Designing Effective Organizations

DESIGNING EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONS
SPRING 2013, PROFESSOR MITHERS
Mount Cedar Technologies

Global Consultants
05/21/13
Francine Arguello
Ellisa Irvin
Gilda Medrano
Ioannis Mikedis
Euclid Jake Posadas
MOUNT CEDAR TECHNOLOGIES - GLOBAL CONSULTANTS
Table of Contents
Table of Contents (IM) ..................................................................................................................2
Abstract (IM) ..................................................................................................................................4
Introduction (IM) ...........................................................................................................................5
1. Organization Mission Statement Goals and Strategies (IM) .................................................6
2. Organizational Culture (GM) ...................................................................................................7
Challenges ....................................................................................................................................7
Opportunities ................................................................................................................................8
3. Techniques for Motivation (EI) ................................................................................................9
Challenges ....................................................................................................................................9
Opportunities ..............................................................................................................................11
4. Training and Diversity Program (GM)..................................................................................14
Challenges ..................................................................................................................................14
Opportunities ..............................................................................................................................15
5. Organizational Structure (EI) ................................................................................................17
Challenges ..................................................................................................................................18
Opportunities ..............................................................................................................................20
6. Communication Effectiveness (FA) ........................................................................................23
Challenges ..................................................................................................................................23
Opportunities ..............................................................................................................................24
7. Quality of Decision Making (EJP) ..........................................................................................27
Challenges ..................................................................................................................................27
Opportunities ..............................................................................................................................28
Additional Opportunities to improve decision making ..............................................................29
Non programmed and programmed decisions ...................................................................29
The Normative Decision Model.........................................................................................30
Systematic Group Decision Model ....................................................................................31
Decisions made with the consequence in mind .................................................................31
8. Leadership style (EJP) .............................................................................................................32

Challenges ..................................................................................................................................32
Opportunities ..............................................................................................................................33
Leadership Development ............................................................................................................34
Learning Organization................................................................................................................35
9. Company-wide Empowerment Master Plan (EJP) ..............................................................36
Challenges ..................................................................................................................................36
Opportunities ..............................................................................................................................37
Empowering at all levels of the company ..................................................................................37
10. Group Team Effectiveness (FA) ...........................................................................................39
Challenges. 39
Opportunities 39
11. Challenges and Opportunities implementing the plan (IM) ..............................................42
Competitive Forces ....................................................................................................................42
Economic and Global Forces .....................................................................................................42
Social Forces ..............................................................................................................................42
Change agents ............................................................................................................................42
Selection of change agents .........................................................................................................44
Obstacles to Change ...................................................................................................................44
The Plan for Change ...................................................................................................................45
Communication of the Plan ........................................................................................................51
Conclusions ................................................................................................................................51
References (IM) ............................................................................................................................53
Abstract
In todays competitive world, IT companies have to adapt or disappear. The methods of
the past decades are no longer enough to provide the required margin of sustainability which will
allow the small to medium size companies the time required to evolve. In this present effort we
have been tasked to review the challenges Mount Cedar Technologies Inc. face in the areas of
employee retention and motivation, in the adaptation of the companys strategic goals to the
longer term vision, and the creation of an environment of operational effectiveness. The
challenges presented will be followed by the teams analysis of opportunities. The collusion of
the study will present a manageable road map of tasks, and milestones for which both senior
management and ground floor employee support is paramount.
Introduction
Mount Cedar Technologies (Cedar Tech) was established in Los Angeles, California in
1995 as an importer and distributor of computer accessories. Since then, it has evolved rapidly
into an IT infrastructure integrator specializing in Enterprise, Small, Medium and Large
Businesses, Government, Educational, and Medical Institutions hardware and software products,
storage and security solutions and technical services. To support this rapid expansion demand
Cedar Tech experienced a very challenging and rapid personnel increase from 6 in 1995 to more
170.
The business environment Cedar Tech operates is governed by high speed hardware and
software development and the demand for an all-encompassing one stop shop product and
service solution to the customer. Within the organization, the environment has been steadily
deteriorating and this has affected both the morale and the productivity. The management has
been concerned by this stalling and is evaluating restructuring in order to boost morale,
productivity, retention and attraction of highly skilled labor force and not only sustain but also
increase profitability.
Global Consultants have been tasked to evaluate the challenges and opportunities
presented to Cedar Tech and develop a plan for implementing the necessary changes
organizationally and culturally.
1.
Missions Statement, Goals and Strategies
Since there is no clear evidence of a mission statement, Global Consultants suggests that
the mission statement of Cedar Tech is: To be the regional Small and Medium Business,
Government, Educational and Medical Institutions leader in IT infrastructure integration of
hardware, software, storage, security and enterprise services by being an employer of choice
attracting, hiring, and retaining top performing sales, technical and other professionals in an
environment that fosters diversity, promotes communication across the organization, and
recognizes, respects and develops our team.
The organizations goals are multifaceted. In terms of profitability Cedar Tech wishes to
accomplish to double sales and profits year over year. In terms of growth it wants to have
successful introduction of new products offerings in the form of Voice over Internet Protocol and
Video Conferencing. The organization also is targeting to become employer of choice attracting,
hiring and retaining good sales, technical, and other professionals.

The strategies the organization employs are on the one hand to establish an equitable
system that promotes not only adherence to financial targets but also cultivates innovation. On
the other hand the organization wishes to foster diversity through the development and
promotion of women and minorities in the management of the company. In support of the
strategies the organizational structure has to be able on to support the goals and improve
operational effectiveness. The organization wishes to establish a more centralized decision
making across the management echelons in order to improve communication among managers,
promote common and well defined organizational goals and prevent the formation and thriving
of silos.
Of paramount importance for the organization, is the cultivating and development of the
future leadership. Global Consultants recommends one avenue of accomplishing this is by
facilitating and encouraging managements involvement in listening and appreciating the
constructive input of all employees. The other avenue is by developing the management team
through a series of trainings, seminars, annual reviews, 360 evaluations and mentoring, and
benchmarking with the competition.
2.
Organizational Culture
The culture at Mount Cedar Technologies is alienated. Managers performance is based

solely on profitability; therefore, their focus is on financial measures in evaluating their staff.
This leads each department to focus on their own performance rather than fulfill the Companys
mission. Management focus is also geared toward creating tighter controls over operations and
employees creating an inert culture. In a company with an inert culture and poor relationships
with its employees, instrumental values of noncooperation, laziness, and output restriction
typically develop. Employees accept being told what to do because they are not motivated to
perform beyond minimum job requirements. An inert culture, with its emphasis on close
supervision and following strict rules and SOPs, makes it difficult for an organization to adapt
and change (George & Jones 2012). Therefore, the employees have become cynical to the
companys current culture.
Challenges
Some of the challenges Cedar Tech faces are a high turnover rate and the fact that remaining
employees have become cynical. It currently does not implement diversity training and does not
encourage the promotion of minorities and women. Employees describe it as task oriented and
conservative. Upper management does not encourage risk taking or empowerment of people
which leads to a low employee morale and job dissatisfaction. New employees are hired to fit in
with the current culture, not the culture they liked to be in. Additionally, new employees are
immediately tied into a task with no formal training or mentor provided. If a new employee does
not fit into the companys current culture or perform well, their employment is terminated. This
leaves the new employees to learn about the company on their own.
Opportunities
Given the challenges at Mount Cedar Tech, the opportunities are promising. In order for change,
it needs to develop a culture which fosters creativity and innovation by developing new talent
and ideas. The issues and concerns addressed during exiting interviews must be taken into
consideration when building the organizations culture.
An organization that seeks to manage and change its culture must take a hard look at all
four factors that shape culture: the characteristics of its members (particularly the founder), its
ethical values, human resource policies, and organizational structure (George & Jones 2012). A
major re-organization is necessary for a cultural change to occur which is the outcome Cedar
Tech is looking for. Cedar Tech must develop and enforce the characteristics and ethical values
it promotes to the employees and implement human resource policies accordingly to create the
ideal organizational structure which fulfills their mission statement.
In order to promote this change Cedar Tech may implement different strategies such as:
shifting the focus from solely financial measures to include the employees as well as financial
measures. Create employee incentive/reward programs to encourage and motivate the
employees. Celebrate the employee by hosting potlucks, company picnics, birthdays,
department accomplishments, and companys overall success. Implement diversity training to
promote equal opportunities. Give their employees a voice for suggestions and take the
suggestions into consideration when making changes. Allow flexible work hours in suitable
departments. Provide adequate training, learning, and knowledge transfer to every new
employee, as well as current employees learning new programs implemented. Before a new hire
could really feel that he belongs to the organization, he has to understand what the organization
represents, what its vision, mission and goals are and how he can fit into the org's culture
(Raisin, 2012).
3. Techniques for Motivation
Cedar Tech has a desire to expand their business model to meet the demands of
customers for voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP), IP Security video communications, and
wireless. This new venture will require hiring additional employees and solidifying a
relationship with new strategic partners. Before pursuing the idea of expanding, it is critical for
Cedar Tech to motivate and retain employees. Motivated employees are more likely to work
harder, produce higher quality and greater quantities of work and are less likely to leave a
company (Clarke, 2011). The executive team has communicated a need to have highly
motivated, skilled, performing, and committed employees. The executive team also wants to
develop and implement an incentive plan and recognition program.
Challenges
Employees can be motivated in functional ways that help an organization achieve its
goals or in dysfunctional ways that hinder and organization (George & Jones, 2012). There are
dysfunctional systematic problems at Cedar Tech that hinder the organization from achieving its
goals. Cedar Tech has been unable to motivate their employees due to the current environment
at the company. There is a lack of communication and autonomy between managers and
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employees. Managers are either too busy putting out fires or responding to customers and have
little time to listen to employees. Several employees expressed that they are treated unfairly.
This has resulted in high absenteeism and employee turnover. In addition to communication and
employee retention problems, there is no performance based program, recognition programs, or
company sponsored social gatherings. The challenge for Global Consultants is, given the current
environment at Cedar Tech, what motivational techniques work best to meet the goals of the
executive team and influence the growth of the company? We will discuss opportunities to
improve the current environment at Cedar Tech by discussing how employees are motivated.
Employees can be intrinsically motivated, extrinsically motivated or both intrinsically
and extrinsically motivated. Intrinsic motivation is associated with positive functioning (Hardre,
2009). People who are intrinsically motivated generally enjoy the work they do and are not
motivated by external rewards.
Intrinsic motivation is also considered a form of autonomous
motivation where motivation is personally endorsed by the individual and not by external factors
(Deci, 2000). On the other hand, people who are extrinsically motivated are stimulated by
external outcomes such as money, praise, and promotions. However, a research study on what
works in motivating employees shows that due to the recession in 2008, employees are more
focused on extrinsic motivators such as the value of their paychecks as opposed to non-economic
motivators (Imberman, 2012).
In some cases, people can be both intrinsically motivated and extrinsically motivated.
The type of motivation depends on the degree of difficulty of a task being performed (Imberman,
2012). For instance, if an employee is assigned a fairly easy task and enjoys the work they do
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they are less likely to want extrinsic rewards. The same employee could be given a more
difficult task that requires more effort and expects extrinsic rewards.
Opportunities
Since Cedar Tech is planning on hiring new employees to support their new business
model, it is a perfect time to implement new techniques to assess how new and existing
employees are motivated. Cedar Tech has no systematic approach in place to evaluate what
motivates their employees. It is imperative for organizations to make a correlation between what
behaviors they want employees to perform in order to attain the companys goals and what
rewards employees desire (George & Jones, 2012).
To make a connection between the goals an organization desires and what rewards
employees at Cedar Tech expect, Global Consultants recommends that Cedar Tech include a
survey in the hiring and employee package to query new and existing employees on how they are
motivated. The survey should also provide a list of social events that allow employees to select
four (4) company sponsored events that they are most interested in participating in on a quarterly
basis. The events would range from annual company picnics and summer volleyball tournaments
to a bowling night and company holiday party. According to a study performed to assess what
techniques work best to motivate metal cast workers, non-economic motivators such as social
events serve as a morale booster which is definitely needed at Cedar Tech (Imberman, 2012).
The results of the survey will be used to assist management in identifying employees as
intrinsically motivated, extrinsically motivated, or both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated.
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The survey should be redistributed every two years to reassess if an employee moves from being
intrinsically motivated to extrinsically motivated or vice versa. Management will use this
information to develop employee recognition awards programs and gift card programs. Some
employees might prefer the former recognition program as opposed to the later. In some
instances, an employee that is both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated may prefer both
public recognition by participating in an employee awards program and private recognition by
receiving a gift card.
As previously discussed, a motivating work environment does not exist at Cedar Tech.
Many assignments are task oriented. There is a strong need for management to focus on job
design. In job design, when employees are motivated to contribute at high levels they perform
their jobs more effectively and organizational effectiveness increases (George & Jones, 2012).
Mangers at Cedar Tech should design jobs that encourage employees to do their jobs well. One
approach to job design that will benefit Cedar Tech is job enrichment.
Job enrichment increases intrinsic motivation by designing jobs that encourage growth
and enable employees to have more autonomy over the work they perform (George & Jones,
2012). This approach addresses top managements goal to create a more creative work
environment by implementing a flexible schedule to support a more autonomous work
environment. A work environment that has growth opportunities and autonomy deters
employees from resigning and reduces the frequency of absenteeism.
Another opportunity available to Cedar Tech to motivate their employees is to implement
a formal performance review process. Many Cedar Tech employees complained that they were
inequitably treated and salary increases and promotions were not systematic. To develop a
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performance review process management should use goal setting. Employees that have a list of
goals to work on through the year are more focused on the end result and perform well (George
& Jones, 2012). Global Consultants recommends that managers meet with each employee in
their team at the end of each year to conduct a performance review and develop a list of goals.
Research shows that goal setting positively affects employee performance and motivation
(George & Jones, 2012). Managers will be required to use a manage-by-objectives approach to
follow up with employees twice a year to review the list of goals to ensure employees are on
track with achieving their goals.
The performance review process should be three-fold. First and foremost a performance
review form should be provided to each employee to conduct a self-review. This approach will
enable employees to focus on their performance and what contributions were made to their team
and overall organization. Second, the manager should complete a form independent of the
employees self-review form. Third, the manager should combine the results from both forms
based on the employees actual performance and create a final performance review document.
Each category on the performance review form will be assigned a score. The results from the
final performance review form will be discussed between the manager and employee at the end
of the year and tied to a bonus and salary increase structure. The bonus and salary increase
structure will consist of an allocation of funds that are divided amongst team members on a
percentage basis depending on their performance review score. A section for managers to
recommend employees for available promotions opportunities will also be provided on the form.
14
The executive team also desires a recognition program. Global Consultants recommends
implementing an Employee of the Quarter Program. The manager will select an employee of the
quarter based on the following criteria:
Accolades received from internal and external customers
High revenue generators
Innovative suggestions on decreasing operating expenses or increasing
productivity
The employee of the quarter will be announced at the upcoming quarterly social event and their
picture will be placed on a perpetual wall for all award recipients for the current year.
4. Training and Diversity Programs
The employee population at Cedar Tech has grown from 6 employees to 170 in a short span of
time. The training and diversity programs have not grown with the company. The companys
philosophy on learning and development is based on using change advocates through the layers
of the company for individual, team and organization growth and change. Growth is encouraged
via communication and posters in conference rooms and not actual programs implemented. The
employees; however, feel that no learning exists in a company that promotes Welcome to Our
Learning Organization.
Challenges
A new employee at Cedar Tech starts their employment with no formal training. They
immediately begin their tasks by receiving on the job training (OJT). Although planned OJT
may have some advantages, there are disadvantages that may negatively affect the company. By
15
relying on unplanned OJT exclusively for training of new employees, these culture norms and
other bad habits are passed to the new hire (Goudie, 2010). This can cause further detriment to
Cedar Tech since new employees first 90 days on a new job consist of approximately 30% time
in training (Business Encyclopedia, 2011). Cedar Tech will need to further develop its
individuals beyond OJT to strengthen the organization. In addition to minimal training, there is
no formalized knowledge transfer to new hires.
There is a lack of diversity at Cedar Tech which has caused a debate amongst
management on how to encourage and promote diversity and the outcomes expected.
Opportunities
The Implementation of training and diversity programs is vital to the growth and success
of Cedar Tech. The company must seek talent within the organization and promote growth.
To set up an effective training program Cedar Tech will carefully examine training needs,
decide what employees will benefit from the training, develop training content, understand the
desired outcome and gather feedback on the program (Goudie, 2010). It will also seek the input
of current employees to learn from within the specific day to day needs.
The implementation of a learning and development program is crucial for Cedar Tech to
improve employee retention and job satisfaction. This program will include tuition
reimbursement towards a degree or certificate, instructor led training and/or eLearning and a
library of learning programs to help employees keep up to date with changing and new
technologies. Other components include new systems training and refresher courses to increase
the companies operational efficiency. A job shadowing program will assist in filling the
knowledge gaps between the different levels (Heathfield, 2012). Managers will work closely
with employees to create an individual plan. This plan will outline the personal and technical
16
needs along with the opportunities foreseen and will be part of the midyear and end year review.
Managers will ensure these individual goals align with the companys goals and that each
employee understands their role and contribution to the success of the company.
Training courses will include diversity awareness. Diversity courses will also be
assigned on a quarterly basis as a refresher course at Cedar Tech. These courses will be tailored
to the different levels of management and staff which will include a designed method of
accountability to keep everybody on track (Jackson, 2011). Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, in an April
26, 2007 "Time" magazine article titled 'Employee Diversity Training Doesnt Work,' says
companies that employ multiple training methods such as consistent training, mentoring, regular
planning and upkeep in an aggressive diversity strategy show a large rise in minority employees
and workplace comfort (Jackson, 2011). Such approach will allow Cedar Tech to address the
issues at hand. Promoting within to fill management positions with women and minorities will
be implemented. Diversity programs will be implemented with instructor led classes, webinars
and self-paced online courses (Jackson, 2011). A mentoring program to encourage diversity in
management will also be established. All levels of management including executive
management will be encouraged to participate in the program. Cedar Tech employees will be
surveyed and asked for feedback on mentoring needs to better plan and align the mentoring
program. This will allow for necessary changes to be made as they arise.
Diversity training will not be a one-day event. The employees will be provided with the
skills and understanding to work with different values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors. The top
strategies that are suggested include training programs, policies that mandate equality, mentoring
programs, systematic career guidance and non-discriminatory performance appraisal. Employees
will do best in an environment that supports what they learned (Jackson, 2011).
17
Diversity training should be integrated into the organizations existing educational

programs. All employees and management will be trained and assigned a tracking mechanism of
successes and failures to evaluate the program.
The implemented programs will be designed to increase the diversity expectations with
promotions this way senior management will prepare to lead its diverse teams (Jackson, 2011).
5. Organizational Structure
Founded in 1995 by John Curtis and Frank Mathew, Cedar Tech began as an importer of
and distributor of computer accessories and operated with six employees. In 2000, Cedar Tech
became an IT infrastructure integrator in hardware and software products and an IT storage
provider. By the end of 2006, Cedar Tech operated with 171 employees including four
executives. As the President and Chief Executive Officer, John Curtis is responsible for
organizational leadership and management. The three vice presidents are responsible for sales,
finance and administration, and operations. The areas of management are represented below in
Table 1:
Levels/Areas
Sales
Finance and
Human
Resources
Operations
Upper Management
President/CEO (1)
VP (3)
Middle Managers
Directors (1)
Managers (11)
0
4
0
2
1
5
First-line
Managers/Supervisors (13)
Employees (144)
Inside Sales 25
Bus. Development
20
Software Advisor 5
18
Accounting 12
H. Resource 3
Shipping 24
Customer Service 8
Rec. /Admin.
Support 3
Project Managers 7
Engineers 13
Technicians 22
Total Organization
(171)
60
23
87
Challenges
The organizational structure at Cedar Tech is decentralized. John and his executive team
operate the company with undefined roles and informal relationships. Historically, this
leadership style enabled Cedar Tech to develop and profit from several business practices. Cedar
Techs business practices include enterprise storage, security services, service and help desk, and
software licensing. Though the existing leadership style proved successful in the past, Cedar
Tech currently lacks organizational structure to improve its operations effectiveness. During an
informal meeting Sam Farris, Vice President of Operations, urged his colleagues to revisit the
current structure of the organization in order to meet the demands of the market and thrust the
company forward as a regional leader. Organizational structure is also problematic at the
department manager level. Managers make decisions based on whats best for their department.
This management style hinders cooperation among other departments and the exchange of best
practices. To assist Cedar Tech in improving its organizational effectiveness and to attract
talented professionals, Global Consultants recommends dismantling the current organizational
structure represented below in Figure 1:
19
Figure 1: Current Organizational

Structure
Inside sales
Team Leader
Inside sales
Personnel
Software
Licensing
Team Leader
Software
Licensing
Specialists
Enterprise
Sales
Manager
Enterprise Sales
Team Leader
Business
Development
SMB
Manager
SMB
Team Leader
Business
Development
G.E.M.
Manager
G.E.M.
Team Leader
Business
Development
Accounting
Manager
Accounting
Team Leader
Accounting
Personnel
H.R.
Manager
H.R.
Team Leader
H.R.
Personnel
Customer
Service
Manager
Customer
Service
Team Leader
Customer
Service
Personnel
Purchasing
Manager
Purchasing
Team Leader
Buyers
Warehouse
Manager
Warehouse
Team Leader
Shipping &
Receiving
Engineers
Team Leader
Engineers
Project
Managers
Team Leader
Project
Managers
Technicians
Team Leader
Technicians
Inside Sales
Manager
VP Sales
VP Finance &
Administration
President &
CEO
VP Operations
Technical
Solutions
Director
Service
Manager
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In order to recommend an organizational structure that is appropriate for Cedar Techs

future, it is essential for Global Consultants to discuss organizational structure from the concept
of contingency theory. According to definition of contingency theory, organizational structure
needs to be designed to match the set of conditions that affect the organization the most and
cause it the most uncertainty (George & Jones, 2012). In contingency theory the following three
contingencies should be considered when creating an organizational structure: 1) the culture of
the organization, 2) advances in technology, and 3) the human resources of an organization. For
purposes of this discussion, the human resource component will be the primary focus. Cedar
Tech is experiencing a mass departure of talented employees coupled with a desire to expand its
business practices. If the company is unable to retain and recruit new talent, the uncertainty of
Cedar Techs future is at stake.
Opportunities
An organization can have an organic structure or a mechanistic structure. An organic
structure is more applicable to a fast growing company that promotes a flexible work
environment where employees continually develop new skills and are able to adapt to a changing
environment. On the other hand, a mechanistic structure exists in an organization that is static,
has less flexibility, and decision making occurs mostly at the executive level (George & Jones,
2012). An organic structure is more fitting for Cedar Techs organizational environment
because it encourages employees to work together to accomplish the goals of the company.
Employees at Cedar Tech are responsible for selling several types of products and
service lines. With Cedar Techs high employee turnover and no formal employee training or
development program, once an employee leaves the company knowledge on products and
21
service line is lost. Cedar Tech requires an organizational structure that promotes and empowers
teams, improves communication and decision making. Implementing a team concept ensures
that if an employee leaves the company an individual within the team can train a new employee.
For the aforementioned reasons, Global Consultants recommends a divisional product structure.
Some advantages of divisional product structure that will improve Cedar Techs
organizational effectiveness are 1) activities will be coordinated more effectively through the
implementation of teams, 2) employees will be grouped according to their level of expertise in
specific service lines, 3) performance is increased, and 4) the performance review process is
simplified. At Cedar Tech each product line will be its own division with a subset of teams to
perform certain functions. For example, each of Cedar Techs business practices (enterprise
storage, security services, IT services, and software licensing) will be their own division with a
subset of teams that provide different job functions. The job functions will include three teams
including: product sales (PS), customer service (CS), and IT support (IT). Figure 2 below
represents Cedar Techs new organizational structure:
Figure 2: Product Divisional Structure
CEO
EVPs
Administration
Accounting
Operations
Enterprise Storage
Division
PS
CS
IT
Security Services
Division
PS
CS
IT
IT Services Division
PS
CS
IT
Software Licensing
Division
PS
CS
IT
Future VOIP
Division
PS
CS
IT
Future Division
PS
CS
IT
22
As indicated in Figure 2 above, there will be a manager over each division and three
team leaders assigned to each job junction who report to the division manager. Global
Consultants kept the team leader title from the current organizational structure instead of using
a supervisor title in order to encourage a more autonomous work environment. Each team is
responsible for themselves rather than being directly managed by a more authoritative position,
such as a supervisor. According to George & Jones, highly skilled employees usually desire
freedom and autonomy and dislike close supervision. A supervisor title also demands a higher
salary which Global Consultants wants to avoid since a divisional structure has the potential of
increasing operating cost due to the need for additional managers assigned to each division
(George & Jones, 2012).
Another benefit of divisional product structure is employee performance increases
due to the creation of an autonomous work environment. According to a research study on the
effects of organization structure and job characteristics on export sales managers job satisfaction
and organizational commitment, higher levels of autonomy enhances the level of intrinsic
motivation of salespeople by increasing their feeling of accomplishment and their job
performance (Katsika, Theodosiou, Perdikis, & Kehagias, 2011).
Existing and new employees will be assigned to each division based on their skill set
and experience level. For example, a new hire would be assigned to the IT services department
based on their past experience and education in information technology. The performance
review process also becomes simplified in that each team leader will conduct the performance
review for each person in their team. If performance reviews are conducted by team leaders
23
instead of the division managers, employees will feel that they are being evaluated by one of
their peers.
One disadvantage to divisional product structure is limited communication between
divisions. To improve and encourage communication, division managers will be required to
meet on a quarterly basis and participate in an annual retreat to discuss best business practices
and share creative and innovative ideas for each division.
Lastly, a divisional product structure also supports Cedar Techs new business
interest in VOIP and IP security. The divisional product structure allows for an extensible design
whereby new business practice can be easily added as a new division with its own product team.
6. Communication Effectiveness
Challenges:
Communication has been a remarkable challenge for Cedar Tech. Because of the Silo,
structure of the organization has affected communications of employees at all levels. Most
department managers recognize that they were astir in reacting to conundrum and customer
issues, permitting little time to coordinate and listen to their employees. Decisions made were
highly decentralized resulting in the lack of communication among the departments and
decisions based on what was good for the department verses the organization. Global
Consultants conducted an assessment on communication throughout the organization finding
that not many knew what the goals or strategies were for Cedar Tech.
24
Opportunities
1. Methods to improve communication effectiveness:
Global Consultants recommends that all department managers be available to their
employees and customers. Face-to-face conversation is information rich and exchange of
messages with respect along with instant feedback where opinions and suggestions are
valued moving the organization forward. (E.M. Rogers and R. Agarwala-Rogers), (New
York: Free Press, 1976). Reviewing advice and recommendations builds a positive approach
towards the relationship and the autonomy of the employees/managers while communication
is essential.
Listening is a part of effective communication being receptive to thoughts, proposals,
suggestions and ideas makes for a better outcome. When assumptions are made, only focus
on the skills that will bring growth to Cedar Tech. Giving awareness to ones body language
and expression without words, affects received messages.
2. Communicate direction & channels:
Internal very important this links Cedar Tech as a whole. This ensures that all are
working towards the same goal. Through formal meetings and briefings, e-mail, intranets,
conference calls, and webinars. Message boards, blogs, social media and podcasts the
connection will be delivered.
External is linked with sharing information with investors, stakeholders, suppliers and
customers. Through press releases, marketing materials published financial information,
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letters, e-mails, telephone conversations with suppliers and customers and reports to
government and other agencies. The communication is
not open for interpretation, confusion or discrepancies.
3. Formal and Informal:
Formal conversations take place through Cedar Tech with employees from all levels, also
carries approved messages and information. Rules, instructions, commands, procedures,
policies and objectives.
Informal conversations take place anywhere at Cedar Tech with employees to employees,
(gossip) (grapevine) these networks are used when curiosity arises, the need to know what is
going on in the organization. The water cooler effect is discouraged because of inaccurate
information.
4. Utilization of technology
Technology for Cedar Tech is second nature, for the employee and managers the
communication is easier and faster will save time and money. Research is convenient to
conduct on a daily basis productivity is key. Videoconferencing is a way that Cedar Tech
communicates with the other members overseas. E-commerce used to trade with the world
via websites giving Cedar Tech the ability to engage in a market available 24 hours. The
storage of information has a longer shelf life than paper fillies. Communication improves
with internet and intranet, intranet is an internal system and the internet is an external system.
26
5. Offer courses in cross-cultural communication

Cedar Tech will provide courses for cross-cultural, being aware of differences in ones
beliefs, culture, and shared values affects the decisions, behaviors and perceptions in the
organization. Cultural, values, perceptions and assumptions instilled early on in life dictates
all aspects of an individuals behavior. The influence is subtle but the impact is apparent and
the effects are far reaching. Being culturally aware and the ability to work effectively across
cultures are essential. It has been Global Consultants past observation that the outcome of
training will develop employees cultural intelligence. Improvement to adapt and plan
communication style and business strategies taking into account each business situation with
differences in cross cultures. Increasing sensitivity giving you the ability to decipher
variables influencing behaviors, values and attitudes of counterparts from cultures that are
different.
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7. Quality of Decision Making

Challenges
Managers in each of Cedar Tech areas were more or less free to make their own decisions
on lots of things (Ghazzawi, 2008). This highly decentralized decision making resulted in the
loss of possible gains to be obtained from cooperation among other managers and created
redundancy in various functions (Ghazzawi, 2008). The silo effect that resulted from this
structure meant departments were making decisions based on what was best for their department
and not the company as a whole.
Global Consultants finding is that Cedar Techs current decision making process is slow,
highly decentralized and redundant. As an IT company they cannot afford to lag on making
critical decisions because innovations by the competition can catch them unaware. Global
Consultants research has determined a particular source of delayed decision making. In the
investigation it was discovered and determined that one of the sources of delayed decision
making was the companys functional silo and extremely decentralized organizational structure.
Each different functional team managers make their own decisions for their individual divisions
and teams and neglecting the affect or consequences of their decision on the company as a
whole. Global Consultants has seen similar cases of the effect of a much decentralized structure
in the decision making process of the company. One particular example is Sony, the famous
Japanese electronics manufacturer.
Sonys engineers were empowered to pursue their own ideas, and the leaders of its
different divisions and product teams were allowed to pursue their own innovations-no matter
what the cost (George & Jones, 2012, p. 337). This worked well as long as they were churning
28
great products. However in the 2000s agile global competitors from Taiwan, Korea and the
United States innovative new technologies and products and began to beat Sony at its own game.
The reason why Sonys culture no longer worked in its favor at that point and time is because the
leaders of its different product divisions worked to protect their own personal empires and
divisions goals and not those of the whole company. Sonys leaders were slow to recognize the
speed at which technology was changing and as each divisions performance fell their leaders
felt threatened and competition between them increased as they sought to protect their own
empires. The result was slower decision making and increased operating costs as the leaders of
each division competed to obtain the funding necessary to develop successful new products
(George & Jones, 2012, p. 337).
Opportunities
To speed up, to eliminate redundancies, and to gain efficiencies in the decision making
process, Global Consultants is suggesting changing the current organizational structure to a
divisional structure with a balance between authority centralization and decentralization.
Because of the ever changing environment of the Information Technology and high tech
industry, Cedar Tech must still have some form of decentralized authority for decision making.
Employees and Teams must be empowered to make important decisions so that the organization
can keep pace with the changes taking place. (George & Jones, 2012, p. 485). Continue to
decentralize decision making authorities that are organic to the division and recentralize other
organizational activities that affect multiple divisions. Copying Yahoos CEO Carol Bartz recent
successful strategic implementation of restructuring, Global Consultants recommends that the
top executives of Cedar Tech recentralize and place under a specific executives control all
29
company decisions involving product development and marketing activities (George & Jones,
2012, p 486-487).
Additional Opportunities to improve decision making
Decision making as defined by George and Jones is the process by which members of an
organization choose a specific course of action to respond to both opportunities and problems
(George & Jones, 2012, p 436). The quality of Cedar Techs decision making process will be
enhanced by managements realization and proper implementation of the two basic types of
decisions made in the organization: Non programmed and programmed decisions.
Non-programmed and programmed decisions
George and Jones state that the decision to choose how to respond to new opportunities
and problems is called a non-programmed decision making. Because the problem or opportunity
has not been experienced before, members of the organization are uncertain about how they
should respond, and thus they search for any information they can find to help them make their
decision (George & Jones, 2012, p. 437). In Cedar Techs case the decision to grow in business
and add VOIP to their existing product service will fall under the non-programmed type decision
making. Cedar Tech will have to do a robust market research to make the right choice regarding
integrating this new business venture.
The other basic type of decisions made in the organization is the Programmed decision
making. This type of decision making requires the organizational member to use a performance
program. Performance program is a standard sequence of behaviors that organizational members
follow routinely whenever they encounter a particular type of problem or opportunity.
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Cedar Techs decision to add VOIP to their existing service and product would have been
a programmed decision had they developed a performance program for acquiring, innovating or
diversifying into new products and services that they have done before. Global Consultants will
help Cedar Tech develop performance program using the experience gained from the nonprogrammed decision of adding VOIP into the product service line. Performance programs
save time because they make it unnecessary for organizational members to search for
information to make decision; instead, all they have to do is follow the performance program.
Managers, however, must be able to realize when performance programs need to be changed and
take the steps necessary to alter them. (George & Jones, 2012, p. 439).
The Normative Decision Model
The Normative Decision Model identifies five decision-making styles, each reflecting a
different degree of participation by group members (Dubrin, 2013). The top management of
Cedar Tech must make conscious decision to include or not include groups in decision making.
The five decision making styles are: 1) Decide- The leader makes decision alone and either
announces or sells it to the group. The leader uses the group expertise in collecting information;
2) Consult (Individually) The leader presents the problem to the group members individually,
gather their suggestions, and then makes the decision; 3) Consult (Group) - The Leader presents
the problem to group members in a meeting, gather their suggestions, and then makes the
decision; 4) Facilitate- The leader presents the problem and then acts as a facilitator, defining
the problem to be solved and the boundaries in which the decision must be made; 5) DelegateThe leader permits the group to make the decision within prescribed limits. The leader works
behind the scenes, providing resources and encouragement. (Dubrin, 2013).
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The top management at Cedar Tech cannot practically make all the decisions nor could
they delegate the authority completely, they must decide which style is better suited for a
particular situation and considering the available resources. The advantage of individual decision
making is the speed in which you can make the decision. However, group decision making has
its merits and Cedar Tech should take advantage of both decision making strategies.
Systematic Group Decision Making
Global Consultant suggests that Cedar Tech employ its pool of talents in making
decisions. George and Jones list several advantages of using groups to make decisions such as
the availability and diversity of members skills and expertise; enhanced memory for facts;
greater ability to correct errors; and greater decision acceptance
Global Consultants final advice to the top management of Cedar Tech is to consider
systematic group decision making techniques such as Brainstorming, The Nominal Group
Technique, The Delphi Technique, Group Decision Techniques used in Total Quality
Management such as Benchmarking and Empowerment (George & Jones, 2012, pp 454-456).
Decisions made with the consequences in mind
The level of effort, the level of expertise and the level of commitment to a decision is
important in determining the decision styles, method, types and techniques to employ. Having
all these knowledge and tools in making decisions is important and equally important is the
contemplation in every phase of decision making to make decisions with the consequence in
mind.
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Mintzberg, Raisinghani and Theoret in their theory The Structure of Unstructured

Decision Processes published in the Administrative Science Quarterly suggests that decisions
are done incrementally in phases (Mintzberg, Raisinghani & Theoret, 1976).
The incremental
decision process model includes three phases, Identification Phase, the Development Phase, and
the Selection Phase. Cedar Tech management can benefit in determining and knowing the
current phase of the particular problem or opportunity.
In the Identification Phase the manager recognizes the opportunities and problems and
determines the cause and effect of the decision situation.
The Development Phase is where solution/s to the problems or opportunities is
developed. Mintzberg theorizes that majority of the effort in decision making is in the
development phase.
The Selection Phase is the final phase where the determination for the criteria of choice,
the evaluation of the consequences of alternatives and the making of choice. Cedar Techs
recognition of identification of the phases can help move along the process of decision making
and to be reminded to evaluate the consequences of the decisions to be made or have been made.
8. Leadership Style
Challenges
The top management at Cedar Tech has a task oriented, task related attitude and behavior.
Leaders who are task oriented want their subordinates to perform at a high level and accomplish
all their assigned tasks to the best of their abilities (George & Jones, 2012, p 346).
A task
oriented leaders first priority is getting the job done. Second priority is developing good
relationships with subordinates.
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As a formal leader who has position and legal authority, John has the ability to influence
other organizational members to achieve organizational goals (George & Jones, 2012, p 339).
George and Jones have stated that research shows this influence affect the followers motivation
and performance, desire to be absent or quit, and the quality of their decision making (George &
Jones, 2012, p 339). John coming to work later than the rest of his employees, showing up at
meetings uninvited and unannounced, constantly checking on his subordinates work progress and
requiring update on what went on during his absence has demotivating effects on his employees
(Ghazzawi, 2008, p. 11).
His management team complains that John micromanages his employees and does not set
a good example to his employees on the importance of being available to them during the
operational core hours of his business. He does not acknowledge that his business style is
causing a lot of problems and justifies his behavior by citing past company success.
With regard to the other leaders in the organization, i.e. the managers from all the
different functional divisions there doesnt seem to be a concerted communication and decision
making system to reduce redundancy of efforts as their focus is on the top management focus
which is perceived to be solely profitability and other financial measures. As the company
grows and moves into the future all the managers, and most importantly the top managers must
have a development plan created and included in the companys strategic plan.
Opportunities
Global Consultants believe that addressing the top management leadership challenge is
the first step. Dess, Lumpkin, Eisner and McNamara on the topic of Strategic Leadership in their
34
book on Strategic Management Text and Cases believes that, One of the most important tools a
leader has for overcoming barriers to change is their personal and organizational power. (Dess,
Lumpkin, Eisner and McNamara, 2012, p. 404). Global Consultants suggest that in order to
affect the changes that leadership wants, top management must use their personal and
organizational power to focus on other than create and be subject to a leadership development
plan and create a Learning Organization.
Leadership Development
The Leadership Development for top executives and the middle management tier will
include developing the leaders effective use of organizational and personal power, minimizing
micromanagement, and increasing the Emotional Intelligence (EI) of leadership.
Effective use of organization power will include the issue of effectively using the power
they already have in the organization like Legitimate Power, Reward Power, Coercive Power
and Information and Information Power. It will also address how they can develop to positively
influence their employees using their personal power such as their Referent Power and Expert
Power. The source of Referent Power is the subordinates identification with the leader while
the source of Expert Power is the leaders expertise and knowledge. Successful leaders use
different bases of power to meet the demands of the situation (Dess, et. al, 2012, p. 404-405).
Minimizing micromanagement will focus on encouraging team work. Micromanagement
is defined as the close monitoring of most aspects of group member activities. To minimize
micromanagement the leader must give group members ample opportunity to manage their own
activities. The leaders development will emphasize the benefit of avoiding micromanagement
35
and empowering the employees and helping the employees develop and grow professionally and
develop team work. This is not to say that the leadership will just disengage completely but
rather the leaders will have to continue to be engaged in coaching, the guidance, clearer goals,
constructive criticism and more recognition for achievement (Dubrin, 2013, pp 180-181).
Developing Emotional Intelligence can help increase leadership effectiveness. Emotional
Intelligence refers to the ability to do such things as understand ones feelings, have empathy for
others, and regulate ones emotions to enhance ones quality of life. One of the key factors of EI
that would be very beneficial to the top management of Cedar Tech is the relationship
management factor. This includes the interpersonal skills of being able to communicate clearly
and convincingly, disarm conflicts, and build strong personal bonds (Dubrin, 2013, pp 81-82).
Developing an emotional intelligence of relating to the employees will communicate to the rest
of the company that profitability and other financial measures are not the only thing that matters
to the top management.
Learning Organization
To adapt to change, foster creativity, and remain competitive, leaders must build
learning organizations (Dess, et. al, 2012). Global Consultants suggests that Cedar Tech must
adopt the five key elements of learning organizations in their effort to change the leadership
culture.
The five key elements are; 1) Inspiring and motivating people with a mission and a
purpose; 2) Empowering employees at all levels; 3) Accumulating and sharing internal
36
knowledge; 4) Gathering and integrating external information; and 5) Challenging the status quo
and enabling creativity (Dess, et. al, 2012, p 411).
Learning and change typically involve the ongoing questioning of an organizations
status quo or method of procedure (Dess, et. al, 2012, p. 411). Cedar Techs commitment to
improve the company is evident in making the five steps of the action research process by hiring
Global Consultants to help diagnose, analyze, ask for feedback, request for action and evaluate
the current condition of the company. As the leadership of Cedar Tech is committed to be one of
the best performing companies then a Learning Organization, though difficult, will be one of the
vehicles to help them achieve this goal. As George and Jones in their book Understanding and
Managing Organizational Behavior wrote, By all accounts the best performing organizations
are those that encourage learning and nowhere is this clearer than at companies such as Nike,
Apple, FedEx, and particularly GE, whose managers are on top of the learning game. (George
& Jones, 2012, p. 462).
9.
Design a Company-wide Empowerment Master-Plan
Challenges
John Lyttle, one of Cedar Techs departing manager, he stated in his exit interview, This
company is super conservative, upper management is cautious, does not encourage risk taking or
the empowerment of people. (Ghazzawi, 2008). Global Consultants diagnosis agrees with this
sentiment. The top managements micromanaging style does not allow for employees to make
decisions in the lowest level possible.
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The other major situation that describes the empowerment challenges in Cedar Tech is
the disharmony that is created by the lack of clear perception by middle managers on the
boundaries of what has been delegated and empowered for them to do. This is evident in the
redundancy of decisions made across the different functional teams of the company (Ghazzawi,
2008).
Andrew J. Dubrin in the book, Principles of Leadership believes that, Encouraging team
members to lead themselves is the heart of empowerment. (Dubrin, 2012, p. 348). Although
there are some resemblance of empowerment at Cedar Tech, Global Consultants believe that
fostering effective empowerment practices can help tremendously in the companys effort to
delegate authority and responsibility in the proper levels to achieve effectiveness and efficiency.
Opportunities
Empowerment is the process of giving lower-level employees the authority to make
decisions and be responsible for their outcomes. This means that the supervisors do not have to
make the decisions and tell the subordinates how to do the job but rather they are sharing
decision making with employees in the organization (George & Jones, 2012, p. 456).
Global Consultants suggest that Cedar Tech develop an Effective Delegation and
Empowerment system. This is especially important as the company decides to embark on
diversification and acquisitions strategies.
Empowering at all levels of the company.
A managers role becomes one of creating an environment where employees can
achieve their potential as they help by being empowered (italics Global Consultants) move the
38
organization toward its goals. (Dess, et. al, 2012, p 412). Global Consultants suggest a
paradigm shift from the existing view of leadership. The great leader is a great servant,
asserted Ken Melrose, CEO of Toro Company and author of Making the Grass Greener on Your
Side. He also asserts that, Instead of viewing themselves as resource controllers and power
brokers, leaders must envision themselves as flexible resources willing to assume numerous roles
as coaches, information providers, teachers, decision makers, facilitators, supporters or listeners,
depending on the needs of their employees. (Dess, et. al,, 2012, p. 412).
Micromanagement and other empowerment issues at Cedar Tech can be alleviated by
using a bottom-up view found in Robert Quinn and Gretchen Spreitzers, The road to
empowerment: seven questions every leader should consider as quoted in Dess et. al Strategic
Management, 2012 (Dess, et. al, 2012).
-Start at the bottom by understanding the needs of the employees
-Teach employees self-management skills and model desired behavior
-Build teams to encourage cooperative behavior
-Encourage intelligent risk taking
-Trust people to perform
The issue of unclear boundaries of empowerment can also be resolved by the bottoms-up
approach as the top management continues to lead, coach, facilitate, make decisions as
appropriate and guide through clear empowerment the division managers.
Implementing this bottom-up view will be effective as empowering individuals by
soliciting their input helps an organization to enjoy better employee morale. It also may help to
39
create a culture of shared sacrifice, which may be critical during difficult economic times
(Dess, et. al,, 2012, p. 413).
10. Group Team Effectiveness
Challenges
Talented employees are not feeling equitably treated, absenteeism and turnover is high.
Because of the Silo structure as a whole operates informally with loose roles leaving groups and
teams problematic. Departments made decisions on what was good for them verses what is good
for the company. New employees experienced termination if they failed to learn the existing
culture; in addiction, Cedar Tech lacks culture that encourages innovation by the employees.
Working in groups/teams is not promoted more of the concentration is on delivery of the product
instead of the process
Opportunities
Global Consultants recommends The Job Characteristics Model. This model is a basic
structure connecting job characteristics to job outcomes and how the two affect one another. By
using this model it will formulates ways to motivate employees that lead to job satisfaction. All
employees will experience their work is meaningful and important. All employees will
experience responsibility for their work outcome and will have knowledge of their job
performance.
40
There are five core job characteristics,

1. Skill Variety- appropriate number of different activities, skills and talents to perform in a job.
2. Task Variety- the degree of the job from start to finish completion of a whole and identify the
job done
3. Task Significance- being able to look at the task as a contributing factor on others inside the
organization or outside the organization.
4. Autonomy- does the employer give you the freedom, independence, and discretion to decide
when and how to get the job done?
5. Feedback- this is the employees awareness of how effective he/she is converting he/she
efforts into performance.
By incorporating this model, we are now motivating, empowering, ensuring meaningful
experiences within the organization.
Stages of Team Development:
Forming- this is the first point of team development, the team meets each other gets
acquainted, first impressions and getting a sense of what it will be like to work in this team. At
this time, ground rules will be established.
Storming- this is the stage is where most disagreements and conflicts arise. As teams start
working together work styles and personalities may clash. The teams are more assertive and
opinions are exchanged. In addiction team, members are trying to weigh out what position is in
their favor and how it will benefit them.
41
Norming- in this stage team member are getting comfortable with each other and in their
roles as team members. Differences in personalities have been resolved, friendships have
developed, and cohesion is strong. Team goals are as one and the increase of performance is
effect.
Performing- now this is the last stage and the team has matured into a fully functioning
and effective team. At this stage, as well, the team members are fully commented and they now
see themselves as a team and not just employees. Performance is high; motivation and
accountability are a driving force towards getting the job done and feeling apart of the overall
operation of the organization. When building highly effective teams Global Consultants will use
SMART guidelines.
This is an acronym for:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant and
Time-bound
Setting clear goals and objectives will be the communication among Group/Team Effectiveness
in Cedar Tech.
11.
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Challenges and Opportunities implementing the plan
The plan presents a number of challenges which Global Consultants had to address.
Competitive Forces.
In the area of competitive forces the environment Cedar Tech is called to operate is
governed by tough competitors who force management to continually strive for even more
efficient operations. Innovation is a means of developing competitive advantage which forestalls
the organization from the attacks of cheap imitators. The support from the top executives is of
paramount importance because it ensures the penetration of the message across the company
echelons.
Economic and Global Forces.
It should not come as a surprise to the organization that customers (individuals or
corporations) have at their disposal the global market of outsourcing opportunities. The concept
of faster, cheaper, and better is applicable also in the environment Cedar Tech operates. Crowd
sourcing is introducing every day opportunities that smaller to medium size companies may
utilize.
Social Forces.
Keeping your competitive advantage, offer your employees challenging and
fulfilling opportunities while at the same time you address the demands of a socially diverse
work force is a challenge that Cedar Tech has to consider. Training and familiarization with
modern tools to support efficient operation is a must.
Change agents.
Even though the commitment of the top executives to the development and
implementation of this plan is critical, the teams view is that the changes need to start both top
43
down and bottom up. We recommend therefore that a steering committee is formed with
members from the executive team and a member from each of the divisions with the task of
tracking the progress of the implementation plan. At the same time we consider important that
regular meetings are set up between the middle managers in order to cultivate a culture of across
the board communication. We recommend that each division assigns a champion with the task to
act as a designated advocate on the success of the plan.
To develop and sustain the change we recommend a dual approach of top-down and
bottom-up. In the top-down effort the senior managers at Cedar Tech should convene to an
annual strategic planning session in which the review of the company strategic goals will be
reviewed and adjusted. We recommend at the same time a review of employee suggestions and
employee satisfaction surveys are conducted to evaluate if the goals set by senior management
are aligned with the view of the employees.
Global Consultants view is that a Steering committee is set up comprised by the
Team Leaders from Enterprise Storage, Security Services, IT Services, VPs of Sales, Finance
and Admin, and Operations with the task to spearhead the change initiatives. It is Global
Consultants view supported by Robert S. Kaplans and David P. Nortons Balanced Scorecard:
translating strategy into action (1996 Ed, pg 252) that an effective strategic learning process has
three essential ingredients. The first is a shared strategic frame work that communicates the
strategy and allows each participant to see how his activities contribute to achievement of the
overall strategy; a feedback process that collects performance data about the strategy and allows
the hypotheses about interrelationships among strategic objective initiatives and initiatives to be
tested; and a team problem solving process that analyzes and learns from the performance data
and then adapts the strategy to emerging conditions and issues.
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Selection of Change agents.

The choice of a change agent is one which needs to take into consideration the
management style of the individual. It is the teams recommendation that Cedar Tech instigates
across the board psychometric reviews to identify potential blind spots in the personality traits
in each of the managers personalities. The team recommends that as change agents and plan
ambassadors we select managers who have very strong social skills and who feel comfortable
explaining abstract ideas.
The team considers significant the ability of a manager to establish direction, align
people, and finally motivate and inspire (Hill, 2003, p.264).
Obstacles to Change.
The team is fully aware of potential resistance to any effort to change how Cedar
Tech has been operating all these years. It is therefore advisable from the start of this effort that
the organization considers the consequences of change to the balance of power among the senior
managers. This potential power struggle could manifest itself in a form of resistance to share
resources or divert resources for one activity to a new.
It is also critical that the organization considers potential resistance to change due to
differences in functional orientation. The teams view is that there is a difference in appreciation
of the criticality to implement change at Cedar Tech among the different departments. To
mitigate this we recommend that each change initiative is supported by trans-functional
sponsors.
Another potential resistance to change which the team considers has to do with the
organizational culture. Cedar Tech has been characterized as a heavily task oriented culture and
45
one that did not encouraged risk taking or empowerment. The team heavily recommends that the
change implemented has significant portions of risk taking (calculated) and individual
empowerment. We do therefore expect the some resistance to change is expected and we should
account for the time required to minimize its influence.
The plan for change.
Global Consultants recommendations can be summarized as follows:
The focus should shift from solely financial measures to also include employee
satisfaction.
To work on improving and fostering motivation.
To align the desires of the organization with what are the employees expectations.
To move from task oriented activities and develop opportunities for job enrichment.
To develop and implement formal performance review process that is based on

management by objectives approach.
To implement a comprehensive employee recognition process.
To seek and cultivate talent within the organization through a robust training program
with both free and subsidized packages.
To embrace diversity and allow it to penetrate all aspects of the organization.
46
To redesign the organizational structure to be in accordance to contingency theory in

order to address the culture of the organization, the advances in technology and the
human resources organization.
To develop a divisional products structure based on job functions: Product Sales,

Customer Service, and IT support and their division managers are to meet and exchange
ideas and best practices on a quarterly and annual basis.
Assign employees to divisions based on their skill set and experience level.
To boost communication effectiveness by a promotion of face to face interaction with

both employees and customers.
To utilize technology, to establish the process, and to cultivate clarity and immediacy in
communication both internally and externally.
To develop and sustain efficient decision making processes incorporating nonprogrammed and programmed decisions.
To appreciate the challenges the present senior leadership has and to develop a realistic
leadership development program that incorporates emotional intelligence.
To adopt and make part of the daily life of the elements to a learning organization:
Inspiring and motivating, Empowering, Accumulating and sharing of internal knowledge,
gathering and integrating external information, and challenging the status quo.
Embrace employee empowerment at all levels of the organization.
47
To solidify the plan for change Global consultants recommend that the organization
follows the action research process consisting of the following five steps.
The first is diagnosis of organization. In this step we intend to work with Cedar Tech
to clarify the existence of the challenged areas. For this process to be successful we will need the
support of carefully collected data from across the functional areas and across the companys
levels of management. For this process we recommend a period of 3 months.
The second step is determining the desired future state of the organization. During
this stage we expect that we will be facing with some head winds as the various managers from
across the organization will be called to participate in the development of the future state of the
organization. We expect that managers or employees who might at this stage realize that the
company will require of them to come out of their comfort zone or that the future state of the
business might not include their group will respond with negatively. To account for a potential
stalling in the progress of this step we recommend that the time allotted for this process to not
exceed 3 months.
The third step is implementing the action(s). During this critical phase Cedar Tech
management is advised to first identify areas or factors which might present obstacles to the
implementation of the plan. The organization needs to always be mindful that the more
unconventional the idea is the more people will need the mentoring, support and time to adapt to
it, understand it, and support it. It is our recommendation that an external change agent in the
form of a consultant is utilized to assist in during this stage. We strongly recommend that the
change process is implemented both as a top-down and as a bottom up approach. We view this
effort as conducive to shortening the time required to the next step.
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The fourth step in the process is evaluating the action(s). During this stage we
recommend that Cedar Techs senior management supported by the external consultant collect
and process the data relating to what targets have been reached, where are the challenging areas
and how far from the target these areas are. At this stage we also recommend that the company
revisits the targets to confirm their applicability to the reality of the organization. We
recommend that the six sigma methodology is introduced and maintained in order to facilitate a
data driven analysis. It is Global Consultants view that for a company in the IT area the
introduction of six sigma as a management decision making quality tool is indispensible as it is
referenced in the P.Pande & Larry Holpp What is Six Sigma? (2002 Ed).
The final step in the process is institutionalizing action research. During this stage
Global Consultants recommend the formation of quality circles within each functional area to
allow the organization the a real time view of the penetration of change through the organization
layers. We have to caution that the quality circles role is not to act as the secret police of the
organization with the purpose to expose underperforming or not yet fully adapting areas. It is
rather the conduit of the opportunity for further training, mentoring, support and an opportunity
for the organization to look into itself with realism.
In addressing potential issues with resistance to change and considering all of the
above it is Global Consultants view that the plan for Cedar Tech should concentrate on the
following main areas: Education and Communication, Participation and Empowerment,
Facilitation, and Bargaining and Negotiation.
Education and communication facilitates the reduction of uncertainty among the
organization. It is Global Consultants view that the utilization of internal change agents and
49
external change facilitators has to be supported by the company. The organization needs to
control the message of change and always compare it with what the goals of the company are. At
the same time senior management should communicate the vision and the expectations so
employees are exposed to the same message (of change), often in order to be prepared to accept
each upcoming stage in the change process.
With employee participation opportunities and a conscious effort to empower them
we anticipate significant reduction to the resistance to change. Global Consultants recommend
that a quarterly presentation of the companys high level financial and operational performance
is communicated from senior management to the rest of the organization. This will support the
effort to keep the organization focused on the targets while the change is under way and at the
same time give opportunity for positive reinforcement where targets have been reached.
Facilitation to reduce stress among the employees is critical. We support the view
that this process should extend to cover not only well in advance of the actual implementation of
the change but also after the change is made. We recommend that the organization is prepared
and supports the initiative to introduce psychological support in a form of outsourced consultants
with experience in change management to be readily available to guide individual employees
through the process.
It is the view of Global Consultants that the effective support to change incorporates
efforts to re-evaluate roles, responsibilities, compensation, and be prepared to negotiate with the
employees what the new expectations the company has for them. During this stage we support
the view expressed by Erez M. & Rim Y. The relationship between goals, influence tactics, and
personal and organizational values, Human Relations, (1982) where the organization must
50
appreciate that the individual personalities and how each person perceives the change is
important when we wish to work together to reach a common understanding and agreement.
A rough timeline of two years is provided below. During the first year the emphasis
should be given to Education and communication of the employees.
Figure 3: Timeline of plan implementation
Education and Communication
Participation and Empowerment
Facilitation
Bargaining and Negotiation
1st Year
2nd Year
In figure 3 from above you will notice we recommend the organization dedicates
time to the areas of educating and communicating because these functions will serve as the
foundation for the next phase of Participation and empowerment. We support the idea that
informed employees are powerful advocates of any effort for positive change in the organization.
Finally we wish to comment about the area of bargaining and negotiation in order to highlight
the fact that as part of the process of change in any organization we need to be prepared not only
to attract the attention of loyal and dedicated employees but also to come to the decision of
having to alter the scope and the compensation of some of the team that are not willing to share
the vision.
51
As a final point in this section Global Consultants wish to re-iterate that Cedar Tech
is a company with significant potential for growth. The maxim people are our greatest asset
has worked in the past however it needs to be modified to the right people and in the right
position are our greatest asset as it is expressed by James C. Collins in his book Good to Great:
Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't.
Communication of the plan
It is the recommendation of the Global Consultants that upon executive approval to
proceed there is a meeting with all department heads where the plan will be presented and the
main points are highlighted. At the same time a communication package will be presented to all
employees and is provided by means of the most accessible means of communication (intranet
and bulletin boards). Global Consultants recommend that on a quarterly basis senior
management advises all employees on the progress of the implementation of the change and
creates the opportunity for recognition of positive examples. We also recommend that a one on
one meetings between the key team leaders and the CEO are scheduled regularly to keep the
reiterating his support.
Conclusions
Cedar Tech is at a cross road. The size and complexity of its product line, the
economic forces governing the IT world, the rapid growth experienced within its ranks, and the
lack of cohesiveness in the strategic vision across the divisions are testing the capacity of the
business to reach its full potential. It is our firm belief that there is a significant untapped
potential within the company to take it to the next level. With focused effort, senior management
52
commitment and support, prioritization of the opportunities identified, and a conscious effort to
follow the guidelines identified in this study, Cedar Tech will be ready to expand to new markets
and products.
We have identified a number of significant deficiencies which the companys
management must address with urgency. The timeline presented is intentionally challenging (two
years) and it involves significant redesign of the organizational structure. The proposal also
includes a number of investments required in employee retention, satisfaction and fulfillment.
Finally, Cedar Tech must consider and follow a very careful change management
strategy to avoid resentment and waste of time, energy and resources from the lack of clarity in
the vision or the implementation plan. The company must be prepared to provide guidance and
support to the employees during this transition and senior management must lead by example
throughout the different stages of this evolution.
The team at Global Consultants wishes to thank the management and employees of
Cedar Tech who dedicated their time and support during the interviews, data collection, analysis,
open and hard conversations required to get to the root cause of the issues and for the
opportunity to allow us to study their organization.
53
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Designing Effective Organizations - Case Study

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SPRING 2013, PROFESSOR MITHERS

Mount Cedar Technologies

MOUNT CEDAR TECHNOLOGIES - GLOBAL CONSULTANTS

MOUNT CEDAR TECHNOLOGIES - GLOBAL CONSULTANTS

8. Leadership style (EJP) .............................................................................................................32

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Missions Statement, Goals and Strategies

hiring and retaining good sales, technical, and other professionals.

MOUNT CEDAR TECHNOLOGIES - GLOBAL CONSULTANTS

The culture at Mount Cedar Technologies is alienated. Managers performance is based

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Intrinsic motivation is also considered a form of autonomous

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Diversity training should be integrated into the organizations existing educational

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Figure 1: Current Organizational

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In order to recommend an organizational structure that is appropriate for Cedar Techs

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5. Offer courses in cross-cultural communication

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7. Quality of Decision Making

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MOUNT CEDAR TECHNOLOGIES - GLOBAL CONSULTANTS

Mintzberg, Raisinghani and Theoret in their theory The Structure of Unstructured

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MOUNT CEDAR TECHNOLOGIES - GLOBAL CONSULTANTS

MOUNT CEDAR TECHNOLOGIES - GLOBAL CONSULTANTS

MOUNT CEDAR TECHNOLOGIES - GLOBAL CONSULTANTS

Design a Company-wide Empowerment Master-Plan

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There are five core job characteristics,

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Challenges and Opportunities implementing the plan

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Selection of Change agents.

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To work on improving and fostering motivation.

To develop and implement formal performance review process that is based on

To implement a comprehensive employee recognition process.

To embrace diversity and allow it to penetrate all aspects of the organization.

MOUNT CEDAR TECHNOLOGIES - GLOBAL CONSULTANTS