Report on the Structure and Culture of British American Tobacco (BAT)

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the organizational structure and culture of British American Tobacco (BAT). It begins by defining organizational structure, detailing aspects such as chain of command and span of control, and exploring different structure designs including geographic, functional, product, mixed, and matrix structures. The report then delves into organizational culture, particularly through the lens of Hofstede's cultural dimensions, analyzing power distance, individualism versus collectivism, masculinity versus femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term versus short-term orientation, and indulgence versus restraint. The core of the report focuses on recommending the most appropriate structure and culture for BAT, suggesting a geographic structure combined with a culture that incorporates low power distance, femininity, high uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence. Finally, the report assesses the impact of the adopted structure and culture on the company's performance, highlighting how these factors can contribute to improved decision-making, employee coordination, and overall competitive advantage. The conclusion reiterates the importance of aligning structure and culture to achieve and sustain a strong market position.

STRUCTURE
AND
CULTURE

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY .................................................................................................................................1
Structure of an organisation........................................................................................................1
Culture in an organisation ..........................................................................................................3
Appropriate structure and culture for British American Tobacco..............................................5
Impact of adopted structure and culture on the performance of company .................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Structure is referred as a system which outlines the manner in which different operations
and activities of a firm are directed so that targets can be achieved in a proper manner. These
organisational activities involves their roles, rules and responsibilities. Culture is defined as a
system of shared beliefs, values and assumptions which governs the way in which individuals
behave in organisations and different situations (Brown and et. Al., 2019). This report is based
upon British American Tobacco which is a UK based multinational tobacco and cigarette
manufacturer, headquartered in London. This company was established in 1902 and operates at
global level as a market leader. This assignment is going to cover about appropriate culture and
structure which is required by a company to sustain a strong position in marketplace. In this
context, different aspects of structures in context with company will be discussed. Also, different
factors of Hofstede cultural dimension is discussed. At last, impact of structure and culture on
the organisation and its performance is mentioned in a brief manner.
MAIN BODY
Structure of an organisation
Organisational structure is defined as a hierarchical arrangement of rights, authority,
communications and duty of a business firm. It benefits in acknowledging the power,
responsibilities and roles which are assigned to different departments in British American
Tobacco so that information can flow in a proper manner. A structure is based upon the strategy
and objectives of a company. There are different aspects which are associated with
organisational structure. Some of these aspects in context with British American Tobacco is
mentioned below:
 Chain of command: In context with organisational structure, chain of command is
defined as an organisational hierarchy to report various relationships from bottom to top.
It benefits the employees in acknowledging whom they have to answer about their
activities and work. Chain of command in British American Tobacco will benefits in
laying out accountability, line of authority and decision making power so that every task
can be performed in a systematic manner.
 Span of control: It is defined as the number of employees and subordinates which are
working under the direct control of manager. In case of British American Tobacco, if
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manager of a finance team have six direct reports, he posses a span of control of six. It
will be a good way for British American Tobacco to acknowledge the efficiency of their
organisational structure (Steinmetz, 2018).
Different designs of organisational structure
 Geographic structure: In this structure, employees of a company are bring together
under geographic divisions. Under this structure, each division in British American
Tobacco will operate as a separate firm having their specific production, finance and
marketing functions. Employees from different functionalities will be able to perform
divisional work in a proper manner.
 Function structure: This is an organisational structure which benefits in organising
employees. These people are grouped in context with their specific knowledge and skills.
This structure vertically divides each department from sales and finance department to
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consumer service. In this structure, specialised units in British American Tobacco will
report to a single entity which is top management (Moxon and Smith, 2016).
 Product structure: In a product based organisational structure, an organisation is
separated on the basis of their activities, products, geography and projects. This
organisational structure will benefits the British American Tobacco in focusing on
specific items while performing their business operations.
 Mixed structure: Under this organisational structure, skilled and capable employees of a
company perform work and business activities in more than one department. Within this
structure, Employees of British American Tobacco will have to report two different
managers at same time (De Maré, 2018).
 Matrix structure: It depicts an organisation in which workers are divided in various
teams through products or projects which are leaded by a product or project manager. In
this structure, different project manager reports to functional manager. It defines that
these firms operates under cross-functional groups. This structure benefits in open
communication, flexibility and dynamic work environment.
Culture in an organisation
Organisational culture is a summed up aspect which involves the experience, philosophy,
expectations and values which benefits in guiding the behaviour of employees in an organisation.
An appropriate organisational culture is based upon shared customs, beliefs and attitudes which
are formulated over time. In case of British American Tobacco, hofstede cultural dimension is
discussed below:
Hofstede's cultural dimension
Cultural dimension given by Hofstede is a framework which is associated with cross
cultural communication. It benefits in acknowledging the impact of culture on the values and
working patterns of employees within an organisation. Different aspects of this framework are
mentioned below:
 Power distance index: It is concerned with the degree of inequality which takes place
and accepted among people with or without power. Organisations having high power
distance follows autocratic leadership, centralised authority, paternalistic management,
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hierarchical levels etc. which can impact employees of firm in a negative manner (Brock,
Carrigan and Scambler, 2016). Firms having small power distance have participative
management style, flat organisational structure, small supervisory staff etc.
 Individualism vs collectivism: Individualism is a way which defines the extent up to
which employees of a firm works individually whereas collectivism defines the extent of
employees for remaining in a group. In case of British American Tobacco, employees
are required to work in a collective manner so that complexities can be deal in effective
manner. British American Tobacco is required to adopt collectivism so that
organisational work can be performed in unified manner.
 Masculinity vs femininity: In context of business, masculinity is referred to the
preference in society for assertiveness, achievement, heroism and rewards for the success.
Femininity is depicted as an organisation that prefers modesty, caring, corporation,
quality of life and caring for weak. Aspect of Femininity will help the employees of
British American Tobacco in performing business activities comfortably.
 Uncertainty avoidance index: This is the extent up to which employees of a firm cope
up with the future uncertainties and complexities in a simple manner. Organisations
having weak uncertainty avoidance have flexibility while working, tolerance to distinct
behaviours, undertaking risks etc. Those companies which have strong uncertainty
avoidance has ability to avoid risk, robust consensus requirements, respect for authority
and no tolerance for deviance (Danner and et. al., 2017).
 Long vs short term orientation: This cultural factor defines interrelation of past with
the future and current actions. Lower index degree will depict that traditions must be kept
and honoured. High degree index in relation with business firms views circumstantial,
pragmatic and adaptable problem solving as their basic necessity. If Organisation like
British American Tobacco is with short term orientation, they will lacks economic
development.
 Indulgence vs restraint: This dimension defines the degree of freedom which is offered
to employees in an organisation so that they can work in a comfortable manner.
Indulgence is referred as an aspect that offers free gratification of basis necessities to
workers. Whereas in restraint organisations, employees are required to follow strict rules
and regulations.
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Appropriate structure and culture for British American Tobacco
As per above discussed aspects, it is true that business firms have exposure to different
kind of organisational culture and structure. It depends upon the management of company that
which type of structure and culture they prefer to prevail in their organisation. Right kind of
organisational structure will benefits British American Tobacco in performing their work in an
organised manner so that high advantage over rivals can be attained in a proper manner. Right
organisational culture in a company will helps in sustaining a positive working environment so
that overall productivity of British American Tobacco will enhance. In case of organisational
structure, most appropriate structure for concerned company is geographic structure in which
employees of company will be divided in accordance with different divisions. Each division will
have employees having different specialities so that organisational work given to them will be
performed in a proper manner. These divisions in British American Tobacco will work as
separate companies working to achieve common goal (Nübling, Schmidt and Weiss, 2016). At
present company is successfully working in around 45 nations which are mainly in Asia, Europe
and America.
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In case of organisational culture, most suitable cultural aspects will be that British
American Tobacco must incorporate low power index so that participative style of management
and leadership can take place. Aspects related with femininity such as caring for workers,
corporation and modesty will allow the employees in enhancing their coordination so that they
can deliver their best performance without any issues. High uncertainty avoidance will benefit
employees in dealing with complex situations in an effective manner. Concerned organisation is
required to have long term orientation so that pragmatic view for problem solving can be adopted
which will benefit the company in achieving high outcomes even from disadvantageous
situations. Indulgence in organisational culture will benefits the firm in tolerating opinions of
different employees due to which effective decision will be taken. This will benefit the company
in earning high profits and revenues (Kreutzer and et. al., 2017).
Impact of adopted structure and culture on the performance of company
Business organisation which is structured according to geography will bifurcate their
activities and operations in accordance with the geographic location. Under this structure, each
division in British American Tobacco will have their own sales, marketing, product or
management team so that demands of local customers in a region can be fulfilled in a proper
manner. This structure is mainly suitable for large multinational organisations which have
multiple branches across country or globe (Hirakawa and et. al., 2015). Due to this structure,
British American Tobacco will be able to perform their business activities and operations in
different nations or region in a proper manner. This will improve their performance due to which
they will be able to achieve high revenues and profits. These profits will help them in giving
tough competition to rivals so that a strong position in global context can be attained by
company. Due to adoption of feminine culture with low power index and indulgence, employees
will be able to share their opinions in a proper manner. This will benefits the company in taking
right decision so that only strategically right decisions can be taken. This will benefits the
company in giving tough competition to rivals. This will benefits British American Tobacco in
sustaining strong position in marketplace.
Organisational structure and culture of a business defines the mentality, values or work
ethics of the employees & management of a company. After all the analysis it can be said that
geographic structure is most beneficial for the company as people with different skills will work
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in different locations so that customers can be served in a proper manner. Company is required to
adopt participative leadership style. Under this style, opinion of employees will be given
preference. Collective style of working will be more appropriate as different employees in
British American Tobacco will work together to achieve common objectives i.e. high
organisational growth. Appropriate culture for British American tobacco is to posses a low
power index so that people can be treated fairly. Uncertainties must be avoided and indulgence is
required to be incorporated so that employees can work efficiently.
CONCLUSION
From above mentioned report, it has been concluded that to sustain a strong position in
marketplace, an organisation is needed to have appropriate culture and structure. There are
different kinds of organisational structures such as geographical division structure, matrix
structure, product structure or mixed structure etc. Respective organisation can choose any
organisational structure as per their needs and requirements. All of these structures have some
merits and demerits which can impact organisation and its productivity in a considerable manner.
There are various kinds of organisational cultures and their aspects. A company is required to
choose aspects in context with their requirements so that high revenues and profits can be earned
in a considerable manner. This will benefits the company in achieving their desired objectives in
a proper and effective way.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Brown, E. and et. Al., 2019. Making residential care work: structure and culture in children's
homes. Ashgate.
Steinmetz, G. ed., 2018. State/culture: State-formation after the cultural turn. Cornell University
Press.
De Maré, P., 2018. Koinonia: From hate, through dialogue, to culture in the larger group.
Routledge.
Brock, T., Carrigan, M. and Scambler, G., 2016. Structure, Culture and Agency: Selected Papers
of Margaret Archer. Routledge.
Danner, J. E. And et. al., 2017. Genetic population structure in an equatorial sparrow: roles for
culture and geography. Journal of evolutionary biology. 30(6). pp.1078-1093.
Nübling, S., Schmidt, H. and Weiss, A., 2016. Variation of the Pseudomonas community
structure on oak leaf lettuce during storage detected by culture-dependent and-
independent methods. International journal of food microbiology. 216. pp.95-103.
Hirakawa, Y. and et. al., 2015. Simplification of vacuole structure during plant cell death
triggered by culture filtrates of Erwinia carotovora. Journal of integrative plant biology.
57(1). pp.127-135.
Kreutzer, J. and et. al., 2017. Cell culture chamber with gas supply for prolonged recording of
human neuronal cells on microelectrode array. Journal of neuroscience methods. 280.
pp.27-35.
Moxon, S. R. and Smith, A. M., 2016. Controlling the rheology of gellan gum hydrogels in cell
culture conditions. International journal of biological macromolecules. 84. pp.79-86.
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