Organizing for Horizontal Coordination
{"Image DocumentName": "Organizing for Horizontal Coordination", "Image ImageDescription": "Companies need more flexibility than vertical structure can offer. Meet fast-shifting environment. Break down barriers between departments/divisions/teams. Need integration and coordination. Lack of coordination and cooperation can cause information problems. Growing global challenge. Chrysler Case (p. 281) ORGANIZING FOR HORIZONTAL COORDINATION. The Need for Coordination Exhibit As organizations grow and evolve, new positions and departments are added, and senior managers have to find a way to tie all of these departments together. Coordination refers to the quality of collaboration across departments. It is required whether there is a functional, divisional, or team structure. Coordination problems are amplified in the global arena because units differ not only by goals and work activities but by distance, time, culture, and language. Coordination is the outcome of information and cooperation. Managers can design systems and structures to promote horizontal coordination. Explain why organizations need coordination across departments and hierarchical levels, and describe mechanisms for achieving coordination. Coordination refers to the quality of collaboration across departments. It is required whether there is a function, divisional, or team structure. Coordination problems are amplified in the global arena, because units differ not only by goals and work activities but by distance, time, culture, and language. Coordination is the outcome of information and cooperation; managers can design systems and structures to promote horizontal coordination. The vertical structure is flattened, with perhaps only a few senior executives in traditional support functions such as finance or human resources. A task force is a temporary team or committee designed to solve a short-term problem involving several departments. Task force members represent their departments and share information that enables coordination. Companies also set up cross-functional teams for coordination. Companies also use project managers, responsible for coordinating the activities of several departments on a full-time basis for the completion of a specific project. Reengineering is the radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed. Because the focus of reengineering is on process rather than function, reengineering generally leads to a shift away from a strong vertical structure.", "Image XResolution": "37", "Image YResolution": "37", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Centimeter", "Image Software": "SlidePlayer", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered"}