Week Eight Case Assignment

Week Eight Case Assignment

As an organization, what must Fiat do to ensure its reentry into the U.S. market does not end in the same way as its previous entry did in the 1980s?

Since the problems Fiat faced in the 1980s were related to mechanical issues and poor service support, I would say the biggest thing that the company can do is to restructure and redesign. Ivancevich, Konopaske & Matteson (2014) mentions multinational structure and design. With operations spread across the United States, Italy and Mexico, there needs to be something in place that regulates and ensures quality procedures across the board. This can also help expand the potential consumer base in that it's not targeted toward the same people that would have purchased the cars in the 1980s.

Fiat has reintroduced itself to the U.S. through various means, a new car brand, its namesake Fiat, and sharing its technology to launch a new Dodge branded vehicle. From an organizational perspective, which one of these approaches makes the most sense? Justify your answer.

I would say the means that makes the most sense is the shared technology with Dodge. Since Dodge is already a well-established and trusted company with consumers, tagging along with that company make sense. If, through the partnership with Dodge, the consumers can be reassured that the previous issues will not be a factor, then there is some regain of trust there. When consumers see the new products produced through the partnership with Dodge, more revenue is made for Fiat. As money increases, Fiat can be more aggressive and possibly more effective in its marketing strategy.

Even though Fiat has its own branded network of dealers in the U.S., how might the Fiat-Chrysler organization be designed to allow the Fiat brand to take maximum advantage of the relationship?

I think if the organization is designed according to the mechanistic model Fiat can get the most out of the relationship. The mechanistic model is structured and controlled. This way the entire organization can operate with more checks and balances to ensure that the product, in all aspects of the company, is satisfactory. In addition, it would be a good idea for Fiat to play off of the Dodge partnership. With Dodge and Chrysler being sister companies, it would be a good opportunity, and very beneficial, for Fiat to reiterate in its marketing how the company has revamped some of Dodge's newer, successful, "consumer approved" vehicles.

References

Ivancevich, J.M., Konopaske, R., & Matteson, M.T. (2014). Organizational Behavior and Management. (10th ed.). New York, New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin.