Dansko Management
Individual Assignment 5
Dansko Case
Issues:
The main issue for Dansko’s Management relates to how they should grow the company into a mid sized organization. Dankso has a very unique corporate culture that could potentially be disrupted if a larger company acquires them. On the other hand, management at Dansko lacks the knowledge and experience in the industry to be able to grow the company much more.
Strengths | Weaknesses | * Strong corporate culture allow management to train and mold employees to fit their company * Highly motivated leadership | * Management lacks experience in the industry * Word of mouth marketing doesn’t allow for a very wide scope |
I believe that the organizational culture and structure has helped Dansko grow in their earlier days but has since hindered their growth. As mentioned in the case, “far too many people reported to [Mandy] directly…. She was spread too thin.” This definitely posed a huge problem for Dansko as it severely reduced the efficiency of the company. While this may have been sufficient in their earlier days, there is no way that Mandy can directly supervise such a large portion of the company if they hope to expand into a mid size business. Over the summer, I worked at a very large consulting firm and one of the key things I noticed was how each level of management only had 2 to 5 people directly reporting to him/her. I believe that this is essential if Dansko wants to grow their company. In their earlier years, Dansko had a simple organizational structure. Mandy and Peter essentially made all the decisions and trained all the employees. As the case mentioned, she even “made coffee and cleaned up the kitchen of other people’s dishes.” They were pretty much involved in every aspect of the business. Over the years, as the company grew, Dansko’s organization has evolved into more of functional structure. As shown in Exhibit 6, Mandy directly oversees far fewer people and management is divided by
Dansko Case
Issues:
The main issue for Dansko’s Management relates to how they should grow the company into a mid sized organization. Dankso has a very unique corporate culture that could potentially be disrupted if a larger company acquires them. On the other hand, management at Dansko lacks the knowledge and experience in the industry to be able to grow the company much more.
Strengths | Weaknesses | * Strong corporate culture allow management to train and mold employees to fit their company * Highly motivated leadership | * Management lacks experience in the industry * Word of mouth marketing doesn’t allow for a very wide scope |
I believe that the organizational culture and structure has helped Dansko grow in their earlier days but has since hindered their growth. As mentioned in the case, “far too many people reported to [Mandy] directly…. She was spread too thin.” This definitely posed a huge problem for Dansko as it severely reduced the efficiency of the company. While this may have been sufficient in their earlier days, there is no way that Mandy can directly supervise such a large portion of the company if they hope to expand into a mid size business. Over the summer, I worked at a very large consulting firm and one of the key things I noticed was how each level of management only had 2 to 5 people directly reporting to him/her. I believe that this is essential if Dansko wants to grow their company. In their earlier years, Dansko had a simple organizational structure. Mandy and Peter essentially made all the decisions and trained all the employees. As the case mentioned, she even “made coffee and cleaned up the kitchen of other people’s dishes.” They were pretty much involved in every aspect of the business. Over the years, as the company grew, Dansko’s organization has evolved into more of functional structure. As shown in Exhibit 6, Mandy directly oversees far fewer people and management is divided by