Organization Structure and Design: The Club ED Exercise

Using cases and news reports about Club Med's evolution, we have developed a five-stage exercise that involves students in the design and redesign of an organization as it changes from a simple, single-site enterprise to a complex, multinational business. Students grope with discovering the solutions to the problems of differentiation and integration, control, operating in a variety of cultural rather than national contexts, and responding with strategic and organization design changes to shifts in the competitive environment. This exercise can be done in one 3-hour session or extended over two or more shorter class periods.