Woolworths Limited: Analysis of Goals, Strategy, and Structure

This report provides an in-depth analysis of Woolworths Limited, a major Australian supermarket retailer, focusing on its organizational goals, strategic plan, and organizational structure. The report begins by outlining Woolworths' primary goal of becoming a leading brand and achieving customer satisfaction through quality products, convenient services, and a focus on employee development. It then explores the company's strategic plan, emphasizing customer-centricity, innovation, and efficiency, supported by open communication and aggressive marketing. The analysis evaluates the effectiveness of the strategic plan in achieving company goals, highlighting strengths such as customer focus and innovation, while also pointing out the need for employee training and development. Different organizational structures are assessed for their suitability, with horizontal structures favored over vertical and matrix structures due to their ability to foster communication and flexibility. The report concludes by discussing the key elements for Woolworths to remain a competitive organization in the 21st century.

Building
Quality
organization
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Organization goal.........................................................................................................................3
Discussion on organizational strategic plan................................................................................4
Views on strategy to achieve specific company goal..................................................................5
Rationale behind some structure support the selected strategy and some do not........................6
Competitive organization of the 21st century...............................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9
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INTRODUCTION
In the present scenario, building a quality organization is crucial to achieving long term
growth and success. Furthermore, companies are now required to carry out analysis of their
structure, core strategies, and objectives at regular intervals to sustain in the marketplace (Alden
2016). Nowadays, the competition among industries has become highly intense, and businesses
need to make changes in their overall marketing tactics and strategies to attract new customers
and retain old ones.
The present study is based on Woolworths Limited which is an Australia based
supermarket retailer. The selected organization is considered as the largest company in the
country regarding annual revenue generated. This study reflects the goal and strategic plan of
Woolworths Limited.
Organization goal
The goal Woolworths Limited is to become a leading and number one brand in all
categories. Furthermore, the objective of selected business is to achieve a degree of customer
satisfaction and retain them in the long run. The mission of Woolworths Limited is to deliver
products and services which are the best regarding value, convenience, and overall quality. At
present, the brand is carrying out its business operations with more than 200000 staff members
and every weak it provides products and services to more than 29 million people (Woolworths
limited 2017). Woolworths Limited has developed the partnership with various manufacturers
and farmers across Australia to ensure availability of quality products. The organization was
founded in the year 1924 and till now it has been able to deliver high quality of goods and
services to all its customers. Quality products and convenient services have contributed a lot to
the success of Woolworths Limited.
On the other side of this, the organization also emphasized the development of team
which can understand the changing need, demand and deliver products/services according to the
same. Another business goal of Woolworths Limited is to keep improving its process and
maintain low operational cost. This goal will contribute a lot to achieving long term growth and
sustainability of the selected business enterprise. Apart from this, updating products and services
at regular intervals is another business objective of Woolworths Limited. The selected
corporation has developed different strategies and action plan to achieve all its set goals and
objectives (Woolworths limited 2017). Woolworths Limited also has a goal of refreshing all its
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stores at regular intervals to maintain the interest of all its customers. In the long run, the selected
company aims at emerging as one of the most cohesive brands in the market. Customers are
considered as the heart of the company’s overall operations, and it always focuses on identifying
the fundamental need and demand of all customers. Further, through employees and other staff
members, Woolworths Limited also emphasized on creating innovative ways to serve a client
and enhance their level of satisfaction.
Discussion on organizational strategic plan
It can be expressed that to accomplish all its business objectives and goals, the company
has developed a strategic plan. The most important part of the company’s strategic plan is that it
focuses on encouraging hard work and integrity among all the staff members (Ariyawardana,
Ganegodage & Mortlock 2017). The organization has developed a culture which is quite down to
earth and providing adequate growth opportunities to all employees. It results in generating a
strong satisfaction among all workers and also motivates them to give their best towards the
success of Woolworths Limited. The strategic plan developed by the corporation can also be
considered as customer centric as it focuses on identifying the changing demand of people in the
market. The action plan emphasizes on delivering products and services which can make the
lives of individuals better and simpler.
Apart from this, the strategy encourages innovations within all aspects of the business. It
supports in efficiently serving the customers and achieving the higher degree of satisfaction with
them. The strategic plan of Woolworths Limited has been developed by three major parameters
which are the offer, efficiency, and growth. First of all, the company focuses on enhancing the
way in which products and services are being offered to its customers (Bailey 2017). In addition
to this, it keeps on innovating new strategies and products so that the interest of clients is
maintained in the best possible manner.
The strategic plan developed by the company also focuses on improving the overall
efficiency of business practices and operations. All the partners and employees are provided with
the freedom to speak up. It can be asserted that Woolworths Limited has set up open
communication channels which allow staff members and other business partners to present their
views and opinions towards success and growth of the corporation (Arli et al. 2013). On the
other side of this, aggressive marketing strategy is also an integrated part of the selected
business’s overall strategic plan. The use of marketing practices supports the brand in creating
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awareness about its products and services among people in the market. It also plays a crucial role
in creating demand among customers and encouraging them to buy the products offered by
Woolworths Limited.
Views on strategy to achieve specific company goal
It can be stated that the strategy of Woolworths Limited is active enough to meet its goals
and objectives. Putting customers in the first place has helped the company to retain its old,
valuable customers and attract new ones. Furthermore, it has also opened new doors for long
term growth and development of the organization. In the present scenario, the retail supermarket
industry of the country has become highly intense (Biddle 2016). There are various small,
medium and large scale businesses operating in the country. Thus, it is not easy for a company to
retain its customers in a long run as people in the market have the wide range of options
available to them. The strategy can be termed as good enough to accomplish the goals and
objectives of the selected business enterprise.
The rationale behind this is that the approach focuses on almost every aspect which is
crucial for long term success of an organization. For example, it has developed an open
communication strategy which supports in encouraging new and innovative ideas to serve
customers. Employees feel free to discuss the issues and challenges faced at the workplace, and
this creates the sense of satisfaction among them. It also encourages them to give their best
towards the accomplishment of aim and business objectives of Woolworths Limited (Bailey
2017). Other than this, the strategy also focuses on promoting the views of partners such as
farmers and manufacturers. It helps in getting adequate corporation from all and carries out the
smooth flow of all business operations.
The selected strategy is also useful because it focuses on encouraging innovation which is
crucial for long term success of an organization. In highly competitive markets or industries,
businesses are required to innovative new product or service at regular intervals to gain the
competitive advantage over other market players. However, it can be critically argued that the
company does not emphasize on conducting training and development programs for workers. In
future, it can emerge as the biggest obstacle to long term growth and accomplishment of long
term objectives (Chalmers & ’Brien 2013). Woolworths Limited needs to focus on offering
training programs to all staff members so that their knowledge level and skill set can be
enhanced.
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Rationale behind some structure support the selected strategy and some do not
Organization structure can be defined as the level of hierarchy which exists within a
business enterprise. Nowadays, efficient and suitable organization structure is crucial for success
and growth of an organization. It can be expressed that structure represents the pyramid or
organizational chart of a company (Bailey & Bailey 2016). The structure is important because it
assists in establishing clear cut authority and relationship within an enterprise. In addition to this,
the structure is crucial as in setting up communication pattern in companies. The functions and
business operations can be easily carried out with the help of creating a suitable organizational
structure. However, it can be critically argued that defining and establishing appropriate structure
is not an easy task for companies such as Woolworths Limited as there are wide ranges of factors
which need to be taken into consideration.
For example objectives of the business, long term goals, nature of operations are some
factors which need to be taken into account while selecting the organizational structure. It can be
expressed that there are different types of organization structure and some can contribute in
achieving the objectives of Woolworths Limited while other structure cannot be termed as
effective regarding accomplishing the goals (Devin & Richards 2016). For a company like
Woolworths Limited, the vertical structure cannot be considered as suitable one. The rationale
behind this is that the mentioned above structure encourages companies to follow a healthy chain
of management while carrying out their business operations and activities. In such type of
structures, the decision making is performed by the top management and employees working at
the lower level are required to follow the orders and decisions (Johnston et al. 2017).
In companies with a vertical structure, the power and authorities flow from top to bottom.
This type of structure cannot be termed as useful for businesses such as Woolworths Limited.
The rationale behind this is that it does not encourage the views, opinions of workers and other
trading partners (Frederick Rose, Hawryszkiewycz & Kang 2014). Furthermore, most of the
decisions are being made by top management, and this will result in developing dissatisfaction
among staff members. It will also hamper the overall morale, motivation, and productivity of
workers.
On the other hand, the structure such as horizontal structure will contribute a lot to the
accomplishment of Woolworths Limited aim and objectives. The reason behind this is that such
structure has no or very less defined chain of command. It means workers and staff members are
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provided with an opportunity to present their views and ideas towards the success of the
company. The horizontal organizational structure is also called as flat structure as the middle the
layer of management is almost eliminated in such structures (Ashkenas et al. 2015). The issues
and problems faced by employees are also resolved effectively in horizontal organizational
structures. Further, flat structure of the organization will also support the selected business
enterprise to have a greater degree of flexibility in the context of decision making.
The use of this structure will provide the company with an opportunity to make fast and
more efficient decisions towards the accomplishment of organizational goals and objectives.
Line and staff organizational structure will also not support the selected business strategy of
Woolworths Limited (Greenland et al. 2016). The reason behind this is that the chance of issues
and conflicts between line employees and other staff members. It will act as a hurdle for
Woolworths Limited regarding accomplishing its long term goals and objectives.
Another drawback associated with the use of line and staff organizational structure is that
the structure does not promote effective coordination between employees and this can hamper
the overall productivity of Woolworths Limited. On the other hand, Matrix organizational
structure is also not going to support the strategy of the selected business enterprise (James
2016). The rationale behind this is that such structure has the high cost of administrations and the
chosen company is looking forward to maintaining a low cost of operations. In addition to this,
the prospects of conflicts at the workplace are also very high in the matrix structure, and
therefore, it cannot be termed as useful with regard to supporting the strategy adopted by
Woolworths Limited.
Competitive organization of the 21st century
To become the competitive organization of the 21st century, Woolworths Limited will be
required to focus on certain parameters and make use of various strategies. One of the most
critical areas among all is linked the training and development of employees. It can be expressed
that the company should emphasize on conducting training programs for all staff members
frequently. It will help in enhancing the existing knowledge base and skill set of employees. In
addition to this, training programs based on the learning style of employees will also play a
crucial role in making the employees competitive in the present scenario (Lavelle 2017).
Continuous innovation is another important parameter which can assist Woolworths
Limited to become the competitive organization of the 21st century. Innovations in products,
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services, and business strategies are going to help the selected corporation in getting the
competitive advantage over other market players in the industry. It will also support in attracting
more and more customers who will further assist in long term sustainability of the business
enterprise (Jie, Parton & Chan 2015). Transparency in HR and management practices is another
important strategy which can be taken into consideration by Woolworths Limited to emerge as a
competitive organization of the present era. Transparency is going to support in developing a
strong sense of satisfaction among workers and will also help in retaining skilled and talented
workers in the long run. Motivated and satisfied employees will contribute a lot to long term
success of the selected organization.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that attaining the higher degree of customer
satisfaction is the primary goal of Woolworths Limited. Further, the company is using open
communication channels to encourage views of employees and other stakeholders towards
growth and success. It can also be inferred that suitable business strategy has been developed by
Woolworths Limited to accomplish all its objectives and goals. To emerge as a competitive
organization of 21st century, the company will be required to focus on the parameter such as
transparency, innovation, and training of workers.
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