Page 5 - Ice Breaker Case

Paragraph 2

For years the company had been organized along

functional lines, with directors in charge of finance,
marketing, production, personnel, purchasing,

engineering, and research and development. In its growth,

the company had expanded its product lines beyond its

original product of network systems, Satellite
Communications Systems, and Network applications.

However, concern had arisen that its organization

structure did not provide for profit responsibility below the

office of the CEO, did not appear to fit the product or
geographic dispersion of its businesses, and seemed

rather to accentuate the "walls" impeding effective

communication and coordination between the functional
departments of marketing, finance, production, personnel

and Research & Development; there seems to be too

many decisions that could not be made at any level lower

than the CEO.