The Mechanistic Organisation Design and the Strategic Plan used by GM at the Time of Ignition Recall (Essay Sample)

Gm Ignition Recall
Student’s name
Institution affiliation
GM IGNITION RECALL
Organization design can be defined as the process of reshaping an organization’s roles and structure. It can thus be considered as the process through which management achieve the right combination of integration and differentiation of the operations in an organization (Schermerhorn, 2011). There are various organization designs which can be adopted by the management to achieve the organization's objectives.
A mechanistic organizational design is also referred as the bureaucratic structure. A mechanistic organization design reflects a formal and centralized network where a majority of the decisions are made at the top level. An organization that has adopted a mechanistic organization design is characterized by the following features; first, centralization of authority- authority in such organizations is centralized at the top level management, and thus decision making is by the top level management. Second, formalization of practices and procedures- in mechanistic organizations procedures are standardized and are strictly adhered to by all the employees in the organization. Third, specialization of functions- mechanistic organizations are highly specialized in nature. A mechanistic organization design is easy to organize and simpler but could be faced with challenges when faced with rapid changes due to its inflexibility (Schermerhorn, 2011).
On the other hand, an organic organization design is characterized by the following features; first, flatness- in an organization that has adopted organic design interactions and communications are horizontal. Second, low specialization- in such an organization the specialization levels are low and thus knowledge resides at the lowest levels where it is most useful. Third, decentralization- decision making is at all levels of the management and thus encourages informal and formal participation in the decision-making process in the organization. Organic organizations are hard to design and more complex however they are highly adaptive to changes due to its high flexible nature (Schermerhorn, 2011). At the time of recall, GM Company had adopted a mechanistic design. The design is not the best fit for the GM due to its inability to respond to rapid changes, which could be expensive for the organization in the long run. An appropriate organizational design for GM would be an Organic design due to its ability to respond to rapid changes.
A strategic plan can be defined as a document that is used in communicating the organization's goals and the actions required to achieve such goals and other important elements developed in the planning process. A strategic plan thus guides the direction of the organization for the achievement of the organizational goals (Griffin, 2012). In the case of GM, an appropriate strategic plan would be focused on reorganization of the organizational structure to enhance decentralization in the organization. Decentralization in the organization would ensure that decisions are made at the lowest levels where it most appropriate thus avoiding delays in decision making. The tactical plan is a short-term plan that emphasizes on the current opera...