Chapter 6 Organization structure and design

Common forms of organization design (Connect, Perform)

Management in the News

Dropbox is a provider of cloud-based storage. It offers free cloud storage but revenues are generated from its paid premium service. Its clients include both businesses and individual consumers. The company has been more successful in securing consumers than businesses. There is more intense competition to provide cloud storage and related services to businesses. In the few years since Dropbox was founded, it has focused on staffing coders. As a cloud storage provider, coding is the manufacturing process that enables the service to exist. It is the sales department that is responsible for building a paid client base, however, and this department was understaffed. Dennis Woodside, Dropbox's chief operations officer, recognized the need to fill open positions in functional departments. He also opened five offices abroad to improve accessibility to customers outside the United States. Woodside doubled the number of employees at Dropbox, with most of the increase in the sales department.

1.What are thedisadvantagesof Dropbox's current organizational structure?

Woodside can easily assess the operational efficiency of each functional department.

The functional structure may not be sufficient to meet the needs of multiple office locations.

The sales department can easily allocate new business development opportunities across the available sales staff.

The functional tasks required by Dropbox are homogeneous, regardless of customer type.