Exporting Spanish Jamon Business - Coursework Example

Management work Part Question Identifying the business to be conducted. The business is exporting Spanish Jamon to the United Kingdom (UK), with the ultimate goal of expanding operations to include the rest of Europe and the world. In this case, a gap for the supply of Spanish Jamon in the UK was identified – and given the business management background – it was determined that supply of Spanish Jamon in the UK would fill this gap and act as a business opportunity. Thus, the proposed business is Spanish Jamon supply and distribution in the UK with the aim of making a profit. Question 2: The business goals. The major goal for the proposed business is to turn a profit.The other goals to be realized by the proposed business will be: Being the largest supplier of Spanish Jamon to the UK, within the first 5 years of operation. Having 25% of the Spanish Jamon market share in the UK within the first 3 years of operation. Have a presence in all the country’s major cities within 10 years of operations. Increasing annual income by 15% for the first 4 years of operation. Hiring 10 personnel to handle the sales and marketing aspects of the business. Part 2. Question 1 and 2: Organizational diagram for the business goals, showing time and space considerations. The goals achievement diagram has been presented in figure 1. Figure 1. Goals with time scales and milestones Question 3: Organizational structures Wheel organizational structure The wheel organizational structure is organized around the top manager. In this case, the structure is commonly applied in small business entities that have a solitarypracticalgoal. For instance, a family owned restaurant that employs 6 personnel and only operates one branch. The structure is characterized by the topmost manager – usually the proprietor or largest shareholder – having little, if not lacking, confidence in the ability of lower level managers to perform their duties; the topmost manager is involved in all aspects of decision making. For that matter, the top level manager oversees all aspects of the business such that any work not done they end doing it(see figure 2). In essence, no business decision can be arrived at without the topmost manager’s direct input (Aquinas, 2008, pp. 190-192). Figure 2. Wheel organizational structure The wheel organization structure has a number of advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include: allows the topmost manager to develop a depth of skills for all the business functions – most business functions are practical in nature; promotes practical innovation and scale in the workplace, and lowers costs; and simplifies accountability since each personnel is aware of their responsibilities. On the other hand, the disadvantages include: the business functions could be counterproductive if they present diversemeasures and priorities; placing emphasis on the business functionsover the customers’ needs; and high probability of middle level managers functions breaking down since they are unclear about their role (Aquinas, 2008, p. 192; Pride, Hughes and Kapoor, 2011, p. 201). Traditional/divisional organizational structure The divisional organizational structure is organized around major programs undertaken by the company. In this case, the programs are defined as economic and customers’ distinct plans since the resources used by the different programs maybe different. For that matter, the structure could be organized around the customers or products. In addition, the structure places emphasis on division such that each division could be a different company (see figure 3). For instance, an electronics company that manufactures household appliances could structure its organization to reflect the different products that the company manufactures (Kortman, 2011, p. 12). Figure 3. Traditional/divisional organizational structure Product approach This product approach presents a number of advantages that include:promotes product understanding and improvement; allocates resources as needed; facilitates accountability that is results oriented; and program orientation in terms of funding. Conversely, the approach presents a number of disadvantages that include: requires highly skilled program managers; increases the possibility of duplicating business functions and losing control; difficulty in coordinating customers across different programs; and possibility of a heterogeneous organization(Kortman, 2011, pp. 12-13). Customer approach The customer approach presents a number of advantages that include: development of programs that tailored to customers’ needs; clear focus on accountability; and focus on the more profitable customer groups. Conversely, the approach presents a number of disadvantages that include: need for highly skilled managers; likelihood for duplicating functions and losing control; and duplication for clients who have similar product needs (Kortman, 2011, pp. 13-14). Basic unit organizational structure The basic unit organizational structure is organized around regions. It is commonly applied by companies that operate across different geographical regions. The structure is characterized by contained unit managers who are responsible for bottom line results, bonus decisions and recruitment in their departments (see figure 4) (Slawskyand Zafar, 2005, p. 19). Figure 4. Basic unit organizational structure The basic unit organizational structure has a number of advantages that include: presence of resources within the region; regional profiling of customers and customization of products; enables results accountability by region; and enables emphasis on regional funding. It also presents a number of disadvantages include: need for a highly skilled regional manager(s); likelihood of duplication across different regions; likelihood of regions differing; confusion over decision making structures; and heterogeneous company (Gitman and McDaniel, 2008, pp. 190-195; Slawskyand Zafar, 2005, p. 19). Matrix organizational structure The matrix organizational structure is organized to simultaneously manage numerous organization aspects. In this case, the business is organized using matrix that applies all functions equally, and has a strong management structure and center. For that matter, the structure focuses on internal coordination of functions, such that it is slow to respond to market needs – though the response is very strong when it is initiated –, and is unaware of either losses or gains by regions or customers (see figure 5).The structure is characterized by a network that illustrates a two-dimensional view of company management responsibility and authority that filters downwards and sideways across the structure. In this way, the managers can look across the company to access resources thereby facilitating practical and economic advantages (Dlabay, Burrow andKliendl, 2008, p. 118; Fiore, 2005, pp. 80-82). Figure 5. Matrix organizational structure The matrix organizational structure is applied in companies that require teams to work on functions. For instance, a construction company would apply the structure since it allows them oversee the different aspects of the same construction project. The personnel are seconded from different parts of the company for the duration of the project, but once the project is complete the team will be disbanded and personnel will go back to their different units. The team could be reformed for another project. In addition, more than one project may be running concurrently. For instance, an engineering company may be constructing a high-rise, bridge and hotel in different locations at the same time (Gaspar, 2005, pp. 180-185). The matrix organizational structure has one major advantage that is;facilitating the simultaneous management of the different aspects of the company. On the other hand, the disadvantages include: impreciseaccountability and decision-making; supervision structure is unclear; and diffusion of performance and results accountability (Chang, 2005, p. 34). Question 4: Diagram to organize 50-100 personnel The presented organizational structure applies a basic unit organizational structure. That has a central chief executive office who coordinates the activities of the personnel in the different regions within the UK. At inception the company would operate in London city with 11 personnel (including the proprietor). At this point the company would apply the wheel organizational structure. This is because the company is a start-up, has a small number of personnel – only 10 personnel employed – and is operated from a central location. But after two years when the company has met its goals for the time period and had a presence in the whole UK, it would change its organizational structure to allow for more management autonomy. Figure 6. Organizational diagram for the company after two years of operation. Question 5: Advantages the selected organizational structure over others The basic unit organizational structure has a number of advantages that include: presence of resources within the region; regional profiling of customers and customization of products; enables results accountability by region; and enables emphasis on regional funding. First, organization by region would allow the different regional heads to adopt business models and resources that best aided them in meeting the business goals. For instance, a region that has access to a port would use the port services to transport goods while an inland region that has access to goods-train services would use the train to transport its goods. Second, regional profiling of customers and customization of products would allow the region to determine how best to address the customer needs and as a result realize higher revenues, profit margins, market shares and customer numbers. For instance, a region that handles an urban population would be expected to apply a business model that differed from a region handling a predominantly rural population. Third, results accountability by region would easily identify the regions in terms of performance and facilitate management efforts. For instance, a region that has dropping revenues would easily be identified. Fourth, emphasis on regional funding would allocate resources where they are anticipated to make the most returns. For instance, a region that experiences product shortages would need an investment in the acquisition of more products while a region regional that reported product surpluses would require an offloading of the surpluses. Conversely, the adopted organizational structure would present a number disadvantages that include: need for a highly skilled regional managers; likelihood of duplication across different regions; likelihood of regions differing; confusion over decision making structures; and heterogeneous company. The first disadvantage – need for a highly skilled regional managers – would be addressed by hiring skilled personnel and ensuring that they are well trained in handling their duties. In addition, best practice sharing would be encouraged. The second disadvantage – likelihood of duplication across different regions – would be addressed by creating a hybrid structure hat monitored regional functions and identified duplications. The third disadvantage – likelihood of regions differing – would be addressed by determining that all common processes and functions would be carried out in a standardized way. The fourth disadvantage – confusion over decision making structures – would be addressed by establishing explicit decision making structures. The final disadvantage – heterogeneous company – would be addressed by developing and reinforcing common culture elements in the whole company. Bibliography Aquinas, P. 2008. Organizational structure and design: Application and challenges. New Delhi: Excel Books India. Chang, J., 2005. Business process management systems: Strategy and implementation. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press. Dlabay, L., Burrow, J. and Kleindl, B., 2008. Intro to Business. Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. Fiore, F., 2005. Write a business plan in no time. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Que Publishing. Gaspar, J., 2005. Introduction to business. Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. Gitman, L. and McDaniel, C., 2008. The future of business: The essentials. Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. Kortman, S., 2012. The relationship between organizational structure and organizational ambidexterity. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Science & Business Media. Pride, W., Hughes, R. and Kapoor, J., 2011. Business. Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning. Slawsky, J. and Zafar, S., 2005. Developing and managing a successful cards business. Farnham: Gower Publishing. Read More