Posted: April 19th, 2016

plan for changing the organizational structure of the failing division

Turning a failing organization around is one of the most interesting activities in management. When organizations see themselves in that downward spiral, their managers may feel that they are unable to stop the pace of negative change. That worry and that downward momentum can be very powerful. At the same time, it sometimes takes only a key impetus to deflect that movement and turn things around. Consider the following scenario: You have recently been hired as a new manager for a failing division in a company. The product line is outdated and losing market share, interdepartmental communication is adversarial, and competition for corporate funding is fierce. As a new manager, how are you going to turn things around? Your first task as the new manager is to write a 2 3 page plan for changing the organizational structure of the failing division, incorporating the following elements: Explain how you would address each of the 3 main problems in the organization: outdated product lines, adversarial communication, and competition for internal resources. Thinking about organizational structures reviewed in the text, which one (or ones) do you think would be most suited to this organization, and why? What steps would you suggest to manage the transition from the old organizational structure to the new? How would you assess the external environment and integrate this into the turn around plan?