The German University in Cairo

MBA section

City of Carlsbad, California

RestructuringthePublicWorksDepartment
Case Study Answers to Questions

Students:
Marwa Mourad
Mohamed Kotb
Mohamed Ossama
Lecturer: Dr. Ahmed Amin
Course: Organizational Development and Change, Winter 2013
Question1:
WhatisyourdiagnosisofthesituationinthePublicWorksDepartment?

ThecityofCarlsbadisanOceanfrontcityof75,000thathadanEmergingfromworstrecessioninhistoryofcity
Accordinglytransitioningtomorebusinesslikeorganizationalstructurewasmorepreferable.

ThestructurechosenwasaFunctionalOrganizationone,ThePublicWorksdepartmentformedbyconsolidating
sixpreviouslyindependentdepartmentsintothebelowStructure:

Thestructuresupportedtheemployeessatisfactionwiththeirjobsasthefocusgroupsandtheinterviews
conductedbytheODhaveshownhowevertherewasanobviousduplicationofactivitiesandresourcesbetween
somedepartmentsunderthePublicwokdirector,inadditiontheinterventionwasntexplainedtothe
employeeswhichhascreatedsomekindoffearamongtheemployees.

ThePublicWorksDirectoralsoactingastheCityEngineercouldcauseproblems:possiblepreferentialtreatment
andconflictsofinterest.

Individualteamsaretoocohesive.Thiscreatedalackofteamwork,trust,andoverallcohesiveness.
Therewerenoclearlydefinedroles,responsibilities,orgoals.

ThePublicWorksDepartmentseemedtolackastrategiccomponent,morespecificallyalackoffunctional
policies,goals,andobjectives.

Overall,stakeholdersviewedthechangesaspositiveforcustomersandemployeesbecauseitwouldallowthe
anticipatedgrowthtooccurinacosteffectivemanner.

Question2:

Howwouldyouproceedfromthispoint?

Engageemployeesthroughparticipationandempowerment,sinceemployeesweresuspiciousofthereasonsfor
thechange,engagetheminconversationtoexplainthereasonsforchange;askforopinionsandfeedback.
Facilitateteachingemployeeswhattheprocessesareforotherdepartmentssothatcohesivenesscanspan
acrossdepartmentsratherthanremainingisolatedwithindepartments.Discoverwaystoenhanceemployees
appreciationfortheworkofotherdepartmentsand/orhowthedepartmentsaffecttheworkoftheothers
throughsystemmodels.

Inaddition,oneshouldusecollectionmethodssuchasobservationofemployeesatwork,surveysand
questionnaires.BecausethePublicWorksdepartmentservicestheresidentsofCarlsbad,Iwouldalsoinclude
theminrandomquestionnairestofindouthowtheirserviceisworkingandhowitcanbeimproved.

AllowtheopportunityforaMatrixStructurewhichcanencouragetheeliminationofredundancybetween
differentdepartmentsandmakemoreuseofmutualresourcesandcityassists.

Question3:

WhatinterventionswouldyourecommendandWhy?

Sinceindividualteamsareinternallytoocohesive,butlackteamworkcapabilitiesandflowinglydonttrusteach
otherandtheirtopmanagement,oneshouldseekinterventionsthatemphasizetheimportanceofteamwork
andhelptobuildtrustandcommitmentoftheemployeesnotonlytotheirdivisionsbuttotheCarlsband
departmentofPublicWorksasawhole.Belowareafewinterventionsthatmaysolvethisproblem.

Processconsultation&Teambuilding.Thisinterventionfocusesoninterpersonalrelationsandsocialdynamics
occurringinworkgroups.InthisinterventiontheODpractitionershouldhelpgroupmemberstodiagnosetheir
groupfunctioningandfindappropriatesolutionsfortheirproblemsofdysfunctionalconflictandmistrust.His
goalatthisphaseshouldbetoallowthemtodiagnosetheirownproblemstobetterdealwiththeirconflictsin
thefuture,andcooperatebetterwitheachotherasateam.

SincetheMSAisnewlyformedtheODpractitionershouldimprovetheteamcohesivenessbyteambuilding
activities,throughwhichthenewlymergedteamswouldgettoknoweachotherandcooperatemoreeffectively
toaccomplishingtheirtasks.Thisshouldinvolveexaminationofthegroup'stask,memberroles,andstrategies
forperformingtasks.

Thirdpartyintervention.TosolvetheinterpersonalrelationsproblemsinPublicWorkDepartmentwhichmay
occurafterthemergerthisinterventionwouldbeessential.Interpersonalconflictmayoccurduetosubstantive
issues,suchasdisputesoverworkmethods,orfrominterpersonalissues,suchasmiscommunicationwhichlead
totheindividualdepartmentsnotunderstandingthereasonbehindthemergeandsuspectingthatitsnotto
theirbenefit.

GoalSettinginaLargegroupinterventions.IthasbeencommunicatedinthearticlethatthePublicWorks
Departmentwaslackingclearstrategiccomponent,morespecificallyalackoffunctionalpolicies,goals,and
objectives.
Hence,itsessentialtosetclearandchallenginggoalstoimproveorganizationeffectivenessbyestablishinga
betterfitbetweenpersonalandorganizationalobjectives.Thereshouldbelargegroupinterventionsto
communicatethegoalsandfollowupontheMSAachievementsasawhole.

Integratedstrategicchange.Mostimportantlyalltheabovementionedinterventionsshouldfitwithinan
organizationoverallstrategytoimprovethequalityofserviceofferedbyMSA,andworkforthebenefitofits
communityandemployees.ItsessentialforMSAasawholetosetaclearmissionbehinditsactivitiesaimingto
helpthecommunity,thusincreasingemployeejobsatisfaction,bymotivatingthemtoworkforapurposeanda
goodcause.

Technostructuralintervention.ItsessentialforCarlsbadPublicWorkDepartmenttodivideworkinto
departmentsandcoordinateamongthosedepartmentstosupportitsstrategicdirections.Theyalsomustmake
decisionsabouthowtodelivertheirservicesandhowtolinktheappropriatepersontotheappropriatetask.

Question4:
Foryourpreferredintervention,developanactionplanforimplementation.

IthasbeennoticedthatthemajorproblemsthattheCarlsbadPublicWorksDepartmentwassufferingfrom
wererelatedtoitsorganizationalstructure.Severaldepartmentswereoperatingwitharedundancyofjobs
withsimilarequipment,i.e.building,park,andstreetmaintenance.Inaddition,ithasalsobeennoticedthat
somepositionsliketheDirectorofthedepartmentweremisplaced,whichledtohimdoublingasacityengineer.

However,onehastowonderwhichtechnostructuralinterventionshouldbeimplemented.Itsapparentfrom
thecurrentstructureofCarlsbadPublicWorksDepartmentisthatitsDivisional,wheredepartmentsaredivided
accordingtothetypeofservicetheyofferandnotaccordingtotheirfunctions.Thisstructureensures
departmentalaccountabilityandpromotescohesionamongthosecontributingtotheserviceoffered,which
showsinthestrongcohesivenessamongstthewaterdistrictemployees.However,thestructuresmaypromote
allegiancetodepartmentratherthanorganizationobjectives,otherproblemisthatinthisstructurethe
organizationneedstoberelativelylargetosupporttheduplicationofresourcesassignedtotheunits,whichis
apparentlynotthecaseinCarlsbadPublicWorksDepartmentleadingtoredundancyinfunctionsandassets.

Hence,itwouldbenefittheCarlsbadPublicWorksDepartmenttomixbetweentheDivisionalandMatrix
Structure.SomeofthefactsapparentinthearticlewouldpromotetheMatrixStructure,like:

1. Thereisrealoutsidepressuresforadualfocusduetothedepartmenthavingmanycustomers,ifwe
maycallthemso,withuniquedemandsdemonstratedinthevarietyofservicesthatthedepartment
offers,fromParkstoWaterandFirefighting,eachrequiringspecialsetofskillsandexperiences.
2. Amatrixorganizationisappropriatewhentheorganizationmustprocessalargeamountofinformation,
especiallywhenexternalenvironmentaldemandschangeunpredictably;whiletheorganization
producesabroadrangeofproductsorservices.WhichisthecasewithCarlsbadPublicWorks
Department,duetothewiderangeofservicesitoffersandtheeverchangingworkloadasthecity
grows.
3. Thereispressureforsharedresources,thatissincethecommunitydemandsvarygreatlyand
technologicalrequirementsarestrict,valuablehumanandphysicalresourcesarescarce.Hence,the
matrixstructurewouldworkwellinthiscasetofacilitatesharingoftheDepartmentsscarceresources.

Thismergebetweenthedivisionalandmatrixstructureshouldaimtomaximizethestrengthsandminimizethe
weaknessesofthecurrentstructures.Thematrixstructurecanalsobeexitingandmotivating,duetothe
enlargementasaresultofit.Matrixstructurescanalsomaintainconsistencyamongdepartmentsandprojects
byrequiringcommunicationamongmanagers.

TheActionPlan
Basedontheabovetherestructuringproblemshouldtakethepriorityofthedepartmenthencethe
technostructuralinterventionisessentialandhastobetackledimmediately.However,beforeits
implementationDepartmenthastocommunicateitsbenefitstotheemployees;hence,GoalSettinginaLarge
groupinterventionmaytakeplacefirsttoavoidtheresistancetochange.Inaddition,thenewstructurehasto
complimentMSAoverallstrategy,hence,itdoesntmakesensetotackletheorganizationstructureproblem
beforeformingaclearstrategyforMSAasawholeandCarlsbadPublicWorksDepartmentinparticular.

Oneshouldinvolveemployeesbeforetheinterventionaskthemabouttheirconcernstoletthemtake
ownershipofthechangeandfeelresponsibleforit.Thecompanyshouldalsoseekmotivationalmethodsto
encouragetheemployeestoacceptthechange.Next,thereshouldbejobanalysisforeachredundantjoband
assessmentofassetsthatcouldbesharedbetweenthedepartments.Afterwhichthedepartmentcould
effectivelyreengineeritsstructure.