Organizational Theory and Practice

week 3 disussion

 

Read and review page 252 of your textbook and post your responses to questions 5, 8 and 10. Next, read page 298 in your textbook and post your responses to questions 6 and 7.

 

5. What are some of the primary reasons a company decides to expand internationally? Identify a company in the news that has recently built a new overseas facility. Which of the three motivations for global expansion described in the chapter do you think best explains the company’s decisions? Discuss.

 

8. Traditional values in Mexico support high power distance and a low tolerance for uncertainty. What would you predict about a company that opens a division in Mexico and tries to implement global teams characterized by shared power and authority and the lack of formal guidelines, rules, and structure?

 

10. Compare the description of the transnational model in this chapter to the elements of organic vs. mechanistic organization designs described in Chapter 1. Do you think the transnational model seems workable for a huge global firm? Discuss.

6. Lean concepts such as continuous improvement and waste reduction have long been used by manufacturing companies. Discuss how service firms can apply the same concepts. Why do you think many service companies are adopting these ideas?

 

7. Why might administrators at a hospital such as Seattle Children’s Hospital, described on page 280, want to foster relational coordination?