Business Environment Essay Example for Free

Business Environment Essay Introduction Analyze the relevant factors in the business environment of this company. If you don’t find information in the article on some of the facets of the business environment, feel free to speculate or to use other sources. For each trend, explain if it represents an opportunity or a threat. Business environment comprises of external and internal factors that influence the performance of the company. The case of Ahava reveals that its performance, successes and challenges faced by the company can be traced to the nature of environment, both internal and external, where the company operates. To start with the internal environment, it is apparent that the company’s success is mainly because of the internal forces or factors. The first internal factor is the good organizational or corporate culture as evidenced by high entrepreneurial spirit of the founders. It is because of this spirit that the company was founded. The case shows that Ahava was founded when Ziva Gilad and other partners noticed female tourists bottling mud to take home and opted to start a business of selling the same mud but in processed form to tourists (Lev-Ram, 2009). Organizational or corporate factor is a source of opportunity to the business. Other internal factors include proper management, and innovation and invention. All these factors offer opportunity to the company. Apart from the internal environment, there are many external factors that influence the performance of the company. The first external factor is the political factors. The case reveals that the company is under the threat of political forces such as Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The case reveals that most of the countries in Europe have even started sanctioning the products from the Israel. Another external factor that influences the performance of the Ahava is the ready market. The case reveals that the cosmetic products produced by the company have huge ready market, both locally and internationally. This is evidence by the assertion made by Iva Litovsky that Thousands of tourists come to the Dead Sea for the spas and the treatments (Lev-Ram, 2009). This is an opportunity to the company. Another external factor constituting the external environment that influences the performance of the Ahava Company is the minimal competition. The case reveals that Ahava has competitive advantage over its competitors in many respects such as acquisition of raw materials, advertising and even the sales stalls. Explain the strategy of the firm, in terms of targeting and positioning. The case reveals that the company has good targeting and positioning strategy. Right from the time it was founded, the case reveals that the company has been having good targeting strategy. In fact what compel the founders to venture into the business is the ready market provided by thousands of tourists who come to the Dead Sea for the spas and the treatments (Lev-Ram, 2009).   The case also reveals that the company is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the areas natural resources and translate them into an export product. Explain how the targeting and positioning for this firm’s products are reflected in the marketing mix. Marketing mix is summarized by 4 ps. The 4Ps are represented by product, place, price and promotion. The targeting and positioning are reflected by two Ps of the marketing mix, the place and promotion. Concerning the place, the case reveals that the company was positioned in a place where the market is high. Dead Sea is the most suitable place through which the company could sell its products because thousands of tourists could come for the spas and the treatments (Lev-Ram, 2009). In addition, the company is expanding its place to international level. The case shows that the company has expanded its market to America and Europe. As far as promotion is concerned, the case reveals that the company has put in place many measures to market its products both locally and internationally. This is evidenced by the fact that since 2000s, the Ahava started to pour the necessary resources into marketing, advertising and branding abroad (Lev-Ram, 2009). References Lev-Ram, M. (2009). Turning Dead Sea mud into money; Transcending politics and ecology, an Israeli cosmetics firm goes global.   CNN. Last Updated: December 10, 2009: 9:51 AM ET

The Role of Women in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness Essay -- Joseph

The Role of Women in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness Women have taken an increasingly important role in literature. Only recently have authors portrayed women in a dominant, protagonistic light. Sophocles and other classical writers portrayed women more as reactors than heroines. Since the ancient Greeks, however, a trend has been established that gives women characters much more substance and purpose. A definite shift from the antediluvian ways can be seen, and the overall complexity of women characters has increased exponentially. In Conrad?s Heart of Darkness, however, the portrayal of women takes a backwards step and is reverted back to the primitive, more demeaning viewpoint. Conrad employs characters that reflect the archaic perspectives concerning women. The main character, Marlow, generalizes all women and depicts every woman as living in a dream-like state merely ?going through the motions? of life. In his descriptions of the various women characters, Marlow either implies or directly states that women are not mentally equipped to survive in society, and can only function in a dream-like state. He also conveys that it is the responsibility of men to save women and preserve their naà ¯vetà ©. This point of view is reflected often, and stems from his English upbringing and the British society of the day. Marlow speaks utilizing many lewd words and racial slurs. Many of the Victorian ideals still remain within English culture, and this fragility towards women is a prime example of the fragmented set of beliefs. Nevertheless, Marlow views women as mindless pawns, his stance is evident when he goes to speak with the Intended. While speaking with Marlow, the Intended praises Kurtz and speaks of his many goo... ...viewed as mere symbols and not real characters. There are no quoted in the entire story where a woman says something intelligent, meaningful, or important. Conrad only used the women in the story as symbols for his thematic metaphors. The women represented large facets of society or nature, but were not given much personality on individualism. By the end of the story, the reader knows a tremendous amount of information about Marlow and Kurtz, and Conrad?s novel could be called a case study for either of them. No new information is known about the psyche or inter-workings of the women of Heart of Darkness and even though the females in the story represent vast societies, their personal anonymity could leave the reader empty and searching for substance. Bibliography Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New York: Dover, 1990.

Eleanor Roosevelt Essay

Eleanor Roosevelt will always be remembered in history as the first woman to make a difference in the status of first lady. She was born in 1884 and died in 1962 and all through her life showed tremendous courage in facing what happened to her. Her childhood may be seen as having influenced her later life. It is considered to have been influential in shaping her life and her approach towards the problems evident in society. She was born in a very wealthy family because both sides of her family were very wealthy and also renowned families. However, her adult life defied the expectations of her class in society. She did not behave as the rest of her class members did. She did what they would not do due to their status in society. She was born Anna Eleanor Roosevelt in 1884 to Anna Hall and Elliot Roosevelt in New York. Her mother was famous for her beauty and was disappointed in Eleanor’s looks because she was not as beautiful or graceful as she wanted her to be. As a result, they did not become close in the short time they spent together. Her father was the younger brother to President Theodore who later actually gave Eleanor in her wedding since her parents were already dead by then (http://www. pbs. rg). Her mother died in 1892 when Eleanor was only 8 years old. Her relationship with her father was a bit better because he did not criticize her looks. They were however not very close because of marital problems experienced between him and Anna and hence ended up not communicating a lot with Eleanor. After the death of her mother, she moved in with her maternal grandmother and hence, instead of closing the rift between her and her father this ended up widening it. He died in 1894 when she was 10 years old due to drinking related problems. His behavior had led to his being disowned by his family. She had private tutors until the age of 15 when she joined Allenwood a finishing school where she met her mentor Madame Marie Sourvesre. She traveled all over Europe with her and she was the one who taught Eleanor â€Å"the lifestyle of an independent woman† (PBS 1999). She returned to New York at the age of 18. She became a social worker and it is at this time that she met Franklin Delano Roosevelt who was her fifth cousin. She got married in March 17, 1905 to Franklin D. Roosevelt. She introduced him to the world of poor people during their courtship when she was working as a social worker. Due to her the emotional problems she faced in her childhood as a result of the lack of affection from both her mother and father, she was able to give unto others unconditional love regardless of their status in life. She was also greatly affected by the constant reference people made in regards to beauty and the fact that she knew she was not a great beauty. This was carried on even in her engagement where she was not sure if she could maintain a marriage to her husband who was handsome where she whereas she was plain (http://www. drlibrary. marist. edu). She had very many accomplishments that started early in life even before her status as first lady. Although earlier in life she had not been interested in politics, she later became interested because she did not want to seem ignorant among her peers. The presence of her domineering mother-in-law led to her having more time to dedicate to her functions because her 6 children were watched by Sarah the mother-in-law. She wanted to continue having the status that she had achieved under the tutelage of Madame Souvestre. She felt that as long as she was around Sarah she would not be able to accomplish what she wanted to and so would involve herself in many activities in order to escape her (http://www. fdrlibrary. marist. edu). During World War 1, she volunteered both in the American Red Cross and also in the Navy hospitals. She worked tirelessly to help those afflicted by the war even though she did not like the war or even the idea of war. In 1920, she became an active member of the women’s suffrage movement. In an effort to fight for women and also enlighten them on their rights, she joined the League of Women Voters and became the vice president of its New York branch. In this group, she was able to encourage women to become voters and fought for the right of women to vote. The law allowing women to vote was passed in 1920. This was also made possible by the Women’s Division of the Democratic Party of which she was also a member. She was also a member of the Women’s Trade Union League which looked into the working conditions of women and fought for the improvement of the same. It also fought for the acceptance of women in the employment field. She was very concerned about women issues and would fight for them in any way possible. She also went ahead to establish Todhunter which was a private school for girls only. She co-owned it with her friend and became its assistant principal and also a teacher of history yet she had no formal certificate. She did this because she had admired Souvestre and wanted to follow in her footsteps. This happened in 1927. In 1918, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was discovered by Eleanor to be having an affair with her social secretary Mercer. She discovered love letters between the two. She threatened him with divorce if he did not end the affair. He promised he would and hence saved the marriage albeit his mother was involved. Although the marriage was saved, Eleanor became a different woman who channeled her energies to many situations that both took her time and also enlightened her more to women’s independence. It is also at this time that she joined the various women organizations and became very close to the women she was working with. In 1921, Franklin suffered from poliomyelitis which left paralyzed in both legs and his mother advised him to become a recluse. She wanted him to remain in Hyde-Park but Eleanor encouraged him to keep interested in politics. He took her advice and Eleanor would act as his informant gathering information from the citizens and giving it to him and discussing the various issues with him. He appeared in public on crutches in 1924 to nominate Governor Alfred E. Smith for president. This was all Eleanor’s doing because she was the one who encouraged him (Lash J. P. Eleanor 1972 pg 550-680). In the process of becoming his eyes and ears, on the ground, she ended up becoming an independent woman and this helped her deal with the hurt of her husband’s infidelity. She realized there was a problem of unemployment and this led her to form the Val-Kill furniture factory. This was in New York and its aim was to provide employment especially to those who were suffering from unemployment yet could learn skills that would provide an income for them. Later on the industry widened its activities to involve weaving and also pewter work. This impressed her husband very much and in the long run encouraged her to spend more and more time there. Franklin through her encouragement ran for governorship of New York and he was elected in 1928. He served in office up to 1933. In all this time, Eleanor would help him make legislations that were progressive. She did this by ensuring that she corresponded with the New York residents an understood their problems. She would also travel very much and in these travels would inspect the state institutions and report to Franklin what was going on and in what ways the issues could be resolved. Her work is what led to the re-election of her husband as a governor for a second term and also his nomination to become president. This is because he sued the information she had gathered to help improve the lives of the common people. Franklin became president in March 4 1933 and consequently Eleanor became America’s first lady. She did not approach this situation confidently since she was apprehensive on its impact in her life as an independent woman. Despite this, she adapted to the role quickly and actually went down in history as the longest serving first lady because Franklin was president from 1933-1945. Once she became first lady, she continued providing various opportunities for women she did this by holding press conferences where only female reporters were invited. It is through these conferences that she kept the public informed about the policies in the white house especially the New Deal which was supposed to help in the recovery from the depression (http://www. lkwdpl. org). In line with the effects of the depression, she persuaded FDR to create the National Youth Administration. This organization was supposed to help young people who due to the effects of the depression could either not join or complete their studies. They could only manage to do this if they had jobs which in turn affected their studies. She became the adviser to those who held the administration posts and also spoke on behalf of the program. She was also involved with the American Youth Congress which was also concerned with matters of the youth. She got involved with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. This is because she no longer held the view of white supremacy and viewed everyone as equals. She understood the plight of the black people in America and worked hard to ensure their rights were recognized and respected. She also worked with the National Council of Negro Women to help the black women. Her stand was made clear when she resigned from being a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1939 because they had refused to allow Marian Anderson, who was a musician, to perform at Constitution Hall (http://www. pbs. org). At this time, the Second World War was starting off and although she detested war, she became involved in it because her sons were fighting in the war. During this time, she made numerous visits to England and also to the South Pacific. This she did in order to promote the good-will that was there among the allies. She also visited the United States troops that were abroad in order to boost their confidence and lift their spirits. She worked to rally civilian volunteerism to which she had been appointed as assistant director of the Office of Civilian Defense (OCD) a post to which she had been appointed by Franklin. She however resigned from it later on due to complaints made about the people she appointed to work with her. FDR died in April 12 1945 and although she had assumed that her public life was over, she was proved wrong by the then president Harry S. Truman. He appointed her as a delegate in the United States Delegation to the United Nation’s General Assembly. In this capacity, she worked hard to ensure that the issues that pertained to social, humanitarian and cultural issues were dealt with. She held this position up to 1953 when she resigned. In this period, she was also the chairman of the Human Rights Commission and it is during her tenure that the Declaration of Human Rights was drafted. The declaration was adopted by the General Assembly on 10th December 1948. Her greatest achievement can be said to be the Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration emphasized the equality of all people regardless of their race, creed, color or gender. It therefore protected the way people that Eleanor had spent her whole life trying to protect and also improve their lives. It declared the right to life, liberty and equality to all people. It therefore meant that the poor, minorities and the disadvantaged were to be treated the same as those who were previously deemed to be superior. Through it, she was able to help the blacks, the women and those who were poor (Lash J. P. Eleanor 1972 pg 550-680). In the same year of 1948, she helped in the establishment of the state of Israel. This she did because she had always been sympathetic to the experience of the Jews at the hands of Adolph Hitler during the Second World War. She did not harbor ill feelings towards the Jews as did the rest of the upper-class. She also provided her help because she viewed herself first and foremost as a United Nations delegate whose work was to promote peace the world over. As a UN delegate, she also tried to establish negotiations with the Soviet Union although she was very cautious. This failed because they did not respect the Human Rights Declaration. From 1953, she volunteered as a member of the American Association for the United Nations. She did this in the capacity of a representative to the World Federation of United Nations. Later on she became the chairman of the Associations’ Board of Directors. John F. Kennedy reappointed her to the United States Delegation to United Nation in 1961. He also appointed her as a member of the National Advisory Committee of the Peace Corps and also the chairman of the President’s Commission on the status of women. She took on these responsibilities gladly as she was well versed with the operations of each (http://www. bs. org). In her lifetime, she had been involved in writing a daily column in the paper, which started in 1935 up to a few days prior to her death in 1962. This column was called â€Å"My Day†. She also started some question and answer column in the newspapers. She managed to write several books during her lifetime which are: This Is My Story (1937), This I Remember (1950), On My Own (1958), and Tomorrow Is Now (1963). Her last book was produced post humously and in it she praised Franklin for the social reforms he had put in place. She died in Nov 7 1962 and thus did not see it published. She was a lady who affected the western civilization in many ways. She proved that a woman can be able to perform remarkably in politics while still maintaining her dignity. The fact that she was able to accept every person regardless of their status in life led to the formation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration opened the people’s eyes to the fact that all human beings are equal even if they come from different areas in life. She established that one has to be able to deal with what they cannot change and should not be judged by what is beyond their power to correct or change (Lash J. P.  Eleanor 1972 pg 550-680). She also exhibited that regardless of how high and mighty one’s family may be and also despite the wealth they have, anyone can be able to make a difference in the lives of those who are victimized and destitute. The western people held a lot of prejudice towards Jews and blacks and she went a long way to try and bridge the gap that existed by not having such prejudices. She also set the role that the other first ladies in America and world over ought to follow. They are not supposed to just sit back and watch what their husbands do but instead should get involved and learn as much as possible and help them out. On the question of how she affected the society, she did a lot to help women get the right to vote. She also encouraged the women to seek employment and provided any opportunity possible to women to ensure that they succeeded. She was also very concerned about the youth and their education. She valued education and ensured that through the formation of the National Youth Association that the American youth would be able to access quality formal education without the problems of having to search for a job. The various trips she made to meet the common man made her understand the problems that they faced everyday. She got to understand the impact of unemployment and also that of the Great Depression. She would give this information to Franklin and also suggest the various ways in which he could help solve the problems (http://www. pbs. org). The creation of the Val-Kill was intended to provide employment to those in New York who needed it yet could not get it. She therefore helped uplift the living standards of many Americans by providing employment and also avenues through which they could provide employment for themselves and for others. The face of the government changed from her time to include more women. The fact that women become voters meant that more women had chances of being voted in because they were voted in by their fellow women. She proved that women can be very good politicians and diplomats. As a U. N delegate she kept making attempts to bring about negotiations between America and the Soviet Union. Although she never succeeded in bridging this gap, she tried her best.

Brief historical outline of the development of management philosophies - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 2949 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? 530 Organisation Management Assignment Two (23%) 1.1. Provide a brief historical outline of the development of management philosophies from the late 1800à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s to the present day using the following three eraà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s to group the philosophies: In the classical period, 1800s to 1920s, there are some people who left their mark in this period of time. The first person is Henry Laurence Gantt. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Brief historical outline of the development of management philosophies" essay for you Create order He focuses on the application of scientific analysis, improve the work efficiency. He can contribute a gant chart and tasks, the bonus system. Gantt Charts allow people to understand the task and required time to complete a task. This theory is more focused on task, because it is to see how long can complete a certain task without considering other factors, could affect the production or accomplishment of goals. His task and bonus system helps to make employees exert efforts to achieve greater results or higher production, because he let them know their task, guarantee rate per hour. In addition, the workers also induced bonuses promised to work hard whether meet the specific goal. The system is still tracking until now because managers find the really effective employees to work hard, to achieve a goal. Another theory was established at the classical period was the Time and Motion Study by Frank and Lillian Gilbert. They worked with Frederick Taylor. Their research, in order to d etermine the best way to accomplish a certain task. Frank began his observations as an apprentice to a bricklayer. He made observations and found ways to complete the task faster and research by identifying the basic action they lay a brick and isolation it. This made him does job easier than before. He told other bricklayer who worked together about his study and they followed his suggestions were also could lay more bricks. Frank and Lillian continued to studies and later on used motion picture camera to time the tasks and capture the necessary movements that are involved. It focused on the task, increase production and helped the workers to reduce unnecessary movements that workers usually incorporate in their tasks. It also working now, because the managers still thinks of ways to increase the output In the Neo-Classical approach, the theories that were e more focused on the human aspect or the workers, not just the task. Philosopher more interested in how to motivate employe es to work hard, or how to support the workers better. They believed that if workers are happy could make them work better. Mary Parker Follet who became known during this time is because she believed that if workers partners particularly in making big decisions also let the employees to be more responsible for their actions because their are worth. In partnership with the manager. Since when, the group network is uses the different groups in different parts of the organization have equal affect the outcome. This made the managers and the workers more concrete. In order to achieve this goal, different groups were established different communication channels to ensure that the different groups are working together to achieved common goals of the organization. Follet management style is the focus of people rather than the task, but it also makes the people to work harder to increase production. Large YUTING SHEN 13010123 Page 1 Organization structure is decomposed into different group allowed to assign responsibility and accountability, and to ensure that everyone thinks they are a part of the organization, they are valuable members. Until now, in the huge communication is an important aspect of a big company. Elton Mayo also became known during this time because of his Hawthorne study. The atmosphere significantly affected their productivity. He came up with the Hawthorne Effect research shows that the chosen for the study or the observation performed as expected. Several experiments were conducted to put forward some conclusions. The first being monetary incentives are not as effective as the attitude or the group atmosphere in raising productivity. The second conclusion was social norms, group standards, and attitudes have a greater impact on the workersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ productivity. His studies focused on people. Improve productivity; they need pay attention to the needs of the people. Even now, some companies give priority to the needs of the emp loyees to ensure that the company runs smoothly and high production. The modern theory of the combination of different methods. It the quantitative method of digital, the Systems Approach which was on the different systems or components when put together would comprise the entire unit, and the Contingency Approach was more on the fall back plan or believe there is no single system or approach to managing an organization. The Systems Theory first started when the work of Katz and Kahn à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The Social Psychology of Organizationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  appeared and James Thomsonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Organization in Actionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . System theory to explain different elements of organization are intertwined, connection in the whole process. The elements may be of different but all these elements are connected and intertwined. Another form of modern and contemporary management is the total quality management in the form of a few people, but one of them is E dward. Deming. If the Quantitative management focus on the numbers, this one would focus on the quality. This form of management emphasizes to provide high quality goods and services. This will reduced the time fixed goods and services, because this form of management to ensure good quality or service provided to clients or customers of the type and quality, this would make them come back more or duplicate services. This is very important to the companies and organizations today. Deming proposed that management is placed in a continuous feedback loop known as the Deming cycle, managers can continuously monitor process organization can improve and improved. 1.2. The following functions underpin Fayalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Administrative theory of Management: Planning Organizing Coordinating Controlling Leading YUTING SHEN 13010123 Page 2 i) Explain what a manager should undertake at each stage. ii) Explain the benefits of working through each stage. Planning: in this stage, the manager should construct a plan of action for the future. The manager should have the foresight so as to prepare for the coming time and not be caught unaware. A good thought of plan could lead to a smooth achievement of an objective. Working well in this stage would reduce the problems could encountered in other stages. Organizing: At this stage, the manager should make available resources plan into action. The plan would not be realized that if the resources are not available. If done well, the task of achievement would be faster and more fluent, because the goal of the task can be achieved, if all the materials and resources to implementation plan. Coordinating: This is the part that manager make sure everyone knows what others are doing, to ensure that they would be able to adapt in the whole. I nformation should be shared to everyone and that the problems are solved promptly, in order not to hinder the target achievement. If the manager does this well, there would be no misunderstanding, harmonious interaction between all the workers even if they are all working in the different parts of the plan. Controlling: This is the part of the manager where he controls the direction of the whole system. He makes corrections and modulation to ensure that everything is going to right direction and the workers do not stray or deviate from the plan. If the manager controls all goes well, the plan would be in the right direction without delay to repair parts. Leading: this is where the manager leads, selects and evaluates the workers who are able to perform a task, ensure the target to complete. Choosing the right person for a particular job is crucial, if the task is right to do. 1.3. Briefly explain the contingency theory of management. Another form of Management theory is famous in the contemporary or the modern time is the Contingency Approach takes into account all the methods could be utilized by the organization. This method emphasized that there is no single universal system that can be solved and management of the organization or company. There should always have a back plan. This is both orientated to the task and employees. YUTING SHEN 13010123 Page 3 ii) List five typical contingencies a company may have to contend with. A companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s warehouse could have too much inventory. In this situation, the company should have planned to avoid goods getting spoiled. Discount the items and sale the inventory items or as gift to staffs if it is possible. The companys warehouse may suddenly a low stock or may even run. Companies should have a plan, if this specific warehouse running low stock, the companys next warehouse should have the stock ready to ship in a slight notice. If the comp anyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s communication system crashes, the company should have ways on how the information could be sent to the employees and leaders. An automatically generated memo that could be sent to all the workers to let them check their email or bulletin boards for relative notice or memos could be sent to everyone to make sure that everyone is aware the communication system has crashed. If the company has problems with the goods or services, the company should have plan on how to fix the problems. There should be a group of people analyzing the trend and give projections, this team should be able to respond to these changes fast. The company could also have problems with the employees when the employees suddenly lag on the productions. The company should have back plans on how the employees and recharged. Team building and all the staff go out for a while with all the staff could build strong relationships and brighten the atmosphere in the workplace. 2.1 Evaluate th e following types of organizational structure: Mechanistic and Organic. In your evaluation address the following: The main differences between mechanistic and organic type organization. The use of hierarchy and departmentalism Centralization versus Decentralization Lines of communication Decision making models Span of control Application in relation to conditions/environment ORGANIC STRUCTURE In an organic organization structure, free flow of information. Members share information freely, not limited structure and authority. Information can be either a vertical or horizontal. Members also practice large span of control. This type of structure is scattered. Power is not fully focused on a person but distributed to several companies or groups of individuals and organizations; so the onus falls on different YUTING SHEN 13010123 Page 4 groups and individuals, not just a single person. This is a cross-functional and cross-hierarchical structure; therefore, it does not follow the pyramid hierarchy. But it will be like flattery pyramid because power allocated to different organization or person. The structure would best be declared by a cloud that manifest that the power comes not from a single figure but the whole distribution. This structure is cross-functional as well. The functions of the different groups or departments are intertwined and comple menting each other and not one lower than the others. MECHANISTIC STRUCTURE In the management of the mechanical structure rather than the management of the organic structure, there is a clear chain of control. The structure of authority and power can be clearly seen. They have a narrow span of control. Responsibility and the responsibility fall on a minority or leader. This is clearly visible pyramid. In the organic structure by a cloud, this mechanistic structure can best be illustrated by a pyramid. It has a very strict departmentalization and each department strict adherence to what to do and finish it. Each department has a high specialization. Therefore, in this form of structure can see the power and each departments mission is to do what. 2.2 List and explain three advantages of: Mechanistic Organization In a mechanistic organization employees are assigned in a particular area because of their specializations. People who work in specific areas or departments mo re accustomed to do so they become better and experienced. In each group or regional departments can easily assess, because they can clearly see that their job is to do what is responsible for a particular area. Therefore, assessment and monitoring can be done easily and improvement can be done. In a mechanistic structure of an organization, Decisions require a shorter period of time, because there will be fewer people involved in this process. In the organization not everyone will have the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process. Organic Organization An organic organization provides a more relaxed atmosphere employees or members of the group. It encourages all members a good working atmosphere. Organic groups also encourage everyone to speak freely. Therefore, in this type of organization new and innovative idea is easy to hear and rebound. They did not experience tedious meeting to listen to the opinions of the members of the organization. YUTING S HEN 13010123 Page 5 Organic organization also encourage each member is responsible for their actions. Because this type of organization members to provide more freedom, it will also promote accountability for their own behavior. Everybody take responsibility for their actions. 2.3 List and explain three disadvantages of: A mechanistic organization In a mechanistic organization, there may be fewer new and innovative ideas heard because the workers or the employees may depend solely on what managers, leaders and supervisors decide. In a mechanistic structure, there may be a lack of communication between different areas or departments of each department of the organization or group focus only on their own department and the organization as a whole. In a mechanistic structure of organization, There may be competition between different departments. Different departments can compete with each other, because some task duplication of other departments. Organic structure of management They may take longer to make a decision. Because there are a lot of people involved in the decision-making process, this may take a longer time and more may be boring. The workers or the employees may become lax and not be as productive If they have too much freedom. Rather than using the freedom to make wise decision, they may spend unproductive and simply play. Power or authority is distributed to a few individuals or groups; It may be wondering who is close to a particular problem. 3.1 i) What organizational structure is in use at Davenport Construction? Organic organizational structure is using at Devonport Construction. YUTING SHEN 13010123 Page 6 ii) Draw a diagram to illustrate the current structure. 3.2 Use the following headings to evaluate the current structure of the company: Centalisation/ Decentralisation: Davenport Construction Company is dispersed. The decisions are not made by the founder James Sun. Decision are now being made by his children Dianne, Alan, and Kai who are all executive manager roles, at same time, also doing the tasks big or small for the company. The company is small but would like to expand and grow. Coordination and Quality Assurance: The managers of Davenport Construction Company are stretched thin and they are unable to deliver quality service to their clients. With the increase of the number of complaints, the company is taken unfinished work or job, failed to meet the deadline. The company is also very poor in coordination with other organizations such as suppliers. Davenport company often force suppliers to restock supplies in a very short notice, this can avoid this kind of situation with the supplier coordination, davenport earlier so that suppliers can run out before to prepare materials. Mechanistic/ Organic: davenport Construction Company is an Organic Structure. It is a small company and the people who are employed there are mostly people that Alan, Dianne, and K ai know or related with. Relevant to the managers or knowing the manager people reduce the boundaries between managers and employees. The information could easily be relayed to the managers. The rules and regulations are not very strict and rigid. Span of Control: In Davenport Construction Company, the managers, Dianne, Alan, and Kai have expanded the scope of control. They decide what to do and when they decide to do things, they can take action. Their control thing reaches far. Their job description and the scope of each is vague exercise control a lot of things, or big or small. YUTING SHEN 13010123 Page 7 Formal/ Informal: The company is not a very formal organization form. The scopes and responsibilities of the managers are stretching them so thinly and the customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ satisfaction has suffered. The managers hire people they know personally or are related with instead of looking for people who actually meet the qualifications required to complete task. Davenport Construction Company is a family business with the managers enjoy personal encounters their clients that some of their jobs suffered. 3.3 i) Recommend a different organizational structure for Davenport Construction: Davenport Construction Company would benefit much from a Mechanistic Structure of organization with Kai being the CEO, Alan and Dianne can be division managers. They would be able to monitor contracts well, coordinate with other organizations better, learn to prioritize and delegate task and simply guide and facilitate how they want the organization to go and where they want the organization to go. And also prepare backup plan when make decision. Change the employees if necessary, like the people who do not follow the plan. Use a diagram to illustrate the proposed structure. Provide a rationale for the change in structure based on your evaluation of the company which includes at least five key advantages for Devonport Construction. 1) Find staffs that good at project indifferent areas. 2) In different area the staff has their own opinion and knowledge to make the work going under the holistic process. 3) Do not let personal project influence others. 4) Has competition between projects and between staffs. 5) Have deadline to control the project and the managers has response to holistic project. YUTING SHEN 13010123 Page 8