Theme One: This activity examines the job of the 21st century leader in the 21st century business. W 1 answer below »

Theme One: This activity examines the job of the 21st century leader in the 21st century business. We will look at how the job has changed and moved away from manager of a business with its subject matter and procedural emphasis to make money to a leader of people, the community and its stakeholders. Furthermore, the job has changed both in small organizations and large because of the development of technology and globalization.

Learning Activity 1

We are going to go back to Joe in our week one discussion and ask him to include in his comments to his brother his ideas about why the organization has to change not just the leadership roles.  Prepare an outline of points for Joe to make include his discussion with his brother about how the 21st century organization differs from that of the 20th century leader. Make sure to reference your reading material to validate the points you make.

Joe Jackson owned a saw mill in Stuttgart, Arkansas. It was a family concern that hadnAc€?ct changed in 50 years. Having grown up in the business Joe had never really investigated the strengths and weaknesses of his position as Vice President. His father was always the President and he and his older brother Jacob were the heirs. The business was in turmoil because his fatherAc€?cs health was precarious and he was forced to step down. JoeAc€?cs brother was expecting to step up to the role of Vice President but Joe knew that was a mistake. The business itself was being quickly eroded because of the sustainability issues facing the world. Joe could see this but not Jacob. Joe needed to have a long talk with Jacob to make him see reason. Either they worked together for the future or Joe would have to take the lead role.

Learning Activity 2

Theme Two: This activity is about creating the grand design. The leaderAc€?cs job is to build the design upon which the organization will operate as well as the environment upon which the organization will thrive. Often referred to as the social architect, the leaderAc€?cs job is to create a big picture upon which the followers of the leader will move the organization toward the vision that is created for the organization. This week, we will focus on the pictures outline, the vision and mission of the organization and its structure. Next week, we will focus on the leaderAc€?cs role in developing the culture of the organization.

Organizational Structure

Preface:

A leaderAc€?cs job is to create the direction for the company to move forward. The leader does this in steps. Here are the steps of the process:

First, the leader designs the vision and mission for the company

Second, the leader must establish an organizational structure which promotes the vision, mission and empowers the employees to keep the forward movement in the organization.                                                                                                                                   

In creating the structure various factors must be considered.

First and foremost is the purpose of the company or organization. What type of structure will best accomplish that goal? Certainly a company like UPS needs a somewhat rigid structure that is set up to focus on procedure and time sensitivity. Since UPS has as its goal to get the correct parcels to the right customers in the fastest way possible, variance in procedures or ways of accomplishing the tasks would never work. A tight delineated structure is imperative.

Along with the purpose the leader must look at the vision of the organization. Where does the leader want the organization to go? How best can the structure provide for the future? Will the vision call for expansion into other countries or simply call for product development changes? Do you plan a structure that can easily grow in size without harming its integrity or one whose focus is in the best way to make new products? Vision must be built into the organizational structure.

The people who make up the organization their jobs and their decision making authority should be considered. The authority must flow and make the organization respond favorable to the decisions and changes that are needed to move the organization forward toward the vision while making sure that stability continues to keep tasks on tract. This is tricky because the leaderAc€?cs job here is not to tell the manager what procedures to use or make but rather to set up a structure and authority to make it possible for them to make those procedures etc.

The structure must be people centric it must focus on how the people will best work together to get their jobs done and still focus on the vision and the necessary change that is inevitable to keep the business alive in the 21st century. Change be the operant word.

Budget considerations now and in the future.

Finally, external environment factors like sustainability and knowledge management may want to be considered in developing the structure. These factors are something that would have to be evaluated on a case by case basis.

It is time now to try your hand at creating a structure to fit an organization. Here are the facts:

Richard Purvis has created the Jordan shoe company. It is known for its great specialty tennis shoes at moderate prices. The company is making fun shoes for young children mostly girls. Catering to the age group of 1-12, the shoes are popular in Colorado. The shoes are growing in popularity and Richard is thinking of expanding into other states. Business has grown steadily in the last seven years and its future looks bright. If Richard expands the company he would have to set up two other plants in other states. If he does he will have to reorganize the Colorado plant.  The staff has always gotten along because Richard has been able to keep things on an even keel with his personality and concern for their personal welfare. He would have to find someone to take his place and run the plant in Colorado. He wants to set in place a structure which will continue to grow the business while maintaining its quality, reputation, and the happiness of its employees.

Some additional facts that may help, Purvis currently employs a plant manager, two salesmen, an office manager, two office workers, a bookkeeper, and 12 factory workers. The Salesmen want to move into marketing and to add new sales personnel.  The cost of expansion could be done effectively if the current profit level remains and that can only be done if the Colorado plant remains running smoothly.

Part One: Create a vision and mission statement for Purvis.

Part Two: Create an organizational structure which will further PurvisAc€?c organization.

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