Organization Approaches in Marks & Spencer

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate an understanding of classical and neoclassical method to organisation theory.
• Examine and identify the factors that have influenced the structure and design of specific organisations.
• Analyse how organisations manage the dynamic processes that shape their growth and evolution.
• Identify the factors that will shape organisations and their structure in the future.

Module Information

An economy cannot run without the organisation. The formal and informal way increases the efficiency and effectiveness has significantly impact on innovation, employment and standards of living. After examining early theories of how organisations evolved, the module analyses different organisational structures in the context of their environment, and how, over time, changes in the environment can change the nature and function of organisations. The module identifies and considering how technological advances are forcing organisations to become less hierarchical and more flexible.

Assessment Tasks

It includes two task which is to be completed in this module:

• Essay – 2000 words LO1 and LO4.
• Case Study – 2000 words LO2 and LO3

1. Essay (2000 words)

Analyse the development of organisation theory from its classical and neoclassical origins to the present day. As part of your analysis, examine the forces that will shape organisations and their structures in the future.

• Case Study (2,000 words)

The case study is taken from “Google’s Organisational Structure & Its Characteristics (A critical Analysis) and Google’s Organisational Culture Type and Its Characteristics”. The full case study is available at: http://panmore.com/google-organisational-culture-characteristicsanalysis

For further details: Google Diversity Annual Report 2019 available at https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/diversity.google/en//static/pdf/Google_diversi ty_annual_report_2019.pdf

Google’s Organisational Structure & Its Characteristics (An Analysis)

Google organisational structure improves internal communications and idea sharing in the online advertising, information technology, and consumer electronics business. Google organisational structure is based on fundamental factors that contribute to the success of the information technology business. A company’s organisational structure or corporate structure is defined as anatomy and arrangement of the various components of the business, majorly in terms of its processes and resources. In this business case of Google, the corporate structure is formed to meet the need for innovation and creative ideas. Innovation is a unique feature of Google’s corporate culture. In relation, the company’s organisational structure encourage product development to maintain high performance and competitiveness in the Internet services industry. Product development is based on four approaches in order to grow and expand business, as identified in Google’s generic competitive strategy and extreme growth strategies. In this way, the organisational structure contributes to business optimization to deal with the competitors, such as Apple, Amazon.com, Facebook, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Snap Inc. (Snapchat), and Twitter. These firms are stiff competitors, but Google’s corporate structure strengthens business competencies to deal with competitive market.

 In 2015, the conglomerate Alphabet Inc. was founded, with Larry Page as CEO and Sergey Brin as President, and became the parent company of Google, after re-establishing the business. In 2017, upon further restructuring, it became Google LLC. Despite such restructuring, the company remains its organisational structure, as it considers core business processes remain largely the same, including online advertising, cloud computing, digital content distribution, and consumer electronics. Due to multinational involvement, the business forms its corporate structure to deal with the complexity of its operations expanding different regional markets. As rapid technological development involved in the industry and the involvement of competitors, Google’s corporate structure is assumed to continue changing as a way of establishing the company’s global market position.

Google’s Organisational Structure Type and Characteristics

Google is dealing with cross-functional organisational structure. This structure is based on matrix type. However, the company maintains flatness as a main factor that impact functions throughout the structure of corporate. The following are the main features of Google’s corporate structure which includes:

• Product-based approach
• Function based technique
• Flatness

 Function-based Technique: This structural characteristic consists of various resources and processes based method. For instance, Google’s organisational structure includes a group of Global Marketing, and another group deals with Finance. This function-based grouping is entitled for developing strategic decisions and direction. For example, Google’s operations management approaches which are used and based on function-based groups at the corporate headquarters. This feature of the company’s corporate structure impact business processes, including communication among the members, as well as strategic management to resolve issues faced at various levels in the Google organisation.

Product-based approach: Google’s products are made through the use of product-based groups in the company’s corporate structure. This structural characteristic covers the requirements to innovate and deal with competitive products, such as the ones enumerated in Google’s marketing mix or 4Ps. For example, the company has a group for Cloud operations and other group for Artificial Intelligence operations. An executive head headed the groups. With this characteristic of the organisational structure, the business fulfils contemporary and future market demand and consumer preferences pertaining to information technology and consumer electronics products, such as Search, mobile apps, and mobile devices. This will help to meet vision and mission statements of the Google’s corporate. The company’s product lines aim to enhance people’s access to gain information, mainly an information from the online sources.

Flatness: This fundamental function of organisational structure includes minimization of vertical hierarchical lines of communication and authority, despite Google’s function-based groups. For instance, using flatness, the organisational structure of the company enables employees, teams, and groups to improve management and communicate directly with upper management. Also, in this way, Google’s corporate structure conducts meetings and communicate information among employees and teams several functional areas of the organization. This structural component is a main contribution to innovation for novel products that help in diversification of the business, that strengthen and outlined in the SWOT analysis of Google LLC. This fundamental feature of the organisational structure manages Google’s corporate social responsibility strategy and stakeholder management, especially in terms of boosting employee morale, motivation, and satisfaction in their work as main part of the company’s business and long-term success.

Google’s Corporate Structure – Recommendation

The flatness of organisational structure of the Google company has the advantages of encouraging innovation and creative ideas, based on the development of knowledge within the business organization. In relation, the company’s corporate structure has the benefit of facilitating innovation specific to product development. Google’s product-based groups are designed for this purpose. These benefits arise due to function-based groups that improve coherence throughout the business. Apart from this, Google’s corporate structure has opportunity for improvement which brings flexibility in the working system.

 A recommendation to improve Google’s corporate structure is used to deal with possible flexibility issues. The corporation’s current structural features are effective in facilitating flexibility in human resources. For instance, the organisational structure’s flatness optimizes flexibility in how Google’s employees develop different knowledge and formed products. These business use various corporate standards which brings more flexibility in customizing products in order to meet the demand of the regional and local consumers. With this, the strategic issue is  can boost  the level of flexibility of product-based groups through policies and strategies in the company’s corporate structure. For example, additional positions within teams or groups can add to such flexibility. This recommendation is aimed  to raise  concerns regarding how Google’s organisational structure fulfils the demand and need of the potential consume and deal with the competitive market.

Google’s Organisational Culture & Its features (An Analysis)

Google’s organisational culture is based on driving force that boost  the company to continue its leadership in the information technology and online advertising industries. A company’s organisational culture, which in this business case is the corporate culture define as traditions, customs, and behavioural ideals that predominantly influence employees’ behaviours. Google’s corporate culture inspire employees to share information for the purpose of supporting innovation. Innovation is a factor that enables the company to maintain its competitiveness against other technology businesses, such as Apple, Facebook, IBM, Amazon.com, Microsoft, Intel, Twitter, and Snap Inc. (Snapchat). Through its corporate culture, Google LLC ensures that its workforce is competent in addressing business needs linked to the external forces generated by these competitors. The corporation actively develops its cultural strengths through institutional measures, like training, and through informal approaches, such as personalized leadership and management support. Efforts to continuously improve the characteristics of Google’s organisational culture are applied to maintain creativity and innovation.

Google’s cultural features are focused on enhancing employee performance. The company expects effective motivation through its organisational culture. For example, in developing solutions to target customers’ everyday problems, Google’s corporate culture motivates workers to think outside the box and aim for novel ideas. In this way, the organisational culture facilitates human resource support for various strategies, such as Google’s generic strategy and intensive growth strategies. This cultural support is a success factor in the international market for Internet services, digital advertising, cloud computing services, hardware and software, and consumer electronics.

Google’s Organisational Culture Type and Its Characteristics

 Google provides innovative culture which is important for survival in the competitive market.  The company always emphasizes the significance of openness among employees, as a way of motivating innovative minds. The resulting innovation is applicable on Google’s ideology in dealing with various industries. For example, the company innovates its technological means and services provided to customers in the online advertising industry. The following characteristics define Google’s corporate culture:

• Openness Innovation
• Excellence that comes with smartness
• Hands-on approach
• Small-company-family rapport

Openness: This kind of culture encourage employees to share the information among the employees of the Google company. It aims to promote openness which helps them to disseminate valuable knowledge that further support innovation. For instance, the corporate culture motivates individual employees to make better interaction with others which helps them to create healthy relation in the organisation. Google’s operations management strategy supports this cultural trait through appropriate workplace layouts that improves such interaction.

 Innovation. Innovation is an important elements used for achieving success in Google’s business. The company’s organisational culture encourages employees to contribute to the  innovation of the business  and in product they supplied. For instance, this cultural characteristic promotes employees’ to go out of the box for bringing change and  think to discover or invent new solutions to  deal with current and emerging needs in the multinational market. Innovation contributes brings transparency in the working system of the organisation. This condition also means that the company’s types and level of innovation changes pertaining to relevant needs identified in the information technology and services market.

Excellence: This cultural characteristic focuses on achieving goal and objective in every business of the Google. This feature of the organisational culture deals with human resource development programs to appreciate efforts and excellence work of the employees. For instance, training programs are conducted  to motivate workers so that they can achieve desired outcome. In this regard, Google’s corporate culture promotes uniqueness and creativity in the workforce, and direct  employees to strive for outstanding work.

Hands-on Approach: Google applies a hands-on approach to human resource development through this culture approach. This cultural primarily focuses on using experiential learning as an effective mechanism of improving employees’ knowledge, skills, abilities and capabilities. Theoretical knowledge is not sufficient for  Google LLC. Employees are required  to learn as they continue in their journey as part of the company’s organization. In general, this core element of the organisational culture is followed through policies that support employees’ involvement in projects and experiments. Such experiments is based on various new ideas, supporting innovation in product development that affect Google’s marketing mix or 4P. Therefore, the company’s corporate culture increases employees’ experience, including on-the-job learning and training that contribute to human resource competencies.

Small-Company-Family Rapport: Google LLC is well-known for its supporting for small-company family rapport in its workspaces. This cultural characteristic focuses on the social interactions among workers. For instance, Google maintains harmony and positive work environment where employees are free to share their ideas and views with each other. The main purpose of this case study is corporate culture as it is a medium of optimizing internal communications and generating new idea. This feature of organisational culture also helps Google in promoting employee morale. In theory, this kind of  social relations in the workplace brings employee satisfaction in their jobs.

Google’s Corporate Culture – Recommendations

 Google’s organisational culture addresses the requirement of IT an digital marketing. For instance, considering cultural trait of innovation, the company presumes that its products satisfy industry standards and are at the competitive edge of technological development. Such factors contribute in analysing the SWOT analysis of Google LLC. As  Google is one of the biggest technology businesses in the global market, the organisation is an example of effective organisational design and human resource development.

A necessary improvement to Google’s organisational culture is the further used to facilitate information sharing. Presently, company’s cultural characteristics  manages communications and information sharing, such sharing happens in a controlled manner. They can enhance  employees involvement to take part in the important decision making process of the organisation. This recommendation purposes to increase the number of innovation in the company’s product development processes. Also, Google can improve its working environment through additional various programs that are developed to support specialized functions among individual employees. It aims to increase employees’ knowledge, skills, and abilities to innovate.

Answer the following question:

1. Analyse the forces such as technology, size of the organisation, global presence and availability of skilled manpower  that would have influenced Google’s Corporate Structure and design.

2. Explain how Google governs the dynamic processes such as organisational culture, ethical values, innovation and decision making processes to achieve growth and evolution.