitment. The company follows a networked structure that utilises specific talent in teams to manage projects. Sophisticated information technology is utilised for effective coordination between and within project teams and to ensure resource availability to achieve project requirements. The workforce is self-directed. H&M has laid down well-defined mission and value statements and the workforce is focused on ensuring commercial success while taking care that core principles are met. The leadership is in constant contact with relevant issues with respect to corporate responsibility and seeks to find ways to ensure that it contributes to these larger goals. H&M represents a globa l organisation that draws strength from a strongly networked employee base. It represents a structure that is transnational as defined by Bartlett and Ghoshal as possessing ‘strong geographic movement†¦ global product responsibility necessary to achieve global efficiency†¦ worldwide functional management†¦ vital to worldwide learning’. Translated into management tasks, this includes ‘legitimising diverse†¦ capabilities, developing†¦ flexible coordination, building shared vision’ (Hoecklin, 1995, p. 42-43). Analysis The case is analysed on the parameters of organisation design, team work, leadership and management style and culture. Organisation design and structure The key to competing in a changing environment lies in the capacity to differentiate one’s offerings from the other players in the market. Differentiation may be based on niche service offerings that cover specific market needs or a diverse offering that covers var ied ones. Watson operates in the automobile components sector and has not opted for a strategy based on differentiation. H&M operates in a number of sectors that require specialised knowledge and skill thereby creating a niche for itself in a wide setting. The method to implement a strategy based on differentiation is through a careful assessment of the value chain within as well as among competitors and designing the organisation structure. Organisation structure that is based on the view of the value chain