Assignment Task:
Based on, and ONLY on: "Structure is Not Organization" by Bob Waterman (Mckinsey staff paper available online for free)
1. What is the central idea of the paper?
2. Consider the (geodesic dome?) view of organization--the 7 interconnected factors that shape an organization. What are the three takeaways from that picture?
3. The first business organizations were functionally organized: production and sales. That structure was replaced by decentralized (multidivisional) structures. Why? What does Waterman think the central structural problem is?
4. Why do many organizations with sound strategies still fail?
5. Style, to my mind, refers to the signals sent by top management regarding what is important to think about and what is not. It influences the culture of an organization. Why is culture important to an organization's success? Hint: culture eats strategy for lunch.
6. What are organization skills and why are they key to organizational effectiveness?
7. Why do I say the HR function is the second most important function in an organization?
8. Give an example of what Waterman calls "superordinate" goals (today called "Vision"), possibly from your own organizations.