Case Study: Club Chaos

by: Kimberly Wylie

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

1. What is the structure of Club Chaos? How does each of the elements of structure at the Club Chaos contribute to the management problems at Club Chaos?  3

2. How might the Rational Decision Making Model be used in making changes at Club Chaos?  5

3. Using the theories and principles of management philosophies, describe and explain the management problems at Club Chaos 6

4. Referring to the related readings on 68-69 “Wanted: Good Managers”, does this article suggest that the Classical or Behavioral School is better suited to managing people?  7

5. Referring to the Related Readings on pages 101-102, “Should we make big bets in business?” explain what is the meaning of “making big bets in business.” Does this advice follow the view of the rational or non-rational decision making process?  8

Works Cited  10

Introduction:

Club Chaos is a non-profit, members only, exclusive country club. This elite club offers its members a variety of services including: a golf club, tennis, a plethora of dining services and much more. However, despite their extensive facilities and privileged members, Club Chaos is suffering from serious organizational challenges, which could lead to their utter demise. The answers to the questions following help analyze the situation further.

1. What is the structure of Club Chaos? How does each of the elements of structure at the Club Chaos contribute to the management problems at Club Chaos?

An effective and efficient organizational structure can be exactly the competitive edge a company needs to place it at the forefront of its industry. Employ an inefficient and/or ineffective organizational structure, and a company is destined to fail. A company’s organizational determines its productivity. It affects its profitability. In the end, organization structure is a management tool, to control differentiation and integration.

There are six typical organizational structure types that most companies can be categorized: functional, geographical, product, division, customer, and matrix. Functionally structured organizations offer several benefits. Most importantly, “it provides good control over personnel, since each employee has one and only one person to report to.” (“Functionally Structured”) This, in most cases, is the most efficient organizational structure.

Club Chaos, however, is a divisional type organizational structure. “Divisional structure extends product structure by organizing around product groups.” (Kukalis) This type of structure relies heavily on upper level management at each division to make effective management decisions.

Club Chaos has been divided into seven divisions overseen by Divisional Managers, and then by Clubhouse Manager Rocco. This structure is ineffective, especially given the leadership in these pivotal managerial roles. Rocco’s lack of business experience and education has taken a good system and ruined it. His actions have driven away key managers, such as Cathy, and replaced them with unqualified candidates who simply cannot perform at the level needed to keep the organization running smoothly.

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