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Part 4: Management Practices
A Manager’s Dilemma
Suppose you’re a manager at Google’s Hyderabad facility. How would you gauge a potential
hire’s ability to work as a team member, and how would you maintain your team’s innovation
Global Sense
How might workforce productivity be affected by organizational design? Look at the six key
elements of organizational design.
There is a strong connection between organizational design and productivity, similar to the
connection between organizational strategy and the environment. Some forms of design are
aimed at increasing efficiency while others are aimed at effectiveness, but the best choice of
What types of adaptive organizational design might be conducive to increasing worker
productivity? Which might be detrimental to worker productivity?
Chapter 11 addresses a variety of flexible organizational designs. These designs capitalize on
decentralization of decision-making, the use of teams, and the use of technology to create a
more productive organization. The types of flexible design that could be used include:
• Team Structure
• Matrix Structure
• Project Structure
• Virtual Organizations
• Learning Organizations
How might an organization’s human resource management approach affect worker productivity?
How could managers use their HR processes to improve worker productivity?
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Most managers now realize that employees represent an important competitive advantage for
an organization. And the way employees are treated has a direct impact on how they perform.
Human resource policy affects employees in a variety of important ways, including staffing,
training, compensation, and appraisals. Break students into groups and assign each one
function of HRM. Ask students to brainstorm ways that the proper management of that function
can improve an organization’s bottom line.
This question is designed to make you think! Are teams more productive than individuals?
What’s your reaction to the statement by experts that perhaps companies are approaching the
limits of how much they can squeeze from the workforce? What are the implications for
managers as they make organizing decisions?
Continuing Case
Starbucks—Organizing
Discussion Questions with Answers; Teaching Suggestions
P4-1. What types of departmentalization are being used? Explain your choices. (Hint: In addition
(You may want to suggest to students that they can access this information outside of class and
print copies to use as a reference in studying the remainder of the part-ending comprehensive
cases on Starbucks.) If Internet access is not available in your classroom, your students should
examine these company Websites outside of class.
Reading this material and the information in the Part IV ending case material, students will likely
be impressed by the number of senior positions in the Starbucks organizational structure. After
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P4-2. Do you think it’s a good idea to have a president for the U.S. division and for the other
international divisions? What are the advantages of such an arrangement? Disadvantages?
P4-3. What examples of the six organizational structural elements do you see discussed in the
During a follow-up class discussion, ask students to share specific examples of the six elements
of organizational design with the class as a whole. Next, you may want to ask the class critical
thinking questions such as the following:
• How does each of these specific examples support the importance of each of the six
elements of organizational design?
• How does Starbucks’ contemporary use of work specialization, chain of command, and
span of control differ from the traditional views of each of these elements, as studied in
Chapter 10 and in the Management History Module, for example?
• What factors do you think might have influenced top managers of Starbucks to
decentralize their organization?
• What sacrifices might be encountered by Starbucks in decentralizing its organizational
structure?
P4-4. Considering the expense associated with having more managers, what are some reasons
why you think Starbucks decided to decrease the number of stores each district manager was
responsible for, thus increasing the number of managers needed? Other than the expense, can
you think of any disadvantages to this decision?
P4-5. Why do you think it was important for Starbucks to keep its mobile workforce
“connected?” In addition to the technology used to do this, what other things might the company
do to make its adaptive organizational design efficient and effective?
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P4-6. Starbucks has said its goal is to open 10,000 new stores globally by 2019. In addition, the
company has set a financial goal of attaining total net revenue growth of 10 to 13 percent and
$30 billion in annual revenue by 2019. How will the organizing function contribute to the
accomplishment of these goals?
P4-7. Starbucks has said that it wants people who are “adaptable, self-motivated, passionate,
and creative team players.” How does the company ensure that its hiring and selection process
identifies those kinds of people?
In order to identify the type of job candidates the company is seeking, Starbucks utilizes a
variety of recruiting sources, including:
P4-8. Select one of the job openings posted on the company’s Website. Do you think the job
description and job specification for this job are adequate? Why or why not? What changes
P4-9. Evaluate Starbucks’ training efforts. What types of training are available? What other
type(s) of training might be necessary? Explain your choices.
Your students will want to access the following site for additional information before answering
this question: https://www.starbucks.com/careers.
P4-10. Pretend that you’re a local Starbucks’ store manager. You have three new hourly
partners (baristas) joining your team. Describe the orientation you would provide these new
hires.
This question can serve as a springboard for discussion of students’ recommendations for
effective orientation programs. Have students participate in the activity entitled “How Did Your
Job Begin?” in “Managing Your Most Important Resource: The People” below.
Managing Your Most Important Resource: The People How Did Your Job Begin?
P4-11. Which of the company’s principles affect the organizing function of management?
