• Overview

  Write a research paper in which you define four organizational designs, compare them, and describe how you would use one of them to create an organizational structure that would lead to high performance.

• Organizational design is at the heart of the strategy-structure-fit relationship. The organization’s broad strategy and goals must first be determined before designing the organization. Then the organization design team (usually senior management or the founder) must determine how best to structure the organization in a way that supports the overall strategy. Modern organizations can take on many different types of design. The days of the traditional functional organization are rapidly giving way to project-based matrix, networked, and even virtual designs.
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  Questions to Consider

  To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.

  • What are some of the local and global environmental factors that are driving changes in modern organizational design?
  • How might organizational design lead to a competitive advantage?
  • What role does information technology play in modern organizational design? Are there designs that would not have been possible 20 years ago?
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  Resources

  Suggested Resources

  The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. For additional resources, refer to the Research Resources and Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom.

  Capella Resources

  Click the links provided to view the following resources:

  • Thinking Habits of Mind, Heart, and Imagination.
  • New Business Realities of the 21st Century.
  • Organization Structure, Learning, and Performance Theory Paper.

  SHOW LESS

  Library Resources

  The following e-books or articles from the Capella University Library are linked directly in this course:

  • Galbraith, J. R. (2014). Designing organizations: Strategy, structure, and process at the business unit and enterprise levels (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
  • Wheatley, M. J., & Kellner-Rogers, M. (1996). A simpler way. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.

  Course Library Guide

  A Capella University library guide has been created specifically for your use in this course. You are encouraged to refer to the resources in the BUS-FP4013 – Organizational Structure, Learning, and Performance Library Guide to help direct your research.

  Additional Resources

  The resource listed below is relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and is not required.

  • Lawler, E. E. (1996). From the ground up: Six principles for building the new logic corporation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Assessment Instructions

  To prepare for this assessment, use Capella library to research each of the following designs:

  • Functional organization.
  • Matrix organization.
  • Networked organization.
  • Virtual organization.

  You will find that the Capella library contains a vast number of articles on each of these organizational designs. You should strive to select at least two for each design in order to get more than one perspective.

• For this assessment, complete the following:
  • Define each of the four designs listed above and then identify a real-world organization example of each.
  • Compare the four types of organizational design in terms of:
    • Structure.
    • Strategies.
    • Challenges they face in today’s environment.
  • Choose one of the organizational designs from the four and describe how you would use that design to create an organizational structure that would lead to high performance.

  Format this assessment as a research paper following APA 6th edition guidelines for both style and citing sources, making sure you also use correct grammar and mechanics. There is no required minimum or maximum page length; however, you should strive to be as detailed as possible in addressing each part while also being as clear and concise as possible.

• Please note: The term environment is used throughout this course to mean all of the external factors that affect an organization. These include, but are not limited to, the overall global market, the industry as a whole, and the financial market.

Organizational Designs Scoring Guide

CRITERIA

– Explain what is meant by “functional organization.”

Analyzes what is meant by “functional organization.”

= Explain what is meant by “matrix organization.”

” Analyzes what is meant by “matrix organization.”

= Explain what is meant by “networked organization.”

” Analyzes what is meant by “networked organization.”

– Explain what is meant by “virtual organization.”

” Analyzes what is meant by “virtual organization.”

– Compare the types of organizational design in terms of their structure.

. Analyzes the types of organizational design in terms of their structure; supports analysis with relevant examples that highlight the key features that distinguish the types from one another.

– Compare the types of organizational design in terms of their strategies.

Analyzes the types of organizational design in terms of their strategies; supports analysis with relevant examples that highlight key features that distinguish the types from one another.

– Compare the types of organizational design in terms of challenges in today’s local and global environment.

Analyzes the types of organizational design in terms of challenges in today’s local and global environment; supports analysis with relevant examples that highlight key features that distinguish the types from one another.

– Describe a model for organizational structure that leads to high performance.

Describes a model for organizational structure that leads to high performance; proposes strategies for successful implementation of the model into an organizational culture.