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
when new engineers and designers join the group?
There are a variety of answers for this, but management must be very creative and the
motivation can’t just be extrinsic. Managers would need to be in continuous dialogue with the
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 12 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
While each type has certain advantages, there are also disadvantages. For example, the matrix
structure increases efficiency by using both a functional and product/service structure together.
How might an organization’s human resource management approach affect worker productivity?
How could managers use their HR processes to improve worker productivity?
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.
This question is designed to make you think! Are teams more productive than individuals?
Discuss and explain.
There is no ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer to this question. First, which is more productive depends on the
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?
While the numbers presented in the case show that employee productivity has stifled or actually
decreased for some countries, most students would be surprised to find that for the U.S.
Continuing Case
Starbucks—Organizing
Discussion Questions with Answers; Teaching Suggestions
P3-1. What types of departmentalization are being used? Explain your choices. (Hint: In addition
to information in the case, you might want to look at the complete list and description of
corporate executives on the company’s Web site.) If your classroom has Internet capabilities,
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
P3-2. 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?
P3-3. What examples of the six organizational structural elements do you see discussed in the
case? Describe.
You might ask students to answer this question individually outside of class following an
introductory presentation and discussion of organizational design. The organizational design
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?
P3-4. 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?
P3-5. 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?
P3-6. Starbucks has said its goal is to open 1,200 new stores globally. In addition, the company
has set a financial goal of attaining total net revenue growth of 10 to 13 percent and earnings
per share growth between 15 to 20 percent. How will the organizing function contribute to the
accomplishment of these goals?
Students’ answers to this question should reflect their understanding of ways in which the six
elements of organizational design (refer students to their responses to Question P3–3 above)
enhance Starbucks’ ability to grow while maintaining the company’s uncompromising principles.
Before class begins, you may want to write each of Starbucks’ long-term goals at the top of a
portion of the board in your classroom, as follows:
P3-7. 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:
P3-8. Select one of the job openings posted on the company’s Web site. Do you think the job
description and job specification for this job are adequate? Why or why not? What changes
might you suggest?
This question can be answered by students in an assignment outside of class so that each
student can give sufficient time and thought to his/her response. Your students can find
P3-9. Evaluate Starbucks’ training efforts. What types of training are available? What other
type(s) of training might be necessary? Explain your choices.
P3-10. 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
Managing Your Most Important
Resource: The People
How Did Your Job Begin?
In small groups of four or five students, ask each student to describe the
orientation he or she received for a job held in the past or present. You
might ask students to address these questions by sharing their
experiences with their team members:
• Describe the orientation you received for this position.
• In your opinion, how effective was the orientation you received?
• What changes do you think could have been made to improve the
quality of this orientation?
P3-11. Which of the company’s principles affect the organizing function of management?
Explain how the one(s) you chose would affect how Starbucks’ managers deal with (a) structural