1. A handful of companies on the Fortune 500 list are more than 100 years old, which...
Question:
1. A handful of companies on the Fortune 500 list are more than 100 years old, which is rare. What organizational characteristics do you think might explain 100-year longevity?
2. Early management theorists believed that organizations should strive to belogical and rational, with a place for everything and everything in its place.Discuss the pros and cons of this approach for today’s organizations.
3. What is the difference between a task force and a team? Between liaison role and integrating role? Which of these provides the greatest amount of horizontal coordination?
4. Why do companies using horizontal structure have cultures that emphasize openness, employee empowerment, and responsibility? What do you think a manager’s job would be like in a horizontally organized company?
5. How might a company’s goals for employee development be related to its goals for innovation and change? To goals for productivity? Can you discuss ways these types of goals might conflict in an organization?
6. Suppose you have been asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the police department in a medium-sized community. Where would you begin, and how would you proceed? What effectiveness approach would you prefer?