Strength and Weaknesses of Different Organisational Structures - Essay Example

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION By Student’s Name Code+ course name Professor’s name University name City, State Date Organization Communication In this case, we will focus on Nestle Company. Nestlé is a food company that was formed in 1905. The formation was from a merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Companywhich was established in 1866 Henri Nestlé and therefore was named after him. The company has made a tremendous growth especially during the first and the Second World War. This made it to expand its production from condensed milk alone to other products. In it course of growth it has also made several corporate acquisitions which has made it a global company. 1.1 Strength and weaknesses of different organisational structures Tall Organizational Structure The large and complex organizations use this type of organisational structure. This is because it is the simplest form of structures. This means that there is only one long chain of command. The chain is as long as the organisation. Each manager in the organisation has an area to control. The benefits of tall structures are in clarity as well as managerial control. This structure allows narrow span of control which is good for close supervision of the workers. It also provides the different levels of management a clear of line responsibility and a clear promotion line. However, if the structure is too tall it faces major challenges and communication speed is reduced. The communication problems affect decision making a well as hinder progress of the company. This type of business structure is suitable in the businesses that operate with a strict management like the military. Private security firms should consider using this type of structure as it is the best in the security industry. This is because all the seniors have a role to play before any operation is conducted. Flat Organizational Structure This type has fewer levels of management. However each level controls a broader area and focuses on empowering more employees as opposed to following the chain of command. This type encourages the workers to use their talent and skills to solve by collaboration the issues that they face. It offers more opportunities to the workers to excel as they promote the business vision. In this case there are more people at the top level. The leaders in this structure must share research with all the stakeholders for it to work. The leaders too must be tolerant, vulnerable and open. The flat structures are flexible and can adapt to changes. It has fast communication hence quick decisions and has a democratic style of leadership. However it is disadvantageous to the managers as it leaves them with a lot of work to do. This type of structure is suitable in many businesses and especially in the services industry. In a firm dealing with consultation services, this type of structure is very good. This allows all the employees the space to grow and increase their experience and their growth in the company and hence improving the quality of the company. Matrix structure This type of structure encourages groups of people to work on a certain projects. The groups are based of the skills and are created across all the functions of the organisation. Most of the organisations benefits from this type of structure as the skills of the workers are well harnessed. Communication is also quick and hence quick decision making. However in this type of structure there is likely to have many free riders in the organisation riding on the goodwill of the group. This is more suitable in the manufacturing industries where people are grouped together making a team. The team then is given a target to achieve in the production process. This helps the communication in the production process as it is fast. Quick decision making is necessary in the production process and hence this structure is suitable in this industry. 1.2 Influence of organisational behaviour on the organisation’s structure performance. Organization culture is another vital concept in the communication process. Various organizations have varied cultures. In this concept, culture is defined in regard to the ways communication and interaction take place. Sharing of information is critical in determining the effectiveness of culture in the communication process. The culture of an organization is a concept that is created by the organization leadership and influences the way people interrelate and on the performance of the organization. Positive cultures results to a healthy work environment thus resulting to increased productivity of the organization. Communication is a key element of culture, and it influences the sharing and exchanging of information within an organization. Hersey Blanchard style of leadership is a leadership model that suggests that there is no a single approved and optimal style of leadership. This means that the follower’s maturity affects the success of the leadership. It is determined by the confidence and the ability of the group they lead. This means the culture and the structure of the organisation is very crucial. Internal communication in Nestle Nestle has a strong communication strategy in their organization as it has established a department that deals with internal communication. The company also has established a good structure to deal with internal problems especially complains. Nestle has a whole department that deals with receiving complaints from their staff and then forward it to the company’s management. The company’s culture is that communication is horizontal and has to pass through all the departments before reaching the junior workers in the production. This therefore means, the management does not speak directly to the junior workers but passes the information to the departments which are led by the assistant manager and heads of departments who then passes the information to the supervisors who control the production. This type of information flow means that the entire department in the company get the information at the required time. The benefits with this structure is that all the responsible persons receive information, analyse it and act on it before passing it on to the junior officers. The organizational culture affects the type of communication to be taken by the organization as it guides the management on the steps to take. In addition there is a routine that is taken by the staff of the organization as based of the traditions of the organization and it is difficult to change the culture of the organization. 2.1 Features of a good internal communication strategy The first very important feature of the internal communication is that it directed to the employees and must be led from the top management. This means the senior managers have to be effective communicators, committed and involved in the running of the organization. Another essential feature is that it has to be consistent. Information that keeps on changing is not a good communication. Reliable information has to be consistent and reliable to those who use it. Careful planning and attention is also necessary in making a good communication and hence the need for a good manager to give the information. It is also good to note that communication in the organization via the line managers is most effective. This is because it gives people the chance to ask questions that may bother them. Timing of the communication is critical and also the integration between the external and internal communication. Tone of the communication is another crucial feature of communication as well as the realization that it is a two-way traffic which means speaking and listening are important. In communication and preparation of the message to be transferred some communication tools are used. Some of the tools used include Microsoft word; excel as well as Microsoft PowerPoint. Email and internet are used in internal communication and especially when the information that is being given is urgent. The emails of the organization and other data storage mediums should be password protected. The passwords should only be shared with the authorized people to help protect the integrity of the information. 2.2 Writing conventions These are very important in writing. They are the surface of writing. This therefore means before any communication is made the communicator should first take care of the writing conventions. The conventions are courtesy to the user of the information like making it easier for the reader to comprehend. The conventions are divided into mechanics and usage. Mechanics are only on print and do not exist on the oral communication. They include spelling, capitalisation, paragraphs and punctuation. Usage on the other hand, uses both written and spoken communication and hence includes other things like pronunciation verb tense, and the word order. Written communication is a type of communication that is used in many organizations and especially the well organized and large organizations. This type of communication plays a crucial role in companies and especially in the communication of the important information and that may involve many people at a go. In most of the organizations and especially in Nestle, it is considered more powerful and then the other type of communication in verbal interaction. Different companies and organizations in the world have particular places and types of written communication. For example, in a company if a red poster is seen in the notice board it reflects a warning to something that may be going wrong somewhere. If it is a white paper it reflects just the normal communication and hence most of these depend on the organization being researched. 2.3 External and Internal communication in an organisation Proper internal communication results to smooth running of the internal operations of an organization. This is because there is the creation of better relations with individuals both within and outside the organization. The use of Emails in an organisation is the quickest and most assured way of communication within an organisation. In addition Emails offer a back-up to the information sent and hence there are no chances of information loss. The leadership in an organization needs to be keen in selecting the information to be shared, who to get the information, and when such information should be shared. Organizations should develop a culture that involves active participation of employees in the management practices. Some employees exhibit quality skills that can be engaged to assist in the operations of the organization. The culture of engaging employees in the running of the organization ensures there is diversity of ideas and skills in the running of the business. All this will depend on the relationship between the management and the employees which is determined by communication. Organization culture is thus an essential aspect in the communication process. The culture developed by the leadership determines the success of an organization. Management and people within an organization need to indulge proper communication skills in establishing a better framework for conflict resolution. Most organizations have failed due to lack of proper communication that will assist in conflict resolution. Communication is the only means that can offer a viable solution to the existence of a dispute. Good communication skills ensure there is avoidance of angry confrontation and hence better approach to conflict resolution. The process of exchanging ideas and information presents an opportunity to know and understand each other’s point view. This will also help in understanding why different people hold different ideas and the reasons behind such ideas. Effective communication provides a platform for dispute resolution and minimizes the risks of making generalizations or jumping into conclusions. There is the necessity of understanding the cause of conflict before engaging to find a solution. Management of an organization should always encourage better communication processes in solving the disputes that may arise between the employees or among the management. 2.4 Spread sheets and Database In business, there are ethics that guide the communication in the organization. Spread sheets are used in preparation of the information to be shared. The communicator must first use the spread sheet either to prepare the information or analyse the data received.Database is very necessary and should be properly protected. Good passwords should be used that are not accessible to everyone. In addition, the database is where all the information about the organisation should be stored and hence the reason to have a good one. The database is the most crucial place for the business as it drives the company towards prosperity.Nestle also realizes that people like making informed choices about food choice and hence give the required information to the customers through the right media. In most cases the company uses flyers, billboards, television and posters to communicate to the customers. It also uses the packets to give more information on the ingredients used to make the foods as well as encourage the potential consumers on the healthy benefits that they may derive from the products that they buy. 3.1 E-business and e-commerce In most cases the two terms are used interchangeably though they mean slightly different things. The both refer to the electronic aspect of the organization. E-commerce covers most of the outside factors of the organization like the customers, partners, purchasing of the raw materials as well as customer service. Procurement for material of production is also a process in e-commerce. E-business on the other hand, includes the factors of e-commerce and more specifically covers the internal processes of a business. The e-business strategies are more difficult to implement as compared to the e-commerce strategies. This is because they are aimed at increasing the efficiency of the organization and cost saving. They include production development, risk management, human resource and knowledge management (Blundel&Blundel2004). 3.2Advantages and disadvantages and the use of international social networking and the internet for business Social media has a big impact on the business and especially where the target market is the youths. The first major benefit is that it is an easy way to learn about the consumer behaviour. For business from any sector the key aim is to satisfy the customer and succeed. Social media therefore provides an opportunity for the organisation to learn from the feedback of the consumers. The use of social media helps in making a suitable target. For the organisations it is good to make a good target and the social media tool is a good tool to do this. A good example is that face book and twitter allow the organisation to group people according to their relationship status, location, education and gender among others hence a benefit to the organisation. Social media is also instrumental in finding a new target and expanding the audience. Social media is a good platform that allow organisation to locate the presence of their customers and also attract the potential customers. It also provides a platform for free advertisement and free platform for information distribution. A good social media account can earn th company a high number of customers. However with the advantages that the social media carries, it also has some disadvantages that it carries too. As the name suggests this is a platform for social interaction and hence it is time intensive. This means that there must be a person employed to monitor this. It is also true to note that social media is intrusive. Advertising in the social media is intrusive to peoples’ privacy and hence may not yield the expected results. Another setback for this type of advertising is that there is no control of feedbacks. This means that even the negative responses are also available to the other users of the platform. Another disadvantage is that the business may be a local business but communicating to distant fans who may not even access their products. Furthermore it mainly attracts only the current customers and the brand users(Bordow& More 1991). 3.3 Use of digital tools The use of digital platform is also another very crucial tool in the organization. Nestle has embraced the digital platform as it has opened a facebook page to help them interact with the customers and advertise their products. A twitter account is also operational and helps the company in advertising the Nestle products. Leadership strategies should indulge in marketing using the digital tool which is very effective. The performance of the various roles of management depends on the effective communication. Management should ensure that employees have an environment where they can give their contributions thus contributing towards organization development. Leadership strategies define the approach that management use in the running of the organization. Management should ensure effective communication is enhanced in performing the various functions of management including training and directing (Barker &Angelopulo 2006). The use of digital tools to advertise will strengthen the performance of the organization in the market. Delivering of information is effective when the aspects of formal and informal communication are applied. Management should read the message communicated by their employees whether formal or informal to be able to enhance change. Employees use these two aspects of communication in delivering a message. Formal communication requires employees to use certain designated protocol to communicate information. The hierarchy in leadership is recognized in this form of communication. Informal communication does not involve any hierarchy, and it reflects on the social aspects and interests of the employees. Organizations that make use of this concept of communication allow employees to express themselves both in official and unofficial matters. This results to better performance of the organization (Mersham& Skinner 2001). The main concern of Nestle is the message that they forward to the consumers on the pack and hence that is carefully planned and decided. The company make some symbols on the front of the packs of their products to help the customers recognize them as well as make the customer to understand the nutritional value of the food that is contained in the pack. The customers recognize the products at a glance. Through this kind of communication, the company has gained a very positive reputation from the public and hence their sales have increased considerably. This is due to the notion that the consumers have that the company is behaving honourably and responsibly to inform the consumers of their produce as well as communicating with the customers effectively. Nestle, being a responsible company dealing with nutrition, and the wellbeing of the consumers, they are keen to give information, facilitate and promote the healthy living of people around the world from the employees to the consumers of their products. This therefore has made the company start with the healthy living of the employees who are involved in the production in the company. To communicate this information to the employees the company holds seminars and meetings with all the workers and this helps in motivating workers as it shows that the company is concerned of their wellbeing. Conclusion Communication is an aspect that is important in the operations of any entity. Most importantly, communication within the business is vital since it may make or break the business. The majority of the stakeholders in organizations are comfortable with the communication channel within the businesses. The managers should always seek to create time to listen to queries and recommendations of the employees. The managers should also make it easier for the employees relay information to their leaders. There are various forms of communication that exist. The managers of Nestle Company have made it easier for the employees to communicate to the bosses in the supermarket. Management should make sure that the communication strategy and the form selected enhances better engagement with the employees. Employees will always feel encouraged and motivated when they communicate with their bosses. Communication provides the means by which the employees relay their opinion. Leaders, on the other hand, should listen to their employees and offer reasonable response. Communication becomes effective when there is a message sent and feedback received. Effective communication leads to effective performance as the players within the organization are able to iron out any hindrances that may arise through communication. References Mersham, G. M., & Skinner, J. C. (2001).New insights into business and organisational communication. Sandown, South Africa: Heinemann. Barker, R., &Angelopulo, G. C. (2006).Integrated organisational communication. Cape Town: Juta. Bordow, A. M., & More, E. (1991).Managing organisational communication. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire. Blundel, R., &Blundel, R. (2004).Effective organisational communication: Perspectives, principles and practices. Harlow, England: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Read More