Simari Guillermina / 77211903164

HWR Berlin, Winter Semester 2021-22

LV 200191 Human Resources and Organization

Dozenth: John Calvin Davis

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Student Name / Matriculation Number: Guillermina Simari / 77211903164

Theme / Topic: Ethical Dilemmas

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Berlin, John Calvin Davis

Simari Guillermina / 77211903164

Four management function has been considered in business learning: planning, organizing, leading,
and controlling. In this paper, the topic organizing function is developed, making a short explaining
on how this works, and giving the example of W.L. Gore & Associates to bring the theory of business
into reality.

“Organizing arranges people and resources to work toward a goal” 1. People in big companies or
startups need to organize how they will lay out their system and how they will work. To make this
happened they must choose which type of framework they will follow, and how they will design the
company. The “organization structure is a system of tasks, reporting relationships, and
communication linkages”2; this system has been separated in two big groups, the traditional
organization structures, and the horizontal organization structures. Regarding to the traditional
ones, we have three different approaches, that follow the idea of improvement when tasks are
divided up and each employee can become an expert in what they do. The first one is the functional
structure that divides tasks in functions, such as marketing, operations, finance, and human
resources, making possible to specializes in each one of them. However, this type of layout in the
formal structure has a problem by loosing the “big-picture” of the organization, leading the company
to “the functional chimneys or functional silos problems” 3. The second structure is the divisional one,
it “groups together people working on the same product, in the same area, with similar customers,
or on the same processes”4. In this structure, there is a division between each specialization
(product, customer, geography, or work process), that helps to divide operations to focus in the
most important topic for company’s plan. However, it generates a big rivalry between areas and rise
costs, because of the increase in the structure itself. The third one, is a combination of the first two
and is called matrix structure that tries to minimize the problem with the inflexibility in inter-
communication by “creating permanent teams that cut across functions to support specific products,
projects or programs”5. With this structure, each project will be proved with the best employee
experience and the required information. To make a short example, we can take Unilever
organizational structure, which divides the organization into regions, and then into products, to get
the divisions independent in the correct parts

Regarding horizontal structures, it has been implied a decrease of hierarchy, the increase of
empowerment, and a better mobilize of human talents. This happens because the structure provides
power to teams and information technology, making the communication, collaboration, and
flexibility flow. The structures that have this pattern are the Team structure, the Networks structure,
and the Boundaryless structures. All of them organized them self in teams, the first one use
temporary cross-functional teams, mixing the staff of different functional department to make each
project. Then the network structure use people from the inside and outside the company to get the
job done. And finally, the boundaryless structure “eliminates internal boundaries among subsystems
and external boundaries with the external environment” 6 to develop the tasks

Moving into the organizational design, which makes possible to link the structure with the mission
and objectives of the company, there are two central visions. On one hand, “A Bureaucracy
emphasize formal authority, order, fairness, and efficiency” 7 which works well in environments that
are not suffering modifications. On the other hand, less bureaucracy is better when the environment
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P. 270 Schermerhorn, J. (2015). Introduction to Management, (13 th) Edition
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P. 271 Schermerhorn, J. (2015). Introduction to Management, (13 th) Edition
3
P. 274 Schermerhorn, J. (2015). Introduction to Management, (13 th) Edition
4
P. 274 Schermerhorn, J. (2015). Introduction to Management, (13 th) Edition
5
P. 277 Schermerhorn, J. (2015). Introduction to Management, (13 th) Edition
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P. 281 Schermerhorn, J. (2015). Introduction to Management, (13 th) Edition
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P. 281 Schermerhorn, J. (2015). Introduction to Management, (13 th) Edition
Simari Guillermina / 77211903164

is uncertain, and things are constantly changing. When the environment is more stable, it is more
common to choose a mechanistic design that “is centralized, with many rules and procedures, a
clear-cut division of labor, narrow spans of control, and formal coordination” 8. However, when the
context is uncertain managers use to take an organic design that “is decentralized, which fewer rules
and procedures, open divisions of labor, wide spans of control, and more personal coordination” 9. As
seen in the bureaucracy the mechanistic design works better. But the organic design is used in
adaptive organizations, that “operates with a minimum of bureaucracy features and encourages
worker empowerment and teamwork” … “giving workers the freedom to use their ideas and
expertise to do what they can do best- get the job done” 10
Up to this point of the essay, the explanation of the organization was theorical. Now, I expect to
clarify the whole process of organizing by giving an example of W.L Gore & Associates. This is a
company created by Bill Gore with the objective of creating a business without hierarchy that lets
their employees imagine and develop any idea they come up with. This organization worked with a
lot of projects, that ends in the creation of Gore´s pioneering fabric, such as the well-known Gore-
Tex; its medical products, as synthetic vascular grafts; and its membrane technology. Bill created this
company with the idea of not missing any good idea of a product, because of the political process in
the traditional structures required, as he usually had seen what had happened in DuPont, a
hierarchy company where he used to work. Taking this important aspect in consideration he decided
to create a company that gives everyone the opportunity to invent new products and make them
happened. Having this objective in mind he decided to create a structure that sticks with his values.
This end in the creation of, what he called, a Lattice. “In theory, a lattice-based architecture connects
every individual in the organization to everyone else. Lines of communication are direct – person to
person and team to team”11. As shown in this sentence, Gore has a Horizontal structure, that makes
easier the communication. Although they have a CEO and four major divisions, they always prioritize
the teamwork for each project that is created. They have a horizontal structure, that is flat, with self-
managed teams as the basic building blocks, and no management layers.
To summarize, Gore use a flat structure, with an organic design to achieve their goals and be as
flexible as they need. Bill gore has created this company to everyone who wants to work in a non-
hierarchy organization, making possible the creation without boundaries. Basically, he and his
associates selected the best structure and design to make their project run in the best way to the
success.

Bibliography
Schermerhorn, J. (2015). Introduction to Management, (13th) Edition
Gary Hamel with Bill Breen. Building an Innovation Democracy, Harvard Business School Press¸
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eivTzpdVZ088A10Bdr7FO3ttEGTllnAw/view?usp=sharing

8
P. 284, Schermerhorn, J. (2015). Introduction to Management, (13 th) Edition
9
P. 284, Schermerhorn, J. (2015). Introduction to Management, (13 th) Edition
10
P. 285, Schermerhorn, J. (2015). Introduction to Management, (13 th) Edition
11
P. 5, Gary Hamel with Bill Breen. Building an Innovation Democracy, Harvard Business School Press¸
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eivTzpdVZ088A10Bdr7FO3ttEGTllnAw/view?usp=sharing