Skip to ContentGo to accessibility page
OpenStax Logo
Introduction to Business 2e

Working the Net

Introduction to Business 2eWorking the Net

Working the Net

  1. Using a search engine, look for the term “company organizational charts,” and find at least three examples of organizational charts for corporations, not-for-profits, or government agencies. Analyze each entity’s organizational structure. Is it organized by function, product/service, process, customer type, or geographic location?
  2. Search the archives at the Bloomberg Businessweek (https://www.bloomberg.com), Fortune (https://fortune.com), or Forbes (https://www.forbes.com) website for stories about companies that have reorganized. Pick two examples, and prepare a summary of their reorganization efforts, including the underlying reasons the company chose to reorganize, the key elements of the reorganization plan, and if possible, how successful it has been.
  3. Visit the Inc. magazine website, https://www.inc.com, and use the search engine to find articles about virtual corporations. Using a search engine, find the website of at least one virtual corporation, and look for information about how the company uses span of control, informal organization, and other concepts from this module.
  4. FlexJobs (https://www.flexjobs.com) is an online company devoted to matching job hunters with flexible job experiences, whether they are telecommuting jobs, contract work, or part-time gigs. Read more on how the company started and the void its services have filled over the past decade for people looking for a flexible job situation. Share your findings with classmates, and lead a discussion on the pros and cons of the flexible job movement.
  5. Managing change in an organization is no easy task, as you’ve discovered in your new job with a consulting firm that specializes in change management. To get up to speed, go to the Change Management page of the Project Management Institute (https://www.pmi.org/learning/change-management). Select three articles that discuss how companies approached the change process, and summarize their experiences.
  6. After managing your first project team, you think you might enjoy a career in project management. The Project Management Institute is a professional organization for project managers. Its website, https://www.pmi.org, has many resources about this field. Start at the About PMI section, What We Do, to learn what project management is, and then go to the Learning and Resources pages. What are the requirements to earn the Project Management Professional designation? Explore other free areas of the site to learn more about the job of project manager. Prepare a brief report on the career and its opportunities. Does what you’ve learned make you want to follow this career path?
  7. Many companies are outsourcing portions of their IT departments. Should they, and why? Develop a position on this issue by researching outsourcing trends on Information Week, (https://www.informationweek.com), or an IT website of your choosing. Then divide the class into two groups, those that support outsourcing and those that oppose it, and have a debate on this subject.
PreviousNext
Citation/Attribution
Reuse and redistribution of this content in digital or print format:
  • This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's prior written permission.
  • This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License, which means that you can reuse and modify the material only for noncommercial purposes, must attribute OpenStax, and must distribute any derivative works under the same license.
  • Any commercial printing of this textbook, including using a local or custom printer, must be approved by OpenStax, and proper citation provided.
  • OpenStax-copyrighted images, activities, assessments, and similar components of this book are subject to the same licensing – CC-BY-NC-SA. They can be used for noncommercial purposes with attribution. Commercial use requires permission.
  • Permission requests: Anyone who intends to incorporate this content (including text, images, and other components) into large language models, use it in AI offerings, use it commercially (including in print), and/or has questions about another use case is welcome to complete our reuse request form.
Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/introduction-business-2e/pages/1-introduction

  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial digital format, then for every page that includes OpenStax content, you must license the derivative work under the same CC-BY-NC-SA license as the original, and include on every digital page view the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/introduction-business-2e/pages/1-introduction

Citation information

The information below includes the information needed to generate citations in most major styles (APA, MLA, etc.); you must reformat and organize the information as needed to fit the requirements of the style. Use the information below to generate a citation. We recommend using a citation tool such as this one.

© Apr 23, 2026 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo, and Rice University name, and Rice University logo trademarks, or wordmarks are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.