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Go Ape

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ISSUE 1
The choice of right versus wrong can be a relatively simple one to make. In most cases the right choice has positive implications and the wrong choice negative ones. What happens when we are faced with two choices that can be equally right? What do we rely upon to make these decisions that have competing virtues? Right versus right decisions are defining moments in shaping a person’s character. That being said, the lecture, Defining Moments by Badaracco (2002) is appropriately titled. Badaracco goes on to lay out a framework for addressing right versus right dilemmas. This framework by Badaracco addresses the following four questions:
1) Which course of action will do the most good and the least amount of harm?
2) Which alternative best serves others’ rights?
3) What plan can I live with that is consistent with basic values and commitments?
4) Which course of action is feasible in the world as it is?
Given the situation with Alison and AlphaSoft Corporation, I would say that the course of action that will do the most good and the least amount of harm is to let Alison continue with her current position and positively influence her to continue her education and complete her MBA. Alison was hired into a position that did not require an MBA and moved up the ranks with hard work and her leadership has positively and financially benefitted the company. Badaracco (2002) quotes the famous utilitarian John Stuart Mill who once said “The essence of responsible behavior is doing whatever promotes the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people”. The best thing to do to make the greatest number of people happy is to maintain the status quo of sorts and leave everything as it is. It cannot be said that Alison did not earn her position. In regards to Badaracco’s second question we need to focus on rights. Badaracco (2002) talks about the Declaration of Independence and the ideas of human rights and states that we “live in a world where we are surrounded by rights: human rights, political rights, and economic rights”. Also to be thought about are rights of fairness, respect and safety. Alison deserves fairness due to the fact I mentioned earlier that she was originally hired into a position at AlphaSoft that did not require an advanced degree. Others at AlphaSoft during that same time were hired into her current position sans an advanced degree. In addition, I would say that Alison deserves the respect that should come to someone who has attained a Senior Vice President position and maybe even more so since she did it without an advanced degree. The third question to be considered involves conscious and values. It is that little voice we all have inside ourselves and makes us look in the mirror. Badaracco (2002) offers that this question can be attributed to the great philosophers Aristotle and Confucius. They felt the right thing to do should come naturally and instinctively. Per Badaracco (2002) it should not be “a matter of deliberation and calculation”. Samantha in HR may not know enough about Alison and her work ethic but given that she is a Senior Vice President should give her the benefit of the doubt. She should know that there is more to a person than the credentials that follow their name. I don’t think Samantha or anyone else in HR could sleep at night if they stripped Alison of her position that she worked hard for and deserved. That is what I feel this question is about, people searching their consciousness and asking themselves what they can live with as an individual and also as a company. The fourth question is a very pragmatic one. Badaracco (2002) ties this question to the 15th century Italian philosopher Machiavelli. The name Machiavelli gives many a bad taste in their mouth as he was known for being deceitful for personal gain. Machiavelli stood for the immoral or dishonest guy that got ahead in life. But in the end we must be real and open our eyes to the world we live in. What will work in today’s society? In Alison’s situation I believe that she should be grandfathered in. When Alison was hired as the assistant project facilitator, the position did not require an advance degree. Her current position, Senior VP, requires an advance degree, but some of her colleagues in the same position do not have their advance degree. Samantha should consider that those who have been working in the company for a long period of time have earned the respect and credentials through their hard work instead of their advance degree. There is no risk to the company by leaving Alison in her current role and the company would be better off given her past track record of performance. There should be consequences for the dishonesty, but Alison’s track record and loyalty to the company should compensate for her mistake. Samantha should document the findings in Alison’s personnel file, but she should also take this opportunity to encourage Alison to complete the remaining 18 credits so she can obtain her MBA degree.
ISSUE 2 Go Ape is a growing company that is looking to expand to international markets. Obviously before entering any additional markets an organization should do its homework on those markets but this is especially true when entering international markets. As Go Ape weighs international expansion they should consider the environment that they will be facing in the new locations to gain the resources that it needs to run the business. Jones (2010) considers three factors of the environment and their dichotomies, environmental complexity, environmental dynamism, and environmental richness (p. 334).
Jones (2010) describes environmental complexity as “the strength, number and interconnectedness of the specific and general forces that an organization has to manage” (p. 334). There could be government or political interests that they have never had to consider, new tax rules or accounting policies, and a customer base that is unknown. With each unknown factor, the environmental complexity the company will face increases.
Environmental dynamism is described by Jones (2010) as extent to which forces change the environment over time (p. 335). An aspect of environmental dynamism to consider is the political and regulatory environment. World politics often affect the global economy. While smaller, local businesses might only be significantly be affected by the local politics, a global company will experience a more unstable environment because of all the government politics and different local economies with which it must interact. Laws will change differently in different countries, and Go Ape could face a variety of regulations that it must comply with across its global operations.
Environmental richness would also not be significant with respect to Go Ape’s product. Jones (2010) identifies environmental richness as either a region or country that is rich in resources or one that has limited competition (p. 335). Countries that are still developing or have limited infrastructure in place would not be detrimental to Go Ape assuming they took care of the shipping logistics to get their product out to market. Each of the factors described above will have an effect on the transaction costs of doing business globally. The more complex, unstable, or poor an environment is, the higher the transaction costs will be. Jones (2010) outlines that companies can mitigate increasing transaction costs by increasing use of formal agreements when entering a market, but this is not a perfect solution (p. 350). Strategies that utilize formal agreements or contracts often require more oversight and integration costs to manage appropriately.
Go Ape must also decide what type of organizational structure or design they want to be. I would recommend they go with a functional structure. Functional units are effective when the organization has only few products or the company itself is small in size. Ito and Rose (2004/2005) state that functional structures are most effective when the company is small in size and does not have many products (p. 65). Functional units are effective when the organization has routine technologies and there is less probability of emergence of competitive technology that is radically different. Functional structures are typically mechanistic and Go Ape would be an ideal fit. Go Ape should be a company that has a simple structure. Go Ape has a product that has low differentiation, low integration and a standardized process. These features are all present in mechanistic structures defined by Jones as “structures that are designed to induce people to behave in predictable, accountable ways” (p.379). Mechanistic structures are best suited for stable environments with low uncertainty.
Functional structures are typically centralized and allow resources to be focused primarily on the product. Ito and Rose (2004/2005) go on to share that functional structures give managers to create “scale economies” based on this centralization. Jones defines scale of economies as “cost savings that result when goods and services are produced in large volume on automated production lines.
I feel that Go Ape should form a tall, mechanistic and functional structure that would best suit their low differentiation and simple product line. A stable environment in which Go Ape can focus on its limited product line will suit them well. If Go Ape decides to expand its product line and move to more uncertain markets they may want to reconsider this recommendation and adjust accordingly.

Ito, K. & Rose, E.L. (2004/2005, Winter). An emerging structure of corporations. The Multinational Business Review, 12(3), 63-83. (B)

Jones, G.R. (2010). Organizational Theory, Design, and Change (6th ed.). Boston, MA. Pearson Learning Solutions.

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