Sherman_Computer_Repair_New_Direction

Sherman Computer Repair New Direction MMPBL 550 Sherman Computer Repair New Direction Sherman Computer Repair (Sherman) is a computer repair company seeking to expand their computer repair business to computer assembly by looking at the opportunity for creativity and innovation in order to reach this goal, (University of Phoenix, 2010). “Innovation is the process by which organizations use their resources and competences to develop new or improved goods and services or to develop new production and operating systems so that they can better respond to the needs of their customers" (Jones, 2004, p. 403). Innovation brings about change and is important for Sherman for expansion. Management must evaluate and develop an organizational restructuring plan so new technologies can introduced as the company expands into computer assembly. "Organizing for innovation continues to be a challenge for many companies. It is not enough to craft a strategy or to build innovation processes; you need to build and embed innovation into the overall organization," (Davila, Epstein & Shelton, 2006, p. 87). This new plan will help with their new strategies, and how to handle the new workforce that will be needed. New technology should be included their business model when the company begins restructuring. It should also include new processes and procedures, while focusing on their strengths and weaknesses because it will help them determine what should be changed. This paper will show Sherman’s organizational design and an evaluation of the weaknesses and strengths of the company’s external environment. Sherman Computer Repair Organizational Design Organizational design, culture, structure, and change are all interrelated. Using organizational theory, Sherman will be able to look at their culture and structure and address any issues. The process of organizational design can be used to make any necessary adjustments to help them in achieving their goals. Currently, based on the scenario, Sherman three locations, each having a manager, receptionist, 3 computer repair technicians. Additional, Sherman employs 12 technicians for mobile home repair service, (University of Phoenix, 2010). Since the company is small, geographically centralized, and provides few goods and services, it appears they operate using a functional organizational structure, which uses a hierarchy-based structure. According to Jones, (2004, p. 160), functional structure is "a design that groups people on the basis of their common skills and expertise or because they use the same resources. An organization groups tasks into functions to increase the effectiveness with which it achieves its principal goal." Functional design reduces duplication of activities and encourages technical expertise, so it has barriers which can hinder implementation of new technologies. These barriers can prevent Sherman Company from reaching their goals, along with development of new technologies or innovations. "A function is a subunit composed of a group of people, working together, who possess similar skills or use the same kind of knowledge, tools, or techniques to perform their jobs," (Jones, 2004, p. 99). Communication and coordination are two of the barriers which causes struggle between the functional groups. "To avoid the communication problems that can arise from horizontal differentiation, organizations try to find new or better ways to integrate functions—that is, to promote cooperation, coordination, and communication among separate subunits," (Jones, 2004, p. 103). Differentiation is another barrier which exists that may prevent the company from adopting and developing new technologies. “It is the process of establishing and controlling the division of labor, or degree of specialization, in the organization," (Jones, 2004, p. 95). Currently, Sherman is a small organization and the division of labor is low, and does not have differentiation problems. But as they grow, to control the activities that achieve the company’s goals, management must decide the level of differentiation to be used, whether horizontal or vertical. To avoid communication problems from horizontal differentiation, Sherman must find new functions that “promote cooperation, coordination, and communication among separate subunits,” (Jones, 2004, p. 103). The company may also struggle with balancing decentralization and centralization because employees are looking to management for direction and supervision, they may be hesitant with taking on risks and responsibilities concerning the decisions that need to be made. “When nobody is willing to take responsibility, decision making becomes slow and the organization becomes inflexible – that is, unable to change and adapt to new developments,” (Jones, 2004, p. 108). To discourage taking risks, managers choose centralized authority, which maximizes control over performance. "Sometimes managers can solve the control problems associated with a functional structure, such as poor communication between functions, by redesigning the functional structure to increase integration between functions,” (Jones, 2004, p. 108). Generally, technology companies want to encourage taking risks so they decentralize authority to take advantage of innovation. If Sherman wants to prevent the company from becoming decentralized, both employees and management needs to be involved with the decisions and be held accountable. The development of various cultural values will exist whether an organization is centralized or decentralized. If a company decentralized its authority, values can be established that encourages creativity and innovation. In some instances, centralization can create cultural values that reinforce accountability. Either way, organizational structure usually affects cultural values, guiding employees as they perform their duties. Culture helps an organization achieve its goals by coordinating organizational resources. Sherman needs to find the right amount of formalization and socialization by balancing standardization and mutual adjustment. “Formalization is the use of written rules and procedures to standardize operations. There is no room for mutual adjustment; rules specify how people are to perform their roles and how decisions are to be made, and employees are accountable for following the rules.,” (Jones, 2004, p. 112). “Socialization is the process by which organizational members learn the norms of an organization and internalize these unwritten rules of conduct,” (Jones, 2004, p. 113). Sherman should communicate that rules are fluid at times; they are convenient guidelines for standardize operations. Norms and values should be promoted by management while balancing standardization and mutual adjustment. While Sherman's organizational plan will include the incorporation of computer assembly, they need to understand the barriers which may exist, while adjusting their design and strategies in order to continue moving toward reaching their goal. Any one of the barriers may slow their progress toward innovation. While focusing attention and careful consideration of the barriers that prevents the company from adopting new technologies, Sherman can base their decisions and strategies to expand their operations to include computer assembly while addressing issues dealing with the external environment. Sherman Computer Repair External Environment If Sherman is to remain competitive in the technology industry, it will be critical for them to be able to adapt to change, through the process of organizational learning. Organizational learning will allow them to acquiring knowledge to adapt to their changing circumstances. If companies fail to change when competition is prevalent, they may not survive. To be successful, Sherman must reshape its external boundaries. The external environment and boundaries are important to Sherman and their outside customers and suppliers because they can help the company succeed. "External boundaries are barriers between firms and the outside world- principally suppliers and customers but also government agencies, special interest groups, and communities," (Ashkenas, Ulrich, Jick & Kerr, 2002, p. 11). When modifying the organizational structure, other than customers and suppliers, the company should concentrate on the geographic boundaries, which exist when firms operate in different markets. The company could establish a relationship geographically to make purchasing, promotions, and marketing decisions to align with the business volume. Sherman shares the same industry with Synergetic Solutions Inc. and must develop a relationship when it comes to geographic boundaries. "Organizations have always had and will continue to have boundaries. People specialize in different tasks, and thus boundaries exist between functions. People have differing levels of authority and influence, so boundaries exist between bosses and subordinates," (Ashkenas, Ulrich, Jick & Kerr, 2002, p. 3). To stay competitive, Sherman should also address their external boundaries, making the necessary changes to make their company more successful in their industry, allowing them to move into other markets in other countries. Sherman could develop more efficient operations by having a thin boundary between the company, its customers and suppliers. “While external boundaries do provide positive identity for insiders (“I work for X!”), they also diffuse effectiveness,” (Ashkenas, Ulrich, Jick & Kerr, 2002, p. 11). Sherman must consider the weaknesses and strengths of the external environment when modifying the organizational structure. Strategic resources and management must be available to the customers and suppliers. They also need to understand their requests, complaints, and needs, which should be expected and addressed in a timely manner. When undertaking strategic initiatives, customers and suppliers are integral contributors of new service and process ideas. The effectiveness of the different strategies and tactics must be determined while assessing the external environment at Sherman. Sherman Computer Repair Talent Recognition For innovation to be successful at Sherman, there are things they must address, to include; supporting its corporate culture through creativity and innovative ideas. “One of the main approaches to ensure that innovation is successful in the organization is to develop an internal marketplace where the ideas and functions of innovation can flourish in a supply-and-demand environment,” (Davila, Epstein & Shelton, 2006, p. 88). To ensure a positive impact on the organization while promoting their strategy, Sherman must recognize the creative talent of their current employees. But at this time, the company does not have the talent necessary to reach the goal of the organization’s new direction. Hopefully, the company can motivate them enough to be committed to innovation and the surrounding processes. There are some important tools available which can be used when it comes to performance management that include rewards and incentives. According to Davila, Epstein & Shelton (2006, p. 179), "incentives and rewards are some of the most powerful management tools available. However, be careful what behavior you reward—you might just get it. Measures and incentives are powerful, but they should be carefully designed and balanced with the rest of management tools, including risk management " Currently, Sherman does not have an incentive or rewards program so management should be focusing on these tools along with employees, while communicating how important they are in the success of the organization. To help in achieving this success, the company must strategically develop an incentives and rewards program that will motivate their employees’ behavior and performance. The company must set goals while defining incentive contracts to distinguish between performance and rewards. To help succeed and promote the growth of innovation, Sherman needs innovative people, beginning with their current employees. When Sherman begins to expand, they will be able to bring in more employees by recruiting new talent, which will help with motivation. By increasing creativity and diversity through new talent, it will have a compelling impact on helping the organization succeed, while bringing in an elevated level of innovation into the company. There are benefits for Sherman to expand the company, which will include more jobs for the region and increasing market territory, allowing them the opportunity to become number one in the industry. Sherman Computer Repair Barriers to Change There are some barriers to change for Sherman to overcome. It is possible for some managers to become complacent when it comes to new ideas for innovation from innovative employees, causing them to want to leave, taking their ideas with them. Other managers may undermine or criticize these employees rather showing support. "Organizing for innovation continues to be a challenge for many companies. They often find that the organizational components of innovation are rejected or marginalized by the mainstream organization," (Davila, Epstein & Shelton, 2006, p. 87). Sherman needs to internally develop a forum where employees can brainstorm their creative ideas. This will allow the opportunity for the company to balance creativity and centralization processes. Focus should be placed on creating new services as the company begins to grow, while placing high value on balancing commercialization skills with creativity. Sherman can develop and manage platforms for innovation that the organization pursues. "Innovation platforms cut across the business unit silos and provide an honest perspective on the value of the innovations, rather than one limited by the perception of a single business unit," (Davila, Epstein & Shelton, 2006, p. 97). Projects could be created in each platform, ensuring the alignment and balance of creative and commercialization markets. Internal and external partnerships could be formed, along with benchmarks to identify talent. Sherman must ensure organizational antibodies do not "limit or destroy rejuvenated creative markets and processes. Rejuvenating the innovation process requires a significant change in mindset, requires support from top management, and a reallocation of resources. Innovation results from the perfect balance of the creative and value capture processes," (Davila, Epstein & Shelton, 2006, p. 99). If Sherman remained open minded, receptive to change, and seeks out innovation, they could avoid organizational antibodies to innovation. Also, if management does not have the mentality that reflects change in a negative way, it could make sure that commitment to innovation is an everyday search. Other barriers to innovation would include those with ideas will have no one to tell, failures are socially shunned, and innovation funding is limited to financial metrics. Sherman is looking at innovation that will become a daily activity. Conclusion Sherman is looking at making several changes. In today’s environment, change is inevitable in all type of business, becoming a common practice of organizational dynamics. Employee resistance to change can hinder the strategic goals from being achieved in the organization, but to be successful, Sherman needs to make these changes. The company will design a corporate cultural structure that parallels the organization’s environment so Sherman can achieve the goal of moving the organization to computer assembly. They will also determine what technology will be used to enable them to change inputs into outputs, developing a strategy that will create value from using their skills and resources. To maximize the ability to create value, Sherman will motivate the employees who perform organizational tasks. The benefits from these changes will include more jobs within the community because the company will need additional employees to help with the creativity and innovation. These changes will also allow the organization to expand into the market. The decisions that will need to be made for these changes will require the support and cooperation from both management and employees. To be successful in this, management will allow input from employees concerning organizational decisions, believing this will help motivate employees. This paper has shown that while developing the talent necessary for Sherman to expand, barriers to change can be effectively managed. It has also been shown that while developing new technologies and strategies, the organization’s external environment structure can be successfully modified. References Ashkenas, Ulrich, Jick and Kerr (2002). The boundaryless Organization: Breaking the Chains of Organizational Structure, 2ed. Davila, T., Epstein, M., and Shelton, R. (2006). Making innovation work: How to manage it, measure it, and profit from it. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. Jones, G. (2004). Organizational Theory, Design, and Change. New Jersey: Pearson – Prentice Hall. University of Phoenix. (2010). Organization Structure simulation. Synergetic Solution Inc. Scenario.