Assignment
1. Name some companies that you think could succeed to day with a globalization strategy and explain why you selected those companies. How does the globalization strategy differ from a multidomestic strategy?
2. Why do you think the tension between a desire for global uniformity and local responsiveness is greater today than in the past?
3. Many American companies enter China through joint ventures with local firms, but China is succeeding in the United States primarily with a strategy of buying companies outright. What are some factors that might account for this difference?
4. Do you think it makes sense for a transnational organization to have more than one headquarters? What might be some advantages associated with two head-quarters, each responsible for different things? Can you think of any drawbacks?
5. What are some of the primary reasons a company de-cides 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 comoanv's decision? Discuss.
6. 'What is a service technology? Are different types of ser vice technologies likely to be associated with different organization designs? Explain.
7. 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 compa¬nies are adopting these ideas?
8. Why might administrators at a hospital such as Seattle Children's Hospital, described on page 276, want to foster relational coordination?
A top executive claimed that top-level management is a craft technology because the work contains intangi¬bles, such as handling personnel, interpreting the envi¬ronment, 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 hence that for-mal training rather than experience is most important?
9. To what extent does the development of new tech-nologies simplify and routinize the jobs of employees? Can you give an example? Can new technology also lead to jobs with greater variety and complexity? Discuss.
10. Describe the sociotechnical systems model. Why might some managers oppose a sociotechnical systems approach?