...| Name of Case Study: THE CASE OF OTICON | 1) What does the case describe in terms of changes in the way that people worked at Oticon? The case describes that Oticon made a dramatic organisational transformation. There was a paradigm shift in the way people worked for the organisation. It is evident that changes occurred at two levels; Group level and Individual level. At the group level, departmentalisation gave way to cross functional thinking and working. Oticon became a project based organisation (the ‘spaghetti’ form) demolishing top-heavy authority system. Each project was considered as a ‘business unit’. Project leaders were responsible for resources, outcome, budget and timetable for their own project, thus eliminating middle managerial positions. At the individual level, employees were expected to work on multiple projects. Everyone could be a team leader provided the person has the necessary technical and leadership skills. There was a strong emphasis on employee empowerment. Any staff member was encouraged to put forward project proposals. Individuals were also given the opportunity to hone their Information Technology (IT) skills by providing them a computer at home. Physical layout was changed to maximise physical flexibility. An open-space area with ‘desks’ on wheels replaced individual offices , the coffee bars and the café and wide staircases were built where people unavoidably met each other by chance. 2) Explore the connection between the...
Words: 2191 - Pages: 9
...Also by using 2 main organisations (provided as case studies), the assignment further seek to bring to clarity certain similar practices shared and also expose certain contrasting means of operation between both organisation in term of: *Organisational design and structure & *Organisational Culture Brook (2003) in his findings has acknowledge the complexity that most organisations finds themselves in and rightly identifies that there are forces which not just influences an organisation but also frames it. So through the PEST model (Political, Economic, Social and Technology), it can be argued on the other side of the coin, that organisations are not only affected by their environment and its forces, however their means of operation (which is classified in other terms as organisational design and culture) can also in return influence the environment in which they operate. With that notion covered, it is thus possible to have certain aspects of the business environment viewed differently by organisations operating within the same sector; where one may see it has an opportunity for growth while the other may see it has a threat. Every working environment tends to have a form of structure which is meant to facilitate the notion of accountability...
Words: 1633 - Pages: 7
...Kolind’s Background The world has witnessed countless leaders through the course of history. Regardless of their context, religious, political, social or organisational leaders are in the centre of attention and they often become heroes that people admire and expect to save them from disasters. Lars Kolind, the CEO of Oticon between 1988 and 1998, was no exception. He arrived at the Danish hearing-aids manufacturer while the company was struggling to survive. Suffering from stale management methods and executive groupthink, Oticon’s economic results were disappointing. Oticon had all the potential to reclaim its past market leadership, but it needed a radical change in the way it operated. Kolind accepted the challenge to save the company from the ultimate doom, an action that was perceived itself as a heroic quest by a true leader. His charisma and leadership style allowed him to implement one of the most impressive experiments in organisational history introducing the ‘spaghetti-organisation’. His achievement is of certain significance for project management since he created the first pure project-based organisation. Demolishing the previous formal hierarchy, Kolind established an almost flat organisation structure where anyone could start a project regardless his/her former position. This structure encouraged innovative ideas, creativity and experimentation enforced by flexible project teams which had no supervision and no job description. But how did Kolind succeeded...
Words: 2035 - Pages: 9
...GROUP…22B DIAGRAMPICTURE COPY FROM APQN ;( DISSOLVING BOUNDARIES FOR A QUALITY REGION FROM THE WEB.) INRODUCTION: The study is for the analyses of the concept of organisation structure, culture and behaviour. Hence organisation culture is defined as the psychology attitudes experiences, beliefs and values of an organisation. It is the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organisation and control, the way they interact with each other and the stakeholders outside the organisation. And structure includes both the organisation chart and unwritten lines of power and influence that indicate whose contribution are most valued. Hanley’s four types of organisation culture are discussed as; Power culture: This is the concentration of power among a few. Role culture; this is clear delegation of authorities within highly defined structure. Task culture; is teams formed to solve particular problems. Power derives from expertise as long as a team requires expertise. And person culture exists where all individuals believe themselves superior to the organisation. All this types of culture are discussed here and their usage on the case studies. CONTAINETS………………. ORGANISATION DEFINATION AND DISCUSSION………………………………………………4……..5 TYPES OF STRUCTURES……………………………………………………………………………..5………….6 DEFINATION OF CULTURE…………………………………………………………………………7…………….8 BENEFIT AGENCY………………………………………………………………………………8………………….11 MOTIVATION………………………………………………………………………………………...
Words: 7281 - Pages: 30
...……………………………………………………………………………….pp.11-12 2.3 ………………………………………………………………………………PP. 13-14 REFERENCE LIST………………………………………………………………p.15 INTRODUCTION Organizational behaviour is an interdisciplinary field or study, which explores individuals, group and organizational behaviour and the impact of individuals, groups, organizational and society, in creating, shaping and controlling behaviours. www.business –school.exetere.ac.uk./modules. 1.1 Thompson J [ 2013] said that structure "is the internal differentiation and patterning of relationships." He referred to structure as the means by which the organization sets limits and boundaries for efficient performance by its members, by delimiting responsibilities, control over resources, and other matters. Katz and Kahn [1978] say that "structure is to be found in an interrelated set of events which return to complete and renew a cycle of activities." The different organizational structures are Functional, Divisional, Product based, Geographical, Matric , Project/team based , Virtual organization and Bureaucratic structures etc Functional Organization is where company is divided into separate units based on roles. Such as accounting marketing research and development or distribution Joseph C 2013 (on line) http:// small business chron.com , it offers a high level of specialization and each unit operates as a mine-company carrying out specific tasks thereby becoming experts...
Words: 1300 - Pages: 6
...OTICON ‐ THE DISORGANISED ORGANISATION1 Background Oticon, a Danish company founded in 1904, was the first hearing instrument company in the world. In the 1970s, it was the world’s number one manufacturer of ‘behind the ear’ hearing aids. However, as the market for ‘in the ear’ products grew in the 1970s and 1980s, its fortunes plummeted and it lost money and market share. In 1987, so poor was the company’s performance that it lost half of its equity. The basic problem was that Oticon was a very traditional, departmentalised and slow‐moving company. It had a distinguished past but it was it a small company operating in a global market. Though it had 15 sites around the world and 95 distributorships, the Head Office, its largest site by far, only employed 145 people. Yet it was operating in a market which had come to be dominated by Siemens, Phillips, Sony, 3M and Panasonic. More importantly, it had the wrong products. Oticon manufactured the standard ‘behind the ear’ hearing aids but customers increasingly preferred the ‘in the ear’ variety. Also, Oticon was strong in analogue technology, whilst the market and its customers were moving towards digital technology. In addition, though the company was strong in the state‐ subsidised markets of Scandinavia and Northern Europe, it was weak in the more buoyant markets of America and the Far East. This began ...
Words: 4674 - Pages: 19
...Knowledge sharing in organisational contexts: a motivation-based perspective Alice Lam and Jean-Paul Lambermont-Ford Abstract Purpose – Facilitating knowledge sharing within organisations is a difficult task: the willingness of individuals to share and integrate their knowledge is one of the central barriers. This paper aims to develop a motivation-based perspective to explore how organisations resolve the social dilemma of knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach – The analysis builds on a three-category taxonomy of motivation, adding ‘‘hedonic’’ motivation to the traditional dichotomy of ‘‘extrinsic’’ and ‘‘intrinsic’’ motivation. It uses case studies gleaned from the literature to explore the interactive effects between the different motivators in two different types of knowledge-intensive organisations: professional bureaucracy and operating adhocracy. Findings – Within a professional bureaucracy, the social dilemma of knowledge sharing may be overcome through normative motivation, with provision of hedonic motivation through extrinsic incentives such as training and career progression. In an operating adhocracy where interdependent teamwork is vital, it may be overcome through normative alignment reinforced by intensive socialisation. Extrinsic motivators that align with hedonic motivation may also reinforce the propensity for knowledge sharing. In both organisational types, financial extrinsic incentives do not appear to be relevant on their own, and may ‘‘crowd...
Words: 9851 - Pages: 40
...Innovative Business Practices Innovative Business Practices: Prevailing a Turbulent Era Edited by Demetris Vrontis and Alkis Thrassou Innovative Business Practices: Prevailing a Turbulent Era, Edited by Demetris Vrontis and Alkis Thrassou This book first published 2013 Cambridge Scholars Publishing 12 Back Chapman Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2XX, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2013 by Demetris Vrontis and Alkis Thrassou and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-4604-X, ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-4604-2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One ................................................................................................. 1 Knowledge Hybridization: An Innovative Business Practices to Overcome the Limits of the Top-Down Transfers within a Multinational Corporation Hela Chebbi, Dorra Yahiaoui, Demetris Vrontis and Alkis Thrassou Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 17 Rethinking Talent Management in Organizations: Towards a Boundary-less Model Carrie Foster, Neil Moore and Peter Stokes Chapter Three .......
Words: 128975 - Pages: 516
.... Organization Theory Challenges and Perspectives John McAuley, Joanne Duberley and Phil Johnson . This book is, to my knowledge, the most comprehensive and reliable guide to organisational theory currently available. What is needed is a text that will give a good idea of the breadth and complexity of this important subject, and this is precisely what McAuley, Duberley and Johnson have provided. They have done some sterling service in bringing together the very diverse strands of work that today qualify as constituting the subject of organisational theory. Whilst their writing is accessible and engaging, their approach is scholarly and serious. It is so easy for students (and indeed others who should know better) to trivialize this very problematic and challenging subject. This is not the case with the present book. This is a book that deserves to achieve a wide readership. Professor Stephen Ackroyd, Lancaster University, UK This new textbook usefully situates organization theory within the scholarly debates on modernism and postmodernism, and provides an advanced introduction to the heterogeneous study of organizations, including chapters on phenomenology, critical theory and psychoanalysis. Like all good textbooks, the book is accessible, well researched and readers are encouraged to view chapters as a starting point for getting to grips with the field of organization theory. Dr Martin Brigham, Lancaster University, UK McAuley et al. provide a highly readable account...
Words: 230271 - Pages: 922
