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Student Name: BENLAHCEN Nabil

Date: 29 November 2009

FOUNDATIONS OF ORGANIZATION DESIGN

Ms. Raku made pottery in her basement. That involved a number of distinct tasks—wedging clay,
forming pots, tooling them when semidry, preparing and then applying the glazes, and firing the
pots in the kiln. But the coordination of all these tasks presented no problem; she did them all
herself. The problem was her ambition and the attractiveness of her pots: the orders exceeded her
production capacity. So she hired Miss Bisque, who was eager to learn pottery making. But this
meant Ms. Raku had to divide up the work. Since the craft shops wanted pottery made by Ms.
Raku, it was decided that Miss Bisque would wedge the clay and prepare the glazes, and Ms. Raku
would do the rest. And this required coordination of the work—a small problem, in fact, with two
people in a pottery studio: they simply communicated informally. The arrangement worked well, so
well that before long, Ms. Raku was again swamped with orders. More assistants were needed. But
this time, foreseeing the day when they would be forming pots themselves, Ms. Raku decided to
hire them right out of the local pottery school. So whereas it had taken some time to train Miss
Bisque, the three new assistants knew exactly what to do at the outset and blended right in; even
with five people, coordination presented no problem. As two more assistants were added, however,
coordination problems did arise. One day Miss Bisque tripped over a pail of glaze and broke five
pots; another day, Ms. Raku opened the kiln to find that the hanging planters had all been glazed
fuchsia by mistake. At this point, she realized that seven people in a small pottery studio could not
coordinate all their work through the simple mechanism of informal communication. Making
matters worse was the fact that Ms. Raku, now calling herself president of Ceramics Inc., was
forced to spend more and more time with customers; indeed, these days she was more apt to be
found in a Marimekko dress than a pair of jeans. So she named Miss Bisque studio manager; she
was to occupy herself full-time with supervising and coordinating the work of the five producers of
the pottery. The firm continued to grow. Major changes again took place when a work-study
analyst was hired. He recommended changes whereby each person performed only one task for one
of the product lines (pots, ashtrays, hanging planters, and ceramic animals)—the first wedged, the
second formed, the third tooled, and so on. Thus, production took the form of four assembly lines.
Each person followed a set of standard instructions, worked out in advance to ensure the
coordination of all their work. Of course, Ceramics Inc. no longer sold to craft shops; Ms. Raku
would only accept orders by the gross, most of which came from chains of discount stores. Ms.
Raku's ambition was limitless, and when the chance came to diversify, she did. First ceramic tiles,
then bathroom fixtures, finally clay bricks. The firm was subsequently partitioned into three
divisions—consumer products, building products, and industrial products. From her office on the
fifty-fifth story of the Pottery Tower, she coordinated the activities of the divisions by reviewing
their performance each quarter of the year and taking personal action when their profit and growth
figures dipped below those budgeted. It was while sitting at her desk one day going over these
budgets that Ms. Raku gazed out at the surrounding skyscrapers and decided to rename her
company "Ceramico."
Questions:

1-Describe the different stages in the development of Ms Raku's


enterprise?
2-How were successive work coordination problems solved by Ms
raku?
3- How could you characterize the different structures of Ms Raku's
enterprise over time?
4- Do you think there is one best structure for a firm?

5- Mettre en francais: paragraphe 2 "the problem was her


ambition .....would do the rest " et dernier paragraphe "Ms Raku's
ambition ....Ceramico"

Answers:

1- The different stages Ms Raku’s enterprise went through since the


time she was working alone could be stated as follows:
a- First stage: Ms Raku was working alone and she was performing the
different required tasks for making pottery by herself, so there was no
problem of coordination.
b- Second stage: The number of orders exceeded the production rate and
Ms Raku had to hire Miss Biskis to help her with some tasks. However, the
main drawback was that the two people were communicating informally.
c- The third stage: Orders were multiplied and Ms Raku decided to hire
three qualified assistants directly from the local pottery school. There was no
need for any training period, and work went smoothly.
d- The fourth stage: Two new assistants were hired, but some coordination
problems arised, so Ms Raku named Miss Bisque Studio manager as she was
more concentrating on receiving customers and supervising the others’ work.
e- The fifth stage: A work-study analyst was hired and production took the
form of four assembly lines. The firm kept on growing and Ceramics. Inc
stopped dealing with retail shops.
f- The sixth stage: The firm was divided into three main sections—consumer
products, building products, and industrial products. Ms Raku was still
supervising periodically the whole work and she eventually renamed her
company "Ceramico."

2-how were successive work coordination problems solved by Ms


raku?
Ms Raku solved the successive coordination problems in her firm by
recruiting new employees and also by creating new divisions and organizing
work differently each time a problem arised or the firm grew bigger. Ms
Raku had found out that she needed help each time orders exceeded
production rate, but she also decided to create a well-organised team that
could work together and communicate effectively. The major change that
"Ceramico" went through was when it was divided into three main divisions
following the expert advice. However, the quality and the attractiveness of
Ms Raku pottery production was of a great help in the whole process.

3- How could you characterize the different structures of Ms Raku's


enterprise over time?
The different structures Ms Raku’s enterprise experienced through time are
typically characterized by a sort of ‘chain production’ approach. From the
very beginning Ms Raku had decided to divide tasks and create teams that
worked in a complementary form. Each section was specialized in
performing a specific task and afterward each division was producing a
different kind of pottery crafts. The different structures were all the time
controlled by a skilled and experienced supervisor as herself or Miss Bisque
who was her first employee. It is also clear that Ms Raku gave the customer
service section a great importance as she was all the time withdrawing tasks
for the sake of taking care of her clients directly.

4- Do you think there is one best structure for a firm?


I don’t really think there is a ‘best’ or a ‘worst ‘structure for a firm because
each firm has its own characteristics and particular aspects. The difficulty
usually comes from applying the right structure to the right firm at the right
time or period. In the text example Ms Raku was quite successful in making
the right decisions at the right time, and that’s why her firm was growing
bigger and bigger. Hiring the right people could also be a major factor in
organising work effectively and in adopting the right structure. Effective
Communication is also very important in detecting the right time when a
firm owner has to make structure change. Eventually, I would say that there
is no ‘ideal’ structure but many choices that could be ‘’ best’’ or ‘’ worst’’
depending on the time and the way you make them.

5- Mettre en francais : paragraphe 2 "the problem was her


ambition .....would do the rest " et dernier paragraphe "Ms Raku's
ambition ....Ceramico"

Original text:

‘’ The problem was her ambition and the attractiveness of her pots: the
orders exceeded her production capacity. So she hired Miss Bisque, who was
eager to learn pottery making. But this meant Ms. Raku had to divide up the
work. Since the craft shops wanted pottery made by Ms. Raku, it was
decided that Miss Bisque would wedge the clay and prepare the glazes, and
Ms. Raku would do the rest.’’

Translation:
Le problème était son ambition et l'attrait de ses pots: les commandes ont
outrepassé sa capacité de production. Donc, elle a embauchée Miss Bisque,
qui était désireux d'apprendre la poterie. Mais cela voulait dire que Mme
Raku devrait répartir le travail. Comme les boutiques d'artisanat voulaient
des poteries faites par Mme Raku, il a été décidé que Miss Bisque
s’occuperait de modeler l’argile et de préparer les émaux, et Mme Raku
ferait le reste.

Original text:

Ms. Raku's ambition was limitless, and when the chance came to diversify, she did. First
ceramic tiles, then bathroom fixtures, finally clay bricks. The firm was subsequently partitioned
into three divisions—consumer products, building products, and industrial products. From her
office on the fifty-fifth story of the Pottery Tower, she coordinated the activities of the divisions
by reviewing their performance each quarter of the year and taking personal action when their
profit and growth figures dipped below those budgeted. It was while sitting at her desk one day
going over these budgets that Ms. Raku gazed out at the surrounding skyscrapers and decided to
rename her company "Ceramico."

Translation:

L’ambition de Madame Raku était sans limite, et lorsque l'occasion s'est


présentée pour diversifier, elle a fait. Au début c’était les tuiles de
céramique, puis les appareils sanitaires et enfin les briques d’argile. La firme
a ensuite été divisée en trois sections - produites de consommation,
produites de construction et les produits industriels. De son bureau a la
cinquante-cinquième étage de la Tour de Poterie, elle a coordonné les
activités des divisions en examinant leurs performances chaque trimestre
de l'année et aussi en prenant des mesures personnels lorsque leurs
bénéfices et chiffres de croissance tombés en dessous de ceux budgétés.
Ç’est alors qu'elle était assise un jour dans son bureau en examinant ces
budgets que Mme Raku regardait vers les gratte-ciels avoisinants et a
décidé de renommer sa compagnie "Ceramico’’.

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