A system can be defined as an intentional assemblage of procedures, objects, and people operating together within a given environment. According to the production system’s interdependence, participants rely on others since they cannot produce all the products they require. The interdependence is as a result of labor division and specialization. In the economic system, various parts respond to each other since they are linked.
For instance, an increase in the price of a product influences the consumers’ demand. It is worth noting that interdependence is never rigid since countries, people, and organizations may cease producing one set of products and start producing another. Dependence occurs mainly in foreign debt, financial institutions, transnational or multinational corporations, manufactured goods, minerals, energy, and food.
Adding value to inputs
Inputs are directly linked to their capability of completing transformational activities. It is imperative for a company to ensure that there is a keen selection of inputs so as to ensure production of desirable products. Some inputs such as raw materials can be combined so as to produce unique and valuable outputs. Adequate time should be taken when selecting inputs so as to ensure that irrespective of their quality and time dedicated towards production of outputs, unique results are achieved (Wolak, Kalafatis & Harris, 1998).
Characteristics of outputs
Basically, services and products are the two forms of outputs that are necessary for any production system.
Services
Services refer to the anticipations, advantages, or actions that are available for sale or presented so as to promote the sale of particular goods. Services are usually intangible, which implies that the value obtained from using a particular service cannot be assessed. In essence, there is no tangible product that the client can touch, taste, see, or buy. Another attribute associated with services is inseparability, which implies the concurrent utilization and delivery. Inseparability allows the consumers to shape and influence the quality and performance of the offered services (Bateman & Snell, 2011).
The third feature is heterogeneity. This indicates that during service delivery, there are high chances of variability. Basically, this is a key concern for services whose labor content is high. This is attributable to the fact that service performance is normally offered by varying individuals and their performance can differ each day. In essence, heterogeneity offers the chance of ensuring some level of service customization and flexibility.
Hence, this characteristic can act as a differentiation point or benefit. Finally, services are perishable in that it is impossible to store them and carry their value forward. The perishability of services is closely tied to their ‘time importance and dependence.’ The service producer should have a keen concern for service perishability. The consumer is only informed about the perishability issue in case there is inadequate supply and the service has to be offered later (McNamara, 2013).
Products
The attributes associated with a particular product usually identify it with the consumer, market, or organization. Every product is as a result of a complicated combination of intangible and tangible features. These features define the product, how it is used, and valued. The characteristics of products are usually categorized into market, consumer, and technological. The market attributes include promotion, price, sales, marketplace, and the kind of market.
Consumers’ product characteristics include social, psychological, safety, nutrition, use, sensory features, and convenience. Finally, the technological features include the type of product, method of storage and processing, shape and size, structure, components used during manufacture, and raw materials.
It is worth pointing out that using differing characteristics and adding more novel features is essential as it makes the product more appealing to the clients. In fact, it promotes the production of a unique product. Usually, clients compare a product’s characteristics with the features of similar products when defining its market position. Product profile involves the combination of several characteristics.
Consumer product benefits refer to the characteristics that customers admire most. Products such as drinks possess features with varying strengths. Familiarity with product features is essential in developing products that are desirable to the company and customers. Product characteristics are basically vital in product positioning and morphology.
Why classification of outputs is confusing
Usually, intangibility is a feature that is used to define the clear distinction between products and services. Some studies assert that intangibility does not give a clear differentiation between services and products. Meredith and Shafer (2010) argue that the tangible-intangible issue is hard for people to comprehend. Some authors assert that the significance of intangibility is usually overrated. According to them, service providers usually offer the productive capacity as opposed to the tangibility or intangibility of a service.
From the foregoing discussion, the key characteristics of services are perishability, heterogeneity, inseparability, and intangibility. The attributes of products are classified into market, consumer, and technology. These characteristics are important for product morphology and positioning. Knowing the features of various products ensures production of products that are desirable to consumers.
References
Bateman, T. S. & Snell, S. A. (2011). Management: Leading and collaborating in the competitive world (9th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Meredith, J. R. & Shafer, S. M. (2010). Operations management for MBAs (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Wolak, R., Kalafatis, S., & Harris, P. (1998). An Investigation into Four Characteristics of Services. Journal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science, 3(3), 1- 22.
Organizational structures and their building blocks are instrumental in achieving coordination and efficiency in highly diversified markets. Taking into consideration the fact that some structures and levels of authority are better suited for communication, delegation, and management than others, managers have to understand their inherent advantages and disadvantages to ensure maximum performance of their companies. The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of organizational structures and hierarchies on employee motivation and morale.
Discussion
A hallmark of a well-structured retail company is the ability to adapt to the ever-evolving demands of the business environment. Long-term viability in the retail industry is a function of personnel management. A report issued by NRF/Mercer reveals that in 2003, turnover rates of store managers amounted to 20 percent (as cited in Mullin, 2005). It follows that for an organization to function without substantial disruptions, its design with respect to hiring and managing should facilitate productivity and minimize turnover intentions.
HR experts at Trader Joe’s are cognizant of the fact that employees should be given a reasonable leeway to unlock their creative potential (Mullin, 2005). By providing its staff with a high level of autonomy, the retail giant makes sure that the working environment of its outlets is fun, original, and productive. Instead of issuing highly-detailed instructions to its workers, Trader Joe’s teaches them the specifics of products and allows them to exercise their freedom when it comes to merchandising and featuring (Mullin, 2005). This approach lies at the basis of unleashing employees’ productivity without resorting to financial stimuli.
A similar method of boosting sales and reducing turnover rates has been adopted by InterGlobe. The company’s organizational structure is designed to improve employee motivation and morale. To engage its workers, InterGlobe offers them an empowering culture and a high level of flexibility. Most importantly, they are constantly provided with non-monetary incentives for their efforts and not just successes, which is a focal point of the company’s HR policies (Tandon, 2017).
Upon analyzing the referenced companies, it is clear that their approach to organizational design presupposes a low degree of centralization. Decentralized companies are known for a substantial demand for judgment capacities of their workers, which means that decision-making inefficiencies are eliminated at low levels of the authority hierarchy (Griffin, Phillips, & Gully, 2016). By allowing employees to exercise autonomy, it is possible to improve their morale, thereby achieving considerable efficiency and minimizing staff attrition. The latter is particularly important since turnover can be extremely costly.
In addition to autonomy variances, organizations also differ in terms of formalization. It is clear that Trader Joe’s has an organic organizational structure that precludes resistance to change, which is associated with mechanistic structures. The organic form of managing an organization is characterized by innovativeness and high rates of job satisfaction. It follows that by reducing the level of formalization, Trader Joe’s has allowed its staff to perform their duties by using their preferred communication lines and creative behaviors. There is no denying that the managerial decision is conducive towards attaining a competitive edge in the business environment characterized by a high level of rivalry.
Conclusion
The paper has analyzed the relationship between organizational structures and levels of hierarchy and employee motivation and morale. It has been argued that flexible companies with organic structures and decentralized levels of authority are associated with low turnover rates and high productivity.
References
Griffin, R. W., Phillips, J. M., & Gully, S. M. (2016). Organizational behavior: Managing people and organizations. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Mullin, T. (2005). Hiring the very best. Chain Store Age, 81(10), 34.
Tandon, R. (2017). Our key focus is to reward employees’ efforts not just their success: InterGlobe Enterprises. Business World, 12(1), 1-2.
Organization structure is an organized plan or the way of arranging and allocating work to all members for the smooth running of the organization so that the goals can efficiently be reached. This is done by dividing all important areas of the organization and linking them together with employees. This is done to obtain a whole working unit where all the parts coordinate together in delivering the organization’s services. The breaking down of these structures will lead to job greater and higher output for every employee. (Brown, 2001).
Planning the organization
The organization whose structure I am going to write about is a furniture manufacturing firm. This firm deals with the manufacturing of furniture by designing them, manufacturing, marketing, and distributing the products to the buyers.
The tasks to be completed to accomplish this mission involves.
The suppliers who are going to provide raw materials to the industry should be identified. A person who is going to ensure that a constant supply of the raw material to the factory is constant should also be identified. Selection of his/her assistance should also be done.
Designers of different genres and different kinds of furniture should be identified. This is to satisfy the customer’s taste because various designs will enable them to have a wider choice as concerns to their preferences. There should also be a supervisor to ensure that the work done by the designer is in line with those of the client. He/she will also be responsible for advising the designers in the ways of improving their designs by the changes taking place.
There should be a production area where the designs which have been drawn will be translated into an actual item. This area will consist of craftsmen or carpenters. There should also be a supervisor to coordinate the development taking place at the design level. He will also be ensuring that the designs which are put on paper will be the exact ones that are being produced. He/she will also be responsible for assessing the amount of work taking place, and if in some way it can be replaced by machines.
The produced products should be introduced to the consumers by advertising it or by displaying, therefore people dealing with this kind of work should be identified. The team will also be responsible for convincing the buyers to buy the items by displaying their unique features. They will also be responsible for analyzing the requirements of the consumer and putting them on paper to be designed by designers.
After producing the final product, this product should be ensured that it reaches the final consumer. Therefore, the product has to be ferried to a destination that is close enough to the consumer for easy buy. Therefore, the necessary personnel who will perform this chore should also be identified.
There should be a unit that will be responsible for the company’s development analysis. This will involve keeping records and balancing the company’s financial records. This will help in monitoring the progress of the firm.
Personnel rights and also their performance and their recruitment should be handled. Therefore a unit handling issues related to employees in the firm should be set up. They will also be responsible for identifying any gaps and filling them whenever an employee is needed.
The firm should also have general supervision to ensure that every unit is working by the description of their relevant work. He will also be solving any cases which might arise in day to day running of the firm.
The organization chart below will demonstrate the organizational structure of this firm in detail. (Worthington, & Blyth 2001 p:45).
Finance
Supply – will deal with the supplying of raw material to the firming by ensuring that the firm’s raw materials are constantly available.
Design – this unit will be responsible for designing different kinds of products which will capture the consumer’s attention. They will also be responsible for noting the customer’s preferences and designing them on paper.
Production – the designer’s drawings are translated into the real product.
Finance – this structure will deal with the analysis of the company’s progress in terms of profits making is concerned. They ensure that various records are recorded as it is required.
Sales and marketing – this structure will deal with the marketing of this product by introducing it to consumers
Personnel – is responsible for handling all the cases concerning the rights and the performance of the employers.
Distribution – will be responsible for distributing the firm’s product closer to the consumers.
General Manager – he/she will be responsible for ensuring that all the structures in the organization are coordinating well. (Casson,2001)
Conduction business in two places might be a real problem for many businessmen. This is because many issues arise. These involve.
The information flow between different structures in the two organizations will be hindered. This may cause inefficiency because different departments will not be able to work
There is also the problem of inefficient management and monitoring of the business. This is so because having two businesses requires one to travel from one place to another to ensure that the business is progressing well.
Having two businesses in different locations means that more employees have to be hired which might result in arising of many issues dealing with the settling of employees cases.
Timing – having businesses in two locations will lead to poor timing because the work schedules between the two businesses may collide. This may lead to a lack of coordination between the different departments.
The following is an organization chart that includes two businesses.
As the business grows by five more locations, the communication network between the two companies should be established. This can either be done by either using phones with the company’s network or by using the company’s computer network interconnected by a central server.
The issues of untimely coordination when conducting various transaction or when providing services arises. This is so because the information dispersed to various branches might not reach there in time.
Also, the monitoring of various workflows might be a tedious process because all areas should cooperate in order to ensure that there is no branch which is disadvantaged. The following is an organizational chart that includes five branches.
References
Brown, Stephen A. communication in the design process. London. Spons press. 2001.
Worthington, & Blyth Alastain. Managing the brief for better design. London. Spon press 2001.
Casson, mark. Information and organization.A new perspective on the theory of firm. Oxford, England oxford university press. 2001.
Organizational structures establish the manner in which processes such as role allotment, coordination, and supervision are geared toward the realization of a company’s objectives. Organizations ought to be flexible, effective, inventive, and caring to reach a sustainable competitive benefit (Van der Voet, 2014). An organizational structure may be deemed to be the viewpoint through which people see the business and its environment.
Main body
For instance, in a functional structure, the most common formation, the business seeks to group workers in line with a specialized or comparable set of duties (Fairfield, 2016). Though such a structure operates excellently in stable settings where organizational strategies are less predisposed to changes, the extent of bureaucracy makes it hard for companies to react to variations in the market rapidly.
The divisional structure classifies the operations of an organization along with market, service, product, or geographical lines. In this aspect, a business managed in a divisional method may have operations dealing with farm produce located in the US, for example, and the ones handling green products in Europe where every division holds a different set of tasks. Organizations may be structured differently, reliant on their aims. An organization’s structure assists in the determination of the best mode of action (Lee, Kozlenkova, & Palmatier, 2015). On this note, it is evident that an organization’s structure enables the easy sharing of tasks for diverse functions and practices among different entities, for instance, branch, unit, team, or location to mention a few.
Conclusion
Organizational structures may influence the activities of a company in two ways. They may either present the basis on which standard operating practices and habits lie or choose the people to carry out administrative tasks and how they shape organizational behavior.
References
Fairfield, K. D. (2016). Understanding functional and divisional organizational structure: A classroom exercise. Management Teaching Review, 1(4), 242-251.
Lee, J. Y., Kozlenkova, I. V., & Palmatier, R. W. (2015). Structural marketing: Using organizational structure to achieve marketing objectives. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 73-99.
Van der Voet, J. (2014). The effectiveness and specificity of change management in a public organization: Transformational leadership and a bureaucratic organizational structure. European Management Journal, 32(3), 373-382.
Organizational structures initiated during the old times of hunters and collectors in tribal organizations through high- end royal and clerical power structures to the businesses of different kinds and forms. The concept of an organization’s structure starts at the subordination of various firms that combines together and contributes to serve one general aim. Organizations are segmented entities and the structure of an organization is commonly set up in one of a variety of styles, which sometimes depends on the objectives and total system of the business. This will determine the modes in which it shall run and perform an organization (Castanians and Helfat, 1991).
Also, this tolerates the explicit allocation of duties and responsibilities for various functions and processes to different entities. Usual illustrations of a particular entity of firm can be as follows; branch, department, site, workgroups and individual people as well. The contract between individuals in a structure usually appears under a time constraint and is limited on work contracts, or work orders or maybe under indefinite employment contracts or program orders.
Set up for organizational structures perhaps does not relate with the information based on the facts about the firm and its environment, and the evolution in operational action. The kind of diversity declines the performance most especially during the growth period. An example of this is an incorrect organizational structure which may get in the way of cooperation and hence, obstruct the completion of the orders in a specific period of time as well as the limits of the resources and budgets. An organization’s structure is said to be receptive on the prerequisite requirements of the process involved, has the objectives of optimizing the ratio of effort and input to output (Blackburn, 1982).
An expansion of a business, Indigo as such, affects the chain of command for it will be extended and the duration of control and supervision will be broadened. When the organization comes to an age, the flexibility will descend and the creativity will become exhausted. Thus, an organization should be changed from time to time to be able to recover. A condition may occur if a certain change is hindered by the internal and external factors, the last escape or remedy is to turn down the organization to prompt for a renovation and launch a new set up.
Discussion
When two organizations merge what types of structural issues do you think might need to be addressed?
The combination of two organizations results in the mergence of the various sectors that comprises the departments and employees of the whole structure of the business. As what is said earlier, the expansion of businesses such as merging together two businesses like what happened in Indigo and Chapters portraits an explicit consideration for developing new organizational structure and take risk for the consequences that arise. Factors like the size, technology and other significant issues should be taken account in expounding the scope of a business.
As how organizational structures of Indigo and Chapters differ from each other, an aim to understand the reason why the firms possess such structure. This means the factors like degree and type of horizontal differentiation, vertical, mechanisms of control, formalization and the centralization of power and authority. According to classical theorists such as Taylor, Fayol and Weber, a sole way for the organizations to be structured exists, though the organizations differs acceptably on the attributes of an organizational structure (Reijswoud, 1996). Thus, an approach should be made in understanding the determinants of the variations with regard to the structural formation of the businesses.
On the other hand, most of the theorists today argue with the conventional proposition of the scholars. In today’s world, they believe that there is no best way to organize a business (Leavitt and Whistler, 1958). They focus more on the factors that will suit the structure of an organization such as the size, innovation on technology, as well as the environmental factors that surrounds the business internally and externally. This principle can be referred to as the contingency theory where in it contradicts with the beliefs of the classical theorists mentioned earlier that an organization should be run by a sole and solid organizational structure (Negandhi, 1975).
Adaptation and Environment
An organization’s environment largely affects the structure of the business. They should adapt to its environment in order to respond to the needs of the company and to have a highly organized system. Just like for example, the organizations that face intricate and highly indefinite environments usually distinguished so that each unit of the organization will face a smaller and more specific answer. Taking the case of Indigo and Chapters, the two are somehow different because Chapters relatively operate a large business than Indigo because it is the combined Cole and smith bookstore. The two though had the same organizational structure but still merging two separate firms is a challenging role for the supervisor of an organization.
Indigo, who was the first to launch the first bookstore with the incorporation of music and licensed cafes, is somehow different from the operational activities that Chapters have. Thus, the mergence of the two primarily took account of being a mass production which will more likely be exposed to larger environmental factors.
Environmental factors can largely affect the business most especially when the structure does not comprehend with its environment. The tendency on this issue will affect the performance of the organization and will not make the grade. And mostly, an organization that operates in the first few years that fails to adapt to its environment do not succeed (Leavitt & Whistler, 1958).
The stability of an organization’s environment will determine the process of selecting the best suitable way to adapt to its environment not just because they all altered themselves. But for the reason that those are not properly adapted, organizations will more likely fail.
Aside from technology and environment, economy and institutionalization should be taken consideration as well. Economy plays an important role in a business process. It serves as the arbiter among the transactions that is largely held by mass production firms that includes the buying and selling. Each organization is composed of the inputs that suppliers represent and the outputs that customers on the other hand represent. Every organization depends on suppliers and customers to be able to maximize profit through the proper utilization of resources and money. The company is said to be with a power because they are seeking for an extensive supply less than they need it. Dependence on the part of an organization is a function of the availability of the preference supply.
Would a mechanistic or a more organic structure be appropriate for Indigo? Why?
For Indigo, what best suits is the application of the mechanistic structure. This is because of having a larger firm upon taking over the chain of Chapters (Robbins et al., 2006). Before, an organic structure can still be applied to Indigo because it manages a small store which will be accurately manipulated by a simple formation of organization. It is said earlier that an organic structure just make a certain product in which small number of managers only is required to tend the store yet, profits are still maintained. But merging two organizations depicts a larger responsibility and scopes more functions to be performed.
The hierarchy on mechanistic structure should also be tall and this implies that Heather Reisman should add managers whom will look for the departments that supervises other subordinates, in short, Reisman should organize the staffs according to the mechanistic hierarchy to be able to distribute the responsibilities in properly managing the bookstore and will eventually solve the problems that the bookstore faces. Thus, a proper way of organizing the business is a major factor of being successful in the market. Indigo and Chapters should adapt to the structure of one another and possess a combined organizational structure with a larger scope of responsibilities hence Reisman should utilize the mechanistic structure.
The effectiveness of an organization’s structure manipulates the industrial relations between the internal environment of business firms as well as the relationship among different entities that the organization has and improves the working relationship among single business units. Organization should maintain the order of the set allotted by the firm and control to be able to watch the processes. An organization should support the command for coping with multiple orders and an alteration of the conditions affixed during the performance of work. An organization should tolerate the application of each individual’s potential when it comes to the skills and talents they have in order to develop flexibility and apply creativity.
The frequency and type of limitations that arise during a production can greatly affect the type of structure that an organization has. These two types of limitations are said to be; one can be orderly resolved and requires an analytic way of search process just like fixing a machine mechanically and the other goes with the absent of an analytic framework that basically relies on the intuition and guesswork such as making a film, synthesis research and advertising.
What role do you think organisational structure plays in an organisation’s efficiency and effectiveness? Explain.
A structure is said to be an entity which comprised of elements such as the people, market trends, and departmental mandates and so on. This has a relative affect on each other as they are formed and definitely determines the behaviors that an organization acts with its environment (Fritz, 1996). Also, Fritz said that an organizational structure is designed in a premeditated manner. Small firms that transformed into a bigger one and the single business units will now emphasize the managerial power (Fritz, 1996) should be performed excellently like the mergence of Indigo and Chapters.
The role of organizational structure in the effectiveness of an organization primarily gives a picture of having a good industrial relationship which will result to a more efficient output. Organizations are not structured just because of being advanced. Being advanced is not a positive way of swinging from left to right or altering the acts just to serve as the foundation for future developments.
Basically, in an organizational structure, a resolution is a must if a certain problem aroused and not just switches to other alternative. Hence, an organization contributes to avoid the tendency of mismanagement on a certain business. An effective organization is a picture of having a coordinated individuals inside the firm acting together for a common goal and be receptive for a massive achievement (Fritz, 1996). This is a matter of being prompt in all organizational activities which will determine having the result of an affirmative business structure. An organizational structure that fits the business should then be maintained in order to establish a stable workforce along with the significant factors (Barnard, 1938).
Sometimes, imitation comes to the businesses when a relative organization possesses a successful system, other firms will more likely to copy the structure that it has for the perception that they too will come out with a profitable business. This one can cause the whole industry to take on the same kind of structural features of an organization. This happens because of the fear of being blamed or litigated (Leavitt & Whistler, 1958).
If many companies become successful and maximize profit for the reason of using a certain organizational structure and as an organization’s leader, you argued to adopt the same structure which resulted to the failure of your organization; it will be largely blamed on the leader because of being not innovative and adaptive. Thus, this comprises the way organizations escape from being litigated. In addition to, dispersal of ideas because of the transfer of personnel and professional training can contribute to lessen diversity as well as result to uniformity.
How might technology affect Indigo’s organisational design?
Technology is a major issue that most companies or businesses encounter. The recognition for the output that machines give to the firms is huge. In Indigo’s case, considering that they have product lines which are attributable with the technology, this should be firmly held.
Technology takes almost half of the organizational design that Indigo has and Chapters on line as well. The use of technology can be regard as one that manipulates some parts of the business and empirically, personnel should be minimize because using a technology in a wide manner depicts that employees only accounts for the manipulation of the machines. Therefore, Indigo should equally manage the staffing and complement with the use of technology in the organizational structure (Finkelstein and Hambeick, 1996).
Technology
Primarily, size does matter in an organizational structure and the technology as well. Size this refers to the total capacity, number of employees, number of customers that can either be profitable or not, and the main entity. According to the studies conducted by Blau, there came a differentiation on the number of levels, departments and job positions that increase with the size, but also with a decreasing rate.
However, the percentage of an organization that comprised the administrative overhead declined with the size and leading the economies of scale. The ascending size can also be relative to the progress of structuring the activities within an organization but the shrinkage centers on the power and authority. Practices of managers like the flexibility in staffing, the extensive delegation of authority and focus on the outcome instead of the procedures are connected to the size of the unit that a firm manages.
Another factor to consider in the structural issues is the Technology of an organization. Taking for example a business in a bank, like processing a check. This kind of activity is enacted by the business firms that are highly formalized and has a large deal of forte on a specific subject and diversification of labor. It also includes the high centralization of making decisions. An argument to that appears on the creative section of an ad agency and normally not official at all. Sometimes the division of labor comes in to a vague one and is decentralized (Roberts, 2004).
The technological aspect of a business usually goes with a specific activity of a specific structure that businesses have. By familiarizing the primary production system of an organization can visualize the whole organizational structure. In a unit production or a small batch of an organization, the companies that make a certain product and produce only a small quantity just like for example the tailors, mechanical equipments, and other limited produces: this sort of companies should require a highly industrialized innovation when it comes to the knowledge of the employees in using new machineries.
The total cost can be attributed as an expensive one because of the reasons that the work process is not certain and it is hard to plan or make a routine (Smith et al., 1994). Unit productions are also distinguished to have a flat organization and appear to have a small number of levels of hierarchy. The leaders on a single business unit usually do not control the firm on a long period of time, possesses a small number of managers and relatively portrays an organic structure.
Normally, the other face of a firm goes along with a big number of productions and is relatively bigger than of a small batch. They also possess taller hierarchies and the bottom level even the supervisors manages to have a control over the firm for a long period of time. Not like the small batches, large productions have more number of managers due to a tall hierarchy and possess a mechanistic or bureaucratic type of structure. Somehow, large productions are cheap to operate.
In a continuous production, basically these are companies which process liquids and powders like the bakeries, electric power implants and the like. The machines used do almost all the things for the firm and the labor force of the employees just resembles as the monitors and manipulates the machines and sees if any alteration of the plan occurs.
This kind of organization has a tall but thin and sometimes inverted pyramid and prevails that almost there is none at the bottom. An organic structure of a business is more likely at the top of this kind of production. The paradigm of a continuous production depicts a mechanistic structure at low levels but for the reason that machines are the key players of the operation, the supervision and management appears to be at a lower level and paper works do not arise frequently.
Thus, a continuous production is a combination of a unit and mass production which puts together an organic and mechanistic type of structure. However, the operations are largely affected by the rise and use of technologies in completing their tasks.
Conclusion
Upon the illustration of the organizations, some tend to be very much centralized and formalized and specifically they are recognized as bureaucracies. In a bureaucratic firm, the best probable way of an organization to form is when the task is profoundly understood and how the firm is able to execute the following task in a more advanced certainty, while other organizations appear to be unorganized and possesses a lot of limitations and are not properly carried by bureaucracies. Many limitations and situations that have a formal set of ways that defines the manipulation of each situation are somehow not related with the questions that usually arise.
The organizations hence are decentralized and out of focus when it comes to the use of coordination and control. And thus the reasons prevailed to be because of the human bounded rationality which typically refers to the fact that since human beings have a limited knowledge and is not always capable of having a definite optimal resolution to the dilemmas that arise in an organization. With that in mind, people only have the time and capability to take into account small number of possible resolutions and opt to choose the best alternative though all can not be considered (Biggadike, 1979). For a fact, multifaceted systems are very hard to plan ahead because there are many contingencies that need to be addressed.
It is vital for every organization to accurately choose the structure that will fit the nature of the business. It comprises the considerations of the hierarchal matters which will further help develop a more organized business.
Indigo and Chapters indeed both performed a good management style but in the latter years, failure to maintain the strategy on the organizational structures came. The acquisition of Chapters by Indigo describes the expansion of a single entity and means to have a new structure which will be applicable for a larger firm. Though both share the same nature of product line, managing a small production from a bigger one is largely different. Consequently, a change for a more organizational structure should be adapted by Heather Reisman.
References
Barnard, C. I. 1938. The Functions of the Executive. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Biggadike, R. E. 1979. Corporate Diversification: Entry, Strategy, and Performance. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Blackburn, R.S. (1982). Dimensions of structure: A review and reappraisal, The Academy of Management Review 7 (1) (1982), pp. 59–66.
Castanians, R. P., & Helfat, C. E. (1991). Managerial Resources and rents. J. Management 17 155-171.
Finkelstein, S., & Hambeick, D. C. 1996. Strategic Leadership: Top Executives and their effects on organisations. West Publishing Company, St. Paul, MN.
Fritz, R. (1996) Corporate Tides: The Inescapable Laws of Organizational Structure , Berrett-Koehler, pp. 4-6.
Leavitt, H.& Whistler, T. (1958) Management in the 1980’s, Harvard Business Review 36 (6) (1958), pp. 41–48.
Negandhi, A. (1975). “Comparative management and organizational theory: A marriage needed”, Academy of Management Journal, 18, pp. 334-343.
Reijswoud, VE van (1996). The structure of business communication: theory, model and application. PhD Thesis, Delft University of Technology, Delft.
Roberts, J. (2004) The Modern Firm: Organizational Design for Performance and Growth, Oxford University Press.
Robbins, SP, Bergman, R, Stagg, I & Coulter, M 2006, Management, 4th edn, Pearson Prentice Hall, Sydney.
Smith, K. G., Smith, K. A., Olian, J. D., Sims, H. P, Jr., O’ Bannon, D. P., & Scully, J. A. 1994. Top management team demography and process: The role of social integration and communication. Admin. Sci. Quart. 39, 412-438.
Companies’ operational activity depends mainly on their structure because this component affects relationships within an organisation. It defines its ability to achieve objectives by outlining the specific actions that should be performed. The company in question did not alter its structure in over 20 years, and this factor influences the effectiveness of work. It is necessary to revise it to ensure that the mission, vision and goals of the business are met. This report aims to explore essential components to consider when altering the structure and evaluate the implications for management and development.
Key Factors
The first factor that should be considered is the size of the organisation, which undoubtedly affects the relationship between management and employees. According to Harper (2016), it is believed that with an increase in size a company becomes less centralised. This data presents an understanding that executives may have difficulties with managing big companies; therefore, a need for delegation arises. Thus, the analysis of the size and management techniques that can be applied to ensure that tasks are accomplished is necessary to create an appropriate structure.
The next component that influences the structure is a particular product or service that a company develops. According to Porter and Heppelmann (2015, p. 4), “the core functions — product development, IT, manufacturing, logistics, marketing, sales, and after-sale service — are being redefined, and the intensity of coordination among them is increasing.” This is especially important for this company because its structure has not been revised in twenty years. Therefore, while approaches to product development have changed, the actual operations remained, which provides a competitive advantage to rival companies that adjusted their structure.
The structure in which companies choose to focus on products and services is referred to as the divisional model. In this scenario, it is necessary to select a category by which employee teams would be divided; for instance, business clients and individuals (‘Business organisational structure’ n.d.).
Products affect the structure as the focus on them provides an opportunity to diversify the production because adding another division is relatively easy. Thus, in case the company in question should expand the product or service range, the focus on the divisional structure will allow the executives to ensure quick growth. Additionally, the responsibilities for each department are clearly defined following a specific development. It can be concluded that products and services influence the organisational structure because a focus on them allows companies to expand their range and provide better services to customers. However, it should be noted that some functions, for instance, finances or human resources, should remain centralised.
The organisational life cycle is another component that should be considered when developing a structure. This factor has several models that can be traced and related to the establishment and development of a company (Organizational life cycle n.d). It should be noted that products or services have traceable cycles as well. Depending on a particular firm’s stage of development an its internal circumstances an organisation can choose a model that will help it excel.
It can be argued that a recently started company has a simpler structure when compared to the one that has a long history. For this business, it is evident that a more complex structure is required, due to its 100-year history. At the stage of growth, a more decentralised approach to division of power can be seen, which is reflected in the growth of authority for middle management (Organizational life cycle n.d.). At the next stage, the companies focus their attention on enhancing internal processes, and a matrix type structure becomes more appropriate than the traditional hierarchy.
The strategy is among the essential forces that identify the path of development and growth for a company. It can be argued that the component combines other factors, such as produces or services because it presents an understanding of how a company would manage its operations. Chandler states that if the structure does not correspond to the strategy, an establishment is unable to carry out its tasks properly (as cited in Marx 2016).
Therefore, it is necessary to align the two components, which would enable the efficiency of operations for this company. Marx (2016) conducted a study in which the author evaluated Chandler’s claims. According to the findings from the research, specific changes in the external environment of an industry can affect the possibility to align structure and strategy. However, misalignment can lead to severe consequences; therefore, together with other components strategy defines the organisation of a firm.
Business environment refers to external forces of an industry in which companies operate. It is crucial to consider resources and competition when creating a strategy because a firm should be ready to respond to the challenges and changes within its niche. More specifically, “higher levels of competition require different organisational structures to offset competitors’ advantages while emphasising the company’s strengths” (Factors to consider in organizational design n.d., para. 4). Additionally, if this company experiences uncertainty, it should prioritise the ability to adapt, which would allow changing the activities more quickly.
Type of workforce and its specific characteristics affect the structure because the two components determine the possibility of decentralisation and human resource development. Harper (2016) states that the expertise of the workforce is a crucial component that affects the efficiency of operations. It is because the factor determines whether the delegation of tasks is carried out correctly. It can be concluded that larger organisations would benefit from expert employees because decentralisation would not have an adverse effect on the work.
Tree workforces can be defined as a culture, professional core, contractual fringe and flexible labour force. These were developed by Handy (2015), who states that choosing an appropriate structure a company defines its viability. The author developed the idea of a shamrock organisation, which consists of executives, employees and contractors. According to the approach, the employee should be flexible and committed to a firm, which is defined by an internal culture.
It can be concluded that for this organisation to function correctly, it is crucial to review the current structure and the existing products, life cycle, strategy, workforce and other factors that were discussed. Based on the development plan for future operations the executives will be able to choose and implement a new structure, enabling the establishment to reach its objectives. The following part will provide an evaluation of company structure on various components of the company.
Evaluation of Implications
It can be argued that any company strives to receive revenue and grow in order to achieve its goals. Moreover, Harper (2016) states that firms should be regarded as members of society and they affect their external environment – political, social, and economic. Evaluating specific components that affect the process can help create an adequate approach that would guide this establishment. Jury (2004, p. 1155) lists these factors as essential to consider– “the size of the company, model of organisation structure, motivating factors, productivity, competitive market effect, financial results of companies, usage capacities, planning and controlling.” Due to the fact that the majority of them were discussed when identifying critical factors for organisational structure, the latter will be examined in greater detail.
The relationship between the organisation and its employees is affected by the structure of the establishment. According to Dubey and Singhal (2016, p. 110), “the organisational structures plays a very vital role in employee’s empowerment” because the recognition of human resources as crucial components for development increases the motivation of individuals. Additionally, this factor affects performance levels and thus impact the success of a firm. Creating a structure that can leverage the employees and provide the basis for a good connection between executives and
The impact of information technology on the development of people and resources is vast. As was previously mentioned, products and services affect the organisational structure. In recent years the approaches to designing and manufacturing were altered due to the emergence of various innovations. The implication for organisational structure and to create an environment in which information technology would allow better communication between staff members.
Demand for flexibility refers to a need for changing approaches and activities in accordance with the external environment. This factor is connected explicitly to human resources and staff development because the ability of individuals to adapt affects the businesses’ operations. According to Pawlowski (2016, p. 2331), “for all dimensions of organisational structure, the level of flexibility depends on the functional area of the enterprise (marketing and sales, research and development, operational activity, administration).” Therefore, the implication is to ensure that each component of the firm’s structure can adapt to changes by creating an appropriate arrangement.
Management of change is defined as a transition carried out to achieve future goals. It is among the essential practices that enable growth for an establishment (Burke 2018). The executives of the company in question desire to change the structure to ensure that it applies to the goals that were set for the future. Thus, it is necessary to analyse the external environment in alignment with the strategy and choose a flexible structure that would allow to grow and develop.
Financial implications are essential for a businesses’ operations because they determine the amount of investment that can be made in the development of individuals and resources. The management should take into account the revenue and external environment changes to identify which departments are essential for the firm. This process will allow determining which parts of the company can be eliminated or transformed to enhance efficiency.
Conclusion
Overall, various factors impact the decision-making process of changing the organisational structure. It is evident that the company’s current structure is not feasible because it was not reviewed in over twenty years. It is crucial to analyse the components that were discussed above and design a new, flexible structure. Additionally, it is necessary to ensure that people and resources can develop through the chosen management approach.
Reference List
Burke, WW 2018, Organization change: theory and practice, Sage, London.
Dubey, A & Singhal, AK, 2016, ‘Role of organizational structure in employee’s empowerment’, Journal of Education and Management Studies, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 110-115.
Harper, C 2016, Organizations: structures, processes and outcomes, Routledge, New York, NY.
Jury, B 2004, ‘Organization, factor of competitive advantage: empirical research’, An Enterprise Odyssey. International Conference Proceedings, Zagreb, Croatia, pp. 1155-1169.
Marx, TG 2016, ‘The impacts of business strategy on organizational structure’, Journal of Management History, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 249-268.
Pawlowski, E 2016, ‘Flexibility of organizational structure in a context of organizational innovations and modern concepts of enterprise management’, Proceedings of PICMET ’16: Technology Management for Social Innovation, Portland, USA, pp. 2331-2337.
The organization has a local area network logistical structure. It is made up of a basic spanning tree protocol that serves the various departments in the institution with a single administrator. The net work has a wide variety of network management tools such as switches firewalls and routers that serve to regulate decentralize and distribute access to the various departments in the organization.
How will bandwidth affect development?
All large-scale networks such as the internet face the contemporary challenge of having a centralized system of maintenance. This is partially due to the magnitude of the information required and the size of equipment that would be involved. This therefore limits the available frequency in bandwidth that is attributed to the physical and structural challenges of the LAN system as well as the need to deter interference from external sources and connections. The primary economic concerns that are presented by the network alongside the need to maximize the amount of information that will be available to the learners will be pegged on the bandwidth limitation (Wood 2008).
The handling capacity will also play a great role in limiting the amount of information that can be conveyed within a single timeline. To avoid reduced speed in the network due to network overload the system will therefore limit the number of users that can access the system at any given time. The learners in the organization are therefore going to be admitted in shifts or timetables to allow a smooth flow of learning as well as speedy and prompt unlimited access to information in the knowledge.
Who will be in charge of managing it?
The system currently operates with a single administrator who is responsible for the maintenance and correction of network problems. The single administrator also bears the access codes to the secure files in the organization under a centralized system. The learning and learning and development system will however require independent access that will be allowed to the network manager. The manager will also be vested with the responsibility of monitoring the system and taking proactive actions to prevent any possible network interruptions. He will however fall under the administrators mandate and will have limited access to the secure system filed such as those concerning progress records and performance ratings (Stewart and Bartrum 2002). He will however operate in conjunction with the network administrator in ensuring that there is a smooth flow of materials and knowledge in the learning system.
Who will be in charge of monitoring use, virus protection, and other maintenance issues?
The network manager will be responsible for monitoring and protecting the system from virus infection and interruptions from external network. He will also ensure that he safeguards the network form failures of external network by ensuring that he maintains a slim margin of dependence between the local network and external networks.
Are different types of authoring tools better for online phases as opposed to stand alone ones
Due to the eminent security concerns that arise from the use of a variety of authoring tools it is important and useful for a small network such as the organizations LAN network to use a standalone toll such as Challenge that is designed to construct and present problem based scenarios to learners of differing levels. Such a toll may be used for both intranet and internet based protocols.
References
Stewart, T., and Bartrum, P. (2002). “CHALLENGE — An Authoring Tool for Problem-Based Scenarios, Delivered Alone or 2002 Over the WWW,” ICCE, International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE’02), pp.197.
Wood, L., (2008). “The LAN turns 30, but will it reach 40?” Computerworld.com. Web.
To begin with, the world of management is full of different innovations which are additionally emphasized due to the flow of scientific thought in the world. Moreover, the trends of the current fashion industry are strengthened with such factors as present economic instability and the decrease of customers’ activity; current or potential. For this issue, the clothes companies should immediately work out the strategic designs for better estimation of the company’s possibilities with a glance at the present day situation along with perspectives of further variability in management aspects.
The company under analysis
Menswear Company Burton is one of British leading textile companies aimed at the realization and satisfaction of men’s need in clothes of high quality with trendy points in its design. Established in the year 1903 in Chesterfield by an 18-year-old Montague Burton the company tended to look for the changes being needful for this or that period of time in the twentieth century. First, when there was a risk of World War I the company strived to restructure the production strategy in terms of the realization of uniforms for British troops. Then there was a time of company’s elaboration by means of fast spread of its subsidiaries in Great Britain.
The main slogan of it “Good clothes develop a man’s self-respect” always stimulated the employees and their managers to find out all the decisions about resolving current problems or needs in men’s clothing so that to lift up the personal evaluation of the company within the society (Burton, 2009). After World War II until now Burton continues to develop the production of its clothes and gained at once acknowledgment all over the world. Being a part of Arcadia Group Ltd Burton made special emphasis on its ability to compete with other companies popular in this field of industry. Furthermore, Burton provides its customers with an honest policy regarding four steps to be followed, namely:
Lawful, fair, and honest dealing;
no exploitation of the people who made clothes;
abidance of decent working conditions;
no damage to the environment (Burton, 2009).
These steps are the main in the system of company’s management approaches, and still, they point out the fundamentals of the Code of Conduct which was developed earlier with some guidelines according to the requirements of modern time.
As it is known, the services of Burton fall into two types of sharing products, such as traditional in-store sales and newly acknowledged online type of sharing and delivery. The company does not want to lag behind the perpetual challenges of business life. That is why on its website there is entire information including such sections as the size guide, details of delivery, returns policy, and a store locator (Burton, 2009). Every customer is significant in all his peculiarities of body structure, current stratum in society, and style. All layers of men are vital to providing high standards of sales policy.
An annotated outline
After World War II the society outlasted some significant changes in its structuring. The post-industrial type of society where the main product is information is vital in the era of high technologies and the 21-st century, in particular. Organizational design is a complex thing that should have an appropriate number of measures and standpoints to go together with genuine solutions of mankind at the moment. This is vital for a company to save its positions among its closest competitors. Fast-moving of progress determined such points of the company to follow the core challenges of the contemporary world of business outlined as such:
The strategic outlook of the company should coincide with the environment’s peculiarities at the moment (Nadler & Tushman, 1999).
This means that due to constant uncertainty in the world economy the strategic coloring of it should respond to the main objectives of this or that kind of customers evaluating the key requirements of the society.
The company in virtue of its credibility and ability to follow the needs of the environment should work out the well-timed key points of its strategic steps taking into account the recent changes in the business environment as well as in societal relationships. Right ways when providing some even revolutionary policies should be widely considered within the board of directors in order to adopt deliberate decisions for the company’s well-being in terms of its current improvements and solutions to find a new way of development so that to be functionally competitive in the arena of main leaders or neighboring brands. The risk is minimal in this issue but needs more responsibility in order to make the position of the company strong enough.
Strategy is a driving motive for the organization
The constituent parts of the company are very significant in terms of their efficiency towards each other. The strategic view should take into account the mutual processes within a company so that to promote its well-planned schedule of actions. When all the parameters are considered, there ought to be another glance at the structure of the departments in the company in order to maintain the annual performance with the results close to the primary goals voiced and designated for the realization in a current year or years in the future. Here the strategic objectives play a very important and weighty role in terms of standing against problems and their successful resolving with gaining a precious experience in the business environment and society of a defined country on the whole. So the responsible parts of an organisation should be adjusted as closer as possible.
Strategy and organisation ties should be mutual
The way a company is elaborated and organised is the standpoint of its further conditions as of maintaining the working process. Time, human resources, financing background are the factors according to which the strategic frameworks are made out for their forth putting within the borders of complex measures on company’s strategy. In fact, the prospects on creative ideas should be encouraged by a company, so that to find more stimuli and ways of its elaboration in terms of additional guidelines to the current policy of a company and strategic innovations of the way it is urging at the moment.
The impact of organisation structure is felt when the reciprocal connections of it split together and aimed at the achieving the main strategic goal which is determined in the designs of companies. The encouraging/restricting model should determine the perpetual attempts of employee to contribute into the company by means of personal stable work and, what is more, by their ability to produce genuine rational suggestions as for the work process optimisation.
The ethical part of managerial organisation in a company is grave and significant here in order to support objective evaluation of those being subordinate to managers in a defined company. So the separate work of some departments in the company without determining to the principles of subordination necessitates the internal problems and disorganisation of corporation which in return leads to the weakening of company’s positions in contrast to main competitors, unless reminding its possible bankruptcy.
Unchanged nature of fundamental dilemma as of organizational design
The achievement of true potential of a company depends on the fact whether it is strong in maintaining internal and external programs with more emphasis on the processes of differentiation and integration. Evaluation of people in accordance with their basic specialisations and interests and working processes in which they are involved tend to stimulate the growth of the company in order to make tight connections to the central part of a defined corporation.
This is made for the purpose of accounting and emphasizing the ability to vary between the issues of strategic importance, for the challenges may appear to be spontaneous and undetermined in the design of organisation. The attitudinal relationships considering agreements or disagreements in the company outline the factor of its strength due to the well-elaborated system of approval or disapproval of some innovative solutions discussed by conscientious employees and their managers up to CEO’s, so that to urge to the fundamental principles of sound business practice maintained in the world of trade and business affairs.
Project estimation
Taking into account the crucial importance of new technologies and means of implementation the world business affairs are changing too. On the eve of the buying activity decline in the year 2009 it is very important to find out the ways of company’s further way of development standing against the features of world economic collapse due to the economic crisis. As a rule, the most able-to-live organisations still stand in the rows of world leaders with a scheduled program bout the anti-crisis measures to follow. This is ital for those who want to perform the best outlook on the characteristic features of the company.
What is a current status quo in your corporation? What are the ways of strategic changes or delivery towards them? These and many other questions irritate acquisitive mind for sure. The future of Burton Company is not limited when confronting with the crisis effects on the society. The population is undoubtedly suppressed, but the natural callings in the way of dressing seem to be constant every now and then.
That is why the management team should pay special attention on the infrastructure of today’s client base of the company changed after the recent changes in levels of well-being which in most cases decreased and left people only with a hope that something will turn in their favour soon.
This fact cannot but impulse the board of directors to act immediately, because delays are dangerous. The majority of present competitors tend to make prices more democratic and attractive for the population having suffered from the crisis instability and collapse, as it was mentioned above. The need of reshaping the portfolio of the company is very actual in terms of elaborating the key points of strategic measures with a special look at the economic climate in this or that country, where the branches of company are situated and performed (Nadler & Tushman, 1999).
Logically accepted principle that before a great downfall the growth of economic data reaches its relevant critical point showing the tempos of a company growth is true when grabbing view on the present economic situation along with its indicators: positive and negative as well. Burton had great chances to obtain the biggest amount of profits during last three years and now it is known to be one of the British leaders in textile industry.
This is vital to have experience in the field of business relationships to demonstrate then some of appropriate ways of resolving company’s global convulsion with prospects onto societal privileged stop in buying and more efforts in saving money. Thus, the company should strive at the optimal suggestions as for the fact of how to draw near the customers and how to attract them counting on the some distinct benefits involved for the customers better activity?
New approaches projecting the innovative ideas of today can reflect on people’s decision-making process tomorrow. So the variability of the company should imply the aspects of previously gathered knowledge and experience with their implementation and execution in terms of modern Internet era of global computerizing within many work processes maintained by able-to-compete companies and their partners. The interactive relations of main people who tend to make the company successful should co-exist with some rational models of maintaining business. Their number is great and in most cases they serve as a framework to find some more information for the managers in providing the company with quality, speed and appropriate ways of conditioning in the society.
The social character of business is determined by a complex of economic and political measurements which should suit the current financial ability of governments in order to protect the population of a definite country from the hazards of default and country’s economy falling down. In this case the features of accounting practice are vital with their urge to clear up the tools which are needed to detect the centre of the problem, first, and then to follow the procedure of stabilization in terms of satisfaction the needs of different layers of the society. Standpoints about the main requirements of today’s strategic policy of the company ought to take into account the optional and mandatory factors to be done, and one of them is a current solution of the financing and using capital rationally with sound opinions of its use. With regards to the report titled “Future Management Accounting: Preliminary Propositions with Survey Evidence” by Erkki K. Laitinen (Laitinen, 5) the management accounting should follow the way illustrated below:
The future balance of opportunities within many companies can gradually increase due to the polarization of key sectors of activity in the fields of industrial development and its restructuring. Reorganizational policy is a challenge for every single company because of the risk to delay and miss the time perspectives to gain many profits. There must be a deeper tendency in researching the problematic issues according to the company’s today’s accountability pointing the aftermath of the global crisis and scrutiny of its negotiation. More emphasis should be paid on the restructuring plan in the Burton Company with glimpses of what was done so far and what is in progress today.
The research work in the field of management development of modern times written by Nadler D. A. accompanied by Tushman M. L. has many strategic points on designating the best principal ways of resolving current issues on developing the company’s performance in contrast with main competitors.
Their model of “Managing Intra-enterprise Cannibalism of Organizational Challenges” is perspective and adequate due to the ability of making out the approaches to be efficient in the future development of company’s actions emphasizing new strategic imperatives. The authors have a wide survey on the problem of future strategies for the leading companies. The eight-steps model presupposes the structural, organizational, and managerial approaches in dealing with the reorganizational changes. IT is significant to apply to them gradually explaining the value of each.
Increase Organizational clock speed
The company should oblige the staff to do their job as well as it is stated in the business plan for each year. The instructions are to be followed without any hesitations. Many of the employees due to managers’ irresponsibility take the liberty of often tardinesses when the whole economic atmosphere is pressing every now and then with gradual losses in key ways of company’s maintenance. The discipline is a principal thing in such area of business activity as human resources along with the motivation of key workers and their subordinates. The structural component of staff representation should be counted while designing time horizons of company’s perspectives and future affairs in order to feel sure in every succeeding step required by its strategic policy. This factor goes along with the point of structural diversity of the company’s constituent parts in virtue of their value for the success of the corporation in next decades, quarters or years.
Design structural divergence
The need of structural peculiarities in the company is grave enough supporting the idea of every department individual work independently of the amount and type of work they have already done which results in the annual statistics and divergence of structural parts. The company is favoured by this point to provide the policy strengthened due to personal activity of each department or structures subordinate to them. As the article interprets:“…if two units of the same organisation operate in different environments, each should take on different characteristics” (Nadler & Tushman, 1999).
Promote organizational modularity
The key prospects of team-building are supposed to be the greatest motives for the personnel to be encouraged and satisfied with the communication among other colleagues in informal conditions. Promoting regulations on the working place is a factor which can comprise the efficiency of the results achievements and relied-on employees. This fact cannot but be accompanied with the tendency of the company to strive at the most objective ways of departments colouring.
Structure Hybrid Distribution channels
The channels of distributed goods should take into account the discount policy and seasonal occasions to stimulate the flow of customers. The distributers net should be encouraged with the maximum advantages of collaboration with Burton. Their poly-structural nature should be applied to and intensified by the ordinary streams in the business world.
Design metrical research and development
Data of metrical research can give a complex picture of the company present activity on the market. A well-planed model of the company’s development touches upon the systematic and fair metrical improvements implemented in the digital parameters according to the evaluation of company’s balance at the moment. Here more attention should be given to the factors of debit and credit correspondence.
Construct conflict management processes
The company is to have well elaborated and clear objectives of what should be done within team departments, so that to stimulate the staff to achieving main goals. Conflict management is used here to omit the obstacles caused by hackneyed agreements in every decision-making process. Conflicts are needful for companies in order to make them more efficient and competitive by means of finding the compromising ideas or consensuses on the whole. This principle is universal for the leaders, because “Truth is sprout in discussion”.
Organizational coherence
Organisation contains in its extent the functioning principle of every live organism which is able to live and survive until all organs of it are responsible for their work and appropriate functioning supporting the well-being of the organism. On the other hand, the main figures of the company do need the facts of correction retraction. If there is nothing to worry about, so the work process is clear enough to imply perspective design of further actions.
Executive teams
When the all factors being of the primordial character are considered and planned well with appropriate ways of their taking into practice the need to execute all guidelines becomes crucially important in terms of the effects which can be caused by positive execution of designed actions. Negotiations on the pre-executive level should point out all pros and cons making out the achieved goal. Thus, summarizing the steps of making progress in the company one ought to consider the fact: “World is your oyster, just crack it!”
Reference List
Nadler, D. A.., & Tushman, M. L. (1999) ‘The organization of the future: Strategic imperatives and core competencies for the 21st century’, Organizational Dynamics, 28 (1), pp. 45–60.
Laitinen, EK (2004) ‘Future management accounting’ Future Management Accounting: Preliminary Propositions with Survey Evidenc, Department of Accounting and Business Finance, University of Vaasa.
Kraft Foods Group is based in American and specializes in manufacturing and processing groceries. It is an international company that has most of its outlets in America while others are scattered in Canada. Its annual revenue is about $ 18 billion, and it expects to be the best food and beverage company in North America by producing consumer-based goods, motivating employees, and increasing the value of its shares in the local and international markets (Heneman, Fisher and Dixon 2001). This paper explores the organizational structure, systems, employees, and cultures that propel this company to achieve its targets.
Structure
This company is headed by John T. Cahill as the executive chairman responsible for its management. Tony Vernon as its chief executive officer and together with the chairman they oversee the performance of the company. The structure of this company is decentralized, and every department has an executive vice president that controls the activities of each group (Pryor, Singleton, Taneja, and Toobs 2009). They include Teri List-Stoll (Chief Financial Officer), Dino Bianco (Beverages and President Canada), Tom Corley (Retail Sales and Food Service and President, United States), Chuck Davis (Development, Quality, and Innovation), Deanie Elsner (Chief Marketing Officer), Robert Gorski (Integrated Supply Chain), Jane Hilk (Enhancers and Snack Nuts), Diane Johnson May (Human Resources), Michael Osanloo (Meals and Desserts), Sam Rovit (President Oscar Mayer), Kim Rucker (Corporate and Legal Affairs) and George Zoghbi (Cheese and Dairy Exports).
The vice presidents are answerable to the chief executive officer who reports to the executive chairman. This means that this company respects protocol and any upward or downward communication must follow the channel specified. The executive vice presidents are in charge of various departments and all workers report to them. Task forces are established for long or short-term projects to research markets, employees, and products (Heneman et al., 2001). However, most of these forces are established when there is an urgent need and disbanded after completing their work.
Financial Systems
The demands of these departments are different, and this means that they must prepare budgets that meet their needs. However, their estimates must be approved by the chief financial officer together with the company’s budgetary committee. Every department is allocated an amount that must be budgeted for; therefore, the financial officer examines and approves budgets before the money is allocated to departments (Pryor et al., 2009). The executive vice presidents are responsible for planning and organizing budgets and other financial requirements of their departments and forwarding them to the chief financial officer. This company produces and publishes its performance records after every four months. In addition, it also publishes its annual reports to show its stakeholders how it has performed (Heneman et al., 2001). The company is listed on the New York stock exchange platform, and this enables it to know the value of its shares in the international and local markets. The ranking and pricing of its shares is a good way of knowing its performance and its value was $ 54.40 as of January 22nd, 2014 (4:00 P.M. ET). These results were obtained after trading 18, 1274 shares. This company uses the performance of its shares to determine its market penetration and measure the performance of its branches.
Employees
The Kraft Foods Group offers positions to different employees, and their qualifications are determined by the nature of vacant positions available. However, before, anybody is recruited into the company the individual must have an interest in the food and drinks industry (Heneman et al., 2001). This means that an academic qualification in this field will be an added advantage when applying for any job in this company. The current staffs are qualified and suitable for their positions because they have solid backgrounds in the food and drinks industry, and this is shown in their academic qualifications and work experience (Pryor et al., 2009). In addition, they also possess specialized academic qualifications depending on their positions, for instance, Kim Rucker has vast experience in the beverage and industry sector and legal affairs. Therefore, the executive vice presidents have special skills besides experience and education in the food and beverage industry. However, junior staff must possess education and experience that is relevant in this field. Workers have positive attitudes to the mission and vision of this company to ensure it becomes a world-class investment and production corporation.
Culture
The culture of this company aims to achieve seven key aspects that are important in ensuring that it promotes healthy lifestyles, reduces environmental impacts, and achieves excellent financial performance (Garrow and Hirsh 2008). This company ensures that its employees work in safe environments. In addition, it promotes wellness by offering quality services to its employees to meet their requirements. It offers equal opportunities to qualified individuals from different backgrounds to be its employees so that it can have the experience of its customers through its workers (Heneman et al., 2001). The most significant symbols of this company include compliance, nutrition, culture, community, and safety that are all painted green to reflect its sustainability and environmental conservation policies.
This company uses the people-centered management style that puts the interests of consumers first and respects their needs (Garrow and Hirsh 2008). In addition, it values its employees because they are the engine of this company. Conflicts are resolved within units, and every department has a human resource section that addresses queries from employees and customers.
References
Garrow, V. and Hirsh, W. (2008). Talent management: Issues of focus and fit. Public Personnel Management, 37(4), 389-403. Web.
Heneman, R. L., Fisher, M. M., and Dixon, K. E. (2001). Reward and organizational systems alignment: An expert system. Compensation and Benefits Review, 33(6), 18-29. Web.
Pryor, M. G, Singleton, L. P., Taneja, S. and Toobs, L. A. (2009). Teaming as a strategic and tactical tool: An analysis with recommendations. International Journal of Management, 26 (2), 320-334. Web.
Vermont Teddy Bear (VTB) is a private company that was founded by John Sortino in 1981. It has its headquarters in Shelburne, Vermont.
At around 1990, the company almost filed for bankruptcy, however, Sortino introduced the “Bear Gram” service, which allowed customers to call a toll-free number and order a personalized teddy bear (Gogan & Lewis, 2011). This move recuperated the company. The company manufactures and markets bears, pajamas (hoodie footies), and flowers around the world. It has succeeded in establishing a global presence by marketing its products via both its one red-brick store and online platforms. This has been aided by the use of an array of technologies that comprise the use of Circle Commerce for order management and fulfillment, Platinum to handle accounting, FusionRetail for its retail store, and other small one-off applications connected by middleware (Gogan & Lewis, 2011).
The VTB organizational structure is flat and horizontal. A Board of Directors heads the company, and this is followed by the Chief Executive Officer, John Gilbert. Therefore, every move that the company makes has to be approved by both the CEO and the Board of Directors (Islam, Jasimuddin, & Hasan, 2015). The head office has several departments and departmental heads, ranging from accounts to Information Technology (IT). Each departmental head has a team of junior employees working on specific job assignments. VTB has 200 employees and occasionally hires additional temporary employees during the peak seasons, which include Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day (Gogan & Lewis, 2011). Communication at VTB is facilitated through both formal channels; for instance, in internal communication, John Gilbert often walks around the office to see how the staff is doing. He talks to employees and discusses their progress at work. On the other hand, in external communication, the company uses Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to communicate with its customers.
Customer Profile
VTB targets individuals, both locally and overseas. It targets both children and adults who take comfort in simple pleasures and are family-oriented. However, the ideal customer includes individuals 50 years and above middle-class male individuals.
IT Values
Knowledge is an essential organizational asset that enables companies to gain and maintain a competitive advantage. In the customer relationship management paradigm, the management of customer data in eCommerce is necessary, and this is facilitated by the creation and adherence to distinct IT policies (Rahimi & Kozak, 2017). With regards to VTB, an ideal IT architecture document is that which describes the network configuration, servers, data flows, and major enterprise applications (Gogan & Lewis, 2011). This is because since VTB is e-commerce, it heavily depends on IT for strategic operations. Overall, the IT architecture document in VTB was incomplete, for instance, with regards to the intellectual property rights, VTB uses “open source” CRM systems that consist of a variety of small one-off applications and software that allowed the programmers to modify their codes extensively with minimal restrictions (Gogan & Lewis, 2011).
Second, in terms of the privacy policy, VTB uses middleware, which is the black box, to translate data among different applications. Yet, it contains a substantial amount of undocumented business logic. Hence, this might compromise the privacy of data. Third, the companies used a “best-of-breed” approach to develop and acquire enterprise applications. Moreover, the presence of passwords ensured that technology access was restricted to authorized users. Fourth, VTB ensured the accuracy of the data is stored by acquiring separate enterprise resource planning packages that guarantee optimal efficiency in their given paradigm. Fifth, by embracing good password management practices and recovery mechanisms, VTB can ensure data accessibility while at the same time ensuring data security. Lastly, VTB lacks a proper data governance policy.
Internal Standards
VTB has weak internal rules and standards governing information technology. First and foremost, the IT department had not developed a formal IT process nor prepared an architecture document. Additionally, the department had haphazardly developed and installed several applications to attend to the needs of the department when there were insufficient resources. There were also poor documentation practices in that most of the essential information regarding the operation of the information systems was undocumented; hence, it could be easily lost when an employee left VTB. Lastly, some of the applications were outdated and were often edited; thus, interfering with their efficacy. Nevertheless, the department embraced good practices in password management and recovery mechanisms.
IT Vision and Mission
IT Vision
The customers of the IT department include VTB’s employees and customers. Therefore, the ideal vision of the IT department in VTB is to provide an environment that is characterized by “IT abundance,” in which IT infrastructure and services are innovative are readily available and used to provide seamless support to the company’s evolving business requirements and long-term strategic and organizational goals. By performing these functions, the IT department will enable VTB to attain a family-focused “comfort” strategy in the eyes of its customers.
IT Mission
In support of the VTB, the role of the IT department is to fulfill the business’ goals and objectives efficiently. In addition, they facilitate the day-to-day usage of employees in other departments, such as in accounting and order management, and fulfillment. Therefore, the ideal mission of the IT department in the VTB is:
To embrace the use of quality analytic tools to facilitate better data integration; thus, making it easier to coordinate marketing, forecasting, and production, and improve the stability and reliability of the eCommerce platform.
References
Gogan, J. L., & Lewis, M. (2011). Peak experiences and strategic IT alignment at Vermont Teddy Bear. Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases, 1, 61-70. Web.
Islam, M., Jasimuddin, S., & Hasan, I. (2015). Organizational culture, structure, technology infrastructure and knowledge sharing: Empirical evidence from MNCs based in Malaysia. VINE, 45(1), 67-88. Web.
Rahimi, R., & Kozak, M. (2017). Impact of customer relationship management on customer satisfaction: The case of a budget hotel chain. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 34(1), 40-51. Web.
