Project 1: Organizational Theory – Sep 6, 2015 11:59 PM

Project 1: Organizational TheoryInstructions:
Project 1 Organizational Theory (Week 3)

In the first assignment, students are given a scenario in which
the shipping manager who has worked for Recycled Furnishings since the
inception of the company is getting ready to retire.  The scenario
serves to set the stage for students to demonstrate how management
theories have changed over time.  For example, managing 30 years ago is
different than managing in the 21^st century. 

In selecting an organizational theory that best describes the
current shipping manager, students have to use the timeline to select a
school of thought and a theory or theories of that time frame.  Students
will need to research the theorist and theories to complete the
assignment and answer the questions below.  Students are expected to be
thorough in responding to Part One. 

In Part Two, students are going to take what they have learned
in weeks 1 – 3 and compare the management skills of the current shipping
manager to that of you as the new shipping manager.

Scenario:

Recycled Furnishings is a division of an international home
furnishing company called Thor Enterprises.  Recycled Furnishings makes
glass sofas for outdoor use from recycled bottles and glass. The
business has grown rapidly in the last thirty years and now that it has
become a division of Thor Enterprises, the company is going
international.  The shipping manager for Recycled Furnishings, Robert,
has been in his job since the start of the company.  Prior to coming to
Recycled Furnishings, Robert worked as a container manufacturing
engineer at Damco, a local shipping company and worked his way up to
supervisor prior to joining Recycled Furnishings. Robert, a baby boomer,
quickly rose to supervisor at Damco because his ability to optimize the
way tasks were performed and implemented processes so workers could be
trained to perform their specialized sequence of motion in one best
way.  He brought this management style to Recycled Furnishing and helped
to improve the methodology of furniture assembly as well as the
shipping processes. 

A major shift in management occurred in the late 1980’s and
early 90’s that caused Robert to reconsider his management approach. 
For example, advances in technology, the organization joining a union,
change in the value systems, organizational design and globalization all
affected the culture of Recycled Furnishings.  Robert was successful
with this transformation and contributed greatly to the company’s
success.

Part One

• Select an organizational theory that you believe best describes Robert’s management style in the late 1980’s/early 1990’s;
• Identify the theorist(s) who proposed the theory; 
• Discuss how the selected organizational theory and theorist fit into the school of thought of that time period.
• Address the principles of the theory and how the manager would do his job and interact with his staff. 
• How does this organizational theory differ from Robert’s early thinking;
• Using the course readings and your own research, explain in detail how you arrived at your conclusions.

Part Two

Recently Robert announced his plans to retire.  You have been
hired as his replacement and with the international launch on the
horizon you have big shoes to fill.  You feel you are more than capable
of handling the management position and characterize yourself as a 21^st century manager. 

• As a 21^st century manager, compare the way you would manage versus the way of Robert; 
• What implications do the changes in management have for the future of Thor?
• How will the new approach to the job likely change the shipping division?

Required Formatting of the Project 1:

• This report should be double spaced, 12-point font, and four
  to five pages in length excluding the title page and reference page;
• Include an introduction and a summary paragraph;
• Title page with your name, the course name, the date, and instructor’s name;
• Use headings;
• Write clearly and concisely;
• Write in the third person;
• Use APA formatting for in-text citations and reference page. 
  You are expected to paraphrase and not use direct quotes. Deductions
  will be taken when direct quotes are used and found to be unnecessary;
• Outside resources may be used but the majority of the support
  will come from the course readings with a wide array of readings used;
• Submit the paper in the Assignment Folder.