Organizational Design Recommendation Form

The Flex Boutique mission is to provide fashion solutions for its clients through customized quality designs. 

The strategic objectives are divided into three; employee orientation, organizational objectives, and sales goals. The organization aspires to ensure that it maximizes the potential of its employees. The Flex Boutique focuses on retaining talents and empowering to become a better version of themselves. The entity realizes the importance of succession management. Therefore, it aims at developing a proper career development for its personnel (Czarniawska-Joerges, 2006). This is part of what makes the Flex brand attract, motivate and retain a high caliber of talents to aid in the transition of the entity and delivery of high performance. 

The organizational objectives - the Flex focuses on initiating systems that will enhance service delivery and stakeholder participation in the entity's growth. The organization intends to achieve good communication that will boost its prospects and strategic alliances and liaison. It also intends to maintain a value chain that will continue to cement the Flex's position in the fashion and apparel industry. 

Sales Objective: The Flex believes that there is notable room for improvement when it comes to sales made per foot. This will be made possible through utilization of floors across its units and able talents that are integral in boosting sales. The entity believes that the return per foot is a viable key operational element moving forward. 

The company has not fully optimized the effectiveness of e-commerce. The company lacks an excellent online presence. This has made it loose from the tech-savvy consumers that prefer shopping online (Bitner, Zeithaml, & Gremler, 2010). The gap is further aggravated by lack of 24-hour online support to answer queries from current and potential clients. With a robust online presence, the Flex can employ integrated service marketing that has proven to be a success in many businesses and organizations. It is through Internet-based communication that the organization can even meet client expectations throughout the shopping experience (Conway, Ward, Lewis, & Bernhardt, 2007). 

The company also experiences strategic gaps in its branding and messaging. The brand has yet to pinpoint its actual target niche being a relatively young company. It is still dabbling in some apparel markets targeting varied demographics. It is, therefore, prudent that it narrows its operational scope and establishes effective measures that will enable its message to reach the right market and achieve brand visibility. 

The company will endeavor to create strategic ties with interested entities that will enable it to venture into new markets. The strategic alliances will allow the Flex to tap into new competencies that it lacks. 

The Flex will seek to outsource key functions to cost-effective entities with the goal of enhancing its quality and quantity of its output. The outsourcing will be integral in bringing the much needed positive external contribution to the company. 

The Flex will expand and establish new outlets in major cities. The brand visibility is fundamental in promoting the company designs and products. It is through these additional stores that the brand will tap into new companies that would have evaded its reach. 

The Flex is a dynamic entity with some activities running simultaneously. Additionally, the company needs technological knowhow infusion in all its processes. The company relies on its talents to meet cross functions whenever the need arises. Being a highly creative-reliant entity, the company will do well in a model that promotes interdisciplinary engagements without necessarily disrupting other organizational needs. The company also will benefit from the information flow that this model provides (Ben, 2016). With heightened communication, the personnel and management can work in sync in meeting their set mandates. Additionally, good flow information affords the clients good company-customer relationships which once optimized may see repeat business and possible customer loyalty. The matrix model will be fundamental in promoting resource-efficiency which has been a challenge for the Flex (Davis & Lawrence, 1978). The resources both capital and human can be shared across various projects as they arise. For instance, a designer can double as a merchandiser whenever the need arises. The model will ensure that the personnel contact with clients is enhanced as they are spread across various platforms and spaces. This aids in the sharing of information and feedback gathering. 

Additionally, the Flex will have the advantage of arriving at decisions to the accessibility of important contacts through the hybrid structure. It also promotes self-management in workers as they have to operate autonomously between different managers or leaders (Czarniawska-Joerges, 2006). This is integral especially in a creative space that the entity hopes to achieve in the long run. Moreover, the self-management enhances motivation and decision-making in the personnel. This will be integral in promoting employee turnover. 

The hierarchal structure is too restrictive and thus may hinder the creative process associated with the Flex. 

The functional structure is not viable in a small company with many cross functions as the Flex. 

The Matrix model may lead to anarchy especially for managers that are not familiar with it. The clash between the personnel and the managers can occur if the model is not well implemented. It is, therefore, incumbent on the leadership to communicate to the stakeholders on the model and its mechanics. Failure to that it may precipitate a chaotic working environment which may serve to reduce output and enthusiasm. The distressed environment will affect the creative process of the company that seeks to redesign itself into an innovative and technological entity (Czarniawska-Joerges, 2006). Additional, there is a need to delegate roles to ensure cross-exchange functions do not face hurdles that are associated with rigid models. However, if the anarchy crisis were to happen the CEO "must pull key people and critical into the center" (Davis & Lawrence, 1978). The CEO must make the key decisions on around the clock basis until the "anarchy crisis" is well taken care of. 

The Matrix model may bring about power struggles which ought to be countered. The model easily encourages managers to jostle for power. There is the need for a balance of power where its locus must shift or switch regularly. Additionally, there must be strategies or mechanisms that will continually be used to stem imbalances that may creep in. For the flex leadership to "ensure that power struggles do not undermine the matrix is to make managers on the power axes aware that to win power is to lose it ultimately"(Davis & Lawrence, 1978). Sharing power should be made an important principle which ought to guide the overall management of the varied functions of the organization. 

The model may make the management to be mistaken for a group decision making. It is evident that "the confusion of matrix behavior with group decision-making probably arises from the fact that a matrix often evolves out of a new project or business teams, which do suggest a group decision process" (Davis & Lawrence, 1978). In many scenarios, it is sensible for the managers to arrive at decisions on behalf of the groups. However, the managers have to expect challenges that arise if they assume group decision making is the core of the matrix model. Failure to handle such thinking may bring about insubordination which may go against the organizational culture at the Flex where respect for authority is a core pillar (Ben, 2016). 

There are excessive overheads associated with the Matrix model. This is because it may bring about "double management costs because of its dual chain of command"(Davis & Lawrence, 1978). The overhead costs are more than likely to offset the productivity gains in the cause of operation by the entity"(Davis & Lawrence, 1978). These overheads might be observed in the initial implementation stages of the model. The management may fail to take into account the overlapping management roles and clash between different organizational leaders in their quest to pursue individual views on how the organizational objectives ought to be attained (Czarniawska-Joerges, 2006). 

• The company is two years old. It is yet to cut its niche and market segment fully. The organization leadership is keen on growing gradually and venturing into a state at a time. 

• The company does have ample brand visibility. This is mainly due to its age and the experimental nature of its strategies. In the long run, its brand value will be enhanced through the elaborate effort by the management and establishment of a niche to work with 

• The Flex has 310 employees who are relatively young working under the tutelage of experienced fashion gurus and managers. The employees are encouraged to thrive in creativity which is channeled continuously through their designs and innovation touching on the company products and the merchandising strategy. 

• The organization is focused on embracing e-commerce to promote its brand visibility and connecting with its target market which is mostly tech savvy. 

• The organization will outsource design services to ensure that it taps into the immense talented designers across the world. 

• The organization intends to achieve globalization through strategic alliances with international distributors to enhance its value chain. The international distributors are strategically placed to deliver new markets that the company would otherwise found challenging to tap in. 

• The Flex is keen on sustainability and environmental conservation. It has partnered with green companies to help it source for raw materials from farmers that abide by environmentally friendly farming. 

• The Flex has established a mentorship program targeting budding fashion designers and models. It believes in investing in people. 

• The Flex is focused on opening up two outlets per year. 

• Establish online platforms which include social media and marketing applications-The social media platforms must be active and managed by tech-savvy administrators. The mobile application will be crafted 

• Restructuring the brand to connect with the identified niche is another recommendation that The Flex can embrace. This will be integral to ensure that the company narrows its objectives to meet its goals in the long run. 

• Outsourcing of costly functions to third parties will help the company maintain a good grasp on new markets and aid it to become a force to reckon with. 

• The online presence is fundamental in connecting with many potential clients as it is convenient and much cost-effective than relying on walk-ins within the brick and mortar establishments. 

• The brand reevaluation will be vital in meeting expectations of the target clients as well as creating a shift in organizational goals in a more favorable direction for the fashion entity. 

• Outsourcing will boost the company's fortunes as it will reduce the cost of production while at the same time enhancing the output quality and quantity.