Organizational Structure and Planning at Shell Company - Case Study Example

Khamis Alremeithi H00155261 Professor’s name: Dr. Hernani Manolo HR Planning and Recruitment Case Study Organizational structure and planning For the attainment of the goals of every organization, the concept of planning takes a central role. It is not possible for a company to achieve its goals without applying properly this concept. Organization allows the management of the company to identify segments in which the company should invest in clearly (Carlos, 32). Most business in the world today fail because the management of these business failed in one way or the other to set their goals strategically and formulate strategic steps through which they plan to achieve these set goals. Typically, for the attainment of a company’s goal, certain specific measures must be put in place and certain dynamic steps must be taken to enable the company to achieve these goals. How the company achieves and creates these steps forms the core discussion of this paper. It is worth noting that companies are different, both in their composition, the products that they offer as well as the target markets. For this reason, each company needs to come up with a certain organizational strategy that is unique and designed specifically for that particular company. So, how does the management of a company formulate strategic moves for their company? What are the factors that they must put in place to ensure that the strategies that they come up with are best suited for their type of business and that they are in line with their business objectives. In a general response to the questions postulated in the above sentence, Teece et al stipulates that the management team must first have a focus of what they want to achieve (27). Mahoney and Pandian agree with this postulation and they add that apart from managers knowing exactly what they wish to achieve, they should also have a clear knowledge of the time frame that they wish to achieve this, have a methodology that they plan on using to achieve this and have a solid reason as to why they want to achieve this (363). Is it for the increment in profits? Or is it for achievement of a certain business advantage? In other words, business should adopt the SMART policy when creating these goals. These acronyms stand for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Result- oriented and Time bound. Specific implies that the goal is clearly defined and well written down. Measurable means that the goals should have some form of tangible evidence to show that they have a measurability concept. For instance, they should come up with figures that are designed to be measured. Result –Oriented is another factor that is used in strategic planning. Here, the managers have to come up with a strategy that measures results like employee performance and the like. Time bound largely implies that the various plans that the management of the company comes up with must be formulated within a definite timeframe and must be achieved within another set time frame. This measurement tool tracks the activities of the management by giving them feedback concerning the period of time that the goals are meant to be achieved. Technically, the application of these goals in a company management strategy will definitely facilitate the achievement of these goals. The shell upstream company strategy To show this in a typical example, this paper looks at the concept of departmentalization that has been utilized by the Shell Company in its various international branches to bring out a competitive advantage to the company. The shell company has branches in many countries in the world. The company is headed by Peter Voser who acts as the CEO of this company. The company is a multinational company and the control structure is divisional as the following paragraphs will show. The company deals largely in the refining and distribution of petroleum oil. This industry is very competitive bearing in mind that there are various players in the same business. But the fact that the Shell company has been among the pioneers of this industry, the company has managed to make a niche in the market and achieve competitive advantage over other companies providing similar products and services. However, despite having a market advantage, a company requires to be continuously innovative and creative to ensure that this advantage is protected and more business sourced (Slevin, 77; McGrath, 354). This could only be achieved through a process of strategic planning. Departmentalization is another key concept. Each key department should perform certain core functions. For instance, in Shell, there are very many different departments because of the technicalities of the product that this company handles. There are engineering departments that are present in every branch of the company across the globe. Other departments operate separately and freely such as the accounting and finance department. Departmentalization is designed to break down the production chain in such a way that every level will specialize in the activities that they know how to do best (Zaheer, 205). What is vital to note here is that these departments, though they may different in every nature, work in harmony towards the attainment of the common company goal. It is important to ensure that all the departments are in proper working conditions otherwise this would only result into chaos and loss of business. Take an example of the engineering department. If this department failed in its operations, this would mean that it would become hard for the company to produce the products. And with no product being produced, it would become impossible for the other departments to operate. In Shell Company, the various international branches act as major departments that are meant to fulfill the general goal of the company (Ruefli et al, 168). In these specific branches, there are departments that form the cog of the branch machine and these are the ones that push each specific branch to perform as required. Shell Asia organizational structure HR Strategy & Internal Communications Brief description of what this department will do – the tasks and responsibilities Each company has various departments and each department must have various roles and positions that ensure the goals of these departments, an in extension the goal of the company is achieved (Slevin 66). As the head of HR Strategy & Internal Communications department, there are a number of tasks as well as responsibilities that this department will do as the following sentences highlight. HR recruitment The department will be responsible for hiring and recruitment of new staff to the company. New staff coming into the company will pass by here as their entrant point. Training of staff New staff who have been recruited into this company will be trained through this department. The department will also offer retraining of older staff to ensure everybody is updated on contemporary issues. Disciplinary actions The department will oversee any action that pertains to lack of discipline among the employees. The department will decide what course of action to take on disciplinary cases; either, firing, suspending or transfers. The HR department will have a number of positions. Three of these positions and their roles have been outlined below. HR manager The person who holds this position will ensure that all the operations of the department run smoothly. Roles of HR manager Supervising the other employees in the department Interviewing new employees into the company Solving any disputes that may arise in the department Chairing departmental meetings Training manager Training manager ensures that all the employees coming into the company are oriented and given a clear directive of what is expected of them. Roles of the training manager Orientation of new recruits into the company Initiating retraining programs for the already existing employees Organization of team building activities for the employees. Departmental clerks These could be more than one. These clerks are responsible in the assisting the senior officers in their undertakings in the department. Role of Departmental clerks Filing Typing and document management Assistance to senior officers in capacities required of them Conclusion The discussion that has been offered in this paper from the preceding paragraphs clearly outline the various processes that management of companies apply towards the attainment of the strategic planning goals. It has been shown that lack of strategic planning is actually among the major causes of business failure in the world today. Management of companies are tasked with the prerogative to plan the future of their companies in such a way that will ensure continuity of business. A typical example has been given of Shell company in its strategic planning approach. The company has employed the concept of departmentalization as a way of specializing tasks and ensuring that every branch operates optimally and in such a manner that the ;overall goals of the company are realized. What has come out clearly is that in order for companies to achieve their set goals and objectives they must maintain a level of strategic planning to ensure that in every step of the way, the actions of the business are monitored closely and aligned to preset condition that favor business growth. Works cited Covin, Slevin. Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments Strategic Management Journal. 10.1. (1989):75–87. DOI: 10.1002/smj.4250100107 Jarillo, Carlos “On strategic networks “. Strategic Management Journal. 9.1 (1988): 31–41. DOI: 10.1002/smj.4250090104 Koch, McGrath. “IMPROVING LABOR PRODUCTIVITY: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT POLICIES DO MATTER”. Strategic Management Journal. 17.5 (1996): 335–354 DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0266(199605)17:53.0.CO;2-R Mahoney, Pandian. “The resource-based view within the conversation of strategic management”. Strategic Management Journal. 13.5 (1992): 363–380. DOI: 10.1002/smj.4250130505 Nohria, Zaheer. “Strategic networks”. Strategic Management Journal. 21.(2000): 203–221. Ruefli et al “Risk measures in strategic management research: auld lang syne?”. Strategic Management Journal. 20.2. (1999): 167–194. DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1097- 0266(199902)20:23.0.CO;2-Q Teece et al .“DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT”. Technological Know-How, Organizational Capabilities, and Strategic Management. (2008): 27-51. DOI: 10.1142/9789812834478_0002 Read More