Organisational design in Containerships Ltd Oy : Does the current structure assist adoption of strategy?

Abstract

Advancement in technology, environments and operational processes has led to an ever changing competitive environment for companies to operate and compete in. These changes are mirrored in the advancement of strategic, management and structural thinking on how to best prepare and adapt to ever growing circumstances. Flexibility has become a byword for organisational structure, as adaptation to change was imperative for success and survival. Designing of structure has become a race to flatten structures, empower employees and maximise differentiation.

In the process of creating business strategy, it is necessary to identify and evaluate a number of uncertain factors influencing the competitive environment in order to prepare probable responses to react to possible future circumstances. As structural thinking aims to adapt and strategy aims to prepare, shouldn't the logical combining of these two processes offer the greatest reward in terms of competitive success?

Taking on an outside viewpoint of Containerships structural and strategic thinking, and comparing empirical data from both a top and bottom level, should provide insight into the interdependencies of structure and strategy. The goal of this research is to analyse to which extent Containerships' strategy is visible in the structure, to determine whether the current structure aids or impedes implementation of strategy within Containerships.