1. What type of a structure does Saint-Gobain-Pont-a-Mousson have? What problems do you think SGPM would encounter with this structure?

Saint-Gobain-Pont-a-Mousson* Saint-Gobain-Pont-a-Mousson (SGPM) is a worldwide manufacturer of glass, paper, pipe, and related products. The corporate headquarters is in Paris. Over titty percen, of its fir 50 billion in sales is from international business, SGPM is organized into a three-tiered structure as illustrated in exhibit 7.11. The structure consists of five corporate functional vice presidents at Exhibit 7.11 International Organization Structure for Saint-Gobain-Port-a-Mousson Chairman CEO Worldwide Product Groups Industrial Policy Marketing R&D Legal Communication Corporate Staff Asbestos Cement Contracting Flat Glass Glass Containers Glass Fibers Insulation Products Paper Pipe & Machinery Refractory Products Italy County Argentina Benelux Mexico Managers Germany Spain Brazil Venezuela Portugal Colombia Ecuador Source: New Directions in Multinational Corporate Organization (New York: Business International Corporation, 1981), pp. 44-45. Used by permission. headquarters, nine worldwide product group presidents, and seven "general delegates" or country managers. Manufacturing operations exist in several countries and report to their respective product groups headquartered in France and to the country man. ager. Each product group has its own marketing staff and has more influence over country subsidiaries than do country managers who are responsible for the finance, tax, and legal functions within their countries. The country man- ager is the political knowledge center for the country, having an understand- ing of the environment, government regulations, pricing, labor negotiations, and the like. The worldwide product manager does the business planning, which reflects business and product goals rather than country-by-country requirements. Profit and loss responsibility is at the product manager level. Most senior line and stall managers possess significant international experience_business, cultural, linguistic-although virtually all are French nationals, including the country managers. This broad scope arises from as- signment rotation and from exposure to international situations