Dropbox is a provider of cloud-based storage and closely related services. It offers a limited amount of cloud storage for free and generates revenues from its paid premium services. Its clients include both businesses and individual consumers. The company has been more successful in securing consumers than businesses, as there is more intense competition to provide cloud storage and related services to businesses. Early on, Dropbox has focused on staffing coders. As a cloud storage provider, coding is the manufacturing process that enables the service to exist. However, it is the sales department that is responsible for building a paid client base, and this department was initially understaffed. In the mid-2010s, Dropbox's chief operating officer recognized the need to fill open positions in functional departments and doubled the number of employees, with most of the increase in the sales department. He also opened five otfices abroad to improve service to customers outside the United States. The business environment remains challenging, as behemoths such as Amazon, Google, IBM, and Microsoft compete for the over $200 billion a year cloud-computing market. However, Dropbox has demonstrated an ability to deliver results: in early 2020, it boosted its long-term profit targets and announced a stock buyback plan. The majority of Dropbox's employee positions are allocated to coding and sales, the two functions most critical to its ability to provide its service and to generate revenue: Because Dropbox services clients around the world, it has positioned sales staff in several countries if these outputs grow, Dropbox may need to restructure to a structure, which will allow it to Have each office manage its own furictional needs Ensure there is a high level of coordination within each functional area Greate a maxamally efficient organization through work specialization Maintain hagh levels of control over the way its products are sold What are the disadvantages of Dropboxs current organizadional structure? The functional tasies required by Dropbox are homogeneous, regardless of customer type. The functional structure may not be sufficient to meet the needs of multiple office locations. Top managers can easuly assess the operational efficiency of each functional deparmient. The sales department can easily allocate new business development opportunties across the avadable cales staff. may also be referred to as the U-form (unitary) approach to departmentahzation. The u-form of organczation design is orgavized by