Gordon Wong is VP of Human Resources at Zeta Manufacturing. In a recent confidential meeting with the company's president, he was given a special assignment: develop a plan to improve coordination between departments without restructuring the company. Gordon understood the president's concerns, since he too had observed several coordination-related problems at the last executive meeting. In one instance, the VP of Marketing complained to the VP of Production that the company was losing market share due to low production capacity and late shipments. The VP of Production fired back, accusing the marketing department of “overly aggressive promotional tactics” which were resulting in unrealistic production expectations and low profit margins. In another instance, the VP of Marketing requested increased expense budgets for sales managers, who were complaining about the lack of funds available for sales promotion activities with customers. The VP of Finance told the VP of Marketing that his sales managers needed a “reality check” and that, if anything, expenses would need to become “tighter, not looser,” in the future. Then, the VP of Research and Development stunned everyone by introducing detailed plans for a totally new product which would move the company into new markets. The VPs of Production and Marketing both demanded to know why they had not been informed about the new product concept sooner. As Gordon reflected on these events, he wondered, “How can I get these departments to work together in a more integrated manner?” Use your knowledge of organizational structure to 1) identify the type of departmentation at Zeta; 2) explain the advantages and disadvantages of this type of structure; and 3) recommend three methods to improve coordination across these departments without restructuring the organization.
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