Case 4: Paradoxical Twins; Daft, Chapter 4 with ANSWERS
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Course
Organizational Behavior (BUSI363)
Institution
Trinity Western University (TWU
)
BUSI 363 - Organizational Design & Development
This course focuses on how to design and maintain organizational effectiveness through
developing appropriate levels of control and coordination. This course introduces and critically
examines the current theories and approaches to the management an...
Samantha Twist
Business 363
Case 4: Paradoxical Twins; Daft, Chapter 4
Answer the following questions and submit your answers before class meets to the drop
box in Moodle.
Your answers should evidence you completed the assigned readings and the case study.
1. In regard to the external environment, what sector was experiencing change.
Due to the change in the sector, how did Acme and Omega respond?
The company, before the split, had problems in the financial sector. To solve this
they had a merger with a company. They were then eventually sold and split into
Acme and Omega. They were in one area of the technology sector and moved to
another part of the technology sector. Since there was change in the external
environment Acme and Omega both knew they needed to bring in more new
clients. They chose to both bid on a company that they were physically close to.
2. Describe the approach Acme took in comparison to the approach that Omega
took to survive in their external environments.
Omega hired an outside person, who had been successful in the electronics
industry, as their president. Omega also became very organic. Acme promoted a
manager and became mechanistic.
3. Which organization focused on efficiency and which one focused on innovation?
Acme says that it is focused on effectiveness (pg171). They chose to re-implement
an efficient structure from the original company, Technology Projects, that worked
before. This company is highly formalized, making it mechanistic. Some managers
wished they had more latitude or freedom in their jobs. Mechanistic work
environments tend to be more focussed on efficiency than innovation; not much
creativity came from factory lines in the past. Acme has a differentiation of
departments. Although, in the end 10 of Acme’s final units didn’t work, therefor
the company is more about efficiency than effectiveness and innovation.
Omega is almost a perfect opposite. The company is highly organic. There are no
organization charts nor memos. Rawls believes in someone needs to send a
message, the employee can just walk over to the person and tell them. The
organization is quite horizontal. There is a lot of interaction between the
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