You have been approached by two of your friends. Together they have been working on an invention that will revolutionize the field of energy production. Jack, an electrical engineer, and Jill, a chemist, have designed a system they call “Zeus” which captures and stores the energy from lightning bolts. They have perfected the system on their own in the field behind Jack’s house. The system consists of multiple components that can be loaded onto one 18-wheeled truck and transported, set up, and operational in less than one week. The components are relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture. This technology is going to change the world.
Jack and Jill’s invention is still a secret. They have come to you because they know you are an excellent manager with keen business sense. Once revealed, Jack and Jill’s little operation will become an enormous international company almost overnight. They want you to organize what the business will become.
Your assignment is to organize the business using the four major choices in structuring Organizations as described in Chapter 7, LO 7-3, Decision of Make in Structuring Organizations. You will create two documents:
- A one-page description of the process; one paragraph for each step of the process. Explain how you will address 1) centralization versus decentralization, (2) span of control, (3) tall versus flat organization structures, and (4) departmentalization. You will need to be brief, but directly address the issues brought on by this new venture.
- A one-page organization chart for the new company by FUNCTION. Be sure that the chart addresses the needs of the company (research, development, manufacturing, transportation, international, legal, administrative, etc.). Examples can be found in Chapter 7, LO 7-4.
Create both documents in Word. If you are not familiar with drawing tools in Word, Google topics such as “organization chart Word,” or “creating an organization chart in Word,” or “Word organization chart template,” or similar. Submit your finished assignment in the dropbox titled “Assignment 4: Organization Chart.”
