Case study..??
prabhdeep
case_study.zipAttachments_201591/abraham.docx
1.
Abraham’s had over 200 stores by 2007 which were controlled by 4 regional managers. Furthermore each regional manager had 4 districts under him which comprises of 12 to 13 stores in each district. So it comes to a total of 50 stores controlled by each regional manager. At the district level, there was a district meat department specialist, a district produce department specialist and a district store supervisor. At store level, a meat department manager, a store manager (who is also grocery department manager) and a produce department manager were responsible for controlling their respective areas. The store manager had to report directly to the district store supervisor. Similarly, the store meat department manager reported directly to the district meat department specialist and the store produce department manager reported directly to the district produce department specialist. This coordination between the store and district departments made it easy for the stores to provide better quality and product to the consumers.
This type of structure is called functional structure in which an organisation is divided into different departments on the basis of the functions they perform. For example, in this case, the grocery store is divided into meat, produce and grocery departments. The major benefit of it is better quality control within each department. However it leads to very less coordination among different departments. So in this case, Abraham was facing problems within the stores, like high dissatisfaction from employees, increasing rate of turnover of store managers because of their no control for meat and produce departments in the same store. Moreover there was no coordination within the store level. Example, when a store manager wanted to promote coke sales by buying it in bulk quantities, no other department manager was ready to give him floor space to display that new coke promotion to the customers which resulted in quitting the job by the store manager. One the reasons for such behaviour by meat and produce department managers could be their fears of decrease in sales of their own departments.
2. This is the structure suggested by the consultant. The main difference can be seen at the store level where instead of a common store/ grocery manager, the position has now been split into two different positions: Store manager, and Grocery department manager. Previously the store manager had no control over other departments but now all the three departments namely, meat, grocery and produce department managers need to report directly to the store manager. In this way, the store manager gets all the controlling power for each department now. However the store manager still needs to report directly to the district store supervisor and the store meat and produce department managers have a dashed line relationship with the district meat and produce department specialist respectively. So that the district meat and produce specialists can visit the store regularly to maintain the standards and ensure the quality of products.
This new recommended structure is also a functional structure because the organisation is divided into different departments on the basis of the functions they are performing but it has various advantages over the previous one like:
· It gives more control to the store managers over all the departments.
· It helps in better communication and coordination within stores.
· The dashed relationship will help in ensuring better quality products to the consumers.
3. The advantages of the old structure were:
· Each regional manager had 50 stores under his control which created equal responsibilities for all of them.
· The store meat and produce department managers directly reported to the district meat and produce department specialists which helped in better control over both the departments.
· The store manager was also the grocery department manager which saved huge amounts of money to the company by not employing a separate grocery department manager for the stores.
The disadvantages of the old structure were:
· No control was given to store manager for meat and produce departments within the stores.
· The store manager was also the grocery department manager which resulted in more stress for the person.
· High rate of turnover of the store managers due to lack of control being the topmost reason.
· Highly dissatisfied employees within the stores.
· No coordination among different departments at the store level.
The advantages of the new structure are:
· The splitting of store manager’s position from the grocery department manager makes it possible for each department managers to focus on their own departments, and directly report it to the store manager.
· The store manager gets more control over all three departments within a store.
· The store meat and produce department managers still have a dashed line relationship with their district specialists, which helped in quality maintenance of the products.
The disadvantages of the new system are:
· The dashed line relationship between the district meat and produce specialists and the store department specialists doesn’t allow direct reporting by the store level managers.
· Moreover, the coordination amongst the different store department managers is still null.
References:
· Mintzberg, H. (1973). The nature of managerial work. New York: Harper & Row.
· Legge, K. (2012). THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN HANDSHAKE. The Australian Weekend Magazine, 12-17.
· Samson, D., & Daft, R. L. (2015). Management (5th Asia-Pacific ed.). South Melbourne: Vic. Cengage Learning.
· Writing, A. (2015). Different Types of Organizational Structure. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved 18 August 2015, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/different-types-organizational-structure-723.html
· Lotich, P. (2013). Types of Business Organizational Structures | Pingboard. Pingboard. Retrieved 18 August 2015, from https://pingboard.com/blog/types-business-organizational-structures
CEO
regional manager 1
4 districts
Regional level
District level
Head
regional manager 3
regional manager 4
regional manager 2
4 districts
4 districts
4 districts
district meat specialist
district produce specialist
meat department manager
Store level
produce dept. manager
district store supervisor
store manager
grocery dept manager
CEO
regional manager 1
4 districts
Regional level
District level
Head
regional manager 3
regional manager 4
regional manager 2
4 districts
4 districts
4 districts
district meat specialist
district produce specialist
meat department manager
Store level
produce dept. manager
district store supervisor
store manager
grocery dept manager
CEO
regional manager 1
4 districts
Regional level
District level
Head
regional manager 3
regional manager 4
regional manager 2
4 districts
4 districts
4 districts
district meat specialist
district produce specialist
meat department manager
Store level
produce dept. manager
district store supervisor
store/ grocery dept manager
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Attachments_201591/mohit1.docx
1. Based on the information available in the case, sketch a picture of the original structure within an Abraham’s store and the store managers’ relation with district specialist manager. What type of structure is this ?explain
The original structure of Abraham’s shop is flat structure because there is no direct reporting between department managers.
There are four different departments’ managers in one store. I.e. Meat department manager, Store manager, Grocery department manager and produce manager. Store manager also manage grocery department. Store manager don’t have authority over meat department and produce manager. For instance :- meat department manager report to district meat manager, store manager reported directly to district store supervisor and produce department manager directly reports to district produce manager specialist. Yellow arrows indicate reports to supervisors. Dotted square area represents store. Meat department manager, grocery department manager, store manager and produce department manager are in store.
managers with district specialist managers. What type of structure is this? Explain
This structure is looks hierarchy structure because there is direct department reporting between managers and store manager. Meat department, Grocery department manager, Produce department manager directly reports to store manager. Store manager reports to district store supervisor In this way, the store manager gets all the controlling power for each department now. Meat department have dashed line relationship (communication, coordination) with district meat manager specialist. Similarly produce
In consultant’s recommended store manager is separated from grocery department and there is new manager who is managing grocery department.
Here are some advantages for examples:-
· It helps in better communication and coordination within stores.
· The dashed relationship will help in ensuring better quality products to the consumers.
· It gives more control to the store managers over all the departments.
3. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages you see for the two types of structures? Which structure do you think will work best for Abraham’s why?
The advantages of the old structure were:
· Each regional manager had 50 stores under his control which created equal responsibilities for all of them.
· The store meat and produce department managers directly reported to the district meat and produce department specialists which helped in better control over both the departments.
· The store manager was also the grocery department manager which saved huge amounts of money to the company by not employing a separate grocery department manager for the stores.
The disadvantages of the old structure were:
· Stress on store manager :- No control was given to store manager for meat and produce departments within the stores.
· The store manager was also the grocery department manager which resulted in more stress for the person.
reason.
· Some employee be not satisfied from manager.
The advantages of the new structure are:
· The splitting of store manager’s position from the grocery department manager makes it possible for each department managers to focus on their own departments, and directly report it to the store manager.
· The store manager gets more control over all three departments within a store.
· The store meat and produce department managers still have a dashed line relationship with their district specialists, which helped in quality maintenance of the products.
The disadvantages of the new system are:
· The dashed line relationship between the district meat and produce specialists and the store department specialists doesn’t allow direct reporting by the store level managers.
· Moreover, the coordination amongst the different store department managers is still null.
in this type of organization, you divide people into groups depending on what functions they perform. For example, a company may have an engineering department, a marketing department, a production department, and a finance department. Each department has its own manager, and a general manager or Chief Executive Officer typically takes on the role of coordinating the activities of the various functional groups.
Advantages: You assign people to do the tasks that they do best, and each person knows his or her responsibility. If your business is medium sized and markets only one type of product or service, this structure is probably the one for you.
Disadvantages: Without good communication and oversight, functional hierarchies can break down into separate groups that work well on their own but aren’t very good at working with other departments or carrying out the company’s larger strategies and goals.
. Companies that provide more than one product line or that operate in more than one business area often choose to organize around separate divisions. A firm that sells, installs, and services computer networks, for example, may separate those functions into independent divisions.
In this organizational model, each of a company’s divisions may be responsible for a particular product, service, market, or geographical area, and all the divisions may have to justify themselves as independent profit centers. In some of the largest companies, each division consists of a strategic business unit (SBU) — almost a company inside a company.
Advantages: Companies that organize into divisions encourage each separate part of the company to focus on its aspect of the business — selling computers, servicing them, or installing them, for example. Division managers can zero in on their own sets of customers, competitors, and strategic issues.
Disadvantages: Divisions may find themselves competing for the same customers. The company’s divisions may unnecessarily duplicate overhead costs, and the company may end up becoming less efficient.
The matrix in bussiness
In a matrix organization, people with similar skills are grouped together and assigned as needed to various projects and project managers. For example, an engineer may be assigned to several projects and to more than one manager at a time. Likewise, a web designer may be assigned to develop new content for the company website while also working with the marketing team on special projects to bring in new business.
