The organisational structure is the way the

The organisational structure is the way the

The Internal Organisation of Business Marks and Spencers Marks and Spencers is the first business I am going to write about in terms or organisational structure and strategic plans. Marks and Spencer is one of the best known high street retailers in the UK. It has over 450 stores and employs over 65,000 people. It also operates overseas. An organisational structure is the way the business is run, the way the workers are arranged in the business. They are in a hierarchy that is structured in layers.

The lower down on the hierarchy you are the less authority you have. Recently Marks and Spencer have changed their structure to be more efficient. At first it was a tall structure but then recent changes have made it a flatter structure. This meant cutting out some layers of management and giving employees at the remaining levels more responsibility. The employees that are now managers are now in charge of a team of workers and their job is to motivate these workers.

Flat Structure: Marks and Spencers have a flatter structure.However there are advantages and disadvantages of the flatter structure. Advantages would be faster commands between workers (less layers), easy communication because there is one manager leading a team, it is cheaper because there is less managerial positions, offers new employees the opportunity to learn new skills.

Disadvantages would be there is more responsibility on one person as they have to manage more people, less creative ideas as there is only one person in charge and less opportunity of promotion as there isn’t as many higher roles.Functional Areas Centralisation: The concentration of decision making and executive authority in top management and often within the organisation’s head office. Marks and Spencers use centralisation to make decisions about their company. The company is a PLC (public limited company) so this means when decisions are made they are made on more of a widespread scale and shareholders are involved. Decentralisation: Shifting decision making away from the organisational centre (top management and head office) towards the operating nits such as local branches.

Marks and Spencer’s have a typical flat structure way of making decisions. The decisions start from the top and eventually go down the ladder. Hierarchical Structure: An organisational structure arranged by levels of seniority with a chain of command down which decisions are passed. Marks and Spencer use organisational structures by levels of seniority, this is where different senior managers come together to make the right decisions on behalf of the company. Which are then passed down like decentralisation.Delegate: Passing authority down an organisational hierarchy while final responsibility remains at the top. Marks and Spencers pass down authority down an organisational hierarchy.

Final responsibility remains at the top end of the company and so does decision making. Chain of command: the stages through which orders are passed down the levels in an organisational hierarchy. Marks and Spencers have different levels and the lower down on the ladder you are the less authority you have. The Functional Areas of The Business I am now writing about the main functional areas of the business Marks and Spencers.These are the following, Marketing, Human Resources, Customer Service and Finance.

Marketing: In the Marks and Spencers store they advertise new products; offers such as the buy one get one free initiative, let the customers know what they are may have missed out on, make their products seem more glamorous and more enticing. They make sure there is lots of new offers so customers are always looking to come to the shop. Ways of marketing in the stores could range from workers telling customers directly about offers to signs detailing the product.Advertising in the public eye could be T.

V adverts, radio or magazines/ newspapers. This is very important for Marks and Spencers because it attracts their target audience. Human Resources: Human resources acts within a company would be the advertising of job vacancies, informing staff in an opportunity of promotion within the company, recording sick leave and maintaining staff records.

For Marks and Spencer human resources are important because it decides how their staffs working conditions and what legal rights Marks and Spencer workers are entitled to.Customer Services: Marks and Spencer is a working business, so customer services within the functional areas are important. This avoids confusion between the customer and the business. It is the customer services job the look after their customers’ needs and to tend to their enquiries and concerns. Customer expect polite, reliable responses and this is vital for a company such as Marks and Spencer because there is fierce competition and they have to make sure every part of the business is a good standard especially as Marks and Spencers is generally an upper class shop.Finance: Finance in a company is vital as the main aim of a business is to make a profit. A big company such as Marks and Spencers has to be careful on how they use their finances and make sure it is fairly distributed in ways that make the most profit.

The finance staffs of a company are employed to record all of the money spent throughout the business and all money gained throughout the business. This gives a clear indication on which products are selling successfully and which aren’t. This helps quicker efficient decisions and less waste of funds.In a big company like Marks and Spencer different people are employed for different types of finance services: Management accounts: the management accounts, manage the department budgets and current income for sales they prepare cash flow forecasts and specialise in day to day financial information Financial accounts: the financial accounts are concerned with the statutory accounts, this is because all companies must provide a balance sheet, and this part of the company will create these to see how much the company’s profit and loss is per year.A Credit Controller: These are the monitors of overdue payments and they also take action to repair unpaid depts. How The Organisation Makes Strategic Plans Strategic plans in a company are in place to make the company more successful.

It is the way the company is organized. Normally a strategic plan is set in place for the long term, this normally depends on the finances available. The biggest plans are made by the main chairman, he makes all the strategic plans within the business, governors have their nput into the company, these are then taken into action by the main chairman. Strategic planning is the organization, a strategy or a direction in making decisions, this tells the company exactly where it stands at the moment and different ways in how the company can increase their expectations to where the company wants to be as a business in success.

This can help a company to effectively plan its long term decisions. Marks and Spencer make their strategic plans by different people/organisations within the company.Their main chairman “Luc Vandevelde” makes all the strategic plans within the business, the other governors of the company also have the input in the company’s decisions; these are then taken into action and input by the main chairman.

One of Marks and Spencer’s strategic plans is to put together the right team the chairman believed that putting together the right team could make radical changes in the company this would help the company turn around.This all started when the company updated its managing system, this helped increase the company, this strategic plan obviously worked. Marks and Spencer strategic selling plan is to make the company unique by its quality, value, service and innovation, drawing on strengths, the company want to build on their trust with customers, they have planned to award customers and shareholders for standing by the company. Specsavers The second business I am going to write about in terms or organisational structure and strategic plans is Specsavers.Specsavers is the biggest optical retailer in the UK and Ireland. It is also the biggest of the four major opticians that control 70% of the British market for spectacles and contact lenses, with Specsavers having a 39% share of the market. The company has over 1,390 stores in 11 countries.

Specsavers has over 26, 000 employees. Tall Structure: There are advantages and disadvantages of having a tall structure, flat structure and tall structures are almost the opposite, so a flat structures advantages would generally be a tall structures disadvantages.Therefore advantages would be there is less responsibility on one person, different people with different skills can be brought in for different sections of the business, more creative ideas as there is more managers who make the decisions, and for workers there is more opportunity of promotion. Disadvantages would be there is slower commands between workers because there is more layers, it would be difficult to communicate because it has to go through different layers of the hierarchy and it is more expensive because there is more managers. Functional AreasCentralisation: The concentration of decision making and executive authority in top management and often within the organisation’s head office.

The most important decisions are made by the owners. Decentralisation: Shifting decision making away from the organisational centre (top management and head office) towards the operating units such as local branches. Specsavers have a tall structure so the decision goes down a lot of stages before getting to the bottom of the structure. Hierarchical Structure: An organisational structure arranged by levels of seniority with a chain of command down which decisions are passed.

There are lots of managers so depending on the importance of the decision depends on who makes the decision but after it is made it is sent down like decentralisation. Delegate: Passing authority down an organisational hierarchy while final responsibility remains at the top. The decisions at Specsavers are made at the top and then passed down towards the bottom.

Depending on the importance of the decision is how high up the hierarchy it will be made. Chain of command: the stages through which orders are passed down the levels in an organisational hierarchy.Specsavers have an organisation which many levels so if you are at the bottom of the chain you have lots of people you are working for however if you are the top you have lots of people working for you however there is a good possibility of promotion. The Functional Areas of The Business I am now writing about the main functional areas of the business Specsavers. These are the following, Marketing, Human Resources and Customer Service. Marketing: Specsavers use marketing a lot and they have they have their slogan ‘You should have gone to Specsavers’ which is very well known.

This derives from there adverts which is a type of advertisement.Specsavers need this advertisement because the market is crowded so they as one of the bigger companies they have to make sure they are getting there company in the public eye. In the store they offer deals such as get two pairs of glasses for one pair which is the deal that they are most known for. Workers are expected to advertise their products and help the customers learn about the deals as well as signs etc. Human Resources: Like Marks and Spencers human resources for Specsavers are important like any other major company because it sets the standards for working conditions and the right the workers are entitled to.Customer Service: Specsavers pride themselves on being the ‘UKs most trusted opticians’ so their customer services have to be of top standard.

They are in a market where the customers satisfaction is important as the products being sold are generally for medical reasons. You can contact their customers services by phone or online. Finance: Specsavers have relatively cheap stock ranging from ? 25 – ? 169 this is a wide range that can be both expensive but also affordable. This is a good pricing structure.

Their aim is to make the biggest profit margin possible and this is visible by the variety of prices you can buy their products at as they have looked for customers from all different kinds of backgrounds whether they are rich or poor. How The Organisation Makes Strategic Plans Specsavers strategic plan is that they sell off the Specsavers name to local entrepreneurs that know the area well, this is vital for them. They look for people that are interested in delivering the best service, the best value and the lowest prices to customers. They oversee the businesses and make sure they are being run to the best standard.