Nike will be the organization to study. Comprehensive Exam Prep Document: First

Question

Nike will be the organization to study. Comprehensive Exam Prep Document: First Thoughts (1–2 pages) o Defend an organizational motif or schema that helps break down the field of OB into smaller units (broad categories) for study (e.g., individual, group/team, organizational/environmental). Your schema must have at least three broad categories. Be sure to define each element of your schema. • Part 2: Leadership Development and Succession Plan: A Beginning (1–2 pages) o Select an organization for your study. The organization can be one you are currently part of, one you used to be part of, one you research, or even a hypothetical organization. o Summarize key details about the organization. What is it? What does it do? How would you describe its structure? How would you describe its culture? What issues is the organization currently experiencing that may be related to leadership problems? How does the organization currently develop leaders and plan for succession?

Explanation / Answer

Nike, Inc. an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, in the Portland metropolitan area. It is the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$24.1 billion in its fiscal year 2012 (ending May 31, 2012). As of 2012, it employed more than 44,000 people worldwide. In 2014 the brand alone was valued at $19 billion, making it the most valuable brand among sports businesses.[5] As of 2017, the Nike brand is valued at $29.6 billion.[6]

The company was founded on January 25, 1964, as Blue Ribbon Sports, by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight, and officially became Nike, Inc. on May 30, 1971. The company takes its name from Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. Nike markets its products under its own brand, as well as Nike Golf, Nike Pro, Nike+, Air Jordan, Nike Blazers, Air Force 1, Nike Dunk, Air Max, Foamposite, Nike Skateboarding, and subsidiaries including Brand Jordan, Hurley International and Converse. Nike also owned Bauer Hockey (later renamed Nike Bauer) between 1995 and 2008, and previously owned Cole Haan and Umbro.[7] In addition to manufacturing sportswear and equipment, the company operates retail stores under the Niketown name. Nike sponsors many high-profile athletes and sports teams around the world, with the highly recognized trademarks of "Just Do It" and the Swoosh logo.

Work environment at Nike:

Nike has an enviable brand, the iconic "swoosh" is known worldwide, it's deeply associated with athletes and sports, and is increasingly admired as a digital and design innovator.

One of the most important parts of maintaining that reputation is building an extremely committed workforce.

Fast Company's Austin Carr got an extended look inside Nike Headquarters as part of a story naming it the most innovative company of 2013, and reveals what the company does to make believers out of its employees.

Though they may have been showing off for a journalist a bit, employees do appear to preach the company's values. "Workers quote the company's maxims like the Ten Commandments. More than a dozen tell me, independently and unprompted, 'Be a sponge' and 'If you have a body, you're an athlete,'" Austin writes.

The company is intensely aware of its own history and story, and works to keep employees conscious of it. The company keeps a Winnebago to use as a conference room in the middle of its Innovation Kitchen because cofounder Phil Knight, according to legend, first sold shoes out of a similar vehicle. The waffle iron that co-founder Bill Bowerman destroyed while attempting to make rubber soles is kept on campus like a museum piece.

That helps embed a sense of value, history, and shared culture in what employees are doing. So, oddly enough, does an emphasis on secrecy and mystery.

LinkedIn's Jeff Weiner argues that secrecy has a profoundly negative effect on corporate culture, leading to resentment and leaks. Nike has found a way to turn it to their advantage. The attitude of secrecy and exclusivity around projects becomes part of an internal story, that their work has value that's worthy of being kept under wraps.

At Fortune , Nelson Farris, Nike's head of corporate education, describes what the company expects from its employees. "Figure out where you want your career to go, and when you see something that would help you get there, ask us for it," he said. That attitude helps create intensely loyal employees. According to that piece, it's not unusual for employees to tattoo a "swoosh" onto their legs.

The attitude of mystery and innovation features prominently in Nike's marketing and public image as well. Culture is strongest when there's little disconnect between what the public expects and what happens within a company. That way, employees are inclined deliver what people have come to want .

Organisational Structure at Nike:

Nike Inc.’s organizational structure reflects the abilities and limits of the business in its operations. A company’s organizational structure is the composition and system design applied on the interconnections among employees, groups, and divisions of the business. In Nike’s case, the corporate structure highlights the need to address differences among regional markets. As such, the company has developed its organizational structure to enable adjustments in dealing with market differences. As one of the leading players in the athletic footwear, apparel and equipment industry, Nike Inc. serves as an example of how regional variations must be included in business strategies.

Nike Inc. has an organizational structure that facilitates regionalization of business strategies. The characteristics of this organizational structure provide Nike with flexibility to address consumer preferences for athletic shoes, apparel and equipment in regional markets.

Features of Nike’s Organizational Structure

Nike has a geographic divisional organizational structure. This structure is based on the company’s needs in its global organization and regional markets. The following characteristics are notable in Nike’s organizational structure:

Global Corporate Leadership. Nike’s organizational structure has global corporate leadership, which involves corporate managers. The managers have offices in the company’s headquarters in Oregon, USA. They decide for the global organizational structure of Nike. For example, the Global Sports Marketing group releases new athletic shoe marketing campaigns for worldwide marketing. Through this feature of Nike’s organizational structure, decisions are easily implemented throughout the company. The following are the main global leadership groups headed by a President, Executive Vice President, or Chief Officer:

Semi-Autonomous Geographic Divisions. Geographic divisions are a major organizational structure characteristic of Nike, Inc. The company’s operations are divided into segments based on regional markets. Each regional division’s managers optimize operations in the regional sports shoes, apparel and equipment market. Nike’s organizational structure has the following regional divisions:

Global Divisions for Converse and Brand Licensing. Nike’s organizational structure also has two global divisions: one for the Converse brand and another for brand licensing. One global division is responsible for managing the worldwide operations of Converse, which is another footwear brand and subsidiary of Nike Inc. Another global division is responsible for licensing the Nike brand. This characteristic of the organizational structure offers control for brand licensing and the operations of Converse.

Nike’s Organizational Structure Advantages & Disadvantages

Nike Inc.’s organizational structure’s characteristics support growth and stability. Global corporate leadership has the advantage of facilitating control on the entire organization. The advantage of the semi-autonomous regional (geographic) divisions is flexibility in satisfying regional market-specific consumer preferences for Nike’s athletic shoes, apparel and equipment. However, a disadvantage of Nike’s organizational structure is the limited approach to managing the operations of Converse.

Leadership strategy at Nike

In a recent profile of Nike CEO Mark Parker, Fortune's Adam Lashinsky reported that Parker is notorious for constantly asking questions that push employees to think harder.

Fortune quoted Andy Campion, Nike's chief financial officer: " What's fascinating about [Parker's] use of questions is that it leaves other leaders empowered to find the answers themselves and act on them."

That observation closely mirrors those that other Nike employees have made in the past.

A 2009 USA Today article noted that employees in Nike's research lab " say there's no telling when Parker will drop in and start reeling off questions."

Parker acknowledges that inquisitiveness is a key part of his leadership strategy and a way to support his employees' development. In 2012, he told Fast Company , "I end up asking a lot of questions, so the team thinks things through. I don't say 'Do this, do that.' I'm not a micromanager. I don't believe in that. ... At Nike, we have incredibly strong people. They know what to do."

Research suggests that Parker's hit on a winning management tactic: Leaders who ask questions and encourage their team to find the answers tend to be more effective than those who try to know and do it all themselves.

Writing in The Harvard Business Review , Liz Wiseman and Greg McKeown identify two types of leaders: "diminishers" and "multipliers." Diminishers tend to minimize intelligence among their team because they assume their employees' abilities are fixed; multipliers believe abilities can be cultivated. Wiseman and McKeown found that multipliers tend to lead teams that are up to twice as productive as those led by diminishers.

One key characteristic of multipliers is asking hard questions and prompting people to go find the answers. Coming up with solutions boosts employees' self-efficacy and confidence that they can help solve organizational problems.

"Stop worrying about having all the answers," Wiseman and McKeown write. "Use your knowledge of the business to ask insightful questions that prompt the members of your team to stop, think, and then rethink."

For Parker, relentlessly questioning his employees is a way to ensure that people never get too comfortable with one way of thinking. Moreover, it would seem as though he wants employees to start questioning themselves and their own work.

As he told USA Today , "The hardest thing for a company to do is to change when it doesn't seem like change is necessary."

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