Management- Organisational Analysis Report
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The objective of this study is to evaluate an Australian organisation with over 100 employees. The organisation that has been selected for the evaluation is ‘BHP Billiton’. The central theme of this study is to diagnose BHP’s structure, human resource and symbolic frame.
The structure frame focuses on revealing the organisational chart. Through the organisational chart, the complexity along with the organisational level has been evaluated within the study. The study also encompasses the coordination of activities within the organisation, while identifying the coordination mechanism within the organisation.
The human resource frame entails the perception of the employees regarding their work along with the factors that motivate them to work day and night for the accomplishment of organisational goals. In addition, the human resource frame also considers the extent of problems within the workforce that resulted in employee lateness, absenteeism and turnover. The relationship between the managers and employees has also been taken into consideration to evaluate the atmosphere within the organisation. Lastly, the human resource framework considers the opportunities provided to the employees as well as the efforts to cooperate with one another.
The symbolic frame tends to identify the organisation’s most potent symbols and how these symbols are represented within the organisation. In addition, the symbolic frame also entails the major organisation’s rituals and traditions along with the frequency of the mentioned rituals. Lastly the concept of impression management has been evaluated in relation to the external stakeholders.
2.0 BHP BILLITON
With an aim to create long-term relationship with the stakeholders, BHP Billiton focuses on the discovery, acquisition, development and marketing of natural resources. As a result, the organisation has been provided with several opportunities to enhance the shareholder’s value from time to time. Being a leading resource group company, BHP Billiton has acknowledged the importance of shareholder values. Similarly, the company considers its human resource to be the most crucial factor that fuels the growth and success of the organisation. To show the company’s commitment towards the workforce, BHP continually strives to achieve diversity at all the levels of organisation.
Being headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, BHP Billiton is acknowledged as one of the largest producers of major commodities. The major commodities that is produced by BHP include aluminium, energy coal, metallurgical coal, copper, manganese, iron ore, uranium, nickel, silver and titanium minerals. For the production of all the major commodities, BHP has setup its operations in 25 countries across the globe with over 100 locations. With nine businesses, BHP was able to report net operating cash flow of $30.1 billion and revenue of $71.7 billion for the year 2011. The year 2012 was quite profitable for the company. In the year 2012, the company reported net operating cash flow of $24.4 billion with revenue of $72.2 billion. To accomplish all desired goals and objectives, BHP had 100,000 employees and contractors working in the 100 locations across the globe in the year 2011 which significantly increased to 125,000 employees within just a year i.e. 2012 (BHP, 2013a).
BHP Billiton is a purely Australian company due to which BHP is listed primarily on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in Australia, followed by premium listing on London Stock Exchange (LSE) in UK. Additionally, BHP is listed secondarily on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa (BHP, 2013a).
3.0 STRUCTURAL FRAME ANALYSIS
BHP Billiton was created through the merger of BHP Limited (BHP Billiton Limited) and Billiton Plc (BHP Billiton Plc) due to which both the companies have identical board of members. This clearly reflects that the BHP Billiton works under the supervision of a single management team. Being a Dual Listed Company, the organisational structure is as follows;
(The Official Board, 2013)
BHP Billiton is structured in such a way that it focuses on enhancing its functional expertise, while taking into consideration the accountability of the workforce. The functional division of BHP Billiton includes (BHP, 2013a):
Operations – the function of this particular division is to develop and convert the resources into final products to deliver the strategy to great extent. With 9 businesses at work, BHP Billiton has acquired unique diversification across the markets and geographic locations it operates in.
Marketing – the marketing function of the group ensures the continuous flow of revenue line. The marketing function with an aim to enhance the revenue line depends highly on the sales along with the movement of products from the organisation’s division to the market. One the dominant responsibility of the marketing functions includes the procurement of traded commodity inputs to the operations with an aim to transform the inputs into valuable goods and products.
Group Function – this division works under the direct supervision of Group Management Committee. This core responsibility of this division is to ensure that BHP Billiton continually meets the governance and assurance requirements along with the activities that could help in making the business effective and efficient.
With significant layers of management in earlier years, the organisation witnessed tremendous misalignment between the strategic and managerial leadership. With greater emphasis on operational excellence, BHP Billiton removed a layer of management that eventually brought the operations closer to the CEO. As a result, BHP Billiton was able to ensure crystal clear alignment between the strategic and managerial leadership. This reflects that the restructuring of BHP’s organisational chart in recent years have made the operations nearer to the top management. With few organisational layers in BHP Billiton, the CEO has been provided with an ability to keep closer watch over the operations while focusing significantly on operational excellence (Swanepoel, 2013).
With a complex functional division within BHP Billiton, the organisation uses a hybrid mechanism to coordinate the activities. The mechanism that is taken into consideration for the coordinate the activities is as follows;
Operations – the operation functions operates under the guidance provided by the top management to some extent. Due to the nature of the operations, each business department tends to deviate from the instructions provided by the top management by considering the environment along with several other factors.
Marketing – being the dominant source of revenue line, the marketing function of BHP Billiton follows centralised marketing structure. With the centralised marketing structure, the company is provided with an ability to create long-term market fundamentals. In addition, the coordination of marketing activities has helped the company to respond proactively to the changes in the marketplace (BHP, 2013b).
Group Function – this division works under the strict instructions provided by the Group Management Committee to ensure that the organisation continually meets the governance requirements to significantly enhance the overall effectiveness.
5.0 HUMAN RESOURCE FRAME ANALYSIS
Being the largest and the greatest organisation in Australia, the employees at BHP Billiton are considered to be its foundation that helps in the profitable accomplishment of desired goals and objectives. To motivate the workforce, BHP Billiton continually values its people. In addition, the training and development of the workforce plays a dominant role in the motivation. As a result, the organisation has continually witnessed significant increase in the performance and growth of the organisation’s diverse operations.
The acknowledgement of workforce as the foundation of BHP Billiton has provided the organisation with an ability to strive for the creation of purpose while uniting the people to work towards the common goal. In addition, the diversity management at BHP Billiton has significantly enhanced the motivation level of the employees. With people from all around the world within the workforce, the organisation has witnessed significant rise in the level of motivation as each of the employee is provided respect and humility within the workforce. The challenging role played by the employee within such complex industry also motivates the employee to enhance his/her performance to enhance the organisation’s ability to gain competitive edge over others. This clearly reflects that both intrinsic and extrinsic factors help in the motivation of the workforce to help BHP Billiton to achieve its desired goals and objectives profitably.
(BHP, 2013c)
The complexity of the work has resulted in the creation of team. The employees at BHP Billiton work in teams to enhance the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the business. Although, the teams are supervised by the senior members but working in team provides the employees with several opportunities to coordinate and cooperate with one another to accomplish the tasks in the predefined time period. In addition, the employees are also provided with several opportunities to participate. With a predefined tenure, the employees are shifted from one destination to another. This significantly provides the employees to move up the rank and play an important role.
6.0 SYMBOLIC FRAME ANALYSIS
Organisational culture is depicted by many variables with some of them being language, stories, materials and symbols etc. Organisations input significant efforts to develop the culture that inculcates the positive energy within the organisation and at the same time enables it to reflect the organisation’s attitude towards business and human resource. Symbols that used in organisations are silent language that speaks much louder than the words. Among various symbols that are used in BHP Billiton is the combination of written and pictorial representation. Some of the symbols are presented below:
(BHP, 2011)
(BHP, n.d.)
The written content of the symbol states that BHP Billiton is an organisation that is aimed at resourcing the future. The symbolic written content also declares that company considers its human resource as its future (as depicted in the image one). Human capital being in the foreground and background of the picture showing technical side of the business asserts the consideration level that business bestows to its people for its operations. BHP Billiton stated in the sustainability report 2011 that cover photo (Image one in the underlying doc) reflects that that business requires to develop its people with capacity and capability to achieve the organisational objective while in line with the sustainability standards or organisational operations (BHP, 2011).
Report from McKinsey stated that BHP Billiton’s chairman had sheer understanding that rituals of giving financials compensation for every factor do not buy loyalty of the employees. He is further quoted that it is the liking, belongingness and career growth at the workplace that keeps employees motivated to be associated with the organisation (Cosack, Hourihan, Lawson, and Merschen, 2010). Being in high tech-field based industry, the company understands the bonding that employees on field specifically develop with each other. Therefore, it has given special attention to the pre-retirement phase of the employees where employees are provided assistance in overcoming the anxiety of moving from wage to pension and high activity to low physical activity lifestyle. Program entitled Employee Assistance Program initiated in 1998 in Columbia where entire families of the employees’ to retire within five years are prepared for this new phase of life. The program is frequency is based on the feasibility of the company and concludes with the ritual of retirement ceremony where employees are fully prepared to make the new phase of life productive (BHP, 2009).
Considerable attention given to employees has developed uplifting stories about employees working in BHP Billiton. For example, BHP gives immense consideration to the diversity and provision of environment where diverse people turn into one like-minded team driven by observation and detail (BHP, 2007; 2013d).
Stories all across the BHP are about team that is ready for taking up challenges by sharing values, caring for each other, enthusiastic about exploring new destination and minerals, seeking information and belonging to a company that offers great value to their career (BHP, 2013d). Hence, people at BHP Billiton are bonded with uplifting stories of values that are centred at providing world with best possible mineral resources by being part of best place to work.
BHP Billiton has done significant contribution for impressive impressions on the external stakeholders. Among many dimension three of them includes effective diversity management, corporate social responsibility and attraction to potential employees’. One of the best examples is cited by the Manager Mining Production at Mining Area C of Jessica Barber. Lady, formally working with the consulting company in Canada, got attracted to be part of BHP on invitation by of colleague (who had been working at BHP Billiton) to visit and see the well coordinated team at BHP. Similarly, the impressions are also asserted in almost all the formal documents of BHP where coordinated diversity is well reflected. Additionally, BHP has constantly been investing in CSR activities across all areas of its business.
7.0 CONCLUSION
The success of BHP Billiton over period of years can be well regarded as the effective management of human resources around operational and cultural factors. In addition to building strengths in areas of operation, BHP‘s organisational framework, human resource and the cultural side has also developed strengths. The organisational structure is shuffled by the new head to draw the "laser-like focus" for the achievement of strategic objectives. Andrew Mackenzie, the new CEO undertook the reshuffle of the top management in order to bring operational level in closer connection with the CEO (Swanepoel, 2013). This reshuffle has also brought the critical leadership to the critical positions in the organisation. Hence, retaining capacity to simplify the organisational structure without undergoing organisation-wide chaos is one of the biggest strengths of the organisation. This will significantly contribute in organisation’s ability to reap improved profitability as the boom period the commodity price has become extinct (Maiden, 2013).
Similarly, Human resource strength is availed by developing skilled, experienced and diversified workforce as reflected in the image (wheel in human resource part). This enables BHP to gain the best of recommendation from far and wide. Change in the organisational structure also refers that growth potential for employees in BHP has also increased.
Finally, in terms of silent language BHP appears to have developed impressive management of symbols all across the company. Employees at BHP in the tough nature of job still enjoy the passion to explore minerals and provide world with best minerals option in a sustainable way. Considerate environment for employees that attracts potential talent to work in the organisation along with developing successful mix of diverse people are among the biggest strengths of BHP.
All these strengths compliment to the operational success of the organisation and directs towards increasing profitability. Hence, the claim of BHP Billiton of taking excellent human resource as its future is well implemented on grounds as well.
List of References
The Official Board. (2013). BHP Billiton. Available from http://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/bhp-billiton [Accessed 4 October 2013]
Swanepoel, E. (2013). BHP reveals new management structure. Available from http://www.miningweekly.com/article/bhp-reveals-new-management-structure-2013-04-18 [Accessed 4 October 2013]
Maiden, M. (2013). Sweeping changes at BHP. Available from http://www.smh.com.au/business/sweeping-changes-at-bhp-20130418-2i232.html [Accessed 4 October 2013]
Cosack, S., Hourihan, N., Lawson, E., and Merschen, J. (2010). How do I retain and motivate my key people during organizational change? McKinsey & Company. Available from http://mld.mckinsey.com/downloads/centers/How_do_I_retain_and_motivate_my_key_people_during_organizational_change.pdf [Accessed 4 October 2013]
BHP. (n.d.). BHP Billiton – resourcing the future. Available from http://www.bhpbilliton.com/home/people/faq/Documents/BHP%20Billiton_%20Bursary%20Program%20Brochure.pdf [Accessed 4 October 2013]
BHP. (2013d). Global workplace, unique opportunities. Available from http://www.bhpbilliton.com/home/people/workplace/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed 4 October 2013]
BHP. (2013c). Annual Report 2013. Available from http://www.bhpbilliton.com/home/investors/reports/Documents/2013/BHPBillitonAnnualReport2013.pdf [Accessed 4 October 2013]
BHP. (2013b). Marketing. Available from http://www.bhpbilliton.com/home/businesses/Marketing/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed 4 October 2013]
BHP. (2013a). Our Structure. Available from http://www.bhpbilliton.com/home/aboutus/ourcompany/Pages/ourStructure.aspx [Accessed 4 October 2013]
BHP. (2011). Sustainability report 2011. Available from http://www.bhpbilliton.com/home/aboutus/sustainability/reports/Documents/2011/BHPBillitonSustainabilityReport2011_Interactive.pdf [Accessed 4 October 2013]
BHP. (2009). Sustainability supplementary information 2009. Available from http://www.bhpbilliton.com/home/investors/reports/Documents/2009/sustainabilitySupplementaryInformation2009.pdf [Accessed 4 October 2013]
BHP. (2007). Working with integrity – code of business conduct. Available from http://www.bhpbilliton.com/home/aboutus/Documents/BHP%20Billiton%20Code%20of%20Business%20Conduct.pdf [Accessed 4 October 2013]
