Describe oticons project management style

Assignment Help Business Management

Reference no: EM131292654

What Happens if the Spaghetti Gets Cold?
In September 1996, Oticon, the Danish hearing aid manufacturing company, launched something which was considered no less than a sensation in the world of hearing aids. Oticon had produced the world's first fully automatic hearing instrument, based on a revolutionary new microchip. This microchip had the same processing power as a 486 PC, weighed only 4 grams, was smaller than a little finger nail and used only five thousandths of the energy used by a conventional hearing aid chip. Oticon had built the microchip into Digifocus, which the company claimed to be the world's smallest hearing aid, with a sound reproduction quality so far unprecedented.

The Digifocus was not the first thing about Oticon to catch the public's eyes. Ever since 1991, when Oticon restructured its head office into what the company's CEO, Lars Kolind calls a spaghetti organization, Oticon has received world wide attention because of its untraditional organizational structure and management style.

Kolind's Management Style

"Obviously Lars' management style has been very visible. Lars' strength is that he is dazzling at..., he has been dazzlingly good at selling the company. And that is one of the reasons that he has so much penetration power in the organization, because everybody wants to be where he ...you hear a lot about how interesting Oticon is, right..., and that is why everybody wants to be where he is, also internally I mean. There is no doubt his personality means a lot to Oticon, it definitely does" (Torben Petersen).

Lars Kolind managed Oticon in a somewhat untraditional way. This was accentuated in December 1995. Just after the introduction of Digifocus, Lars Kolind did something that, seen from an outsider's perspective, was rather unusual. On the other hand, what he did only went to show that Oticon's untraditional management style was not all talk. Kolind relocated all the former Digifocus project groups, based on the time horizon of their new projects: "I exploded the organization" "It was total chaos - within three hours, over a hundred people had moved. To keep a company alive, one of the jobs of top management is to keep it disorganized" (Lars Kolind).

Questions for Consideration
1. Oticon wants to avoid being hierarchical. What actions did they take? Is it a good idea?

2. Describe Oticon's project management style.

3. Discuss Oticon's incentive scheme. How does this fit with organizational structure?

References
Morsing, M. 1995. Omstigning til Paradis?, Copenhagen: Handelshøjskolens Forlag.

Poulsen, P.T. 1993. Tænk det Utænkelige - Revolutionen i Oticon. J.H. Schultz A/S

Attached is the document about "What Happens if the Spaghetti Gets Cold?".

Attachment:- What-Happens-if-the-Spaghetti.rar

Reference no: EM131292654

Questions Cloud

Important component of patient treatment in hospitals : Explain medical nutrition therapy as an important component of patient treatment in hospitals and other healthcare facilities today.

Describe a motivational policy-action : Thinking of either a school or job example, describe a motivational policy/action that was used with students/workers. What theory seems to best explain the policy/action? Explain how the policy/action is effective in motivating students/employee..

Determine the concentration of the pesticide in the catfish : A 1 lb catfish resides in the lake water. The air above the lake is found to have traces of a pesticide (lindane) at a concentration of 1μg/m3. Determine the concentration of the pesticide in the catfish.

Discusses gender issues in business : Based on your research, present an article that discusses gender issues in business. Analyze the key points of the article and make suggestions as to areas that need improvement.

Describe oticons project management style : Oticon wants to avoid being hierarchical. What actions did they take? Is it a good idea?- Describe Oticon's project management style.

What is the funds required rate of return : Suppose you manage a $4 million fund that consists of four stocks with the following investments: If the market's required rate of return is 14% and the risk-free rate is 6%, what is the fund's required rate of return?

Determine which isotherm best fits the data : Determine which isotherm (linear or Freundlich) best fits the data

Explanation from financial reporting-ethical perspectives : You are a recently-hired accountant at Greenwood Company, a small corporation that does a seasonal business of selling snow removal equipment, with most of its sales to retailers occurring in the last two quarters of the calendar year. Respond to the..

Estimate adsorption constant for pyrene on modified silica : A sample of silica is coated with 0.1% of organic carbon. The silica has a surface area of 20 m2/g. Assume that only 10% of the area is occupied by organic carbon. Estimate the adsorption constant for pyrene on modified silica.

User Account

All Pages