Organization Design Options

Case-1
Decorators Inc is a thriving interior decorator business operating mainly in Delhi and
Gurgaon. The two major business portfolios include private residence and organizations such
as hospitals, hotels and corporate units. The organization was founded by two friends on
completion of their MBA degree. They have gradually employed nearly 14 people in total
(people specialized with a degree in fine arts or interior decoration) to manage both these
portfolios. Very often they pitch on sales meetings, client presentations and the actual process
of hiring new people also. The work is highly customized and no two decorations are alike
until the client specifically asks for it. With the growth of business they now share a secretary,
have employed two receptionists. They are a reliable tie up with local artisans, carpenters,
plumbers, and textile factories in order to perform their day-to-day operations.
What organization design do they follow and why?

Case-2
Museum of Natural History is one of the most sought after museums in Washington DC
receiving nearly 5000 visitors every day. The museum is divided into five major sections
concentrating on Mammals, Pisces, Neanderthals, Other species and the last dedicated to
natural gemstones starting with quartz and ending with sapphires and diamonds. The museum
employs a trained staff of nearly 400 people altogether and another 200 comprising of ground
staff, cafeteria employees, fire department and security. Each of the 400 employees is trained
zoologists, gemstone specialists, historians etc. The layabout of each of the five sections is
similar and each section has a departmental store to attract the visitors into buying the wares.
Each section has a section head who in turn reports to the director of the museum. The
sections are also divided into four major parts each (each part being headed by a supervisor).
An employee in each section reports mainly to the supervisor in charge. The communication
is both vertical and lateral. Each section though governed by the rules of the museum is
independent with respect to taking decisions on management of the exhibits, hosting of talk
shows and employing new members if they so desire. The 200 staff members on the other
hand report to an administrative head who in turn reports to the Director of the Museum.
What organization design do they follow and why?

Case 3
Delta Airlines Inc. Operating as Delta Airlines is one of the largest passenger airlines in the
US. The company grew tremendously in the 1940s and 1950s due to certain changes in the
aviation laws and lucrative contracts. Today the organization has nearly 80,000 employees
spread worldwide with the strategic apex at Georgia, Atlanta. Though the size of the company
has increased tremendously, all major decisions with respect to staffing, finance and
operations are concentrated or taken at the headquarters. There exist a number of
standardized procedures for flight attendants, cabin crews, ground staff and the pilots which
are adhered to strictly. Communication channels are vertical in nature bringing information
from the top of the hierarchy. Delta has achieved tremendous economy of scales and has
created a strong executive staff with years of experience and training. But given its success
and control over its environment; the company also is affected by the high rates of attrition,
constant tensions between the staff and the headquarters, cultural differences among
members, and union pressures in a volatile industry.
What organization design do they follow and why?
Case 4
DuPont the famous chemical company was actually founded on gunpowder. It started as a
small family concern and then Pierre DuPont modernized the company alongside functions
and added functional departments such as sales, production and manufacturing. After the First
World War the company decided to diversify into paints as paints had a similar compound to
gunpowder. Despite a booming environment, there were tremendous losses. Eventually the
top management discovered disconnect between sales and marketing and tried to rectify the
same. They separated the gunpowder and paint products. Each division had functions such as
sales, production, inventory, R&D and marketing. The design worked well and still exists in
the company today.
What organization design do they follow and why?
Case 5
The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) was created by the US Congress
to identify emerging innovative technologies critical to national security. ARPANET which
finally became the internet was one of its creations. DARPA was not a huge organization but
a small unit consisting of highly trained specialists. It was non-hierarchical and the design
adaptive to help it respond better to complex and ill structured problems in its environment.
The style of decision making was unconventional and people took decisions as and when it
was important. As problems were new, DARPA functioned with the least amount of rules and
regulations.
What organization design do they follow and why?