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 #7: Sunflower Incorporated; Daft, Chapter 9
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. What is the problem with Williams's approach? What types of control were used at Sunflower by
Williams?
Williams wants to improve I.T. and communication. She introduces standardization of prices and
purchasing decisions. Her first step was to have the “financial execuative in each region to notify
her of any change in local prices more than 3 percent” (377). She also decided that purchasing
needed to be cleared by her and her office if it was more than $5,000. She sent out her
announcement of the changes, which would change the policies, over an email and fax. Her
superior thought she should go in person to the departments to talk about the changes but she
said she was too busy and it was an unnecessary waste of time. She wanted the procedures in
place now.
The control at sunflower was more of a clan control or decentralized control because it was
autonomous with prices and purchasing, and had low connection and low communication.
Williams’ approach of control is market control. She uses price competition to evaluate the
departments and the organization. This normally needs a standardized set price between
departments/locations. It is a lot more of a hierarchical control.
2. What information medium would you consider appropriate for communicating new procedures
on pricing and purchasing to employees? Why?
Currently at Sunflower, “lower level employees and sales people [are] not connected. Only a few
senior managers in about half the divisions [use intranet] regularly” (377). Langly believes that in
person communication would be best. Williams’ way had no impact. they should push Intranet
more, group conference calls, and social media. Lush has social media accounts for employees to
watch showing promotion opportunities and highlighting new and excelling employees. At
Reitmans they have a website that all employees are supposed to go on once a week and read
new updates and comment on certain things. I believe this is intranet. This should be pushed
harder to all of the employees in Sunflower. The centralization of the company will overload the
top unless they decentralize.
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