Question

Is the 2013 “One Microsoft” restructuring a good idea? Why or why not? In your answer, make sure to analyze the reasons FOR making this change and the potential challenges with this move. After your analysis, make sure to take a stand on whether this is a good idea.

Answer 1

Yes, " One Microsoft" restructuring is a good idea. As organisations are becoming more flexible and cross functional. It gives more opportunities to learn and share information for creating common knowledge pool that can be leveraged across different functions and products for making more effective and customer oriented products. It has increased the chances of innovation and communication between different divisions as the product range requires collaborating across the organisation.

The reasons for making this change is to function more efficiently and rally the efforts of the overall organisation on products that are wanted by the customers and not just develop them in separate product divisions. Efficient allocation of resources and more cohesive organisation are other reasons for restructuring so that the organisation works more interdependently and in a coordinated way. The organisation wants to innovate products with involvement of functional groups as well as with customer viewpoint.

There are potential challenges with this move as the complete organisational structure is changed and persons who were incharge of a product will now be responsible for certain functions of the product as the responsibility is divided on functional basis and not on product basis. The progress and performance will be collectively measured and not just by success of a particular product. There is need of more cross collaboration and functioning in coordinated way than in individual divisions to make successful products and focus collectively on the complete range of products for improving them creating more value for customers. This is a more cost effective and efficient approach towards integrating business units and become more competitive.