The U.S. Organization Structure SoftMagic U.S. organization structure seemed “mechanistic” (Robbins & Judge, 2009, p. 219), with decisions centralized in Italy. During a conversation with the Italian CEO, it became clear that SoftMagic organization structure in U.S. consisted of a U.S. CEO performing several roles including: (a) business development, (b) solutions development, (c) marketing, (d) administration, and (e) supporting sales opportunities. Similarly, there was a sales representative based out of California, and one project manager from Italy temporarily moved to Minneapolis supporting the TO, and supporting any new potential customers. Additionally, although the organization recently hired a local senior developer to support
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262) approach to guide the execution and decision-making activities of the U.S. operation. In alignment with “agency theory” (p. 261), the U.S. CEO received goals from Italy, and translated those into actions. However, according to the U.S. CEO, most of the important decisions required discussion and approval from Italy. In addition, the modernist approach implies that the environment should dictate the strategy, the strategy should dictate the objectives, and subsequently, the objectives turn into actions that will generate the expected results (p. 262). In the case of SoftMagic U.S., there was a limited understanding of the environment. Indeed, having the U.S. CEO playing multiple roles became the first struggle hampering the possibility of developing a clear understanding of the environment. Moreover, the constant utilization of resources from Italy during the TO engagement as opposed to develop local talent in U.S. adopting the technology, represented a missed opportunity to further the penetration of the …show more content…
to further the understanding on the U.S. market by investing in local talent that understand its products, and help in creating a marketing strategy and quantifiable plans to drive the business development. Moreover, organizational theorists agreed in the fact that organizations moving into an international setting must flex their cultural, and “nationalistic thinking” (Robbins & Judge, 2009, p. 305), for the purpose of better understanding the environment, and enabling the branches to grow. In the case of SoftMagic, the U.S. CEO may concentrate in developing local talent, a network of allies, and further his understanding of the environment. The idea is to frame a more effective market penetration strategy, identify options that are unfamiliar to the Italian leadership, and let the U.S. CEO perform most important decisions as long as they are in alignment with the Italian leadership objectives. Therefore, a management by objectives (MBO) (Robbins & Judge, 2009) approach; combined with the agency theory (Jensen & Meckling, 1976), should provide enough confidence to the Italian leadership team, while providing flexibility and agility to the U.S.
262) approach to guide the execution and decision-making activities of the U.S. operation. In alignment with “agency theory” (p. 261), the U.S. CEO received goals from Italy, and translated those into actions. However, according to the U.S. CEO, most of the important decisions required discussion and approval from Italy. In addition, the modernist approach implies that the environment should dictate the strategy, the strategy should dictate the objectives, and subsequently, the objectives turn into actions that will generate the expected results (p. 262). In the case of SoftMagic U.S., there was a limited understanding of the environment. Indeed, having the U.S. CEO playing multiple roles became the first struggle hampering the possibility of developing a clear understanding of the environment. Moreover, the constant utilization of resources from Italy during the TO engagement as opposed to develop local talent in U.S. adopting the technology, represented a missed opportunity to further the penetration of the …show more content…
to further the understanding on the U.S. market by investing in local talent that understand its products, and help in creating a marketing strategy and quantifiable plans to drive the business development. Moreover, organizational theorists agreed in the fact that organizations moving into an international setting must flex their cultural, and “nationalistic thinking” (Robbins & Judge, 2009, p. 305), for the purpose of better understanding the environment, and enabling the branches to grow. In the case of SoftMagic, the U.S. CEO may concentrate in developing local talent, a network of allies, and further his understanding of the environment. The idea is to frame a more effective market penetration strategy, identify options that are unfamiliar to the Italian leadership, and let the U.S. CEO perform most important decisions as long as they are in alignment with the Italian leadership objectives. Therefore, a management by objectives (MBO) (Robbins & Judge, 2009) approach; combined with the agency theory (Jensen & Meckling, 1976), should provide enough confidence to the Italian leadership team, while providing flexibility and agility to the U.S.