Organisational Design and Sustainable Performance: A Critical Analysis of Body Image

This report critically analyses the current design of Body Image and its alignment with sustainable organisational performance. It includes a summary of the internal organisational context, historical and theoretical perspectives of organisation design, and evaluation of two design models. It also provides recommendations for HR strategy and practices to improve strategic alignment.

 Assignment – 5ODG - Part B
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Part B (A.C. 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2 & 2.3) (1,500 – 2,000 words)
A member of the senior leadership team has recently read an article on the relationship
between sustainable organisational performance and the strategic alignment of an
organisation’s different components such as its structure, culture, processes, and people
management approaches, and is keen to explore the following question:
“To what extent does the current ‘design’ of the organisation support organisational
success?”
You have been asked to produce a 1500 – 2000 word report which:
 Summarises the current internal organisational context in terms of key influences on
business strategy, and measures of organisational performance. Include consideration of
 Organisation type
 Organisation elements (structures, processes and systems)
 External influences (STEEPLE factors), performance measures.
 Summarises the historical and theoretical perspectives of organisation design, and gives a
brief explanation and comparison of two organisation design models.
 Selects and uses two organisational design models/diagnostic tools (above) as a framework
to critically analyse the structure and management of the organisation, and to evaluate the
relationship between the various aspects of organisation design and the performance
measures previously identified.
 Draws conclusions as to the alignment between the current design of the organisation, its
culture systems and processes, and its ability to successfully deliver on current and future
business objectives.
 Makes recommendations in terms of HR strategy and practices to support and improve
strategic alignment.
The leadership team will expect your report to:
 Use a range of relevant models and analytical tools as a framework for your evaluation
(summarising key points in the main body of the report and including any supporting detail
in the appendices).
 Provide references for any theory or articles you cite, so they are able to follow up any of
your ideas they may find interesting.
 Provide recommendations that clearly support organisational strategy, and that are
achievable, practical and cost effective. (A summary implementation plan should be
included in the appendices).
 Please also comment on how you will transfer the new knowledge and skills gained during
this assignment into working practices. You may also use this reflection for your CPD.
 You should also include 3-5 references from up to date and relevant sources in order to
support your findings. This assignment must be submitted through Online Services.
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 Assignment – 5ODG - Part B
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NAME: COHORT:
COMPANY: Body Image WORD COUNT
Section 1 (1,500 words)
Summary of the current internal organisational context in terms of key influences on business
strategy, and measures of organisational performance.
Organisation type
The main types are The types are: 1. Line Organization 2. Line and Staff Organization 3.
Functional Organization 4. Project Organization 5. Matrix Organization. Line organization is one
of the most simple as well as old organizational structure that has been followed widely by
multiple organizations. The line administrative method includes the simple way of execution of
the orders. It has been monitored that the administrative decisions flow from the higher
authorities to the lower organizational structure. The line organizational structure is perceived as
the simplest type of organizational structure. In this structure, the commands of the mangers and
the leader are communicated through a continuous flow (Madnani et al. 2015). Hence, it can be
regarded as highly effective as there is no gap in the communication process. A staff line
organization follows the primary features of a line organization. However, the significant
difference of the staff lie organization is that it provides the employees, especially the lower level
staff members with the necessary supports. To elaborate it furthermore it can be sad that the staff
line type of organization follows the method of command flowing from the higher level to the
lower (Goetsch and Davis 2014). Along with that, these types of organizations provide their staffs
with proper training and also gives out necessary advices to ensure smooth functioning of the
operations. In contrast to these organizational types, the functional organization depends on the
individual and independent functioning of each departments. Whereas, a project organization is a
type of organization that primarily depends on the project activities. These organizations are
focused on delivering the smooth functioning by taking up easy communication amongst the
employees.
Organisation elements (structures, processes and systems)
Mainly there are five types of organizational structures:
1- Functional Organizations: In this structure, each department will represent its own function, such
as Sales, HR, Finance, etc.
2- Geographical Organizations: This is will based on developing the operation across national
boundaries.
3- Organization by product: Common structure is to be organized by a specific product type. As each
product falls under one structure reporting to executive who oversee the whole process.
This type might be useful to be implemented in Body Image as each major brand could be shaped
into product structure.
4- Organization by customer / market: When the organization is relying on small number of
customers, automotive components manufacturer considered organization by customer.
5- Matrix Structure: this kind of organizational structure maintains the matrix or grid system of
organizational relationship, rather than depending on the traditional hierarchy.
The Geographical organization considered as the most suitable structure to be implemented to Body
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 Assignment – 5ODG - Part B
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Image for the following reasons:
1- Body Image has geographical expansion over 61 countries with different time zones.
2- Geographical structure will facilitate delivering the business objectives for “Body Image” for sales
targets.
3- Each country with separate management will affect the culture.
External influences (STEEPLE factors), performance measures.
STEEPLE Factors:
Social:
- Demographic: As the Organization is off-shoring their products industry in Asia, and the
Multilanguage and different cultures.
- Population Growth:
- Age Distribution: As it’s indicates that higher percentage of population are under age of 30 as
population growth rates.
Technological:
- Technological growth: As this will affect –to an extent- the online sales, and the server’s
development to cope with the increase in sales.
- Automation: Continuous development with current software’s market will lead to have more
options with sufficient costs.
Economical:
- Economic situation of the countries in which the organization is operating can highly
influence the functioning and production.
- Taxation policies as well as the fiscal policies differ widely from one country to another
(Adorni 2013).
- The purchasing capacity of the consumers also differs widely.
- GDP of a country plays significant role in demand and supply.
Environmental:
- Environmental protection laws of a country vary from one place to another. Moreover,
failure to abide by these laws often resulted into failure of maintaining environmental
sustenance.
- Waste management and disposal policies are to be considered with importance.
Political:
- Political stability of the countries in which the organization is operating are to be regarded
as important. In the context of Body Image, it can be said that the political inconsistency
of the Asian countries often affect the business.
- Marketing and trade agreement regulations also vary from country to country
Legal:
- Difference in rules and regulations are to be kept in mind while operating in a foreign
country.
Ethical:
- Organizational morality and integrity are highly important. Exercising these practices help
organizations to maintain sustainability.
Measures of organisational performance
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 Assignment – 5ODG - Part B
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Summary of the historical and theoretical perspectives of organisation design, and gives a
brief explanation and comparison of two organisation design models.
Historical and theoretical perspectives
Organizational design ensures the overall process of organizational functioning as well as it
ensures the organizational structure. The organizational design is responsible for ensuring the
operation and the planning (More, Probert and Phaal 2015). Moreover, the organizational design
focuses on the strategies of providing excellent customer service, increasing efficiency as well as
reduction of the cost of operations. According to the classical organizational theory the
organizations are regarded as machines and the employees of the organization are perceived as
the components of the machine (Lang et al. 2013). It can be understood that the classical theory
of organizational design hence, acknowledges the importance of employees in order to maintain
the effectiveness of the organization. The neo-classical theory of organizational design focuses on
the economic, social and technical influences on the organization.
Design model (1)
One of the most prominent and widely accepted organizational design is the McKinsey’s 7s
Model. Published in the year 1980. The McKinsey’s 7s Model is primarily based on seven
components that are regarded as highly influencing the organizational structure as well as the
functioning of the organization (Larsen, Manning and Pedersen 2013). The major components of
the organizational functioning are system, strategy, style, skills, staff, and structure. The benefit
of adopting McKinsey’s 7s Model is that the important organizational elements are being
described effectively through the model. Moreover, it can be said that the organization that is
implementing the McKinsey’s 7s Model can effectively use these elements in order to have
effective communication amongst the employees as well as the leaders. However, it can be said
that the model has few limitations as well (Foss, Lyngsie and Zahra 2013). One of the most
prominent drawback of the McKinsey’s 7s Model is that it does not incorporate the analysis of
the external environment. Moreover, it can be noticed that the model does not include the process
of obtaining feedback from the employees as well as from the external stakeholders.
Design model (2)
The Galbraith’s Star Model is another popular organizational design that has been taken up by
multiple organizations. It has been noticed that the model effectively uses the organizational
structure to gain competitive advantage (Foss, Lyngsie and Zahra 2013). Moreover, the
Galbraith’s Star Model effective uses reward mechanism in order to ensure effective functioning
and staff retention. The benefit of applying the model is that it effectively uses the organizational
elements. However, it can be noticed that the model fails to address some of the organizational
structure.
Drawing from findings from use of 2 organisational design models
Critical analysis of the structure and management of the organisation
Body Image is an organization that primarily deals in the bath accessories. The organization
specializes in sponges as well as other bathing accessories and is operating more than 60 years. In
addition to this the organization also specializes in beauty and wellness products. The
organization that has started operating in the year 2005, has the headquarters in Paris. In order to
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 Assignment – 5ODG - Part B
This assignment must be submitted through Online Services
analyze the organizational structure, it can be understood that Body image has a strong brand
image as well as distributive strategies (GalbRaith 2014). In this regard it can be analyzed that the
organizational structure, that Body Image is following, is the functional organization type. It can
be monitored that the organization has a well-constructed. The organization has taken up the
strategy of accessing the needs of the global market and the current trends. The organization that
has been operating over 61countries all over the world, has taken up effective strategies to present
cross-functional collaboration in order to provide efficient solution to the address the beauty and
wellness needs of the targeted market.
Evaluation of the relationship between various aspects of the organization and the
performance measures used
By analyzing the organizational structure, and the management, it can be understood that Body
Image follows an organizational structure that is interlinked. As a result of the functional
structure, the organization has efficient link and communication amongst the departments
(Huczynski, Buchanan and Huczynski 2013). The marketing section is regarded as highly
important and they are responsible for advertising the new products as well as accessing the
changes in the global market. In this regard, it is easily understandable that the production and
operation of the organization is correlated as well as they are related to the marketing department.
In order to analyze the access the performance of the organization, several measures can be
employed. It can be understood that in order to measure the organizational performance and
maintain effective functioning, Body Image needs to identify effective strategic measurements.
Incorporating strategic measurements will help the organization to achieve desired goals. The
most effective tool for measuring organizational performance is process mapping (GalbRaith
2014). The process mapping tool enables the organization to access the steps and decisions taken
up by the management. Another effective way of measuring organizational performance is
employing cause and effect diagram. Popularly known as the fish bone diagram, this tool can be
regarded as one of the most effective ways to identify the possible causes behind any problem.
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 Assignment – 5ODG - Part B
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Conclusions as to the alignment between the current design of the organisation, its culture
systems and processes, and its ability to successfully deliver on current and future business
objectives.
As per the analysis, it can be noticed that the organization is following the functional structure.
Moreover, it can be understood that the departments of the organization are working effectively
and individually. Moreover, the organization has successfully maintaining the organizational
culture that is depending on the inclusive approach. It is to be monitored that Body Image is
operating over more than 61 countries and planning for future expansion (Niu, et al. 2015). In
addition to this, the organization aims at constant upgrade of their products to gain competitive
advantage. Hence, it can easily be understandable that the Body Image needs to adopt inclusive
approach where the employees will be able to communicate their views and ideas. The effective
ideas will be incorporated in the process of product development and organizational functioning.
As it can be understood that the organization has a taken up diversified approach while
employing the staffs. The staff members belong to varied cultural background. Hence, it is easily
understandable that they are capable of providing effective inputs regarding the varied market
trends. This will be highly beneficial for the organization in achieving their present as well as
future goals.
Recommendations in terms of HR strategy and practices to support and improve strategic
alignment.
It can be monitored that the strategic alignment is one of the most important process of obtaining
competitive advantage. In this regard, it is to be mentioned that the strategic alignment enables
the organizations to encourage the employees to perform better. In order to implement strategic
alignment successfully, implementation of effective HR policies is also important (Lang et al.
2013). The initial step that has to be taken by the HR department is to employ candidate
irrespective of their cultural backgrounds and with more focus to their skills and knowledge. By
adopting this policy, the organization will also be able to maintain diversity in organizational
culture. Moreover, the company should be more focused on the process of incorporating to ensure
better security and facilities for the employees. Moreover, proper and timely training initiatives
are also to be taken up. Incorporating these practices will ensure effective functioning of the
organization.
Section 2 (as required)
Appendix – Implementation Plan
Type here:
Appendices
Type here:
Section 3 References
Ensure that every reference included here is sign-posted in your report
Adorni, E., 2013. The steeple spire of the Parma Cathedral: An analysis of the glazed bricks and
mortars. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 33(13-14), pp.2801-2809.
Foss, N.J., Lyngsie, J. and Zahra, S.A., 2013. The role of external knowledge sources and
organizational design in the process of opportunity exploitation. Strategic Management
Journal, 34(12), pp.1453-1471.
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 Assignment – 5ODG - Part B
This assignment must be submitted through Online Services
GalbRaith, J.R., 2014. Organizational design challenges resulting from big data.
Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: pearson.
Huczynski, A., Buchanan, D.A. and Huczynski, A.A., 2013. Organizational behaviour (p. 82).
London: Pearson.
Lang, P.T., Loarte, A., Saibene, G., Baylor, L.R., Becoulet, M., Cavinato, M., Clement-Lorenzo,
S., Daly, E., Evans, T.E., Fenstermacher, M.E. and Gribov, Y., 2013. ELM control strategies and
tools: status and potential for ITER. Nuclear Fusion, 53(4), p.043004.
Larsen, M.M., Manning, S. and Pedersen, T., 2013. Uncovering the hidden costs of offshoring:
The interplay of complexity, organizational design, and experience. Strategic Management
Journal, 34(5), pp.533-552.
Madnani, N., Heilman, M., Tetreault, J. and Chodorow, M., Educational Testing Service,
2015. System and method for identifying organizational elements in argumentative or persuasive
discourse. U.S. Patent 9,208,139.
More, E., Probert, D. and Phaal, R., 2015, August. Improving long-term strategic planning: An
analysis of STEEPLE factors identified in environmental scanning brainstorms. In Management
of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), 2015 Portland International Conference on (pp. 381-
394). IEEE.
Niu, L.Y., Chen, Y.Z., Zheng, H.R., Wu, L.Z., Tung, C.H. and Yang, Q.Z., 2015. Design
strategies of fluorescent probes for selective detection among biothiols. Chemical Society
Reviews, 44(17), pp.6143-6160.
Section 4 (approx. 200 words)
CPD Record – what key things have you learned from undertaking this assignment?
From this assignment, the important organizational structure and the external factors that play
influential role in achieving organizational success. Moreover, the organizational designs and the
measures of measuring tools have also been analysed in the assignment. In this regard, it is also
to be mentioned that the efficient human resource policies are also helpful in successful
implementation of organizational design.
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