I need help on the following four questions 1. Describe and explain how technology complexity affects organizational structure? What role does technology in the form of knowledge play in the...

1. Describe and explain how technology complexity affects organizational structure?
What role does technology in the form of knowledge play in the production of the
organization’s goods and services?
Traditionally ‘tall’ hierarchical organization structure has been used by management for
gathering information, planning, organizing, co-coordinating and controlling activities. Specific

roles of all employees and their relationship with other employees were defined in clearly in tall
hierarchies. Daily and monthly reports sent up in the hierarchy to that the managers could make
decisions. Span of control is narrow, decision making is centralized. With growth of an
organization the hierarchies grow (Mahoney & Mcgahan, 2007). With increasing use of
technology in 21
st
century, tall management structures started becoming more flat by downsizing
employees. Technology could perform the functions that were required to be done manually by
people in the hierarchy previously. The organizations flattened. Decision making was
decentralized and information flow within the organization became horizontal. MIS systems
provide rich information to the managers, thus reducing the need of hierarchical co-coordinating
and controlling activities. Employees in the organization are connected to each other by
different forms of information technology. Application of computer networks throughout the
organization and sharing documents and information over the emails makes information flow
horizontally across departments, thus making quality information readily available and decision
making and controlling activities. This in turn, has increased the productivity and innovativeness
of an organization. Moreover with advancement of technology and introduction of internet
several departments have become obsolete and have been eliminated from the organization
structure. For instance, in case of airlines industry, through the company website, the airlines
companies give customers options for booking its flight tickets and also offer car rental, hotel
booking and holiday packages booking services. Companies also use passenger services system
for quick service, miles redemption and other online customer services. Traditionally all these
functions needed an office set up and staff to manually do these functions. But with
technological advancements, these departments have been eliminated from the organization
structure.
Technology can be referred to as a combination of skills, abilities, techniques, materials,
machinery, and other equipment. As knowledge, technology can be used in the production
process of the organizations to improve the efficiency of the production process, improving the
quality of the outputs and the products thus produced. Technology can influence the three stages
– individual skills and knowledge of the staff, group techniques to complete a work and create
value and technique in which the input materials are used to produce the finished products.
2. Why would an organization choose a corporate level strategy to expand its value-
creation activities beyond its core domain? Discuss how an organization’s structure and
culture might change as the organization begins to enter new domains.
A company would choose a corporate level strategy to expand its value-creation activities
beyond its core domain since expanding reasonable in case if more value creation could not
occur within the core sphere and resources are available to step into the new domains. Moreover,
corporate level strategy is an extension of business level strategy for the reason that the company
takes its prevailing core abilities and applies them within new spheres (Pandit, 2000). If a
company takes marketing abilities built in one sphere and applies them within a new sphere, it
could create value in new sphere (Teece et. al., 1997). Within new domains,...