Questions
What organizational characteristics do you think might explain 100-year longevity?
What is the difference between formalization and specialization? Do you think an organization high on one dimension would also be high on the other?
What does contingency mean? What are the implications of contingency theory for managers?
What are the primary differences between an organic and a mechanist organization design? Which type of organization do you think would be easier to manage?
Discuss the role of top management in setting organizational direction.
How might a company’s goals for employee development be related to its goals for innovation and change? To goals for productivity? Can you discuss ways these types of goals might conflict in an organization?
Discuss the similarities and differences in the strategies described in Porter’s competitive strategies and Miles and Snow’s typology.
Do you believe mission statements and official goal statements provide an organization with genuine legitimacy in the external environment? When a company such as CVS (discussed in the chapter) makes a decision to stop selling cigarettes because that action conflicts with its mission statement, what do you see as the impact on public opinion? On future business?
Reference
Daft, R. L. (04/2015). Organization Theory and Design, 12th Edition. [BryteWave].