Assignment: Research Term Paper for Delta Airlines
Introduction
This is a class about themacro-organizational behaviorabout the way in which organizations develop their mission, goals, and strategies, how they structure themselves in terms of work and authority relationships, how they manage their internal processes and how they relate to their environment. The best way to learn about all of this is by looking at different types of modern organizations.
For your Research Term Paper, you are asked to conduct an in-depth analysis of an existing company of your choice, to which you will apply all of the concepts and materials presented in this class. The type of company is not really that important, but it is important that you can get enough information about the company.
Required Content: You will be asked to apply all the relevant concepts covered in this class to your organization. To assist matters, a number of questions are provided to guide you in this process, following the chapters as presented in class. Make sure that you include sources for all of your information and detailed examples and explanations for all your classifications. While you are of course free to read other analyses conducted on the company (you are in fact encouraged to read whatever you can about "your" company), please be very, very careful referencing your sources. Anything that did not originate in your brain MUST be properly referenced, using APA referencing. This includes the textbook, the class materials such as PowerPoint notes, company materials, interview notes, internet sources, other articles, etc. Plagiarism shall result in an F grade for the assignment.
For your selected organization, assess each of the factors and components specified below. Make sure that your answers are descriptive and detailed and that you provide sufficient explanations and examples. Begin by describing the concept, e.g. what is a mission statement? Then tell me what the mission statement of the company is and also whether you find it to be informative, useful or appropriate.
Detail is everything - not only in description but also (and even more so) in assessment and classification. If you claim that the company is a "leader in the industry", provide data that support it. If you say that they are effective because of market share or employee satisfaction, tell me what the market share is that they currently hold and how you know that their employees are happy.
Instructions:
o Everyone must complete sets I, II, III and IV; select and complete TWO sets from V- VIII
o Select the two sets from IV-VIII that you can write strongly about/the two sets you have the most concrete information about
o Be sure to clearly indicate which question sets you are addressing
I. Manufacturing and Service Technology
1. Describe the core technology of your organization. Be detailed in your descriptions.
2. Select 1 department within the organization and describe its technology. Give examples.
3. Assess interdepartmental technology and connections. Give examples.
II. Information Technology and Control
1. Assess the organization's information technology development level. Explain and give examples.
2. Using the various concepts in this chapter, provide a strategy for current or future use that would allow the organization to develop and enhance its use of information technology. E.g., if the organization is currently at the operational level, what would enhance its effectiveness at that level and would decision-making and control tools would be appropriate to introduce at this stage? Alternatively, if it operates at the decision-making and control level, how effective is it at that level and what strategic applications should it be considering? Be detailed and specific in your answers.
III. Organizational Size, Life Cycle and Decline
1. Assess your organization's size. From a strategic, long-term perspective, would you advocate growth, stability or reduction in size? Explain.
2. Where is your organization in the life cycle model? Explain. What issues is it facing in this phase of its development and what recommendations would you have to deal with these issues effectively?
3. It is often argued that bureaucratization is an inevitable outcome of growth and age. Does this apply in your organization? Can/should it be avoided and if so, how?
4. Does your organization practice bureaucratic, market or clan control? Provide specific examples. Is this approach working?
5. Compare and contrast Porter's Model with Miles and Snow for your organization. Provide specific examples to each.
IV. Organizational Culture and Ethical Values
1. Describe the culture of your organization in terms of its key values, assumptions and beliefs. Illustrate the organizational culture but describing some of the organizational symbols, stories, language, rituals and ceremonies.
2. How would you classify the culture? Is a weak or a strong culture? Are there clear subcultures within the organization? Does it/could it have the type of culture needed for a learning organization?
3. Does the organization have a formal or informal code of ethics? Describe the major feature of its ethical code. Does it have any structural means of supporting ethics (ombudsperson, ethics officer, disclosure mechanisms, ethics hotline, and ethics training)?
4. What is the source of its ethical practices (e.g. law, value-based leadership, and personal ethics of employees, cultural, professional/industry)? Would it pass a social audit? Has the organization encountered any major issues with regard to ethics or is it at risk in this area?
V. The International Environment (select only if applicable)
1. Discuss in detail the nature of the organization's current international, multinational or global environment. Provide data and examples.
2. If the company is currently international, multinational or global, describe its motivation, strategy and structure in this area and the effectiveness of its operations. Be sure to include a detailed discussion of the various issues and challenges including the need to build global capabilities and the need to manage cultural differences.
VI. Innovation and Change
1. Identify at least 2 major changes that took place in the organization during the past 10 years. For each of these changes, determine the following:
A. Was the change incremental or radical?
B. Was the change technical, strategic/structural, product/service or cultural?
C. Depending on the type of change (specified in b above), describe the change process and its effectiveness, using the relevant concepts and ideas.
D. Describe the change process.
2. Describe the innovation climate at your organization in relation to specific innovation measures outlined in the survey. What recommendations would you offer to enhance its ability to deal with innovation and change?
VII. Decision-Making Processes
1. Identify at least 2 major decisions made over the past 5 years, one being considered a "good" decision and the other a "not-so-good" one. Interview some of the key participants in the decision-making process and/or try to obtain a detailed account of the decision-making process using other means. Provide a detailed write-up of the process involved in both instances. Be sure to specify the organization's criteria for good and bad decisions.
2. Use 2 of the decision-making theories/frameworks described in the chapter to analyze these 2 decisions. Evaluate the effectiveness of the decision-making process in both instances. What could the organization do to enhance the quality of its decision-making?
VIII. Conflict, Power and Politics
1. What are your organization's built-in sources of conflict? How are these conflicts manifested and how are they managed? Describe the organization's conflict level and conflict culture.
2. Describe the organizational politics. Management's power structure, etc. Provide at least 2 specific, in-depth case descriptions to illustrate your points.