Organization Design Puzzle and Its Application in Bega Cheese - Case Study Example

The Case of Bega Cheese Name Institution Introduction Bega Cheese is an Australian company that deals with cheese. It was established in the year 1899 and has gained recognition over the years. The company is mostly situated in rural areas and only one of its companies is not situated in the rural areas. It has opened up market in other places such as Asia. It plays a key role in dairy farming and industry on a worldwide sale by supplying processed and natural cheese. The company has doubled in size in a period of six years. It continues to create employment as it expands. The company has about 5000 employees. They owe their success to the strategies they have put forth in running the organization. Their core strategy dwells on managing capital and cash in a disciplined way (Samson, 2008). This means that they are able to seize opportunities once they rise. It has an IPO certificate which it received in 2011. This means that it is a certified company. This essay is a case study of the company. It explains what the organization design puzzle and its application in Bega Cheese. Lastly, the essay will give recommendations on the necessary procedures that Bega Cheese should engage in for it to last long. Organization Design Organization refers to the process of bring together people and resources with the aim of achieving goals by working together. Organization design is a strategic plan that is vital in propelling a business to success. It helps in delivering success and performance. Organizational design refers to the change or creation of the structures in an organization. Changing structures within an organization reflects the abilities of that organization to respond to new changes in the market. It also reflects their abilities to incorporate new and up to date elements (Cummings, 2014). Change of structure helps in ensuring that the company can collaborate with others and that it is flexible. Organizing an organization is not an easy task. It requires strategic planning. Once a business has come up with a plan, the next thing they should is to make the plan happen. There are two important forms of business structures. They are organic and mechanistic. An organization should have a design that comprises of two primary dimensions. The first dimension involves understanding the various contexts from which the business is projected to perform. It is referred to as contextual aspect. The second dimension involves applying the considerations of the context to different structures and formulating a changed or new business model. Organization design is basically meant to ensure that organization is able to last for long and compete with emerging competitors (Graetz, 2012). There are so many changes that occur every day. Technology has brought along these changes. Organizations should be dynamic and need to embrace technological and other changes. OD Contingency Factors for Bega Cheese OD contingency factors refer to provisions that organizations make to cover future expenses they may incur. They influence an organization’s tactical, contingency, operational and strategic planning. An average company’s structure comprises of an overabundance of eventuality factors. Contingency or eventuality factors play a key role in defining structures within a business. Bega Cheese like any other company has a multitude of eventuality factors. The company has five main contingency factors. They include size and age of the company, technology, HR, environment and strategy (Altman, 2013). The age of the organization refers to the stages in years that the organization goes through. Organizations are like human beings. They have to go through different stages of life or different cycles in their period of existence. Bega cheese has undergone through four life stages. The first one is birth stage. This is the stage at which the company was founded. The company was founded in the year 1899. At this stage, the decisions were entirely made by its founder. It was an informal business without any specialized structures. The second stage is youth. This is the stage at which Bega began to grow. It started to hire employees to work for it. Decision making in Bega cheese at this stage was the responsibility of the owner. However, the owner would share the role of making decisions with a few people close to him. Bega Cheese then evolved to the third stage which is midlife. At this stage it started to experience rapid growth. At this stage, the company started to have extensive rules, policies, systems and regulations to guide its employees. It started hiring professionals and set up systems of control. The company also decentralized its tasks. Bega Cheese at its midlife delegated its authority to the various departments. The last stage is maturity. This is the stage of stability in the company at its enormous size (Codita, 2011). All the necessary factors of a business at this stage are already in place. Bega cheese is not only and old company but it is also large. It has close to five thousand employees The second contingency factor is technology. This refers to the skills, methods of work and equipments that are used to transform outputs and inputs (Plunkett, 2007). Bega Cheese has engaged in productive technology methods that help in ensuring its success. One of its technological skills is managing capital and success using strong and reliable balance sheets. The company also has a research team that conducts research in the market on new needs. The company has invested in high quality automatic machines that aid in its production. The company engages in mass manufacturing of products. The third contingency factor is strategy. The company has formulated strategies based on its mission, vision and strategic objectives. Bega Cheese’s strategies are oriented on growth. Its strategies are meant to ensure that it is inventive and flexible to changes in the outside environment (Samson, 2008). The company tries to adapt to changes in the market by relying on their own market findings. Their marketing department has been tasked with making findings on customer needs in the domestic market and in other regions that they operate from. The company also partners with other companies with the aim of facilitating their growth. The fourth contingency factor is the environment. The environment plays a great impact when it comes to making decisions in an organization (Neubert, 2008). The predictability and stability of the environment from which Bega Cheese operates from has had a bearing on their capability to function efficiently. Bega has been able to adapt to changes in the environment by being responsive and flexible. The organization also responds to rapid changes in the environment by ensuring there is coordination. Its departments coordinate in a way that ensures that they can adapt to changes in the market. The last contingency factor is HR. Employees are regarded as contingency or eventuality factors. They are vital in ensuring that the company achieves success. Bega Cheese has provided its employees with the necessary structures and resources they need to achieve their goals. It boosts of an excellent working environment. Decisions are made out of consultations with employees. Bega Cheese should adopt a mechanistic OD. Bega Cheese is an old organization. The older an organization is, the more mechanistic it should be (Bass, 2009). A mechanistic OD is predictable and effective. It is suitable for the company due to a number of reasons. Their tasks are stable and defined. They have specialized in products from dairy farming. Their tasks are also programmable. Employees perform tasks in an environment that is well defined and have routines. The company also engages in large production of similar products. They produce various products, but each product is produced in mass quantities. This makes their OD mechanic. Their OD is also mechanistic owing to its large size. Recommendations to the CEO Bega Cheese There are a number of things that the CEO Bega Cheese needs to engage in to survive in the long run. A good business should have strategies that can enable it to withstand times. It should be able to meet the needs of their customers as it adapts to changes in the market. Bega Cheese should be dynamic and flexible. It should have systems that freely interact with their environment. Bega Cheese should be able to change and evolve as times change. I think that the CEO Bega Cheese should pay attention to change. Change refers to the process of becoming accustomed to shifting situations. Change is inevitable in organizations that want to grow and last long (Rabin, 2000). The company should have an open minded structure that avails the necessary tools for explanations of general impediments and patterns. The CEO should pay a lot of attention to response and integrate the feedback. This is important and will help in ensuring that the company does not proceed with inflexible ideas of how transformation or change should take place. The company may look to expand its market in other countries. It should be ready to meet the demands of their customers. Demands may vary depending on the region or needs in the market. The company should be prepared to shift their attention to new demands. The CEO of Beta Cheese should also pay attention to loops and links. This refers to the various elements that connect the company. The company is a loop and comprises of a number of links that reinforce each other mutually. The company for example, has to rely on other companies and suppliers. A decline in the quality of their products can be as a result of failure in several links. Loops and links are important considerations for the CEO. He or she has to ensure that there is effective connection between the various elements in the company. This is important because it will ensure there is success and that the company produces quality products (Rabin, 2000). Successful loops and links also help in retaining customers since their acquire quality services or products. The CEO should, thus, pay a lot of attention to loops and links. He or she should pay extra care of loops and links when opening new branches or when venturing into new markets. The CEO should pay attention to both system and environment boundaries in the organization. Organizations have boundaries within them that are shared by the systems. Organizations interact on a daily basis with their environment. However, there are boundaries that exist between the environment and the organization. The CEO should ensure that his boundary is permeable or able to allow flow of information from outside and inside the company. It should ensure that its culture is flexible enough to enable employees adjust their expectations and behavior depending on the needs of customers. The boundaries are important because they ensure that the company will interact with its environment positively and cordially (Cummings, 2014). Organization or business learning is another factor that the CEO should pay attention to. A dynamic organization has to engage in business learning for it to change effectively. The different systems in the organization should involve themselves in learning processes. They should then build on the newly acquired information by spreading it across the organization. The CEO should ensure that the company engages in learning when introducing products. He should also ensure that the company is able to identify and avail opportunities for its employees to grow. This will ensure that the employees are more knowledgeable and can assist the organization (Codita, 2011). The company should also ensure that their employees gain new knowledge on current issues or changes in the market. New technological equipments for example, may be introduced in the market. Employees, thus, need to have knowledge on how to operate the equipments. It is the duty of the CEO to pay attention to such kind of learning that may empower the company. The CEO should pay attention to technological needs in the market. Technology plays a crucial role in organizations. It helps in making work easier and meeting the needs of customers. Technology keeps on changing depending on the market needs (Neubert, 2008). The CEO should ensure that the company is up to date with the different technological innovations. This will help in ensuring success because this will optimize production. The CEO should pay attention to the various environmental factors that influence the business. He or she should ensure that he takes into consideration cultural practices. They help in shaping organizational ethics. The CEO should also pay attention to factors that influence the economy. Economic factors affect the ability of the company to prosper and grow. The CEO should, thus, pay attention to them. He or she should also pay attention to the political and legal systems in an environment. This is important because political and legal systems play an important part in ensuring that there is lasting stability and ensures that the company enjoys security (Rabin, 2000). The CEO should lastly ensure that the company hires an educated task force that is able to meet the various needs of the company. Employees should be up to date with the different innovations in technology. They should be knowledgeable in their areas of work. This will ensure that the company is able to achieve its goals and meets the various needs of its customers. The CEO should also pay attention to aspects that are viewed as vital in the organization. He or she should be able to pay attention to the limitations that may limit the company. This is important as it will assist in analyzing any emerging problems. He or she will be able to identify problems that have a direct bearing to the company. The CEO should also pay attention to future business projections. He/ she should analyze all the available trends in the market and their implications. This will help in coming up with solutions to problems and demands. It also helps in increasing quality (Altman, 2013). Conclusion Bega Cheese, an Australian Company, has made key strides in its existence. It was founded in 1899 and has withstood the test of time. It continues to grow and has opened branches in other countries such as Asia. The company has invested in various strategies that have propelled it to success. It has an OD structure that has ensured the company withstands the test of time and keeps on providing quality services to its customers. The OD structure also helps the company in meeting the needs of its customers. Organizational design refers to the change or creation of structures in an organization (Bass, 2009). The company has five main contingency factors. They include size and age of the company, technology, HR, environment and strategy. Organizations are like human beings. They have to undergo change as they grow up. Bega Cheese has undergone change over the years. It has grown into a big company. It has also invested in technology. The company has over the years adapted to the demands and changes in the environment. However, the CEO has to pay attention to quite a number of things. Change is one of them. He should also pay attention to boundaries, technological needs, learning, important aspects in the company, environmental factors, loops and links. Paying attention to the above factors is important in ensuring that the company is able to meet future needs and last long. References Samson, D. (2008). Operations Management. New York: Pantheon. Graetz, F. (2012). Managing Organisational Change. New York: Lea and Blanchard. Codita, R. (2011). Contingency Factors of Marketing-Mix Standardization. Massachusetts: McGraw Hill. Altman, S. (2013). Organizational Behavior. Theory and Practice. Massachusetts: McGraw Hill. Burton, R. (2004). Strategic Organizational Diagnosis and Design. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Neubert, Mitchell. (2008). Management: Current Practices and New Directions. New York: New York University Press. Plunkett, W. (2007). Management: Meeting and Exceeding Customer Expectations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Plunkett, W. (2012). Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Bass, R. (2009). The Bass Handbook of Leadership. New York: Pantheon. Rabin, J. (2000). Handbook of Strategic Management. New York: Routledge. Cummings, T. (2014). Organization Development and Change. London: Routledge. Read More