Strategic misfits

A strategic misfit is an unbalanced situation among the contingency factors of management style, size, environment, technology, climate, and strategy.

• The following misfits are present: (cf 100%)

High product diversity may be a misfit with a prospector strategy. Usually it is very costly only to have many new products and high product innovation.

Medtronic has a group climate. This does not fit well with the very unpredictable environment. A group climate has a high ressistance to change. It may most likely not be able to engage fast enough the required adjustments.

Medtronic has a group climate. This is a mismatch with a prospector strategy! A group climate has high resistance to change. A prospector strategy is committed to changes.

Contingency Misfits

A contingency misfit is an unbalanced situation among the contingency factors of management style, size, environment, technology, climate, and strategy and the organization structure.

• The following misfits are present: (cf 100%)

A group climate is misfit with a high degree of complexity. The separation of jobs into rigid specialization is not likely to support or be supported by a group climate.

The low degree of routine technology requires a much less specialized organizational structure than is given with the current high degree of complexity.

The high degree of specialization suggested by the high degree of complexity may hamper the product innovation. Thus the high degree of complexity is a misfit with a prospector strategy.

The size

The size of the organization (large, medium, or small) is based upon the number of employees, adjusted for their level of education or technical skills.

• Based on the answers provided, it is most likely that Medtronic is large (cf 100)

The size of the organization - large, medium, or small - is based upon the number of employees, adjusted for their level of education or technical skills. The adjusted number of employees is still greater than 2,000. Thus, Medtronic is categorized as large.

The climate

The organizational climate effect is the summary measure of people and behavior.

• Based on the answers you provided, it is most likely that the organizational climate is a group climate (cf 86%)
• It could also be the that the organizational climate is a developmental climate (cf 75%)

The group climate is characterized as a friendly place to work where people share a lot of themselves. It is like an extended family. The leaders, or head of the organization, are considered to be mentors and, perhaps even parent figures. The organization is held together by loyalty or tradition. Commitment is high. The organization emphasizes the long-term benefit of human resource development with high cohesion and morale being important. Success is defined in terms of sensitivity to customers and concern for people. The organization places a premium on teamwork, participation, and consensus.Employees with a medium to high morale is one element of group climate. Medium to high resistance to change is one of the significant properties of a group climate. Medium to high leader credibility characterizes an organization with a group climate.When the organization has a medium to high level of trust it is likely that the organization has a group climate.An organization with medium to a low level of conflict can be categorized to have group climate.Medium to highly equitable rewards in the organization drives the climate towards a group climate.An organization with a medium to low level of scapegoating may have a group climate.

The developmental climate is characterized as a dynamic, entrepreneurial and creative place to work. People stick their necks out and take risks. The leaders are considered to be innovators and risk takers. The glue that holds organizations together is commitment to experimentation and innovation. The emphasis is on being on the leading edge. Readiness for change and meeting new challenges are important. The organization's long-term emphasis is on growth and acquiring new resources. Success means having unique and new products or services and being a product or service leader is important. The organization encourages individual initiative and freedom.Employees with a medium to high morale is frequently one element of a developmental climate.Medium to low resistance to change is normally present in a developmental climate.Medium to high leader credibility characterizes an organization with a developmental climate.When the organization has a high to medium level of trust it is likely that the organization has a developmental climate.An organization with medium to low level of conflict can be categorized to have a developmental climate.Moderately to high equitable rewards in the organization drives the climate towards a developmental climate.An organization with a low to medium level of scapegoating may have a developmental climate.

The leadership style

The leadership style of the management is categorized as either a leader, producer, entrepreneur, or manager. This categorization is based the managements preference for delegation, detail in decision making, risk profile, time perspective proactivity, and motivation.

• Based on the answers you provided, it is most likely that your leadership style is a leader type (cf 89%)
• It is not a manager type (cf -25%)

A leader is characterized as an individual who has a high preference for delegation and a low level of uncertainty avoidance. Management has a preference for motivating people and not using control which will lead toward a leadership style as a leader. The management of Medtronic has a preference for taking actions on some decisions and being reactive toward others. This is consistent with a leader. The management of Medtronic has a preference for delegating decisions. This will lead toward a leadership style of the leader type. Management has a long-term horizon when making decisions, which characterizes a leadership style of the leader type. Since the management has a preference for making decisions on the basis of both detailed and aggregate information a leader characterization of the leadership style is appropriate. Management has a balanced preference for taking risks. This is one of the characteristics of a manager with a leadership style as a leader.

The strategy

The organization's strategy is categorized as one of either prospector, analyzer with innovation, analyzer without innovation, defender, or reactor. These categories follow Miles and Snow's typology. Based on your answers, the organization has been assigned to a strategy category. This is a statement of the current strategy; it is not an analysis of what is the best or preferred strategy for the organization.

• Based on the answers you provided, it is most likely that your organization's strategy is a prospector strategy (cf 81%)
• It could also be: an analyzer with innovation strategy (cf 77%)
• It could also be: an analyzer without innovation strategy (cf 67%)

An organization with a prospector strategy is an organization that continually searches for market opportunities and regularly experiments with potential responses to emerging environmental trends. Thus, the organization is often the creator of change and uncertainty to which its competitors must respond. However, because of its strong concern for product and market innovation, a prospector usually is not completely efficient.Medtronic has numerous products. A prospector is constantly seeking new product opportunities to serve the existing and potentially new customers. A non-routine technology is likely to be costly for Medtronic, and a prospector strategy of new product development where margins are likely to be high is very reasonable. With a concern for high quality a prospector strategy is a likely strategy for Medtronic.

An organization with an analyzer with innovation strategy is an organization that combines the strategy of the defender and the prospector. It moves into the production of a new product or enters a new market after viability has been shown. But in contrast to an analyzer without innovation, it has innovations that run concurrently with the regular production. It has a dual technology core.With a concern for high quality an analyzer with innovation strategy is a likely strategy for Medtronic. An organization with a medium capital investment is likely to have some capabilities rather fixed, but can also adjust. The analyzer with innovation which seeks new opportunities but also maintains its profitable position is appropriate. Moderate prices create some flexibility but also require attention to efficiency. An analyzer with innovation strategy where Medtronic both attends to existing profitable markets and seeks selective new opportunities is appropriate.

Current organizational characteristics

Based on your answers, the organization's complexity, formalization, and centralization have been calculated. This is the current organization. Later in this report, there will be recommendations for the organization.

• The current organizational complexity is high (cf 100%)

• The current horizontal differentiation is high (cf 100%)

• The current vertical differentiation is not determined (cf 100%)

• The current spatial differentiation is high (cf 100%)

• The current centralization is medium (cf 85%)

• The current formalization is medium (cf 89%)

The current organization has been categorized with respect to formalization, centralization, and complexity. The categorization is based on the input you gave and does not take missing information into account.

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Analyzing the current situation