Woolworths' Team Structure: Benefits, Drawbacks, and Recommendations

This essay provides a detailed analysis of Woolworths' team organizational structure, a system where the company divides employees into different teams to enhance business functions and market competence. It explores the advantages of this structure, such as improved decision-making, specialization of labor, and effective organization of activities, leading to increased productivity and competitive advantage. However, the essay also addresses the disadvantages, including potential recognition issues for employees and challenges in maintaining command and control within the decentralized environment. The conclusion offers recommendations for Woolworths to improve its team organizational structure by incorporating experienced leadership, conflict resolution techniques, and enhanced employee recognition programs to foster greater success in the global market. Desklib provides a platform to access this document along with other solved assignments and resources.

RUNNING HEAD: Management
Management

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Team organizational structure at Woolworths
Team structure refers to the composition of an organization under which the management makes
individual teams or multi-team system for the proper functioning of the organization. The team
based lateral organizational structure is regarded as one of the best organizational structure that
helps the business process to flexibly make changes in the system and work effectively as well.
The team organizational structure is a structure under which all the functions are performed by
the group of members created by the organization. This structure provides adequate opportunities
to the employees of the company to take effective decision related to their process (Lee,
Kozlenkova, & Palmatier, 2015). The team structure initiates effective decisions by engaging the
employees in the activities of the company. Further, the below mentioned essay explains the
organizational structure of the company Woolworths and the ways in which the company make
use of the team organizational structure in their business. Further, it also explains importance of
this structure and the benefits derived to the company with the use of this structure. The latter
part of the essay explains the disadvantages attained to the company with the use of this system
in their business and the recommendations with the help of which the organization can change
their system and improve its activities. More, details about the essay are explained below:
It should be noted that the company Woolworth’s group is an Australian company that performs
extensive retail services in the market Australia. The company is second largest organization
present in the Australia in terms of revenue. Thus, it should be noted that the company
adequately make use of the available resources to attain success in the target market. The
Woolworths group is involved in various industry including supermarket, petrol, liquor, clothing
etc. Thus, it should be noted that in order to initiate and maintain the effective flow of work in
the organization, the company needs an effective structure that co-operates with business
functions and increase the share of the company in the market (Johnson, Leenders, & McCue,
2017). With respect to which the company make use of team organizational structure in their
business process. Further, the below mentioned is the organizational structure used by the
company Woolworths

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Source: (Weebly, 2018)
Looking at the above mentioned organizational chart of the company Woolworths, it should be
noted that using the team organizational structure, the company segregates the employees into
different teams on the basis of which they implement actions for the growth of the company.
Also, it should be noted that this type of structure supports the business model of the company
and helps them maintain competence in the target market. The company under this process
divides the employees at same level but in different organizations, all the employees are given
specific functions that they have to perform in the organization and they are not allowed to work
for another department or team rather than theirs (Eva, et. al., 2018).
This type of structure initiates the organization to combine low-overhead, minimal management
structure of lateral structure with the efforts of the team just like a hybrid structure. The company
Woolworths gains numerous advantages of this process as the company has divided the work in
different segments (Van der Voet, 2014). Woolworths is known for providing best quality
products and services in the target market, ever noticed that how the company provides such
services to customers; the company efficiently make use of their organizational structure to
eliminate confusion and issues in their system and adequately provide services to the customers
according to their expectations. The organization hires the employees according to the
requirements of their team and they initiate specialization in their service (Mihalache, et. al.,

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2014). As the employees present in a particular team are required to work for that team only due
to which repetition of work increases the specialization of work and make the employees
efficient as well. Further, it should also be noted that the company effectively make use of this
structure at all the branches of their organization due to which similarity in the actions of the
company at all levels is increased. Also it should be noted that this system is best suited for the
companies like Woolworths that initiates its actions on large scale in the market. Every team is
given their respective work on the basis of which they work in the team to achieve success for
their department; success in every department subsequently helps the organization to gain overall
fulfillment of their objective (Evans, & Eys, 2015).
As the team based organizational structure filters the decision making down at all level of the
management that makes the decision making process more effective as the employees participate
in every action of the company. So, this structure provides the advantage to the company initiate
its actions with effective decision making process in the system. This system also satisfies the
employees at higher level due to which they contribute efficiently in the growth of the company
in the external market. Thus, it should be noted that with the help of this team based structure,
the company gained competitive advantage in the market and managed their activities effectively
(Carayannis, Sindakis, & Walter, 2015).
Furthermore, talking about the advantages that the structure, it should be noted that the company
gained the advantage of effective organization of the activities of the company with the help of
this system. Under this type of system, the employees work to achieve the common goal but
differently. This system of the organization is centralized yet decentralized as every employee
works according to the objectives of their team and the fulfillment of the objective of the team
ultimately results in achievement of the organizational objective as well (Lee, Kozlenkova, and
Palmatier, 2015). Further, it should also be noted that type of system enhances the productivity
of the company as they management follows the bottom line approach. Under the team
organizational structure the management asks the employees to contribute their share in the
target market due to which their satisfaction increases. Asking for suggestions from the people
who are directly related to the activity positively influences the actions of Woolworths due to
which growth is achieved (Burns, 2016). This system eventually reduces the extent of issues and
errors in the system. As every person is involved in initiating activities according to their team

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due to which they do not face big issues or complex problems, and engagement of all the
employees in the system implements a problem solving approach for the business (O'Neill,
Beauvais, & Scholl, 2016). Another advantage that the company Woolworths gain with the use
of this system is the successfully implementation of the objectives of the company. This system
reduces the barriers in the organization and eliminates multiplication of works as well due to
which efficiency is also achieved by the company. At Woolworths, the organization implements
actions in such a way that all team get to work collectively with facing any barrier in
implementing functional actions (Plouffe, et. al., 2016).
Further, it should be noted that the company has defined different departments for solving
different problem connected with the activities of the organization. The best feature of this
system is that issue in one process does not impact the overall functions of the company so
easily. Like, the problems faced by the human resource department do not directly affect the
production department of the company. Also, the production department is not liable to solve
such issues as that department’s employees and head collective solve the problems. Further,
talking about the use of this system in the organization, it should be noted that all parts of the
company make use of this structure like production, sales, human resources, operation etc. The
act of globalization requires the organization to co-operate with each other and initiate actions
collectively without facing problem (von Bonsdorff, et. al., 2015). This system helps the
company in providing advantages and effectiveness to the company in the global market.
Apart from the above mentioned advantages, the company also faces difficulty many times in
managing the team based organizational structure in their business. The biggest disadvantage of
this system is the employees face recognition issues in the system (Ashkenas, et. al., 2015). Every
employee wants to get recognized in the organization for the work performed by them, but under
the team organization structure there is no person recognized individually. Instead the team is
being recognized collectively for the work performed by them. Resulting to which, the
employees feel insecure that even after working hard for the growth and survival of organization
they are not being recognized in the organization. Also, if a team is unable to match up to the
expectations of the company and fails eventually then the employees who performed well in the
team are also penalized irrespective of their positive contribution (Hambrick, Humphrey, &
Gupta, 2015). As recognition is one of the biggest motivators present in the corporate

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environment due to which lack of this feature in the system makes it difficult for the employees
to survive. Apart from this, the team based organizational structure is decentralized rather than
hierarchical due to which the teams are obliged to work effectively for the growth and survival of
the organization. Thus, in cases when teams underperform, the employees (team) face the
penalties. Also, it should be noted the team structure of organization makes the organization to
face difficulty in managing command in the organization, as there is no proper supervision in the
organization by an adequate leader due to which the company many times faces lack of focus in
the organization. The teams formed in the organization are managed itself due to which there is
no person in the team who has adequately experience to solve the managerial issues of the
organization (Harper, 2015).
The above mentioned are the disadvantages or the issues in implementing the team
organizational structure in their business. Further, with the help of some suggestions the
company Woolworths can effectively manage the team organizational structure in their business.
Initially, before segregating the employees into groups, the management of Woolworths should
employ experienced employees in the organization. These employees should lead the team on the
basis of their past experiences. This aspect will enhance the activities of the organization as now
the leader with the help of their understanding will effectively resolve the issues in the
organization. Further, conflict resolution techniques should be adopted in the organization, no
team should overrun the activities of other team (Albers, Wohlgezogen, & Zajac, 2016).
The organization should aim to initiate integrity in the activities that they implement in the
environment. Lastly, the organization should adequately understand the need and importance of
the employees in the organization and work effectively to satisfy them with their activities. The
employees are the most important people at Woolworths who work effectively to help company
to achieve success in the market. Thus, the company should adequately recognize the talent and
hard work done by the employees to help the company to achieve success in the market. This
will satisfy the employees with the activities of the organization to the greatest level. Thus, in
this way the company can make changes in their business to achieve greater success in the global
market (Clegg, Kornberger, & Pitsis, 2015).
Thus, in the limelight of above mentioned events, it should be noted that the company
Woolworths being a retail chain store present in the international market adequately use the team

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organizational structure to achieve success in the market. The team organizational structure is the
best structure for the organization as this process segregates the employees of organization into
different teams and work accordingly. With the help of this individual targets of the team along
with organizational objectives are effectively fulfilled. The above mentioned essay explained the
advantages as well as disadvantages of the use of this team organizational structure at
Woolworths and recommendation to the company to improve effectively. Thus, with the help of
this the company can easily succeed in the global market.

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