Type of Organizational Structures, Essay Example

As a new manager in an organization that is deteriorating, there is so much responsibility he should be prepared to take. Depending on the issues at hand, this manager needs to come up with a work plan that tackles every problem at hand and gives more ideas to prevent future occurrence of such problems. The company in question has an outdated product line which is losing its market share, adversarial interdepartmental communication and intense competition for corporate funding. The new manager therefore needs to put together a strategy so that he can effectively manage to solve these issues.

The first thing would solve the problem about the outdated product line and losing market share. This only implies that the customers are not buying the product which would only mean that the company is not accomplishing its goals. The manager needs to understand the factors or reasons as to why the product line is obsolete. Is it because the methods used in producing this product line are outdated? Or is it the raw materials used? Is there a technology advancement that the company needs to start using? Could it be the company’s choice of targeted audience that is the problem? Questions like this should be used to determine the real cause so that the right measures can be taken to solve this problem.

The employees are also supposed to be involved in this analysis so that they can also give their views on the product since they are fully involved in product development. Involvement of employees will make them participate in decision making which makes implementation even easier because they will feel as if they were part and parcel of the whole thing. This acts a motivation to them and they get the drive to work diligently towards the improvement of the product. The employees can also be given samples of the new product so that they can give their views and recommendations before the product is released to the public.

Adversarial communication is a problem which is quite sensitive because every organization requires effective communication channels at all levels. Good communication needs to be maintained since it entails dialogue which is very essential in day to day running of the business. If any problems have to be solved, then communication has to be key. Lani (n.d.) states that adversarial communication will be solved by implementing a strategic action plan for communication which should involve employees because they are part of the company’s stakeholders. To develop trust between the management and employees, communication needs to be open which will also enhance teamwork in solving these problems.

Lastly, the competition for internal resources also needs to be looked into. There should be a common layout of how internal resources need to be utilized. This should be made using the same policy of communication and involving every stakeholder in the process of making these decisions. The organization structure that would best suit this organization would be the matrix structure because according to Irani (n.d.) it combines both the function and the product structure which makes an efficient organizational structure at the end of the day.

The steps that would help to manage the transition from the old organization structure would involve: seeking support form most employees which will build confidence, practise good communication skills by listening intensely to the views given by employees, give feedback on matters discussed and be as accountable as possible. The employees should also be motivated and inspired, reward those who work exceptionally, give any detail that could help them adapt to change faster and maintain a good rapport between team members and customers. It is also important to access external environment so that the findings can be integrated into the turn-around plan. This can be done by conducting a simple research to get to know the change that has occurred since the product line development to assess the possible competition or change in technology.

References

Irani K. (n.d.) Type of Organizational Structures. Retrieved on April 7, 2010 from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/type-of-org..

Lani S. (n.d.). Just Answer. Retrieved on April 7, 2010 from http://www.justanswer.com/questions/2qre7…