CASES FOR ANALYSIS 2: THE PARADOXICAL TWINS: ACME AND OMEGA

ELECTRONICS

Case Analysis 2: The Paradoxical Twins: Acme and Omega Electronics

Kelly Ferguson

BUSI 522

14 November 2015
 CASES FOR ANALYSIS 2: THE PARADOXICAL TWINS: ACME AND OMEGA
ELECTRONICS

1. Discuss the goals at Acme and Omega.  Your discussion should also include what impact do

top managers have on these goals and can these goals be achieved with different strategies?

Acme and Omega was the same division, but parted after the selling of that division. The

goals of both companies is future growth and expansion by achieving performance efficiency

and obtaining high-profile contracts and high profit. The managers of the two companies saw

different ways of approaching the goals. Acme’s president decided to keep the original structure

of mechanistic. Omega’s president embraced the organic structure. These goals can be achieved

with different strategies. Acme’s mechanistic structure had clearly defined jobs and clear chain

of command. This in turned help employees understand their roles and provide easier

measurement methods for efficiency. Managers need to focus on the importance of reducing

waste of key resources to ensure that they achieve the highest level of efficiency.

2. State which company you believe produces more efficiently and then discuss if you believe

their level of performance was due to the goals chosen by top management.  Defend your

position.

I believe that the mechanistic structure works better for most companies. It has clearly

defined jobs and clear chain of command. By having clearly defined jobs and a clear chain of

command ensure that everyone knows who to report and who does what. Having a more organic

structure can work, but sometimes you run into the risk that employees might get confused on

what to do and who to report too. In this case the organic structure was proven to be a better

choice as Omega’s employees were able to work together, and “proposed ideas to help one

another” every step of the way while keeping everyone on board with the progress of the project.

Acme’s employees, on the other hand, worked separately at their own speeds and a lot of
 CASES FOR ANALYSIS 2: THE PARADOXICAL TWINS: ACME AND OMEGA
ELECTRONICS
precious time in figuring out their own problems instead of the overall problem. The

organizational unity was stronger in Omega since the employees were encouraged to cooperate

closely, which enable them to find an error in the design at the early stage, but also combined

forces to find the optimal solutions that would work best for the company. I believe this great

for Omega, but let’s be real how many companies succeed on organic structure not very many.

Also I look at this way what if this was the leadership fault they breed a structure that didn’t

allow the employees to perform their best under mechanistic structure. I believe that Acme can

do better than Omega they need to look at their leadership and find were the issues is and correct.

Upon them doing that I believe we will see a different outcome because the military and a lot of

really highly successful fortune 500 companies use this structure and if it doesn’t work then

these companies or the USA won’t be around.

3. How can Omega’s success be explained?  Prepare an argument as to why you believe Omega

should be awarded the final contract.  Your objective is to convince the stakeholders that Omega

is the most logical choice. 

Omega’s success can be credited to their leadership that help breed the organic structure they

have. Having the structure they have in place team with great leadership help them succeed.

Every department and their employees always has a backup that knows as much if not more than

the primary. Due to the ability to communicate well within the company ensure the early

detection of designs which was quickly solved. I truly believe Omega should be awarded the

final contract. Firm will get the most benefit out of using Omega because of their ability to

quickly solve and fix issues that arise. Omega also prides itself on getting approval from the

contractor prior to assembling any new design. Omega’s efficiency is 100 products delivered

with zero defects. The stakeholders’ best interest is to pick Omega, the firm will not have to
 CASES FOR ANALYSIS 2: THE PARADOXICAL TWINS: ACME AND OMEGA
ELECTRONICS
worry about late shipment or delays due to unexpected problems, which affects negatively on the

firms manufacturing process and consequently reduce profits and decrease customer satisfaction

if the products are not delivered on time or defective.

4. Which organization was more effective at developing the prototype and meeting the

deadlines?  Was its level of effectiveness due to the goals chosen by top management?

Omega was able to deliver the product on time every time vises Acme who had delivery

delay with defects. The level of effectiveness and professionalism can be credited to the goals

chosen by Omega’s level management and their ability to free-flow throughout the company.

Omega should that they can produce the least amount of waste and provide the highest level

effectives with no defects.

5. Predict which organization will get the final contract.  Why?

I predicted Omega would get the final contract. Even when there were problems with the

initial designs and the lack of some important parts, they were very efficient in fixing the

problems and still delivered the prototypes on time with no defects.

6. How can Acme’s success be explained?  Did Acme’s goals seem more appropriate?  Did

stakeholder satisfaction play a role?

Acme’s success can be explained by two reasons. Firstly, when the photocopier firm divided

the contract to both companies, Acme got their portion even when the firm was disappointed

with its performance. The reason why I believe Acme still got a piece of the pie is because the

stakeholders realize organic structure are great when they are lead right, but have a higher chance

of failing unlike a more clear cut structure. There is an old saying “never put all your eggs in

one basket” that is so true in the business world you never want to rely on person or company to

ensure your success. Acme also regularly achieved greater net profit then Omega proving their
 CASES FOR ANALYSIS 2: THE PARADOXICAL TWINS: ACME AND OMEGA
ELECTRONICS
ability to make money. After Acme was award the contract it show its ability to succeed and

reduce the unit cost by 20% which enables the firm to make more money with cheaper cost to

profit rate. Having two companies making your product shows you which one is the best

because who knows maybe the one struggling during the initial briefs were actually running into

problems that other one has yet to find. Then as a board member when do they find these issues

and can they really recover from them and make us money. After Acme show they can reduce

cost that also tells me with a set structure a company that is having issues can still come on top

because of its ability to run smooth and never have a single point of failure within its ranks.