Reorganizing the Irving Empire

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REORGANIZING THE IRVING EMPIRE

Contemporary Business Management (MGMT – 6057)

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1.)  

        a) Four basic organizational structures are as follows:

i.) Functional Structure: All the people are grouped into a functional structure who are performing similar tasks, having similar job or possessing similar skills. Quick decision making due to easy communication with the team members makes this an advantage to this structure. It is easier for team members to learn skills and interests form each other as they possess similar skills.

ii.) Divisional Structure: In this type of structure, the organization tries to co-ordinate the relationships between the different groups for customers or group of client needs. This structure ensures varieties of identical products with greater output by dividing labour. As the individual regional needs, divisions are organized in regions where teams get to work with each other.

iii.) Matrix Structure: Complexity of matrix structure is defined by: product team with which they are working and the function they are performing. In this structure, members of the team are expected for more responsibility for the work they are performing and provided with more autonomy. The benefits of this results in greater innovation, creativity, increased productivity and collaborative decision making solution to problems with group interaction.

iv.) Project Organization Structure: To complete the project or producing the product, number of team members are put together according to the need in this type of structure. To structure a project, a number of tasks which are significantly of different kinds are taken into account. It is assured that to participate in the project, right candidates are chosen.

b) Initially, company followed Functional Organizational Structure due to its various benefits like similar tasks, easy communication and learning skills. In 2010 company changed its structure to Divisional Structure, separating the company into personal divisions due to family disputes over power and authority. But company still remained united and did not broke up into different companies.

2.) Initially from the days of the founder J.D. Irving (1882) till the death of Jack Irving, company followed Functional Organizational Structure due to its various benefits being as a one single big organization. All the people got to work in a single functional structure performing similar tasks, easy communication and learning skills. In 2010 after the death of Jack Irving, conflicts between the brothers Jim and Ken lead to the change in the structure to Divisional Structure, separating the company into personal divisions. Jim captured the forestry business and Ken took the oil and gas business responsibility. Organization remained the same but started working in two different groups.