Paradoxical Twins Case Analysis Essay

1. At the annihilate of parting I, how would you describe the organization be after of some(prenominal)(prenominal) izzard and Acme? What factors led you to this conclusion?By the end of straggle I, it is clear that Acme is a much(prenominal)(prenominal) mechanical organization instruction on cogency and profits, sequence Omega aligns itself with an thoroughgoing organization mental synthesis rivet on cooperation, collaboration, and integration.Acme is mechanical with a clear straight building this conclusion is reached when looking at various factors. Factors include the distri butor point of speciality, formalization, and centralization. Mechanistic body social organisations atomic number 18 highly specialised, highly formalized, and centralized similar to Acme. specialness bottomland be seen through narrow job descriptions with clear responsibilities, while high formalization can be seen through the well-defined organizational charts and tight ship mana gement style. The high take of both specialization and formalization indicate a centralized environment, which is verified in Part I by the fact that managers wish they had greater decision-making influence ( much latitude). Further much, the structure at Acme has an end goal of efficiency and cost visualise, similar to well-nigh mechanistic organizations.Omega, on the opposite hand, has an organic structural design with an tension on collaboration, cooperation, and employee satisfaction across and among parts. This emphasis shows Omegas focus on effectualness, especially in the national help, which combined with managements team-based emphasis on making everyone smelling as if they argon part of the team and taking the epoch to see to suggestions (a little in like manner much term occasionally) furthers the conclusion that the partnership is organic. Furthermore, chief operating officer Rawls does not believe in organization charts or written memos indicating unhop eful formalization and a decentralized decision-making process (without organization charts, authority is slight defined). Low specialization can beseen through one springers initial experience at Omega where he or she worked in cardinal different departments within the first two days. Both facts (low specialization and formalization) ar indicative of a horizontal structure that aligns with the conclusion that omega is more organic.2. At the end of Part III, how can you explain the differences amidst what happened at Acme and at Omega? (Link the background facts with the behavior and difficultys and then(prenominal) to the outcomes observed, and then explain the relationships between these three elements.)At Acme, Tyler led the authority and delegate tasks to each department at one time the scheme came in, but cross-department talk was lacking. The inexorable organizational structure with stick rules and procedures did not allow for the departments to collaborate. Inste ad, departments were functional and concentrate only on the task for their section. Furthermore, Tyler was not being informed of the errors occurring in each department perhaps because in a large, hierarchical trunk it takes longer for knowledge to reach its end destination (whether that be the spend or bottom). His hit the roof humor took a blame approach, which is not productive for employee morale.Read moreEssay on Paradoxical match AcmeThe photocopier manufacturer mentioned that in this phase, speed was critical. Mechanistic structures work collapse in stable, known, simple environments where situations are routine and the goal is control and efficiency. This picture production process involved greater uncertainty considering the prototype had to be produced before final designs were approved. Furthermore, the routine for this process was still being developed. delinquent to the unknown, changing, and non-routine nature of this come across, an organic structure such as Omega was snare to due die because it is more flexible and adaptable.At Omega, Rawls immediately set up an initial make foring where all the departments heads could discuss the project in concert and collaborate. Though the start up time took longer this way, problems were solved up front so time was indited later, quality was improved, and bottlenecks reduced. Crosscommunication and collaboration is key with a non-routine process and greater interdependence train was required. The level of interdependence required proved to be a disconfirming aspect for Acme due to the lack of cross-department communication, but worked in Omegas favor.It is important that structure align with schema, and in this initial cheek Omegas organic, team-based structure aligned with the speed strategy that the photocopier had required. When information is shared in a quick manner, without vertical impediments, the whole process moves along much more quickly and collaboration enables efficiency.Th rough coordination and the team-based mentality at Omega, the corporation was able to take a problem-solving approach and plow issues of design errors up front whereas Acme did not even pull in the design flaw because of the organizations focus on high specialization. Each department focused only on what they specialize in so errors were near impossible to catch. Acmes rock-ribbed structure required the political party to go back to the beginning when the refreshful design was approved, setting the company further back. Omega, on the other hand, adjusted easily to the new design because of its adapting nature.Tyler, as a leader, made the mistake of assuming the team would work as efficiently as they start in the past considering this project was a rush priority with a different required strategy and different end goals. Tyler made it a point to communicate new developments to the photocopier company, but he did not communicate any of the issues/developments that were arising . Rawls, on the other hand, communicated instantly with the photocopier company once the flaw was discovered.Essentially, the problem was the same for both companiescertain parts could not be received on time and engineering the assembly was difficult. However, how each organization approached the problem, as led by the type of structure in place, is what led Omega to succeed and meet the speed dead course of study determined by the photocopier company. Omegas organic, adaptable, collaborative structure was more efficient for problem-solving scenarios,which this project was and allowed Omega to meet the deadline 10 days before Acme and with greater reliability. Acmes vertical structure with rigid procedures would take longer to communicate problems from the bottom to the top. It took longer time to take action with Acmes formal, hierarchical structure. These factors combined with its inflexible nature led Acme to be outdone by Omega.3. At the end of Part IV, how can this turnabout b e explained?Ultimately, the goal for phase two, once the prototype was developed was to cut costs and guarantee quality control. attached that the production process had already been created, this second phase project had a greater degree of certainty and routine. Once each company count on out how to engineer the assembly, the process became routine, which is give way suited for a mechanistic structure. If your end goal is to cut costs, specialized and rigid structures are better and more efficient as Porters low cost strategy shows.The degree of routine allowed each functional team (department) at Acme to focus on their specialization, which eliminated the problem of quality control. There was no guessing this time of how to best assemble the product. More time could be spent on figuring out ways to cut costs. When control and efficiency are the end goal, a mechanistic structure plant better than an organic, adaptable, and problem solving structure. Organic structures are co ntingency-based, which was not as helpful in this case because of the greater degree of certainty.Omega should start out been seeking ways to reduce costs, but or else focused too much on collaboration this time and on the management philosophical system of maintaining employee satisfaction. Once again we see that when strategy (low cost) does not align with structure (organic), the end result is not achieved. Omegas lack of expound organization charts and specific job responsibilities most likely created internal surprise as well.At Acme tasks became standardized and job roles were well defined. At Omega,job roles were not clearly defined, and it is possible that, as mentioned earlier, too much time was spent on listening to suggestions and making sure everyone dumb what was going on. While Acme was focusing on doing things right, Omega was focusing on doing the right thing. Also, considering the high volume that needed to be produced, it makes scent out that Acme received t he contract in the end since the company specialized in low cost, high volume projects.4. If you were to consult with the Presidents of Acme and Omega, what advice would you bust (to each one) concerning future survival and success of their firms? Explain your reasoning.What each company should learn from this example is that it is never ideal to be too mechanistic (rigid and structured) or too organic (loose and flexible). Each has its benefits depending on the type of project and what the end goals are, but as this case demonstrates each company failed at least once and succeeded once. Acmes president should try to mix some organic components into their structure, and Omega should integrate mechanistic components into their structure. A mark system would be ideal to get the best of both structures. A matrix, in essence, would prove to be a more efficient and effective structure. Well defined authority structures are needed so that workers are not confused about what their roles and tasks are, and collaborative environments should be encouraged as well in case thither are times where problem solving needs to be done.To be more specific, at Acme, instead of acting as functional teams, the teams should be cross-functional which allows for collaboration, and the managers should be given a greater level of decision-making power (increased lateral). Something needs to be done so that it does not take so long for information to travel. Tyler should consider invest in an HR department if one does not already live and on the internal environment because satisfied workers are generally more efficient. If a worker feels like they are a part of the team, he or she will want the company to succeed and work better towards that goal. Tyler should have department heads be on the same horizontal level and ensure cross communication occurs. So that he doesnthave to do this himself, the idea of a project manager can be introduced. Someone from the outside can be brought i n to coordinate between the departments and ensure deadlines are being met and that solutions are being worked on when a problem arises.At Omega, job responsibilities should be narrowed and clearer and greater measures should be taken to maintain control. There should be some sense of an imperative figure or two. There seems to be a lack of line authority and without unity of command, there is room for confusion. Rawls should not spend so much time listening to suggestions and can instead hire soul to do that for him. As head of the company, he should be focusing on bringing in business and not trying to micro-manage everyone. In this company, there is too great a degree of lateral structure. Instead of everyone run across together all the time, only department heads should be meeting regularly. The heads can have greater discussion with their own team and then communicate back to one another. A structured flow of ideas will save time. Greater specialization and formalization is needed because if workers are unsure of what their roles are how can they be expected to perform. Broader categories can be established such as marketing, operations, engineering, etc. Rawls should also look into written communication to ensure the company is well organized. Meetings take up a greater arrive of time, and with writing there may not always be a need to physically meet.It is important to remember that structure and strategy junction will lead to success. Therefore, the structure must be somewhat flexible to adapt to strategy, but rigid enough to address end objectives such as cutting costs and maintaining efficiency. The matrix structure is the ideal balance, combine the best of both mechanistic and organic to achieve business objectives. The best part is that it can be tailored to each organization so Acme can retain its vertical nature for the most part and Omega can still focus on collaboration, but elements of the opposing type are introduced to achieve greater balance.This is my own work. I have not discussed this case with anyone, nor have I used soul elses write-up of the case, either current or past students orfrom the Internet.