Internal Design Elements
DISCUSSION ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
The student must post a reply of at least 400 words to the below discussion thread. For reply, students must support their assertions with scholarly citations in APA format. Each reply must incorporate scholarly citations in APA format. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years.
Textbook:
Daft, R. L. (2016). Organization theory & design (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. ISBN: 9781285866345.
Discussion Thread: Internal Design Elements
Author of thread : Joshua Johnson
Chapter 7: Mass customization of products has become a common approach in manufacturing organizations. Explain the ways in which customization can be applied to service firms as well.
Mass customization in service firms is a process that aims at satisfying as many needs as possible for each individual customer. Customization in service firms has become the cornerstone of customer relationship management because the process focuses on retaining customers to gain a competitive advantage. Two forms of service industries that can develop mass customization is banking and cable television. In banking, several mainstream corporations (Wells Fargo, Bank of America) compete and with smaller banking institutions (Bank of the James, First Citizens, and the local credit union). Because of the fierce competition and the major use of banking by everyone, it is important for banks to offer a unique service that cannot be found elsewhere (Coelho & Henseler, 2012). Customizations across a company’s platform such as relationship building with customers, fast service, and membership promotions are just a few ways in which banking organizations can bring in customers and retain them. Similar actions can be taken with cable television because, like banks, there are plenty cable companies that offer the same service yet need to differentiate themselves by providing unique service. Cable companies can provide fast and thorough technical support, promotional programs for new and existing companies, and a broader range of area coverage.
Research has shown that the higher the service customization, the higher the perceived quality will be. Customization is clearly visible to the consumer, and it is considered an investment in high customer loyalty. For the increased amount of competition for organizations that make the same product, mass customization in service is an essential factor in business strategy (Coelho & Henseler, 2012). In fact, it is difficult for organizations to reflect 100 percent service or 100 percent manufacturing characteristics (Daft, 2016).
Chapter 7: A top executive claimed that superior management is a craft technology because the work contains intangibles (such as handling personnel, interpreting the environment, and coping with unusual situations that have to be learned through experience). If this is true, is it appropriate to teach management in a business school? Does teaching management from a textbook assume that the manager’s job is analyzable and, therefore, that formal training rather than experience is most important?
Even though top management is a craft technology, management still needs to be taught in business school. This means that a manager’s job is analyzable but only from the portion of formal textbook training. There is a lot of task variety in work including many unexpected events from the conversion of textbook training to real-life experience (Daft, 2016). However, this is not to say that experience is more important than formal training or vice versa. Higher education institutions provide the common baseline for business teaching and therefore must be used prior to gaining real world experience. There are several factors though in which modern business teaching has fallen short in helping the transition to applied knowledge. Although business teachings often include case studies, there is very little opportunity to deal with real-life situations. There is also very little training in integrative and critical thinking. Business students tend to take a strong rational view of actions while failing to examine external factors such as the way companies can display political actions. In textbook teaching, business students learn analysis and thinking but rarely get to transition that to action and reflection. To create a balance between the teachings of business school and the actions beyond that point, schools should require their students to use their skills in supervised real-life situations (Dyllick, 2015). Although there seem to be many shortcomings of business schools, there is still the undeniable learning foundation that they provide.
Chapter 8: Do you believe that technology will eventually enable high-level managers to do their job with little face-to-face communication?
With the advancement of modern technology, more managers can conduct meetings via conference calls, Skype, FaceTime, and other forms of video conferencing. Although this technology remains on the rise, I do not believe that this will eliminate face-to-face communication. There are several factors that become inhibited when face-to-face communication is not used. Non-verbal expressions, a speaker’s tone, and even their vocabulary can be limited when communicating through technology. Even the most sophisticated forms of communication such as Skype can experience delays and ambiguity in the speaker’s meaning. In face-to-face communication, there is an unrestricted use of verbal expressions and an instantaneous collaboration among all parties involved. This form of communication enables managers and employees to speak freely and develop a meaningful respect for each other given the circumstances of speaking to an actual person (Bavelas, Hutchinson, Kenwood & Matheson, 1997). While it may be true that technology can often reduce meeting times and make collaboration more efficient, there will still always be a need for personal management techniques that involve a more direct oversight.
Chapter 9: Look through several recent issues of a business magazine (Fortune, BusinessWeek, Fast Company, etc.) and find examples of 2 companies that are using approaches to busting bureaucracy. Explain the techniques that these companies are applying.
Bureaucracy can keep individuals so locked into their jobs that they often operate without any focus on their customers and how their work translates to the goals of the company. To eliminate the bureaucratic setting, many companies have started process that work on developing each team member through open, honest, and continuous feedback. Amazon’s online shoe retailer, Zappos, used this exact process when they decided to adopt holarchy—an organizational structure without job titles. The purpose of holarchy was to eliminate managers and put individuals in charge of their own work. Although Zappos received backlash from holarchy, the effort to reduce bureaucracy did not go unnoticed (Kraemer, 2015).
Another company to work towards no bureaucracy is Volkswagen. After the company was hit with scandal, it halved the number of senior managers that report directly to the chief executive. This greatly sped up company processes and streamlined decisions. Companies like Zappos and Volkswagen have brought to life the idea that bureaucracy will not fade until public and private sector leaders acknowledge its flaws (Hill, 2016).
Chapter 9: Do you believe that a no growth philosophy of management should be taught in business schools?
Many organizations today have stopped growing and are in decline meaning that not all organizations should be measured on growth alone (Daft, 2016). I believe that the no growth philosophy should be taught in schools to help students understand that not all businesses are designed to grow through an entire lifespan. Businesses students need the opportunity to learn about all business structures, even those in decline. The ability to manage in times of no company growth is an invaluable skill that can help students learn to be leaders in an everchanging roller coaster market. There are many organizations that are started, grown, and then eventually come to an end and business students may find themselves as the owner of such a business one day or affected by one and thus need to know how to act in that situation.
How can/should a biblical worldview be applied?
Hebrews 5:12 states, ‘For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God…’ No matter how skilled we believe ourselves to be, we always benefit from the continuous teaching of others. In business, whether we are trying to learn to become an effective manager or efficiently run our business, we all need guidance (from being a novice to an expert). Spiritual growth, like business growth continues throughout life and we are always learning how to succeed in both. Learning takes time and God shows us this by giving us the opportunity to have patience and by showing us that he is patient with us.
References
Bavelas, J. B., Hutchinson, S., Kenwood, C., & Matheson, D. H. (1997). Using face-to-face dialogue as a standard for other communication systems. Canadian Journal of Communication, 22(1), 5. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquestcom.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/219615305?accountid=12085.
Coelho, P. S., & Henseler, J. (2012). Creating customer loyalty through service customization. European Journal of Marketing, 46(3), 331-356. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1108/03090561211202503.
Daft, R. L. (2016). Organization Theory and Design (12th ed). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning
Dyllick, T. (2015). Responsible management education for a sustainable world. The Journal of Management Development, 34(1), 16-33. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login? url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1648568071?accountid=12085.
Hill, A. (2016). Business: How to topple bureaucracy. Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/aa284852-0096-11e6-99cb-83242733f755.
Kraemer, H. (2015). Want to banish bureaucracy? There’s a better way than Zappos’ ‘Holacracy’. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2015/05/29/want-to-banish-bureaucracytheres-a-better-way-than-zappos-holacracy/#5d95e2a270d2.
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