Organisational Structures

Organisational Structures

P3 – Describe how two businesses are organised

Matrix –

The matrix structure is usually found in organisations that can deal with the special one off type of projects, also these companies can also work on several projects all at the same time.

Although while all of these projects are ongoing, they have and expert team seeing it through making sure it goes well.

 And the experts also support the major functions of the organisation, and by this I mean the financial, human resources and production.

Product –

A product structure is the way an organisation represents the parts of a product and the way they fit together and interact, also the organized levels in the detail based on the type of structure. Also this type of structure that is also used to manage the changes, testing and the problem resolution for the complex products with a large number of parts and functions.

Functional –

The functional structure is more of an organisational structure where the employees are all grouped hierarchically and then these are managed through the clear lines of authority and then only report to the only person in charge

Geographic -

The geographical structure is the way an organisation put things into a geographical units which are regional, national, and international, this means that they will need to report to one central headquarter, by doing this is administers to the core functions such as the planning and marketing.

Customer

The purpose of a structure –

Diagrammatic representation of structure (charts)-

This is a diagram that shows you the initial structure of a company, from showing who each employee has to go through to get a job done for example- you have the manager, a few deputy managers and then the workers. ASDA as six to seven layers below the CEO, this means that they have a lot of people to go through.

Divisions of work –

The divisions of work are where a company has different types of works and these are the manager, a few deputy managers and then the workers. Having these divisions at work means that the employees know, who to talk to if they need help.  

Lines of control -

This is important that they have deputy manager just in case the manager is in a meeting, and the workers need help the deputy mangers are second in line to be in charge if help if needed or if there is a problem. This also means that each layer in the structure for ASDA has a certain amount of control.

Communication –

Communication is where each layer of the structure passes on information and the changes a business may take to make the business more successful, this means also from the top layer to the bottom, everyone will find out things, having this structure will make things easy for ASDA to get information across.

Span of control –

Span on control is where each person in the structure can have control over a certain amount of people. For example for this is like a deputy manager has, a span of control over the admin sections and then the admin sections, would have a span of control over the other departments etc.

Chain of Command –

Chain of command is how many layers in a structure will need commands, for example ASDA has seven layers, this means that six of them layers will need commands.

Hierarchical structure/pyramid

This is used to show the organisation of a company from each level, it is important that the managers for ASDA are not responsible for more people than they cannot control the number of people a person can control is classed as the span of control

ASDA’s Organisational Structure -

The organisational structure ASDA has is a hierarchical style and this means, that there will be fewer people at the top of the company managing the people below. Plus this also will allow the managing directors, at the top of this chart to make the big decisions about which way the business should take next. These decisions are important and should be made by the top executives with the right experience and intelligence in this type of experience.

ASDA’S structure consists of seven layers; and these are each linked with a chain of command of six, this then means some messages may become distorted, also the CEO has authority over everyone but direct responsibility of 6 subordinates which means he has a span of 6. Also this structure is helping the company stay on top of issues and to stay organised by having one person send a direct message to everyone so everyone will know how it will need to be done on the day also each section will have one person in charge making sure they all are working and being sensible and making it look presentable.

Airedale Fisheries Organisational Structure -

 

Airedale Fisheries structure consists of one layer below the manager this means that the manager as a span control of four, this means that information can be passed through to everyone quite easily

 

 

The functional areas of ASDA

The finance department will manage the payrolls, invoices, P&L also balance sheets and the businesses performance, the finance department will also report how well the business is doing to the rest of the company departments. This will happen each day if there is any major area of concern, plus there will also be a monthly late lunch meeting for everyone in the ASDA house this then will be videoed and sent out to all of the stores.

Also the Human Resources department will work with all the different departments and will offer the training that will be needed, and will also help when recruiting the key people for the different areas. Also an example of this is the buyer may also leave a produce and then they will need to recruit someone who has an experience and knowledge about buying products.

Also the IT department will also work with all the other departments, because this department are always looking for new ways of doing things to help the business progress and move forward.

Also these people are not skilled buyers or interviewers for the business but they are also skilled in the ICT section and can fix problems and also design a new system for the whole business which they then may use.

Also the PR Department work extremely close with the press and they will let them know if there are any stories to report about ASDA, as they try to ensure that ASDA will be seen in a positive light, but this is not always possible for example when there was the big crisis over the meat.

The functional areas of Airedale Fisheries

The manager will manage the payrolls, invoices, P&L also balance sheets and the businesses performance, the manager will also report how well the business is doing to the rest if the employees.

Also the old employees will offer the training that will be needed and they are always looking for new ways of doing things to help the business progress and move forward.

Also the PR Department work extremely close with the press and they will let them know if there are any stories to report about Airedale fisheries as they try to ensure that Airedale fisheries will be seen in a positive light, but this is not always possible.

The business plan for ASDA is to sell their products to then make a profit to make the businesses more successful. Asda’s mission statement is "At ASDA, we value the trust placed in us by customers, suppliers and colleagues who give us their personal data. Data security is one of our highest priorities and we aim to be as clear as possible about what we do with personal data and why we do it."

The business plan for Airedale Fisheries is to sell their products to then make a profit to make the businesses more successful.

P4 – Explain how their style of organisation helps them to fulfil their purposes.

ASDA is a public limited company it is formally known as a PLC, they have a lot of stores across the UK, plus they sell a wide range of products, and this variety from food, toys, electronics, drinks, clothes, toiletries.

The background of ASDA started out as a group of Yorkshire Farmers and this was the beginning of ASDA in the 1920’s, also in the 1999 ASDA became more of a successful business when the parent owner brought in (WAL-Mart), in the beginning they started out from a market selling products in Leeds, but since then they grew out in to the northern area, then up to being a big based supermarket, and most successful in the European area.

The organisational structure ASDA has is a hierarchical style and this means, that there will be fewer people at the top of the company managing the people below. Plus this also will allow the managing directors, at the top of this chart to make the big decisions about which way the business should take next. These decisions are important and should be made by the top executives with the right experience and intelligence in this type of experience.

An example of this is that Andy Clarke was a regional store manager for many years until he was promoted to the main board and that is where he is now. Under Andy there are several layers of the hierarchy and “This is a relatively flat structure” Sarah Colclough – buyer at Asda “as there are thousands of people that work there and only 6 or 7 layers”

This helps ASDA fulfil there roles by having a director that is going to be responsible for each different area in the business.

 An example of this is that the customer services team is extremely important to the company so one person manages a large team in head office, or at call centres and in stores where every colleague is responsible for taking care of customers

Also the sales director is responsible for making sure that all the right products are bought for the store, although he doesn’t have change to check every individual one he knows they must ensure that the right people are buying these products. Also there are different types of buying teams that will need to focus on their area and then leave the other teams to look after their products.

Also by having this type of organisational structure it also allows each team to run in their own areas and research about them properly to help them find out about the new trends across the world and also try to be one of the first to market or offer out the best deals.

Examples of how each section of the business works will be explained below:

This will help the finance department fulfil their purpose by making sure the payrolls, invoices, P&L also balance sheets and the businesses performance, is up to date regularly and on time. The finance department will manage the payrolls, invoices, P&L also balance sheets and the businesses performance, the finance department will also report how well the business is doing to the rest of the company departments. This will happen each day if there is any major area of concern, plus there will also be a monthly late lunch meeting for everyone in the ASDA house this then will be videoed and sent out to all of the stores

 This will help the human resources department fulfil their purpose by communicating well with the other departments and making sure the training is done correctly. Also the Human Resources department will work with all the different departments and will offer the training that will be needed, and will also help when recruiting the key people for the different areas. Also an example of this is the buyer may also leave a produce and then they will need to recruit someone who has an experience and knowledge about buying products.

This will help the IT department fulfil their purpose by keeping focus and working and communicating well with the other departments. Also the IT department will also work with all the other departments, because this department are always looking for new ways of doing things to help the business progress and move forward.

Also these people are not skilled buyers or interviewers for the business but they are also skilled in the ICT section and can fix problems and also design a new system for the whole business which they then may use.

This will help the PR department fulfil their purpose by making sure the only thing the press talks about is good and also they will make sure there isn’t anything bad that can be said about ASDA.  Also the PR Department work extremely close with the press and they will let them know if there are any stories to report about ASDA, as they try to ensure that ASDA will be seen in a positive light, but this is not always possible for example when there was the big crisis over the meat.