Instructions
In your continued role as the organizational behavior consultant for NoJax Inc., you have now been tasked with analyzing the current structure of the business and how it’s impacting employee behaviors.
Use the NoJax Company Background document as a reference, and pay special attention to the policy and structure sections of the document. Write a report for senior management that provides observations on the overall structure of the business and the implications it may have on organizational behavior. Be sure your report addresses the following:
- Choose a minimum of three of the six organizational behavior structure characteristics (span of control, chain of command, etc.). Describe each in terms of how they’re used within NoJax’s structure, and provide an opinion about whether it has a positive or negative influence on NoJax’s organizational behavior. Be sure to support and explain your opinion with observations from the background document.
- Identify the type of organizational structure that NoJax is currently using. Provide an opinion about whether it has a positive or negative influence on NoJax’s organizational behavior. Be sure to support and explain your opinion with observations from the background document.
- Rank decision-making power, creativity, and ease of communication from most important to least important for NoJax’s success. Explain if you think NoJax’s current structure is effectively cultivating the characteristic you have ranked as most important. Be sure to support and explain your opinion with observations from the background document.
NoJax Inc. Company Background
NoJax Inc. is a small American company that designs and manufactures specialized athletic shoes,
clothing, and accessories. The business was first started in 2010 when two cousins, Noah and Jaxson
Williams, recognized that very few quality options were available for people that led an active lifestyle,
specifically regular gym goers. This realization led the Williams cousins to create a shoe prototype
designed with weight lifters in mind. The first shoe, dubbed the NJ Elite, emphasized comfort and
support that wouldn’t interfere with weight lifting form while exercising. As the NJ Elite gained
popularity with local retailers, NoJax expanded their offerings into sports apparel. Since then growth
has been tremendous, and NoJax has grown from those small local stores carrying their products to over
200 retailers nationwide. Currently, NoJax has four main areas of focus: shoes for running, apparel for
running, shoes for weight lifting, and apparel for weight lifting.
The NoJax brand is targeted at the fitness lifestyle. This psychographic segmentation strategy goes
beyond typical demographic boundaries and has allowed them to position themselves as a high quality
option for people serious about exercise. While this is currently a niche market, it’s a market that
continues to grow as cultural trends shift more towards health and wellness. Much of NoJax’s
marketing involves online advertising with fitness websites and sponsoring fitness competitions, such as
the CrossFit Games and the Chicago Marathon.
Revenue for the business has grown consistently as their market and the consumer base has expanded.
Last year, NoJax earned $6 million in sales with a 15% profit margin, which is above industry average.
The brand is moderately priced when compared to the competition. Shoes sell for around $80, shirts go
for $50, and pants average a sales price of $60.
NoJax is currently considering expansion into other markets. However, they have decided to bring in an
outside consultant to analyze the company’s design for its impact on organizational behavior. Other
than the addition of new product lines, very little about the company has been updated or changed
since their operation began. NoJax senior management is concerned that the outdated company design
and the new employees that they’ve hired may be negatively impacting the business’ effectiveness.
Below is data for the consultant on the company structure, policy, and key employees.
NoJax Inc. Company Structure
NoJax Inc. currently uses the matrix structure pictured below. Product managers each oversee a single
specific product line. There are currently four product managers that oversee four different types of
products. Those products are running shoes, running apparel, weight lifting shoes, and weight lifting
apparel. There are also three different departments with their own expertise. Those departments are
Design, Marketing, and Research and Development (R&D). The Senior Management team currently
consists of the two company founders, Noah and Jaxson Williams. There are a total of 50 employees
working at NoJax in the positions shown below.
Senior Management
Alice Bloom
Design
Manager
Janet Johnson
Marketing
Manager
Orlando Grant
R&D
Manager
Carrie Durant
Running Shoes
Manager
Jesse Mercado
Running Apparel
Manager
Anam Basra
Lifting Shoes
Manager
Lynn Bryant
Lifting Apparel
Manager
NoJax Inc. Policy
• NoJax currently adheres to a very centralized power and decision making structure.
• Employees are heavily monitored in order to make them as efficient as possible at their
positions. This includes weekly status meetings with managers and daily activity reports that
must be filled out by each employee.
• When decisions do have to be made it generally requires multiple approvals from both direct
managers and someone from the senior management team. Routine decisions regularly take 48
hours to be made.
• Disagreements between the product and department managers happen frequently and a clear
mediation process for these instances has yet to be developed.
• Roles and members of teams stay consistent. Employees do not rotate through positions at the
company and are restricted from changing teams.
• Job tasks and design is very clearly defined with little variation between roles.
• Yearly evaluations of employees include ranking all of the employees in the company. Raises
are handed out based on each employee’s ranking. The top workers can receive up to a 6%
raise and the bottom employees receive no raise.
• All employees are paid a base salary. Pay is slightly above industry average, and employees
average 50 hours of work in a week.
• NoJax does offer health and dental to employees but nothing in the form of investments or
retirement plans.
• The hiring process at NoJax Inc. includes individual interviews with a product manager, a
department manager, and then senior management. Typical time from receiving a resume to
being hired is three months.
• Employees are allocated ten days off a year. Those days are meant to cover everything. This
includes sick days, vacation, and personal days. Any days missed past that must be emergencies
with some form of proof, such as a doctor’s note.
• Human Resource responsibilities are handled by the senior management team, as an actual HR
department has never been created.
• All manufacturing and distribution of NoJax products are outsourced to third-party partner
businesses.
• Discipline at NoJax works on a point system. Infractions, such as being late or acting out, cause
employees to accumulate points. After an employee reaches 10 points they are written up. An
additional 10 points can lead to a suspension. Points reset every calendar year and there is no
carry over from the previous year.
Employee:
Alice Bloom
• Position: Design Department Manager
• Sex: Female
• Age: 62
• Race: Caucasian
• Work Experience: 40 years
• Education: High School Diploma
• Personality:
o Extraversion–High
o Emotional Stability–Medium
o Openness–Low
o Conscientiousness–Medium
o Agreeableness–Low
Employee:
Janet Johnson
• Position: Marketing Department Manager
• Sex: Female
• Age: 27
• Race: African American
• Work Experience: 5 years
• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing
• Personality:
o Extraversion–High
o Emotional Stability–Low
o Openness–High
o Conscientiousness–Medium
o Agreeableness–Medium
Employee:
Orlando Grant
• Position: Research and Development Department Manager
• Sex: Male
• Age: 29
• Race: African American
• Work Experience: 4 years
• Education: Associate’s Degree in Marketing
• Personality:
o Extraversion–High
o Emotional Stability–High
o Openness–High
o Conscientiousness–Low
o Agreeableness–Medium
Employee:
Carrie Durant
• Position: Running Shoes Product Manager
• Sex: Female
• Age: 41
• Race: Caucasian
• Work Experience: 12 years
• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Communications
• Personality:
o Extraversion–Medium
o Emotional Stability–Medium
o Openness–Medium
o Conscientiousness–Medium
o Agreeableness–High
Employee:
Jessie Mercado
• Position: Running Apparel Product Manager
• Sex: Female
• Age: 34
• Race: Hispanic
• Work Experience: 10 years
• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management
• Personality:
o Extraversion–Low
o Emotional Stability–Medium
o Openness–Medium
o Conscientiousness–High
o Agreeableness–High
Employee:
Lynn Bryant
• Position: Lifting Shoes Product Manager
• Sex: Female
• Age: 52
• Race: Caucasian
• Work Experience: 20 years
• Education: Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology
• Personality:
o Extraversion–Medium
o Emotional Stability–High
o Openness–Medium
o Conscientiousness–High
o Agreeableness–Medium
Employee:
Anam Basra
• Position: Lifting Apparel Product Manager
• Sex: Female
• Age: 38
• Race: Pakistani
• Work Experience: 10 years
• Education: Master’s Degree in Sports Management
• Personality:
o Extraversion–Medium
o Emotional Stability–Medium
o Openness–Low
o Conscientiousness–High
o Agreeableness–High