Organizing Modes

Question 1

In organization Design by Jay Galbraith describe how organizations, in order to coordinate independent roles, have invented mechanism for collecting information’s, deciding, and disseminating information to resolve conflicts and guide independent actions. Which are these mechanisms (Organizing modes) and how do they evolve with respect to task uncertainty?

Answer 1

Galbraith in 1973, propose a that companies organize themselves according to the information that functional areas have to process. When a process is highly uncertain, the amount of information needed to make a decision is high. The underlying thinking in this premises is that Uncertainty is the difference between the information collected to perform a task and the information required to finish it.

Organization can use strategies regarding the following fields in order to deal with such as uncertainty.

Hierarchy of Authority
Rules and Procedures
Planning and Goal Setting
Narrowing Span of Control

When the above mentioned factors are enough for dealing with uncertainty, the strategy is

Reduce the need for Information Processing

Environmental Management
Creation of slack resources
Creation of Self Contained Task

Increase capacity to process information

Investment in Vertical Information Systems
Creation of Lateral Relations

Question 2

b) What is the principle difference between a Lightweight Team structure and a Heavyweight team structure, and which are their respectively strengths and weaknesses.

Answer 2

Lightweight Team Structure
Those assigned to the team reside physically in their functional area, but each functional organization designates a liaison person to “represent” it in a project coordinating committee. These leason representatives work with a “lightweight project manager”. This position tend to be as a type overall coordination assignment nor present in the traditional functional team structure.
Project Manager is a “lightweight” in two important respects. They have considerable expertise, but has little status or influence in the organization. The resources remain under control of their respective functional managers. Lightweight managers do not have power to reassign people or relocate resources. This person spends at least 25% of his/her time in this role.

Advantages:

The same than light weight structure, but in addition there is a leas a person in charge of coordinating the projects and the team, improved communication and coordination.
Weaknesses:
The power resides on the Functional Unit Mangers, sometimes project managers are ignored, and improvement in team performance is seldom met.

Heavyweight Teams

Member are collocated with project manager. Manager is typically senior and has significant authority to command resources and evaluate members. Often still temporary, but core team members often dedicated full-time to project, Likely to be appropriate for platform projects

Advantages (Not explicit in the book, stated as Bandit Pager Case)

The Bandit Pager: An Example of a Heavyweight Team
Creation and Co-Location of a team that represented, Industrial Engineering, Robotics, Process Engineering, Procurement, and product design/Computer Integrated Manufacturing. Bandit Platform Automation Project and its focus on Manufacturing Technology quiet Minima Change in Product Technology. Additionally the project was supported bu Human Resources and Hewlett Packard as a main Vendor of Computers and Software. Offices surrounded by glasses, located beside production lines in order to receive suggestions from everywhere. The team signed a contract and finished the project in 18 Months, half the time used in this kind of projects. The results in production operation (manufacturability) were a process of 5 Sigma of reliability, Cost objectives (substacialy reduced direct cost and improved profit margins) had indeed been mmet-, Product Reliability. Knowledge and lessons were transferred to other groups in the organization.

The Challenge of Heavyweight Teams.
Heavyweight teams create potential conflict with the functional organization and raise questions about the nature of senior management’s influence and control. 
The advantages of ownership and commitment coubld be a disadvantage when suddenly heavyweight teams become autonomos teams and tigers and try to expand their bounds Sometimes functional teams could feel as second class because of the importance given to heavyweight teams. Heavyweight teams demand priority in results form different areas and subcontractors, the challenge is to achieve balance between the needs of the individual project ant the needs of the broader organization.
Sometimes the final products of heavyweight team’s lack of deph in certain parts of the design, contrary to the situation in functional teams.