Organizational Structures
Every company has their own form of organizational structure. Whether the business is big or small, an organizational structure is needed in order to be successful. An organizational structure helps put the business in order to make sure there are no problems in the future, but what exactly is an organizational structure? It is how the reporting structure is organized. There are many types of organizational structures. Some examples of organizational structures are, the functional, matrix, and divisional structures (Bateman & Snell, 2011).When business owners are planning a structure for their business, it is important to know just how complex the business will be. If the business is a major corporation, such as Wal-Mart, then the structure should be able to support the complexity of the business. When a major corporation does not have a structure that supports their complexity, they are likely to have issues within the organization of the business. This potentially causes the business to lack the proper management and to possibly fail. An organizational structure will determine how all employees work together.
If the business is not under a strong structure, then there could be confusion throughout the whole business. An organizational structure also determines the decisions that the business will make as a whole (, 1991). If there is not a structure, then there is ultimately not a business. There is a lead manager and then it spirals down. There should be someone in charge of all departments within the business. If it is a small business there is not really a need to have a complex organizational structure.
If the business is a big business, they should have a structure that will work best for them. Along with a structure, comes structure control. A structure is nothing without having the proper controls that come along with the structure itself. No business can be successful without having the proper controls to keep the structure in tack (, 1991). Just because a business has the right structure does not mean that they will have a thriving business. Not having the right controls can hurt a business just as much as not having the right structure for the business.
It is critical that all businesses have the right structure. The structure and the controls can very much determine whether or not the business will thrive in the business world or if it will fail and crash. Business owners should have time to think about what structure best suits their new or existing business (, 1991). Wal-Mart is a major shopping corporation. With stores across the world, they are one of the largest shopping centers ("Wal-Mart", 2012). Being the kang'ombe vs attorney general that they are, they need to have a strong, very well thought out, organizational structure.
Wal-Mart uses the matrix structure. A matrix organization is “an organization composed of a dual reporting relationship in which some managers report to two superiors” (Bateman & Snell, 2011). The system includes different levels of management. Wal-Mart has many levels of management. They have management for international and domestic needs. They were able to come up with a structure that would best suit their business and its complexity. Being that Wal-Mart is a major company, it is highly important that their organizational structure is well organized.
Wal-Mart is one company that cannot afford to have issues with their management. There are too many stores world-wide that thrive on organization. Wal-Mart thrives to satisfy their customers, and set way for other similar businesses. Wal-Mart is a role model for other similar stores such as K-Mart or Target. The way Wal-Mart is set up is a great example of a well thought out structure. A matrix organization is one of many different organizational structures. As mentioned before, each structure is based on the complexity of the business itself.
Some other structures include divisional and functional organization. Divisional organization is based on the customers, geographic regions, and products, unlike the matrix structure, where it is based on who the employees will report to, such as the CEO’s, general managers, and shift managers just to name a few (Bateman & Snell, 2011). Functional organization is when a business groups different departments according to the skill of that particular group (Bateman & Snell, 2011). Wal-Mart has a marketing team that does their best to keep their customers coming back.
For example, the marketing team came up with the slogan “Save money. Live better. ” ("Wal-Mart", 2012). The other aspects of this particular business are the finance department and the human resources department. These departments, as well as others, also play a key part in the structure of the business. With so many different departments, each with different skills, there is a need for a structure that is able to keep the business organized. Being that they have a complex system, the matrix structure seems to be the best choice they could make.
There are various managers that are located within each department of Wal-Mart. To keep it organized, the matrix structure breaks the whole system up so that each manager has to report back to the same two managers above them, which eventually leads to the head of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is an international store. It is very important to have a structure that will help keep everything in order. If there is no structure for them to go off of, then they risk having a fall in their business. When it comes to any business like Wal-Mart, there is competition that comes along with being so popular.
They need to have an organized team of specialists that are ready and trained for any obstacle that they could potentially come into contact with. They need to have a strong marketing team to make sure that Wal-Mart always strives in the business industry. There are a large number of employees that Wal-Mart has employed over the years. If there is no structure in the human resources department, it would be very difficult to keep up with all of the employees across the world. Wal-Mart representatives need to ensure that all employees are taken care of, and have a system that will make their job easier.
It can be very difficult to keep up with so many employees. Having a structure that will make the department’s employees easier will be better for the company as a whole. As mentioned before, Wal-Mart is a company that is well-known across the world. The geographic of all of the Wal-Mart retail stores, plays a role in the structure as well. Every country has their own way of dealing with their businesses. Not one country is the same when it comes to how business is to be run. With that being said, Wal-Mart is a business that has their own set of regulations that every Wal-Mart location has to follow.
Having a matrix structure helps to ensure that all employees, regardless of the location, have a clear understanding as to what is expected from them. The smallest mistake made, can ruin the reputation of Wal-Mart as a whole. No business wants to ever deal with a big mistake that one employee made that caused many problems to occur. All businesses have their own structure; whether the business is a local business, or if it is a world-wide known business, there is a need to have structure. Without any structure in a business, the business is at a high risk of failing.
This is a fear that many up and coming business entrepreneurs have. With no structure in this world, the world would be a hectic place. For any new business owners, they have to make sure that they are running their business on a strong structure that best suits their needs as a business. A mistake that many business owners can make is basing their business on the structure of another business. A small local business could not base their structure on the structure of a big and major business such as Wal-Mart. References Bateman, T. S. , & Snell, S. A. (2011). Management Leading & Collaborating in a Competitive World