Reflective report

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Reflective report
Sources used to support argument

Several important sources have been explored to construct the argument presented at the podcast.
The main source from which the theoretical information has been collected is titled
“Organizational Structure and Crosscultural Management: The Case of Credit Suisse’s Project
Copernicus in Singapore”, by Nina Jacob, which was published in the Journal of Organizational
Change Management, of the Emerald Publications, UK. This study paper explored various
arguments on organizational structure and compiles relevant theories from different authors such
Frederick Taylor (1911), Henri Fayol (1930), Gerth and Mills (1958), Coulson-Thomas (1991),
Child and McGrath (2001), Miles and Snow (1995) and Max Weber. Other sources include
Management and Organizational Behaviour by Laurie J. Maullins, Organizational Behavior by
Stephen P. Robbins and The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel
Coyle. These books were explored to cross check on several arguments and take notes. The
reason for selecting these particular books and research paper was that these books explain
organizational structure in much details and include critical explanations on the link between
organizational structure and culture.

How the theory was applied

The theory applied to explain the given scenario in the case study was the contingency approach
of organizational structure. The contingency approach in setting an appropriate organizational
structure refers that there should be alignment among the tasks, activities, environment and
people within an organization. This alignment makes the structure more effective and outcome
driven. Traditional theorists such as Weber, Taylor, and Fayol argued that there should be an
ideal structure within the organizations. This ideal structure means the structure that “fits all”.
However, later the more contemporary theorists Lorsch and Morse (1974), Duncan (1977),
Burns and Stalker (1961), Minzberg (1979) recognized the diversities that the organizations need
to take account of, and thus, they suggested the contingency approach which would adjust with
the dynamics within the people, environment and the activities. This theory has quite evident
connection with the issue of the case study which presents a dilemma faced by the top
management at HG regarding the issue of whether they should leave Brett Jones and his diverse
approach in Tanzania that do not conform with the traditional values and norms of HG, or should
they keep him fixed at his current position and allow his diverse approach given his success in
establishing a structure that correspond to the goals and objectives of HG in successfully
expanding in Tanzania.

The article itself is a part of the Journal of Organizational Change Management, of the Emarald
Publications, UK. Nina Jacob also had authored a book titled Intercultural Management. of the
Nina Jacob is the author of the book, Intercultural Management. I came across this particular
article after searching for relevant sources on cross cultural management and organizational
structure, on the internet. Reviewing the legitimacy and relevance of this source, as I checked the
validity of several key information in this article on other books I mentioned, I decided to take
important notes from it to support my argument. Then I learnt about the significance of
contingency approach in organizational structure, and the “symbiote” relationship between the
culture of the people in the organization and the structure of the organization. A key statement in
this theory is that “a fluid and continuously evolving structure enables effective cross-cultural
management” (Jacob, 2007). Then I learnt about the pros and cons of other approaches to
organizational structure- such as the ideal structure, bureaucratic structure, etc. and came to my
conclusion that since structure is constructed of the people and the tasks assigned to them, and
the supervision imposed on them, therefore, it is important that the diversity of their cultures
should be recognized (Robbins and Judge, 2018). We learnt that specially for organizations that
operate across the borders, the organizational culture they had in their home country, often
become less effective or ineffective in other countries. Similar cases can be found in Walmart’s
retail operations in Germany. Walmart failed to address the local culture and the structure that
the German organizations usually follow as of the certain aspects of the national or local culture,
and thus, had to close its operations there. This has been the main point of my argument as I
selected this particular theory to present my perspective on the issue.

Example of the application of the contingency theory

A prime example of the application of contingency theory in other organizational practices is the
case study of the Coca Cola Company. The company adapts to the cultural differences when
launching in a new country. For example, the way the organizational operations of Coca Cola’s
Indian unit operate, are very different from its US operations. From organizational practices to
workplace policies, and to marketing the products- the company follows different approaches
depending on the cross-cultural aspects. As the management of the company in India states, the
brand needed to do a lot of things differently in India, observing the differences in the market
and the workforce. However, when the brand first entered India, the brand did not calculate the
cultural differences, which caused them to severely underperform in the market and the
employee turnover was very high at that time. Then the company followed the contingency
approach to build a suitable structure of operations in India. They recognized the differences in
the market and the workforce, and they adapted their organizational structure accordingly.

As we learnt about the case study of Coca Cola, we find the similarities in the two cases. HG
also faces a completely different culture in Tanzania, which requires certain approaches to be
taken to ensure that the structure of the project in the country is effective. Therefore, contingency
approach to organizational culture is justified for the company.

Recommendations we presented for HG

In order to be effective with its operations in Tanzania, as it is now, under the supervision of
Brett Jones, HG needs to maintain a structure that fits with the cultural aspects of the people of
that country. Otherwise, the structure will fail due to the lack of responsiveness from the people
running the organization. Therefore, the significance of the contingency approach should be
considered by the management, and Brett Jones should be kept in the position of project liaison
specialist in Tanzania.

Experiences in the group task

The group podcast gave us a useful opportunity of learning. Despite the fact that it was a brief
podcast, but we had to present valid arguments in order to give a proper account on the case
study. Therefore, we had to arrange group discussions and brainstorming sessions to come up
with our analysis. It was a formal group of ours. After selecting the particular topic to discuss on,
we wasted no time to study about different theories and their practical implications. The main
activities of the group were done together in group discussions.

Initially, we had some trouble finding the proper sources to support our argument, and to link
proper theories to the given case scenario. It was one of the members, who suggested that we
should rather search on the internet using particular keywords such as cross-cultural management
and organizational structure, instead of reviewing theories directly from the books. Then as we
followed the suggestion, we were able to come up with several journal articles which discussed
similar issues, both theoretically and practically. Then in a brainstorming session, we came to
agree that the case scenario should be explained and argued on the basis of contingency approach
theory by the contemporary theorists of organizational behaviour and management science.

Since our group was already pre-formed, therefore, we did not need to go through the group
development stages for this project. However, it was noticed by us that instead of searching for
sources in a scattered way, we should rather allocate tasks among ourselves. If we allocated tasks
among ourselves as resource investigators, team worker and coordinator, then the tasks would be
much easier for us. However, in overall, the group learning experience have been quite useful
and helped us all to enhance our understanding on the practical application of several
management and organizational behaviour theories.

The most positive aspect of this group experience was that we were able to learn about some
more case studies on similar issues, and had informative discussions among ourselves while
explaining the case studies. Thus, the group learning experience have been very positive.

In order to avoid the certain issues that we have faced during this group task, we need to work in
a more organized manner from the next tasks that are similar to it, or different. For example,
reviewing recent journals is a good way to learn about the practical implications of various
management and organizational theories. Also, to avoid spending more time than necessary, we
should divide the tasks among ourselves based on the priority and relevance. Thus, we look
forward to improve our performance in the next group projects.

References
Coyle, D., 2018. The culture code: The secrets of highly successful groups. Bantam.

Jacob, N., 2007. Organizational Structure and Crosscultural Management: The Case of Credit
Suisse's Project Copernicus in Singapore. Vikalpa, 32(4), pp.63-74.
Mullins, L.J., 2007. Management and organisational behaviour. Pearson education.

Robbins, S. and Judge, T. (2018). Organizational behavior.

The Coca-Cola Company. (2019). Opinion: Thinking Outside the Bottle in India. [online]
Available at: https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/opinion-thinking-outside-the-bottle-in-
india [Accessed 4 Mar. 2019].