Leather and Lacey (Scenario)
Lacey has been hired as a consultant for Jefferson Consulting. Her first assignment is to work with one of Jefferson's newest clients, Custom Leather, Inc., a manufacturer of high-end leather furniture. Custom Leather was founded over a decade ago with the idea that great looking, comfortable leather furniture could be custom made and delivered to customers in 30 days. Traditionally, retailers stock leather sofas to satisfy the desire to receive new furniture fast limiting the choice of colors and style for the consumer. In stark contrast, Custom Leather offers 13 different styles in over 70 different colors from rich, deep browns to sleek, silver grays, to bright, ruby red through a select group of retail outlets. Each piece is built to the customer's individual requirements and is shipped within 2-3 weeks. However, the emergence of a new manufacturing technology has enabled a few, traditionally mass-production competitors to offer greater customization, adversely affecting Custom Leather's competitive advantage. As a result, Custom Leather is considering sweeping changes to current work processes and organizational structure.
34. Custom Leather CEO, Standish, is considering doubling the size of his workforce in conjunction with expanding the number of retail outlets that carry Custom Leather products. Lacey tells him that he should expect the organization to become ________ as a result of this change.
(A) less formalized
(B) more mechanistic
(C) more decentralized
(D) more organic