Organizational Designs for Multinational Companies

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and definitions related to organizational designs for multinational companies. They include definitions of various organizational structures and control mechanisms.

Organizational Design

The way organizations structure subunits and their coordination and control mechanisms to achieve strategic goals.

Basic Functional Structure

An organizational structure where departments perform separate business functions such as marketing or manufacturing.

Functional Structure

The simplest form of organizational structure, effective when an organization has few products, locations, and customers.

Product Structure

An organizational form where departments or subunits are based on different product groups.

Geographic Structure

An organizational form where departments or subunits are based on geographic regions.

Export Department

A unit that coordinates and controls a company’s export operations, created when exports become significant.

Foreign Subsidiaries

Subunits of a multinational company located in other countries, including mini-replica and transnational subsidiaries.

International Division

A division responsible for managing exports, international sales, and foreign subsidiaries.

Worldwide Geographic Structure

An organizational design with geographical units representing regions of the world, allowing for multidomestic strategies.

Worldwide Matrix Structure

An organizational form that balances the demands of product and geographical divisions with equal lines of authority.

Transnational-Network Structure

A structure that allows for local responsiveness while taking advantage of global economies of scale.

Metanational Structure

An emerging organizational form focused on decentralized decision-making and leveraging knowledge from global sources.

Control System

A system that links the organization vertically through performance measurement and feedback mechanisms.

Coordination System

A horizontal organizational system that provides information flows among different units within a multinational enterprise.