Analysis of Contemporary Organizations: Angus Dairy Co. Case Study

This report examines contemporary organizations, focusing on the organizational structure, people management, marketing, and financial practices. It begins by discussing various organizational structures, such as functional, matrix, and network structures, with a specific focus on the network structure employed by Angus Dairy Co. The report then delves into people management practices, including workplace safety, scientific management, and outsourcing. The report also explores contemporary marketing practices, such as shared value, and financial practices, including the use of modern financial systems like CFO. The analysis highlights the importance of adapting to the modern business environment and the adoption of innovative approaches for success in the long run. The Angus Dairy Co. case study is used to illustrate these concepts, demonstrating how the company integrates these practices to meet customer demands and maintain profitability.

Running head: UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATIONS
Understanding Contemporary organizations
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2CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATION
The 21st century is the age of rapid technological advancements and developments. Each
and every organization has to face a tough competition to survive in the long run. In order to
survive in this scenario, it is really important for the managers to build a successful
organizational structure for attaining success in the long run. Each and every organization has
certain goals to accomplish in the short and the lob run. They can attain those goals properly only
with the proper guidance and support from this managers. One of the most important things that
the organizations have to focus on is customer satisfaction (Wolfson 2014). So, they need a
structure that will help them to maximize their profit and their customer satisfaction at the same
time. Angus Dairy Company is one of the leading dairy manufacturers in Australia. The
managers make sure that they are using a particular organizational structure that helps their
employees to upgrade themselves and also meet the customer demands at the same time.
Contemporary organizational structure and design
There are different types of organizational structures that can be seen in different
companies. The organizations have to take many different aspects into consideration while
setting up the organizational structure. This is because they have to check the long and short-
term goals of the organization, the skill of the employees, the needs and demands of the
customers. There are many different types of structures in an organization life functional
structure. This is one where the employees are usually under a less stress as they have to report
to only some known departmental heads like the customer service department, the marketing
department, and the sales department. However, there is a problem that the employees might
need some extra detailed communication channels. They might also need some specialized
departments to help them understand and deliver their work better. The other structure is the
matrix structure. As the very name suggests the employees will have to report to a matrix or a

3CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATION
larger group of managers and departmental heads. This will ease their workloads there will be
clearance in the decision-making skills. However, at the same time, there is a chance that
employees might suffer from confusion (Ashkenas et al. 2015).
As far as the given information of Angus Dairy Co. is concerned, they make sure that the
employees are getting all the possible support from the manager and the other departmental
heads. The company believes in following a diverse and unique business model that will help
them to make and also maintain the business profitability and also the member profitability.
They also make sure to take into account the customer demands in this modern scenario (Sayles
2017). They make sure that they are being able to upgrade the quality and the number of
products both for the local, national and the International (Global) level as well. So, it is evident
that they need to have several departments that will help the workers to fill their skill gaps. They
will be able to reach put to one department in the absence of the other. At the same time, the
decision-making process of the company will also be smooth. So, it can be said that they use the
network structure. This is a modern kind of organizational structure where the power is
decentralized. In other words, the managers do not try to keep all the power only within their
own hands. They make sure that the structure is smooth and also employee friendly (Erevelles,
Fukawa and Swayne 2016). In other words, they follow both the employee-centric and the
customer-centric approach. This is also a social networking structure that helps in the art of
socialization. The chances of innovation and technology are also higher as it involves both the
inter-organizational and the intra organizational aspects. There is also less number of tiers which
ensures that the decision-making process is carried on in a bottom-up flow manner and is devoid
of obstructions. As Angus Dairies aim at working both for the local and the global level they

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have to expand their innovative approaches on a larger geographic area. This structure is also
less hierarchical and thus the decisions can be made promptly without any loss of time.
Figure1: The Network Structure
Source: (Schilling and Fang 2014)

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People management and Practices
People management is one of the most important aspects that the company has to look
after. Angus Dairies have about 3000 farmer members, 500 temporary casual staffs and 2000
full-time workers. On the other hand, these employees are also scattered among all the different
branches that are located in and around the country. Angus Dairies makes sure to use the
workplace safety approaches for the welfare of their employees. So, it is evident from this fact
that they give due importance to the health, safety and well being of the employees. In the
modern day scenario, the competition is increasing at a rapid rate. As a result of this, the amount
of work pressure is also rising day by day. This has made the entire production process quite
challenging for the employees. Angus Dairies uses the scientific management process for
managing its employees. This is one of the useful methods as it helps in making the employees
satisfied. Some of the important features of this process are –
The rewards of improvement and development in production must go to the employees.
In other words, it is the duty of the managers to distribute rewards among the employees. The
level of work stress and anxiety must be checked (Scott 2015). This can be done by dividing the
workload among the employees so that the no single employee is being burdened with the
maximum amount of work. It is for this reason that Angus Dairies follows the workplace safety
measure and makes sure that none of their employees are suffering from any workplace injuries
(Shields et al. 2015). It is for this reason that the company has also decided to outsource some of
its functions. This helps them to ensure that their employees can be concentrated on some
selected areas of work rather than doing a large amount of work within a very short period of
time.

6CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATION
It is for this reason that the marketing, advertising and the promotion of the company
have been outsourced. The organizations who are taking this work also conduct the market
research analysis, advertising campaigns, and methods of product development, market
strategies, and others. So, it is an understanding that this helps is managing the work of the
company is free, smooth and less time-consuming manner.
Figure2: Organizational structure
Source: (Ashkenas et al. 2015)
Angus Dairies take care of their employees and also focus on their skill development.
This is indeed very essential as this company specializes in a large number of products. They
also carry out a huge research and development process so that they can excel in the quality and
the quantity of the products produced by them. So, they are devoted to making the work
environment employee friendly. They make sure that they are making the manufacturing process
easier and smooth by introducing the modern scientific methods of production and
manufacturing.

7CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATION
Marketing practices in contemporary organizational setting
In this modern scenario, the companies are trying to adopt many contemporary marketing
practices so that they can prosper in the long run. As per the opinion of (Xu, Frankwick and
Ramirez 2016), traditional approaches help the companies in carrying out their marketing
processes in a simple traditional manner. As a result of this, they can concentrate on the rest of
the work taking place in the company (Parsons, Maclaran and Chatzidakis 2017) argues that in
order to make a strong base in the market the companies have to adopt the modern approaches of
marketing. They have to use an intensive R&D system so that they get a clear idea about the
ongoing trends in the market. For instance one of the contemporary marketing approaches is the
shared value (Crane et al. 2014). Here, the company has to show some perks or some attractions
to the co summers in the said market before penetrating into the same.
Angus Dairies have started producing a large number of other products like butter,
cheese, and other such products. They have also started adding elements like omega 3 into their
products so that the consumers feel that they will be getting several perks after if they are making
purchases from this company. Angus Dairies also make sure that they are creating many events
where they can meet with many other companies of the same industry and exchange many new
business ideas.
Financial practices in contemporary organizational setting
The modern scientific methods of maintaining the finance and accounts are used. This
helps in keeping all the important data at the same place (Horowitz 2014). CFO is one of the
most modern kinds of system that can be used for keeping all the financial data at the same
place. This helps in modernizing the entire financial system in the company. This helps in

8CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATION
structuring and running the financial affairs of the company in a better and more effective
manner. Angus Dairies believe in adopting all the modern scientific methods or making the work
much easier for the employees.

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