Question

1) Describe how the firm, Google is organized. a. Note the formal structure (Organizational Charts); also what informal entities exist? b. Describe the decision- making the process. c. How does the organization manage change? Comment the on processes for control a. Note the type of controls. b. Describe the financial controls. (needs at least 6 paragraphs with some work cites)

Answer 1

Describe how the firm is organized.

Nike Inc.’s organizational structure reflects the abilities and limits of the business in its operations. A company’s organizational structure is the composition and system design applied on the interconnections among employees, groups, and divisions of the business. In Nike’s case, the organizational structure highlights the need to address differences among regional markets. As such, the company has developed its organizational structure to enable adjustments in dealing with market differences. As one of the leading players in the athletic footwear, apparel and equipment industry, Nike Inc. serves as an example of how regional variations must be included in business strategies. Nike Inc. has an organizational structure that facilitates regionalization of business strategies. The characteristics of this organizational structure provide Nike with flexibility to address consumer preferences for athletic shoes, apparel and equipment in regional markets.

1. Note the formal structure (organizational charts); also what informal entities exist?

Nike uses a flat or matrix organizational structure, and they have obviously made it Avery successful model for them (Chestnut).I think this is the most efficient model for a large multination corporation. Employees report to a project manager and also to the department manager. This allows quicker changes to be made based on the market, rather than having to report to the CEO. As far as informal entities, they are big on implementing project groups and working together whenever possible.

2. Describe the decision-making process.

Nike has adopted Top-down approach of Decision making. Top down approach is essentially the breaking down of a system to gain insight into its compositional sub-systems in a reverse engineering fashion.

Top down:

1. Take the whole problem and split it into two or more parts.
2. Find solution to these parts.
3. If these parts turn out to be too big to be solved as a whole, split them further and find find solutions to those sub-parts.
4. Merge solutions according to the sub-problem hierarchy thus created after all parts have been successfully solved.
   Bottom up :

1. Breaking the problem into smallest possible (and practical) parts.
2. Finding solutions to these small sub-problems.
3. Merging the solutions you get iteratively (again and again) till you have merged all of them to get the final solution to the "big" problem.                                                                                                                                                   

3. How does the organization manage change?

A- Strategic Management Changes Nike changed some people in some positions in order to driving deeper consumers’ connection and expanding the market share. Nike hopes that the changes will strengthen the global management team and look forward to the leadership in these key roles. Organizational change occurs when a company makes a transition from its current state to some desired future state. Managing organizational change is the process of planning and implementing change in organizations in such a way as to minimize employee resistance and cost to the organization while simultaneously maximizing the effectiveness of the change effort.

1. Note the type of controls.

A- Control can focus on events before, during, or after a process. These types of controls are formally called feed forward, concurrent, and feedback, respectively.

• Feed forward controls: - sometimes called preliminary or preventive controls, attempt to identify and prevent deviations in the standards before they occur. Feed forward controls focus on human, material, and financial resources within the organization. These controls are evident in the selection and hiring of new employees.

• Concurrent controls: - monitor ongoing employee activity to ensure consistency with quality standards. These controls rely on performance standards, rules, and regulations for guiding employee tasks and behaviors. Their purpose is to ensure that work activities produce the desired results.

• Feedback controls: - involve reviewing information to determine whether performance meets established standards

2. Describe the financial controls

A- Financial controls are the policies and procedures put into place by a business or organization to track, manage and report its financial resources and transactions. Financial controls include, but are not limited to, income statements, cash flow statements, budget sheets, accounting systems and operating ratios. Financial controls are essential to the success of any business. They supply current, relevant and accurate financial data that allows the business owner to track the progress of his business and evaluate the effectiveness of his business plan, making adjustments where necessary. Financial controls ensure that a business owner receives a return on his investment.