Introduction
A company organizational structure is basically consist of tasks as well as reports on relation that enables the company to control its operations, coordinate its duties and motivate the employees with an aim of achieving a common objective.( Ball, D., McCulloch Jr., W., Geringer, J., Minor, M., & McNett, J. 2005). In total, there are five to eight types of organization structures which can be chosen by any company. Each and every company has a unique way of choosing organization structures to meet its operation. When any company wants to choose any structure, the management looks at every department and their relationship in order to ensure maximum production.
Some of the factors which depend on the type of organization structure are its strategy and objectives. In many organizations, the top management makes a lot of decisions and has control over departments and division. But in some companies the structure is decentralized in that the management is distributed among the departments according to their geographical locations. . (Ball, D., McCulloch Jr., W., Geringer, J., Minor, M., & McNett, J. 2005)
In this paper, I am going to discuss the organization structure of wal-mart supermarket. Moreover, I will compare it with that of uniliver and starbucks.
Wal-mart supermarket has three product division structures. These include international stores and the two in U.S. (Mohr, B. 2002). The international stores gives the company a lot of income and it is also responsible for many restaurants and stores which include Wal-Mart and Sam’s club which is found in thirteen countries as well as Puert Rico. This type of structure favors wal-mart because it allows each branch to run its affairs independently .This allows these branches to focus on their goals such customers, products and service. Another advantage is that it allows wal-mart branches to point out any problem and make decisions on how to adjust that problem. . (Ball, D., McCulloch Jr., W., Geringer, J., Minor, M., & McNett, J. 2005).
The first branch to be opened by wal-mart was in Mexico. This company decided to use joint venture and this really helped them to cope with the cultural differences in Mexico. Also it gave room for wal-mart to learn many things in international market. They received different cultural advice as well as new ways of attracting customers. For instance they provided a big parking area since many people drove buses to the stores. (Mohr, B. 2002). They learnt that because of the high altitude, some goods could not do well. They developed a system of using their vehicles to drive people to and from the stores to different locations.
Recently, the starbucks has changed its organization structure in order to meet the customers’ needs. This entails expanding their matrix structure to operate under four U.S divisions. These four divisions include Western/Pacific, Northwest/Mountain, Southeast/Plains and finally Northeast/Atlantic. (George, J. and Jones, G. 2005). Just like wal-mart, starbucks also enjoys some of the advantages of using this kind of organizational structure. This type of structures gives room for maximum communication channels which is very vital in any organization. Under this structure, starbucks will be in apposition to produce products which appeal in the eyes of its customers. Another advantage is that these structures provide a continued support functions to each and every department and they share both the vision and goals in the four U.S divisions and their international branches.
The first time starbucks ventured into international market is 1995 when they opened their first coffee house in Japan. Their structure encourages good relation which has really helped them to work in different foreign countries. The management of the company got interested in Japan because of its large population and the ability of the consumers to spend. The company had its structure changed in order to meet the requirements of the Japanese culture by creating good environment for smoking in order to enjoy their coffee. (Mohr, B. 2002).The management of the starbucks came to understand the complications in working in the East and west. They sold their goods due to the fact that the Japanese had strong interest in the U.S products. The company understood the global market and the interest which the Japanese had in them made the company to prosper. (Mohr, B. 2002).
Another common organizational structure is represented by unilever. They used the hybrid type of organizational structure. This particular company operates with five functional segments, two product portions and three divisional regions. (Mohr, B. 2002).Unilever chooses to use this type of organization structure in order to improve communication among its branches and to maximize its sales through available resources. Generally Unilever Company organizes its structure in a top down manner. This means that after the top executives have made a decision then it is passed down to the management team. (Mohr, B. 2002).At times one might assume that the organization structure used by the unilever is not visible but looking at how the information is passed from top to down then you realize that its works.
Unilever started to venture in the international market through exporting goods. They did a research and found out that in order to use fewer resources to venture into the international market, they decided to start exporting to Africa. They produce sunlight as the first soap to be wrapped and branded. (George, J. and Jones, G. 2005). They decided to make work easier by establishing a soap company in different countries. Unilever grew so fast in that by 1960’s it has expanded in many African countries. Unilever had their products readily accepted and this also contributed a lot in popularizing them.
After studying the structure of these international companies, I strongly recommend that wal-mart adopt the geographic organization structure. This structure will allow the management teams in home countries to concentrate on their local duties as the company expands in the other regions. This type of structure is highly personalized and this will help them to grow well in their new ventures. (George, J. and Jones, G. 2005).Moreover, exporting is a good way for wal-mart to know their performance in the international market. This will help them to know their strengths and weaknesses internationally. Through exportation, wal-mart will be in a position to venture or reach the countries in which they cannot manufacture their products.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is very vital to put in place a very good organization structure for the company to perform. Organization structure can be practiced in portions and each department has a role to play. (George, J. and Jones, G. 2005). It is also important to put in place the organization structure early enough such that as the company grows it strengthens its structure.
References
Ball, D., McCulloch Jr., W., Geringer, J., Minor, M., & McNett, J. (2005). International Business: The Challenge of Global Competition. . London: McGraw-Hill.
George, J. and Jones, G. (2005). Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Mohr, B. (2002). Explaining Organizational Behavior. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
