Organisational Strategy and Leadership: A Case Study of Woolworths Group

Running head: ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP
ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP: A CASE STUDY OF
WOOLWORTHS GROUP
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ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP1
Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................2
Overview of the business activities of Woolworths Group...........................................3
Generic Business Strategy followed by Woolworths Group.........................................4
Organisational Culture predominant in Woolworths Group..........................................8
Formal organizational structure in Woolworths Group...............................................11
Conclusion..................................................................................................................13
References.................................................................................................................15

ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP2
Introduction
As opined by David and David (2016), the dynamicity of the modern-day
business world becomes apparent from the increasingly different business
processes or mechanisms that the diverse business enterprises are presently using.
Thompson, Strickland and Gamble (2015) are of the viewpoint that difference of the
modern-day business world from that of the earlier times becomes apparent not only
in the context of the business models which are being used by the business
enterprises but also in terms of the strategies that are being used by them as well.
As a matter of fact, the contemporary business enterprises are taking the help of the
kind of strategies which are in conjunction with the demands of the business markets
of their operational and also intended for the achievement of the business goals or
objectives that had been formulated by them (Hubbard, Rice and Galvin 2014). In
this regard, it needs to be said that the framework or the tool of generic business
strategies is an important one which helps the business enterprises to select the
right kind of strategies as per their business requirements or objectives (Wheelen et
al. 2017).
As discussed by Morschett, Schramm-Klein and Zentes (2015), the role
played by the machinery of organisational or workplace culture can in no way be
relegated to the background. Furthermore, recent researches have clearly revealed
the fact that the organisational or workplace culture which is being followed within
the spectrum of a particular business enterprise wields a substantial influence on the
entity of employee performance and thereby the overall productivity of the entire
enterprise itself (Elsmore 2017). Moreover, mention also needs to be made of the
aspect of the organisational structure or the hierarchy which exists within the
framework of the workplace of a business enterprise since this also greatly

ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY AND LEADERSHIP3
determines the aspect of employee performance and thereby profitability of the
enterprises. On the score of these aspects, it can be said that it is on the
conglomeration of these three factors that the success or the growth attained by a
particular business enterprise greatly depends. The purpose of this report is to
critically analyse the entities of business strategy, organisational structure and
workplace culture and the role that they play within the spectrum of a business
enterprise through the usage of the case study of the Australian retail enterprise
Woolworths Group.
Overview of the business activities of Woolworths Group
The Australian retail enterprise Woolworths Group or more commonly called
by the name of Woolworths was founded in 1924 by Percy Christmas, Stanley
Chatterton, Cecil Scott Waine, George Creed and Ernest Williams
(Woolworths.com.au. 2019). The concerned enterprise had extensive retail interests
in the nations of Australia and New Zealand and is reputed for the diversity of its
product portfolio that it offers to the customers. As a matter of fact, it is seen that the
enterprise under discussion here offers different kinds of groceries, books, furniture,
petroleum, liquor, financial services, telecom services and others to the customers
which in turn had contributed in a substantial manner towards the success gained by
the concerned enterprise over the years (Woolworths.com.au. 2019).
An article of Abc.net.au (2019), indicates the fact that the enterprise under
discussion here together with Coles Supermarket holds more than 80% of the retail
market share of the nation of Australia. More importantly, the annual financial returns
earned by Woolworths Group for the year 2017 was more than A$55.669 billion
which in turn made it the 2nd largest retail enterprise of Australia in terms of the
annual profitability generated by it (Forbes.com 2019). Furthermore, the concerned