Question

Cisco Systems: Evolution of Structure OVERVIEW The evolution of Cisco from a university campus networking solution to a global technology leader has been a dynamic process. The speed of technological innovation means that managers are already talking about the “next new thing” during the launch of each new product or service. Parallel with the rapid technological evolution at Cisco are the changes in organizational structure. As Cisco expanded, visionary John Chambers was brought in as CEO, and he expanded the company into advanced technologies. By 2000, Cisco had attained a brief designation as the world’s most valuable company. Will the evolution of Cisco continue? And if so, what will it look like? Company history indicates that, just as a quick response is needed in the rapid evolution technology products and services, the company must remain aware of structural changes needed within the organization to maintain its leadership position. Critical Thinking Questions:

1. Discuss the organizational structure at Cisco Systems. (Lo 1.6 & 2.2) 200 words

2. What design changes were needed? (Lo 2.9) 200 words

3. How has Cisco’s structure continued to evolve? (Lo 1.6 & 2.2) 200 words

Answer 1

answer-

1- the organizational structure at cisco system is very dynamic & innovative which is led by the visionary John Chambers as CEO, and he expanded the company into advanced technologies.Cisco Systems a company that has reinvented itself time and again has proved that the key to corporate success lies in an organizational structure that is both responsive and in tune with the changing industry and market requirements.the organizational structure of cisco is divisional in which various divisions worked as individual units but in collaboration so each unit provide innovation & advancement to overall structure of the company.

The Cisco management hierarchy of the company consists of carefully carved job positions to lead the company. The positions in the management/ lead team in the descending order of hierarchy are given below:

• CEO- Chief Executive Officer
• Vice President, Growth Initiatives and Chief of Staff
• Executive Vice President, Chief Development Officer
• Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
• Senior Vice President, Operations
• Senior VP, Chief People Officer
• Senior VP, Chief Technology & Strategy Officer
• Senior VP, Chief Marketing Officer
• Senior VP, Worldwide Sales
• Senior VP, Services
• Senior VP and General Counsel

2. What design changes were needed?

in given structure, employee at cisco do more work than thier roles & responsibilties like implementational as well as operational work, often having to drop operational projects to complete deployments.In many cases, employees were unaware of the duplication that existed across the organization.The original organizationalmodel included regional network teams and regional voice teams that were responsible for all aspects of implementing and operating their environments and services.

so, there is innovation & advancement in the structure but there is need of clear Role & responsiblities like structure requires division of work & equity , environmental changes, infrastructure changes at cisco.

3. How has Cisco’s structure continued to evolve?

the main reason of evoluation of its CEO visionary John Chambers. he expanded the company into advanced technologies also given today’s pressing need to optimize IT services and resources while reducing costs and improving organization wide productivity, the Cisco lifecycle methodology offers the framework needed to make operations more efficient and responsive.Cisco IT Network and Data Center Services (NDCS) changed from using a traditional organizational model to Cisco’s own lifecycle model, with substantial operations improvements across five different metrics.

company cisco never been static always been dynamic & changed & adapt itself with the envrionment & adopt the culture which is accepted by others, also, the leadership at cisco was transformational which lead the employee towards the innovation.this is why cisco's structure continued to evolve.

* as EA, i can answer one out of multiple questions but i tried to answer all three for your help.hope these answers would help you.good luck & rate.