Topic 3 - The Pizza Business Organizational Design

Exercises
Over the next four classes you will work in small groups on multiple discussion
exercises in the classroom to further develop your pizza business. In our discussion
of Managing a Positive & Productive Work Environment we will cover the
following concepts:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Designing Productive & Meaningful Jobs (session 8)

Grouping Jobs and Creating Organizational Structure (session 9)
Integrating and Coordinating Workflows (session 10)
Motivating and Monitoring Performance (session 10)
Engaging Employees (session 11)

Session 8 Discussion Exercise:

Identify at least 3 key jobs in your pizza business including manager, pizza
maker, waiter/order taker, and another if necessary (e.g., delivery person,
cashier, other) so that each team member is assigned a unique job to design.
Each group member prepares their assigned job description (list of
responsibilities and tasks for the job). Work on preparing this job description
independently and at the same time as your other group members are
working on preparing their job descriptions (about 10 minutes).
Once everyone has completed their job descriptions, each person will read
the job description they developed to the other group members. The other
group members should then evaluate that job description against the Five
Characteristics that make jobs more motivating (skill variety, task identity,
task significance, autonomy, feedback see lecture slide for more detailed
descriptions of this criteria). Each group member evaluates the job
description for each of the 5 characteristics as follows:
o Fully meets the characteristic criteria,
o Somewhat meets the characteristic criteria,
o Does not meet the characteristic criteria.
Discuss as a group how the job description could be improved to fully meet
the criteria for each job characteristic (sometimes jobs cannot meet all
characteristics so decide that as well) and then make the necessary changes
to the job description based on this feedback. Do this for each of the jobs
and revise job descriptions accordingly as much as you can within the time
allowed. Be prepared to read one of your revised job descriptions to the
entire class. (15 minutes)

Session 9 Discussion Exercise:

Create an organization structure for your pizza business. Draw an

organization chart showing the total number of employees and the
reporting relationships for each job (who reports to whom) using one of
the structural formats identified in the lecture
Evaluate Your Structure:
o Which of the five structures does your structure most resembleFunctional, Product Market/Geographical, Matrix, Product Team,
Hypertext?
o Is your structure flat or tall?
o Does the structure allow for critical flows of information to occur
easily?
o Are key individuals able to interact routinely and spontaneously?
o Are there clear lines of authority (who reports to whom)?
Make any necessary changes to improve your organization structure
based on your groups evaluation

Session 10 Discussion Exercises:

Integration and Coordination

What aspect of key work in your pizza business relies significantly on good
integration and coordination (think about the value chain you created and
identify which part of the value chain activity, or links between value
chain activities, relies on people working collaboratively in order for the
work to be done effectively and efficiently)?
Describe how you will use the 5 integration mechanisms to integrate and
coordinate this work in your pizza business

Motivating and Monitoring Performance

Take one of the key jobs you designed in Session 8 and prepare your plan
to motivate and monitor performance for that job (define performance,
measure performance, reward performance)

Session 11 Discussion Exercise:

Using the 4 recommended actions identified in the Blessing White study

take one of the key jobs for your pizza business identified in Session 8 and
describe how you as managers of this business will implement those 4
actions to better engage employees who are doing that job

Session 8 Work Template

Job Design
1. Name of Job Assigned :
Manager
Job Description (List some Key Responsibilities and Key Tasks):

He/she is in charge of ordering supplies.

Hiring, guiding, evaluating and firing low performing employees, or rewarding
outstanding performance by employees
In charge of scheduling hours and shifts
In charge of employees payroll
In charge of reconciliation of receipts
In charge of paying business taxes

Characteristics of Good Job Design (Feedback from team on your Job

Description against this criteria):
Fully Meets
Criteria
Skill Variety*
Task Identity*
Task
Significance*
Autonomy*
Feedback*

Somewhat
Meets
Criteria
(Minor Revision)

Does Not
Meet Criteria
(Major Revision)

yes
yes
yes
yes
yes

2. Name of Job Assigned:

Pizza Maker
Job Description

he/she has to prepare the pizzas

He/she has to make sure all the ingredients are stocked, and inspect the
smoothie station as well for freshness of fruit or informing manager when
fruits are running low
In charge of inspecting incoming suppliers orders
Cleaning the pizza making area
Assist in the smoothie station with preparing the station
Assist the cleaning person in case of a major issue
Fully Meets
Criteria

Somewhat
Meets
Criteria
(Minor Revision)

Does Not
Meet Criteria
(Major Revision)

Skill Variety*
Task Identity*
Task
Significance*
Autonomy*
Feedback*

yes
yes
yes
yes
yes

3. Name of Job Assigned

Waiter/smoothie maker
Job Description

In charge
In charge
low
In charge
In charge
In charge
In charge

of taking customers orders

of informing manager or pizza makers when inventory is running
of
of
of
of

making fresh fruit smoothies

answering phone line
restocking soft drinks refrigerator
folding pizza boxes

Fully Meets
Criteria
Skill Variety*
Task Identity*
Task
Significance*
Autonomy*
Feedback*

Somewhat
Meets
Criteria
(Minor Revision)

Does Not
Meet Criteria
(Major Revision)

yes
yes
yes
yes
yes

Session 9 Work Template

Organizational Structure
Draw the Organizational Structure for your Pizza Business (do this collaboratively
with your team). Include number of employees in each job and the reporting
relationships using one of the organization structure formats reviewed in the lecture
slides.
Pizza and Smoothies will implement a functional structure composed of all the
departments that the pizzeria requires to produce its foods and beverages.
We will only have a manager in place, all of the other employees have to report
directly to him therefore our company will have a flat structure. However, in case

that the manager is not in the premises, the pizza maker will occupy his/her place.
Since we will only have a small workforce, the flow of information between the
workers it is not going to be an issue.

Session 9 Work Template (Continued)

Evaluate Your Teams Organizational Structure:
Which of the five structures does your pizza business structure most resemble?
(circle one)

Functional - Yes
Product market/geographical
Matrix
Product team
Hypertext

Is your structure? (circle one):

Flat - Yes
Tall

What are the two or three critical flows of information that must occur in your
business (describe)
1. Workers have to work as a team in order to deliver our products to our
valuable customers.
2. Workers have to communicate constantly with each other and
management, to let know when some of the supplies are running low.
3.

Are key individuals able to interact routinely and spontaneously or have

you created a silo model?
All of our employees have to interact daily in order to deliver our products.
Are there clear lines of authority (who reports to whom)?
Everyone reports to the lone manager, if not the manager is not available the pizza
maker will take his/her place.
Modify your structure as appropriate based on this evaluation in order to improve
your design to better meet the criteria for an effective organizational structure.

Session 10 Work Template

Integration and Coordination

What aspect of key work in your pizza business relies significantly on good
integration and coordination between employees in order for the work to be done
effectively and efficiently?
(Think about the value chain you created in Topic 2 or key information flows from
session 9). Examples include: making a pizza (needs to integrate with the order
taker so the exact pizza ordered is clear on the ticket, needs to integrate with
whoever developed the menu of pizzas, i.e. the pizza made is the same as
described in the menu, needs to integrate with the delivery person to assure that
pizzas do not sit waiting for the delivery person to return, etc.) Identify other key
work flows that are critical for your pizza business. List the two or three most
important workflows here:
1.
The workers have to inform management of supplies needed at all time.

2.
Since most of our customer order pizza and smoothies at the same time, the
smoothie maker and pizza maker have to deliver both products at the same time, in
order to enhance value proposition of our business.

Session 10 Work Template

Integration and Coordination (Continued)
Pick the most critical work flow from above and describe how you will use the five
integrating mechanisms to assure this work is properly integrated and coordinated.
Refer to the descriptions of these integration mechanisms in the lectures slides to
identify specific actions your team can take.
Integrating
Mechanism
Strategy

Actions to Assure Effective

Integration and Collaboration
Constantly re-enforce the essential need to work as team in order
to be successful in business.

Structure

Culture

Monitoring

Our structure is flat; therefore the communication will be accurate

and efficient.

Pizza and Smoothie is all about satisfying our customers,

therefore we will go the extra mile to deliver our products with
excellence.

Manager has to make sure the flow of information is clear between

the entire member of the workforce, and he/she has to make sure
complete orders are delivered at the same time and in the
condition expected by our customers.

Incentives
None

Session 10 Work Template

Motivating and Monitoring Performance
Take one of the key jobs you designed in Session 8 and prepare your plan to
motivate and monitor performance for that job.
Job Selected: Pizza Maker

Key Steps
1. Define
Performance:
Goals

Milestones

2. Measure
Performa
nce

3. Reward
Performa
nce
Monetary

Non-monetary

Action
Required

Description of Plan for this Job

List two goals

For the selected
job

Deliver our pizzas to the customer within 20

minutes after the order is placed.

Identify key
milestones for
each goal

Deliver the pizza to the our customer within

20 minutes after the order is placed

Describe one or
two measures for
each
goal/milestone:

Describe
appropriate
monetary
Rewards for
achieving the
goals
Describe
appropriate non-

Averages will be calculated every two week

to determine the performance of the
employee.

Every two weeks if the average is 20 minutes

or less, the employee will receive a bonus of
$50.

Management Recognition for satisfying

monetary
rewards for
achieving the
goals

customers wants and needs promptly .

Session 11 Work Template

Employee Engagement
Select one of the key jobs for your pizza business identified in Session 8 and
describe how you will increase the level of employee engagement for that job using
the Blessing White set of 4 recommended actions you can take as managers to
improve employee engagement.
Description of Job Selected:

Pizza Maker
Blessing White Action Plan
(Refer to detailed description of these actions on next page)
Action
Category
Educate
Employees

Provide
Tools

Actions to be Taken
Provide all the necessary training to the employee that he/she
is needs in order to deliver the best output.

Give the employee more autonomy about some of the task

required by him, therefore the employee will feel as an
integral part of the organization.

The pizza maker could eventually become manager.

Redefine
Career
Success
Provide the pizza maker with opportunities that will not only

Development
and
Growth
Opportunities

benefit the employee but the company as a whole.

Recommended Manager Actions with

Employees to Improve Engagement:
Educate them on their role in
engagement (disengagement and
cynicism is toxic, dampens others
motivations);
Provide tools to help young millennials
especially to clarify their personal
definition of success and take more
control of their engagement;
Redefine career success to include
lateral moves, skill development, stretch
assignments, special projects so can
find satisfying opportunities with current
employer
Provide development and growth
opportunities give employees the
opportunity to learn new skills, and new
jobs, along with general training and

skill development coaching for

improving their performance in their
current job