Analysis of Wesfarmers within Contemporary Organizations Framework

This essay provides an analysis of Wesfarmers, focusing on its organizational structure, marketing, finance, and people management strategies within the framework of contemporary organizations. Starting as a Western Australian farmer’s cooperative in 1914, Wesfarmers has evolved into a major retail conglomerate with diverse business operations including supermarkets, home improvement, and industrial products. The essay highlights Wesfarmers' commitment to sustainable business strategies and maintaining a strong financial position, along with its subsidiaries like Coles, Bunnings, Target, and Kmart. It also addresses Wesfarmers' strict prohibition of human trafficking and modern slavery, influenced by the United Kingdom’s Modern Slavery Act 2015 and other international guidelines, emphasizing the importance of organizational culture and employee well-being in enhancing performance and reducing attrition.

Running head: UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY ORGANISATIONS
Understanding Contemporary Organizations
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY ORGANISATIONS
Integration
The process of integration is being increasingly used by the various business
enterprises of the present times not only for the incorporation of the diverse innovative
technologies within the framework but at the same time for the effective integration of these
technologies within the framework of their organizational culture as well (De Roeck and
Maon 2018). This serves dual benefits for the various organizations firstly they ensure that
the concerned organization is being able to effectively use the new technologies that have
been incorporated and secondly they help in the improvement of the organizational culture as
well (Hahn et al. 2015).
Wesfarmers strictly prohibits human trafficking as well as modern form of slavery
within the framework of their organization. This particular dictum of the concerned
organization can be seen as a direct result of the “United Kingdom’s Modern Slavery Act
2015 (Act)” which requires the various business enterprises to ensure that the processes of
slavery as well as human trafficking are not being followed either within their workplace or
for that matter within the various supply chains that they normally take the help of
(Sustainability.wesfarmers.com.au 2018). In addition to this, this particular action of the
concerned organization is also dictated by the “Universal Declaration on Human Rights”,
“United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights” and others
(Sustainability.wesfarmers.com.au 2018). Thus, not only the management of the concerned
organization but also the various employees who are a part of the concerned organization are
also required to follow the guidelines of these legislations as well as regulations to ensure that
slavery and human trafficking is not being followed in any manner within the framework of
their organization.

2UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY ORGANISATIONS
The use of this particular concept renders various kinds of benefits to the concerned
organization and also the employees who are a part of it. Firstly, they help the concerned
organization in a significant manner to improve the organizational culture that they have
within their workplaces (Sustainability.wesfarmers.com.au 2018). This is important since
researches have shown that the concept of organizational culture is directly related to the
performance level of the employees and at the same time with the overall organizational
culture as well. In addition to this, an effective organizational culture at the same time
enhances the job satisfaction level of the employees and thereby reduces the rate of attrition
in a significant manner (Hahn et al. 2015). Furthermore, it is seen that if the employees get
the right kind of work environment wherein they are able to work in a better manner they
tend to recommend the concerned organization to others as well. This helps the HRM team of
the concerned organization in a significant manner. These in short are some of the benefits of
the integration policy that the concerned organization is following at the present moment.

3UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY ORGANISATIONS
CEO
Manager (Production) Manager (Marketing)
Finance Manufacture Finance Promotion
Accounts and Finance Managers Promotion teams
Workers and Supervisors
Accounts and Finance Managers
HRM R&D
Media Managers
Relationship Managers
Organizational Structure Diagram

4UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY ORGANISATIONS
References
De Roeck, K. and Maon, F., 2018. Building the theoretical puzzle of employees’ reactions to
corporate social responsibility: An integrative conceptual framework and research
agenda. Journal of Business Ethics, 149(3), pp.609-625.
Hahn, T., Pinkse, J., Preuss, L. and Figge, F., 2015. Tensions in corporate sustainability:
Towards an integrative framework. Journal of Business Ethics, 127(2), pp.297-316.
Sustainability.wesfarmers.com.au. 2018. Wesfarmers human rights and modern slavery
statement. [online] Available at:
https://sustainability.wesfarmers.com.au/our-principles/sourcing/ethical-sourcing-and-
human-rights/wesfarmers-human-rights-and-modern-slavery-statement/ [Accessed 28 Aug.
2018].