NMIMS Global Access

School for Continuing Education (NGA-SCE)

Course: - Organizational Theory, Structure and Design
Internal Assignment Applicable for June 2023 Examination

ANS 1: - The McKinsey 7-S Framework is a model that business leaders can
implement to assess and improve their organization's productivity,
effectiveness, and long-term success. This framework focuses on creating and
supporting seven key internal factors of an organization which each contribute
to its health and capabilities. The framework also helps leaders understand
how seemingly unrelated aspects of an organization can impact one another
and influence the overall well-being of a company.
1. Examine the organization’s shared values: - Start by examining
the organization’s shared values. Instead of focusing on the values
highlighted on the company's website or on promotional materials, try
to identify the social norms and standards your team has adopted and
uses regularly. Consider what types of behaviours your co-workers deem
acceptable and how these unwritten rules influence the way people
interact with each other. Then, assess whether your team's shared values
are consistent with your organization's structure, systems, and strategy.
Some questions you might ask as you analyse your organization's shared
values include:
 What are the core values of the company?
 What three words describe the company culture?
 How strong are each of these values?
 What are the original or founding values of the company?
If the organization's shared values are inconsistent with its structure, systems,
and strategy, create a list of areas you can work on improving.
2. Review the organization’s hard element: - Next, review how hard
elements influence the company by analysing your structure, systems,
and strategy. As you assess each of these internal factors, consider how
 they influence and support each other. Some questions you might ask as
you review the organization's hard elements include:
 What type of hierarchy does the organization follow?
 How is the team divided?
 Does the organization use centralized or decentralized decision-
making practices?
 How does each department organize important activities?
 How do team members choose partners, leaders, and colleagues
with whom they align?
Review your answers to these questions carefully to identify areas where the
organization's structure, systems and strategy can support one another better.

3. Access the organization’s soft element: - After you have analysed your
team's shared values and hard elements, take the time to assess the
remaining soft elements. These include the company's skills,
management style and staff. As you review each of these internal factors,
consider whether they support the hard elements you previously
identified. Some questions you might ask as you assess an organization's
soft elements include:
 Which skills are the strongest in our team?
 What specializations or strengths is the company famous for?
 Does our current team have the capabilities to perform their work
effectively?
 Are there any important skills our team lacks?
 How effective is our management system?
 How does management support the rest of the team?
Revisit your answers to each of these questions and compare them with the
notes you took while reviewing the organization's hard elements. If these
elements seem like they are competing instead of supporting each other,
consider what steps you can take to create a more consistent work culture for
the team.

4. Re-evaluate organizational strategies and operations and adjustments: -

Compile your observations and the data you have accumulated in a
 report that is easy to comprehend. Share your findings with other
company leaders and collaborate with them to develop and implement
actionable steps that create more alignment throughout the
organization. Continue to revaluate the business by reviewing each of
the seven internal factors often. This can help you determine which
changes are effective and where you may benefit from additional
adjustments. This aspect and ongoing approach can help you create a
successful and long-lasting organization.

ANS 2: - The different phases of organisational life cycle are: -

1. The start-up phase: - The start-up phase is the first stage in the life cycle
of an organization. During this phase, management of the organization is
carried out by the founders, who concentrate on making decisions and
refrain from using a specialist staff. An instinctive style of decision-
making prevails in place of an analytical model. Projects are not detailed
or alternatives considered, and few opinions are considered when
making important decisions.

2. The Growth phase: - The growth phase is the second stage in the life
cycle of an organization. During this phase, greater effort is spent
collecting and processing information about the competitive
environment (monitoring), controlling the financial performance of
various products, and facilitating communication and coordination
between various departments.

3. The maturity phase: - The maturity phase is characterized by the

stabilization of sales levels as the product reaches widespread
acceptance and competition is fierce. In addition, there is a decrease in
innovation level and the establishment of a more bureaucratic
organisational structure. In this phase, targets are pursued to maintain
environment stability, and the goal is to become functionally
homogeneous and improve operations efficiency and profitability.

4. The revival phase: - Entering the Revival stage is optional and can occur
during a Mature or Decline stage for a firm that recognizes and initiates
drastic changes to alter current problems. Firms pursue rapid growth
 through innovation, acquisition, and diversification which involves a
good deal of risk taking. New top-level leadership is often required to
initiate or effectively implement this stage. It is also a period of
necessarily increased investment.

5. The Decline phase: - Some of the organizations pass through a decline

phase after the revival phase due to weak communication between areas
and hierarchical levels, reducing their capacity to respond to challenges.
Decision-making is characterized by a high level of conservatism and
centralization. Crisis management leaves little time for the board to
perform analysis. The organization regresses to simple solutions for the
serious problems it faces.

When it comes to the social media cycle, it is extremely important that you
understand exactly what is involved and how it works.
1. The initial interaction: - The absolute first thing that you will do when it
comes to your content is interacting with other people online. You will
discuss your content, engage other people, ask questions, gather
valuable information from them, etc.

2. Ensure the relevance of your content: - Whichever need you are

attempting to fulfil in your target audience, this is exactly where you will
fill it. It is critical to your success that you listen to what the other person
wants and needs and that you do your best to give it to that person.

3. Focus and pay attention: - One extremely way to achieve success is by

paying full attention to the other person and what they always need
from you. Make that person feel as though he or she is the only other
person in the entire world who matters.

4. Prove the validation: - It is of the utmost importance that you can

validate the purpose and feelings of the other person. If you can show
that, you will be able to forge a solid relationship.

5. Proving trustworthiness: - One of the building blocks of a strong, lasting,

meaningful relationship is trust. You must be able to trust each other
 beyond any doubt. It is important to understand that trust is not going
to develop overnight. It will take time and a great deal of effort on both
of your parts.

Conclusion: -

Now that you have gone through the entire social media life cycle, you will start
over again with the next piece of content and you will go through that same
cycle a million times. The more you do it, the better you will get at it and the
more positive your results will be over time. Considering that social media is
here to stay and has been for quite a while, you need to understand the life
cycle thoroughly and really make it work for your business. Of course, you will
also want to track result and gather analytics as you go so that you can make
improvements as necessary but if you understand and follow the course, you
will do extremely well.

ANS 3 a) Ryan can use the goal approach for the business in the following ways:

1. Identify the purpose of the goal: - There are several reasons why a goal
should be set. For example, maybe an employee needs to learn a new
computer program to continue doing their job. Maybe your company has
just integrated a new system that will be used by all employees, so
determining the best way to ensure each employee learns the system
would require the implementation of goal-setting. Whatever the reason
for the goal, it should be clear to both management and the employee or
employees who will be accomplishing the goal.

2. Meet with the employee: - If a goal is being set for a single employee,
schedule a meeting with this employee to go over the needs for goal-
setting. Get the employee's opinion on the need for the goal and ensure
the employee understands their responsibilities in terms of
accomplishing the goal. You can also use this time to inform the
employee of future check-ins on their progress.
 3. Develop a plan using Smart model: - The Smart model is an effective way
to set and accomplish goals. SMART is an acronym that stands for
Specific, Measurable, Aggressive, Realistic and Time-bound.

 Specific- Specific means that the goal should be as specific as

possible. Rather than saying you want an employee to increase
their customer satisfaction ratings, communicate you want the
employee to improve their customer satisfaction ratings by 10%
over the next month.
 Measurable- The goal should be measurable. So, instead of saying
the goal is to increase sales, you would set a measurable sales
goal, such as to increase sales by 12% over the next six months.
 Achievable- Goals should be challenging to keep employees
engaged and to provide a better reward upon accomplishing
them but the goals should also be achievable. Ensure the goal
being set is slightly higher than an employee's skill set, to keep
the employee engaged, but still within reach of the employee’s
capabilities.
 Realistic- Setting a goal that seems impossible or out of reach will
not offer motivational value to employees and therefore result in
loss of interest and perseverance for those working to reach the
goal. Set a goal that can realistically be met.
 Time bound- Goals should have a clear timeframe in which they
need to be reached. For example, instead of saying that the goal
is to increase sales by 10%, a time-bound goal would be to
increase sales by 10% over the next 90 days.

4- Make sure the employee has what they need to accomplish the goal: -
Before the employee starts working toward a particular goal, you should first
ensure they have the equipment, time and resources needed to accomplish the
goal. Meet with the employee and ask if they have access to what they need,
and if not, provide this to them before they begin working towards the goal.

5- Provide regular feedback: - Meet with the employee on a regular basis to

assess their progress, review their action plan and discuss the results achieved.
When an employee reaches a goal, provide positive and supportive feedback. If
an employee was unable to meet the goal by the set timeframe, discuss any
modifications that need to be made and provide constructive feedback as to
how the employee can improve.

There are some loopholes also in the goal approach for the business: -

1. If there are difficult goals that management and the company are trying
to accomplish, performance may fall due to incompatible actions.
2. Goals that are too far above an employee's skills and competencies can
have a negative effect on the employee's performance and motivation to
complete the goal.
3. More complex and difficult goals may lead to risky behaviour to
accomplish the goals in a timely manner.

ANS 3 b) Stakeholder theory is beneficial because it promotes a positive

environment and good decision-making that frequently leads to favourable
outcomes and returns for both the stakeholders and shareholders. Suman
supports the contemporary stakeholder’s approach because of the following
reasons: -

1. Happier employees: - Employees viewed as stakeholders are often more

motivated to do good work, engage with colleagues and their company
and feel invested in the success of an organization. Establishing a
stakeholder relationship with employees might lead to the sharing of
valuable feedback, concerns or ideas that can help a company grow. You
can often create a stakeholder relationship by offering competitive pay
and compensation packages, offering benefits, and creating a strong
corporate culture. Happier employees also often have lower absentee
rates, higher retention rates, increased job satisfaction and a positive
view of leadership and the company.

2. Increased productivity: - A workforce with high job satisfaction rates

might produce higher quality goods and services, more of them or both.
Increased productivity in volume and quality can help you achieve goals
sooner, attract new customers, grow loyalty with existing clients and
increase revenue and shareholder returns. Consider using the
stakeholder theory when making decisions that affect employees' job
 functions, work-life balance, pay, advancement and professional
development.

3. Higher quality work: - Along with increased productivity through volume

and quantity, stakeholder employees, business partners and other
associates often produce better work of higher quality. Whether it is
Cincreased attention to detail, noticing a defect in production lots or
developing more efficient and effective project planning methods, higher
quality work may lead to cost savings and increased revenue. Excellent
quality for your products and services also can promote brand awareness
and loyalty amongst consumers, which increases brand equity and value
and, in turn, positively impacts shareholders' interests.

4. Customer satisfaction: - When motivated employees produce more

products of higher quality, you often experience higher customer
satisfaction rates. For example, a customer getting a product delivered
on time that works beyond expectations versus handling a return and
refund can increase their satisfaction. Applying the stakeholder theory to
your customers also might mean offering a fair price for a product or
service, giving free shipping or returns and valuing the same moral
obligations and expectations as your target audience. Good publicity,
reviews and customer loyalty serve to reward a company and its
shareholders financially.

5. Clear purpose: - The stakeholder theory can also help a company find its
purpose or mission. For example, a low-cost airline might look to bring
air travel to underserved communities or remote locations, prioritizing
people and communities over high-priced ticket sales and popular
destinations. Alternatively, a clothing company might operate with the
business practice of donating a clothing item to a community in need for
every like item it sells. Putting customers, communities and employees
first can help companies recognize their approach to community
engagement and corporate social responsibility.