Strategic Report: Xerox's Strategic Management and Restructure Plan

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Xerox's strategic management, examining the relationship between strategy, stakeholder expectations, and organizational performance. It explores the selection of a strategic management theory, identifies and evaluates the impact of external factors in an international context, and formulates new strategies to overcome challenges and meet organizational goals. The report also discusses the role of innovation and change in strategic management, develops an implementation plan, and analyzes Xerox's current organizational structure, including a critical evaluation of a proposed restructure plan. The report concludes with recommendations and references, offering a detailed overview of Xerox's strategic approach to business operations.

Strategic Report

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Relationship between strategy, stakeholder expectations and organizational performance...1
Identify and evaluate impact of external factors on strategic management in international
context....................................................................................................................................3
Use of relevant tools and formulate new strategy to face the challenges and meet
organizational goals................................................................................................................6
Explain how the business strategy encourages and supports innovation and change and
evaluate strategy.....................................................................................................................8
Develop an implementation plan for the strategy and how it will fulfil major stakeholder
expectations............................................................................................................................9
Stakeholder Expectations.....................................................................................................10
Recommendations and conclusion.......................................................................................11
TASK 2..........................................................................................................................................13
Analyse current organizational structure and evaluate its effectiveness in meeting organization
objectives..............................................................................................................................13
Critical evaluation of the restructure plan for identifying possible issues and negative
consequences and ways to overcome them..........................................................................18
TASK 3..........................................................................................................................................19
Covered in PPT.....................................................................................................................19
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................20

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report has been drawn in three parts each one had its individual questions. Part first
included explanation about connection between strategy, stakeholder expectations and
organizational performance. This was continued by choosing a strategic management theory to
have better understanding of the same. Along with this, different approaches were analysed for
choosing one of them, impact of external factors was identified followed by an evaluation.
Furthermore, relevant tools and formulation of new strategy have been used to overcome the
challenges for meeting the goals of the entity. In addition to this, importance of innovation and
change in the strategic management has also been covered together with this, implementation
plan is developed and added in this file.

INTRODUCTION
Strategic management is an important process of an organization which involves
determination of strategies that can be implemented for achieving organizational goals and
objectives. It is done on a continuous basis for gaining competitive advantage and to earn higher
profit and revenue (David and David, 2013). It involves strategic decision-making for improving
the performance of the entity. Furthermore, it provides direction followed for getting desired
results. The strategies formulated should be evaluated and monitored in order to reduce the gap
between the actual and standard. In this report, Xerox has been chosen which is an American
global company engaged in business of selling printing and digital document products and
services. It has its headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut U.S. Furthermore, this assignment
covers description of strategies, stakeholder expectations and organizational performance
followed by selection of a theory of strategic management. Along with this, identification and
evaluation of impact of external factors, use of relevant tools together with formulation of new
strategy. Also, the contribution of strategy on innovation and change followed be development of
implementation plan. Strategic restructure plan has been formulated after analysing current
organizational structure on the basis of various issues.
TASK 1
Relationship between strategy, stakeholder expectations and organizational performance
In this report, Xerox has been selected which is conducting its business in multiple
nations and sells print and digital document products and services. It was a strong business in the
initial days but after unsuccessful takeovers and other deals, the business started to decline which
affected profit. Since, it is a highly recognised corporate throughout the world which has its
presence in different parts of the world. It is going through crucial phase which comprises
increased difficulties. Hence, it believes effective strategic management can save the company.
Therefore, below are some of the related terms have been explained by forming a relationship
among them.
Strategy: This term is derived from Greek word “stratcgos” which is actually formed
with two different words 'stratus' which means army and 'ago' is leading or moving (Nisbet and
Shucksmith, 2017). In the context of a business, it is known as the action that provides direction
which is followed to achieve goals of the organisation. Every company has short as well as long
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term goals which are accomplished with the help of strategies that can provide competitive
advantage and sustainability.
Stakeholder expectations: Stakeholder refers to a single person, group or even an
organization who can influence the project as well as get affected. It is of two types viz. External
who are government, and internal employees, investors, suppliers, customers etc. and both are
significant in the management of the operations. Stakeholder expectations are the needs and
requirements of all the stakeholders who are interested in the company. These should be taken
into account for formulating strategies and plans which are going to be implemented by the
organization. The stakeholders of Xerox are its customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers
and communities and they have expectations to received good quality products, good and ethical
environment, high return, healthy relations for long term and better lifestyle and infrastructure.
Organizational performance: This is an activity which involves evaluation and analysis
of performance of the company with its objectives and goals. It is helpful in conducting a
comparison between the actual outcomes against the expected results. Furthermore, there are
three different analysis viz. Shareholder value, financial performance and market performance.
This factor holds great importance for Xerox company as it has always been its prime activity.
For this purpose, takeovers and other strategies were made.
These three things are related to each other when its comes to achieving the goals of the
organization. A company makes strategies based after identifying various requirements of the
stakeholders who are vital for the success of the business. Furthermore, goals and objectives are
fixed along with time line to accomplish them accordingly. Lets take an example of Xerox for
having a better understanding of the same. Xerox is considering a new proposal for launching
digital printer which are eco-friendly and affordable. Before finalising the same, it should have a
meeting with its stakeholders to get their approval as well as suggestions and issues in the same.
Stakeholder may have dilemma about the success of this printer and the cost involved in the
project is quite high as it is going to be prepared by following every possible standards of
environmental laws and rules. If all the activities are completed according to the plan then it is
going to have positive impact on the performance of the company. There will be very low
chances that any variance can be there. In other words, Xerox can achieve the expected results
with effective strategies which are developed by considering the stakeholders' expectations.
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Strategic management is a vast concept which has number of theories that can be applied
to an entity for creating positive results. To understand the same, profit maximization and
competitive based theory has been chosen. According to this theory, the main goal of an
organization is to increase its profit for it has been established. The business operations are
carried for making more income by reducing the loss. Stakeholders are influenced with the
primary objectives of the company (Hill, Jones and Schilling, 2014). On the other hand,
competitive theory is gaining a strong position among all the competitors through stakeholders
contribution in the business affairs. For this purpose, it is important to identify the expectations
of key people who can affect the business. So, every stakeholder wish to earn profit in return of
their funds and other contributions. Hence, it can be said that to earn more profit which is the
primary goal and to remain competitive, the expectations of stakeholder should be taken into
account according to which effective strategies can be developed for implementing in the
company.
The reason for choosing this approach is that, easy prediction can be made about the
expected profit on the basis of past records. The strategies made previously should be analysed to
remove any kind of variances and ineffectiveness. Also, it helps in taking the real situations of
the marketplace for developing appropriate strategies. With this, the current position of the
competitors is considered according to which new plans and policies can be introduced for
gaining competitive advantage. Whereas, other theories are focused on their particular field such
as resource based theory is about utilising the resources in an optimal manner, contingency
theory is about identification of unexpected events which may occur in future and the company
should be prepared about the same. There are some other theories as well which are designed for
the specific area. However, the underlying aim is to increase the profit and achieve competitive
advantage. Therefore, the option to choose profit maximization and competitive based theory is
appropriate as it will take into all the possible aspects and not just one or two particular unit or
area.
Identify and evaluate impact of external factors on strategic management in international context
External factors are the elements which exist outside the organization and are beyond the
control of the management (Antonelli, Crespi and Scellato, 2013). These are basically the part of
economic, political and social environment of the business cycle. Every organization should
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understand these factors in order to have better strategic management. The impact of these
factors on strategic management in international context have been elaborated below:
Political factors: These factors are related to the actions of the government whereby it
formulates policies and plans that are implemented in the organizations. The level of fluctuations
in these factors are high and every business should take efforts for making creating stability in
the business. However, there can be positive influence of this on the business entity. The risk
element in these are great hence, these should be analysed before making plans. With regard to
strategic management, companies like Xerox operating in different countries must be aware
about the political conditions of all those nations in which it is conducting the business. For
example, Xerox is operating in India wherein the political condition gets fluctuated very rapidly
due to changing in political parties. The policies for businesses are modified frequently due to
which instability lasts for a long time. In such situations, it can be difficult for Xerox to make
strategies as the events can be changed anytime. Therefore, strategic management should be
done by analysing the political risks in order to mitigate them.
Economic factors: The factors which are present in the economy and are indeed
important. These are balance of payments, fiscal policy, interest rate, and many more. These play
huge role in growth as well as loss in the gross national product (Gurr, 2013). Every economy
has its individual prevailing conditions which should be analysed for strategic management. For
instance, Xerox has its presence in multiple nations and one economy may have recession
whereas another economy is at boom. The former one needs more effective strategies to help the
company survive in the market. Whereas market experiencing boom may not require much
efforts. In such situations, Xerox should focus on that economy which has stability in most of the
economic factors such as high employment rate, lower interest rate, no inflation and many more.
It can make strategies regarding obtaining loans when the interest rate is low, make less
investment at the time of recession etc. Otherwise, it can come under huge debts, may also have
to retrench the employees, and similar acts.
Cultural factors: Culture refers to a set of values, ideas, facts, and perceptions which may
assist people to communicate, interpret and evaluate as members of society. These are the factors
which comprises of norms that are acceptable within the society. Every business operates in a
community or society and uses the resources belong to them such as employees, funds, land etc.
There is a perception that a society expects the organizations to return something in favour and
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that can be employment, betterment of society and many more such things (Berry and Irvine,
2013). Every nation has different languages, religions, background of the people living there.
There should be an uniformity which can help the company managing the business efficiently.
For example, Xerox has expanded its business in more than 160 countries having different
languages, perceptions, beliefs etc. which cannot be ignored and should be given importance.
But it is difficult to form uniformity also, there can be language barrier due to which desired
information cannot be communicated to different stakeholders. Hence, the strategic management
should be done by following the international standards otherwise, the company might be closed.
Technological factors: These are the factors related to updates or advancement in
technologies that are being used in the organizations. Xerox is a company which deals in digital
and printing machines and sell them in multiple nations (Gutierrez, Boukrami and Lumsden,
2015). It becomes imperative for such a company to understand the demands of the customers
and include advancements in existing technology to remain competitive and strong in the
international marketplace. This can be time consuming as a detail analysis of the choices and
preferences of different buyers must be made. Furthermore, it is one of the strategic decisions
that a company like Xerox can make for its survival. This can help Xerox to understand the
expectations of stakeholders so that their advices can also be included in this. The possible
impact of the same in strategic management could be that, the Xerox can see decline in the sales
of its products leading to lower profit and revenue.
Environmental factors: The factors that are connected with the nature and resources
related to that. In previous years, there has been observed that pollution and harmful gases are
are increasing with the time and increase in the industrialisation. In this context, the concept of
CSR has been emerged according to which, the companies have to make contribution of their
profit at certain percentage to help building the society in a better way. For example, Xerox is a
large company which is currently having problems in earning profit but has to make contribution
in CSR activities. Hence, the management should make strategies by focusing on revenue
generating areas of the business. With this, Xerox can make profit so that it can make
contribution in CSR. This can provide positive impact on the business by becoming highly
acceptable to the society and by creating more employment and infrastructure for the society.
Legal factors: These are the factors related to legislations and rules that exist in the legal
system of a country and applicable on the organizations operating in this (Brown and Sorensen,
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2014). There are different act for each area which are governed by them. Furthermore, there are
punishments and penalties for the contravention of the legal provisions. Xerox cannot avoid this
area of its business because there has to be lawful character in it. It should make strategic
decisions by which it can have focus on making profit as well as following the laws and their
amendments. It is important from the point of view of strategic management. With this, there can
be positive image of the company in the minds of people using its products as well as those who
are aware about its name. Furthermore, it can avoid financial burden by avoiding any breach.
This is possible through effective strategic management whereby the suggestions of al the
stakeholder are taken.
Use of relevant tools and formulate new strategy to face the challenges and meet organizational
goals
Business environment is divided into two parts viz. Internal which exist within the
organization and external which are outside the organization. These have direct impact on the
business and especially strategic management as the strategies are made by assessing the
environment in which the company is operating. Therefore, SWOT and Porter's Five Force
analysis have been conducted in the following way:
SWOT analysis: It is an analysis which disclose the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats of the business which are taken into account. It has been provided below:
Strengths
 It has a strong position in the market
due to operational strength.
 The brand identity is dominating and
recognised around the world.
Weaknesses
 Only developed markets such as US
and Europe are explored for generating
most of the revenue.
 Lowering of revenue due to wrong
decisions.
Opportunities
 There are option to go for strategic
acquisitions for expanding the business.
 The industry of managed print services
can see growth in future.
Threats
 The business can be seriously damaged
with the trend of people going
paperless.
 Fierce competition by companies like
IBM, Genpact and many more.
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Porter's Five Force Model: This model is used to identify and analyse the five
competitive forces exist in the industry and has connection with strengths and weaknesses. The
same has been shown below:
Threats of new entrants- Newcomers are attracted to an industry which is stable, have
growth opportunities and worthy of making investment (E. Dobbs, 2014). There are many new
entrants dealing in the same products and services leading to high competition. Therefore, Xerox
can have control on increasing competition with attracting customers with new technology and
decreasing the per unit cost.
Bargaining power of suppliers- This depends on the changes taking place within the
market and the level of competition it has. There are variety of suppliers available producing
homogeneous raw materials which can be utilised by Xerox. By considering this, suppliers have
low bargaining power which gives Xerox a flexibility to select more than one suppliers.
Bargaining power of buyers- The demand of customers differs from time to time which
should be considered by the companies. All the customers hold great power to control the
business of the organizations. In the market of Managed Print services, the bargaining power of
buyers if comparatively where there is demands for a particular technology. Hence, Xerox can
produce unique and innovative goods which can be sold at the price quoted by it.
Threat of substitute products- There are different companies exist in an industry which
sells the same kind of products or services at competitive prices. Due to this, customers can
switch to some other brand or company. Therefore, people are ready to pay the price for
customised products of technology. In the context of Xerox, it should make products and
services which are highly in demand.
Competition in the industry- With the entry of new entrants as well as existence of
established entities, the competition in the market of technology of print etc. is increasing with
the time. Xerox is operating in fierce competitive market which leads to low profit. This can be
overcome with improved strategies (Stenbacka and Tombak, 2012).
Strategy formulation:
Xerox corporation is a globalised company which has been through many ups and downs
and has got involved in many challenges. Hence, from the analysis of the above models and
framework, it is considering a new strategy. This strategy is about changing the products by
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making the environmental friendly and include latest technologies. It is going to use innovation
which is likely to have positive impact on the cost. Technologies are changing very rapidly
which makes it imperative for Xerox to rethink on its current outdated products and try to build
new one as per the current trends. It is going to capture the market share and make a strong
position by creating competitive advantage. The mission is to gain competitive advantage and
become a leader in the industry. Time for attaining this has been set to 3 years and the results
will be measured against the entity performed best in the industry.
This strategy has been prepared after looking all the aspects and outcomes of the above
analysis. The decline in profit and market share have resulted for many reasons among which
dissatisfaction of customers being at the top. Furthermore, Xerox has realised that high
competition can take its position down in the market due to which it has increased the focus on
eco-friendly goods. Since, this is going to help it retain in the competition for a long time and
sustain for a long time. The overall impact is likely to increase the profit leading to higher
revenue. Any problem of cash flow will be removed leading to more investment in high return
avenues. Also, it is suitable for meeting the expectations of all the stakeholders.
Explain how the business strategy encourages and supports innovation and change and evaluate
strategy
Innovation is about a different idea which is entirely new, creating and feasible for
producing goods or services that are capable of creating value for the customers (Tidd and
Bessant, 2018). Change refers to modifications in the existing policies, plans and strategies for
improving the performance of the company in order to make its position strong.
The main target of this new strategy is to introduce innovation as the products and
services of Xerox are related to technology. It is considering to analyse the technology that can
support its objectives and meet the increasing demand of customers. The change is that, people
have started to adopt ways by which nature can be protected and the harm to environment can be
prevented or reduced. Furthermore, the employees will be engaged in decision making for
providing their unique ideas, suppliers selling different raw materials that are cost effective and
fulfilling the needs of the company will be contacted. Apart from this, the organization will be
restructured which is a major change. For this purpose, training will be provided to employees
who can complete their functions effectively. Xerox also uses different approaches and theories
which can help it making changes and include innovation.
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On comparing the new strategy of Xerox with competing firms like IBM, Cannon etc., it
can be said that paperless work is a new concept which has taken place in the market of print and
digital services and products. In this context, it has already included this in the strategy.
Furthermore, the focus of Xerox has shifted from profit making to other perspective such as
environment. Also, the standard of the quality of products has increased in order to provide
higher satisfaction to the customers. Advanced technology is also introduced which can help the
company earn huge profit and revenue.
Develop an implementation plan for the strategy and how it will fulfil major stakeholder
expectations
Every strategy should be implemented within the organization without any mistake or
delay. Therefore, an implementation plan should be prepared so that activities can be carried in
the planned way (Meyers, Durlak and Wandersman, 2012). A plan has been developed for the
same, which is as follows:
Strategy Tasks to
Accomplish
strategy
Resources
Needed
Person(s)
Responsible
Status
Redesigning
products
Research and
development in
new technologies
by conducting
extensive
research and use
the data for
decision-making.
Financial
resources in the
form of budget
along with past
records of the
company such as
reports about
production etc.
Manager of
research and
development
It has proceeded
which is likely to
complete within 2
months.
Marketing
research for
obtaining the
information about
current choices
and preferences
A detailed survey
of the existing
customers along
with potential
one. Data about
competitors.
Manager of
Marketing
department
It is about to start
which is expected
to complete by 1
month.
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according to
which products
are to be
produced.
Production
department has to
make plans for
including eco-
friendly
mechanisms
within the
products as it is
going to provide
long term
sustainability.
Change in process
has to be
developed by
which low cost
incurring
products can be
produced.
Production
manager
It will be
proceeded once
all the
information are
gathered.
Stakeholder Expectations
Stakeholder are the key people for a company who influence the affairs of the
organization. Their expectations should be identified along with their commitment to the project.
For this purpose, a process is followed which begins from identification of stakeholders and ends
at analysing their needs and requirements. Innovation- It is one of the prime requirement of Xerox which can help it get back to the
market with the same force. If the actions are carried according to the plan, then the sales
can be reach the targetted level within the time allotted for the same. Higher the sale,
higher the profit and market share. With this, Xerox can be able to give higher return to
its shareholders. This is not only going to increase market value of the shares but large
number of investors will also be attracted to invest their funds in the company. Xerox can
utilise this capital in non-profit making area to revive them. Eco-friendly business- It is an initiative to protect the nature for which companies in the
field of Managed Print Services and related sector are going paperless. It is new to Xerox
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but this concept is worth making investment. Most of the companies have started
switching the business to practices which are environment friendly. Furthermore, it
ethical which is appreciated by large number of people. By carrying business in a way
which does not harm the nature may require high costs but it is going to create positive
outcome on the business. This is likely to fulfil the expectations of community by making
their lives better. Furthermore, this will require use of advanced technology due to which
number of employment can be generated.
 Becoming a leader in the industry- The industry has tough competition as many new
companies are entering into this sector making it even more fierce. In such situations, it
becomes imperative to gain a strong position in the market through dominance. This
requires active participation of stakeholders and take their consideration into decision
making. Every stakeholder want to get involved with a company which has strong
position in the market and it is possible with formulating strategies that can be used in
making a place. With this, employees are going to get good opportunities for their
professional development as a strong company can provide number of avenues. Apart
from this, customers prefer brand which has high goodwill among its competitors, in this
way it can make more sales leading to higher profit as people will buy its products.
Recommendations and conclusion
Xerox had seen rough times in the past due to which its profit, revenue, brand image,
market shares etc. have been declined. This was continued to a considerable time and by looking
into this, it has made new strategy which has shifted its focus on something new and needed.
Also, the implementation plan has been made nicely but the execution may have certain
problems due to fluctuations in business environment and the market. Hence, it should
understand the changes taking place inside and outside the entity so that appropriate adjustments
can be made. Apart from this, it should have new appointments who are capable of managing the
business activities as the company wants. Also, it should be aware about strategies of its
competitors who are performing at their best in the industry so that the same can be included in
the strategies of Xerox. It is important to remain competitive by gaining competitive advantage
in the market so as to dominate. Since, it is an international company which has to deal with
number of challenges, it should have a better control over the issues. In nutshell, the strategic
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management may require it to appoint leaders who are eligible for implementing their effective
leadership.
From the above report, it can be concluded that strategic management is useful in keeping
the business alive and sustain in the long run. There are various analysis which can be used to
gather information about the condition of the company in the marketplace. These are useful in
formulating strategies by which desired goals and objectives can be achieved. Furthermore, a
proper plan for implementation of strategies should be made in order to avoid any delay or
mistake which can ruin the ultimate outcome. In addition to this, the actual outcome should be
measured against the standards for finding the difference in order to reduce them.
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TASK 2
Analyse current organizational structure and evaluate its effectiveness in meeting organization
objectives
Restructuring:
Restructuring refers to an action which is taken by top level management of company for
modifying financial and functional prospect of company. In other words, any company
undergoes for restructuring process in order to modify their financial, functional, operational
view of its business organization due to some financial crisis. Thus, management of Xerox
corporation is focusing on changing their organizational structure which will help them in
overcoming form challenges and improving their innovation, collaboration and coordination in
their business (Wurmbrand, 2012).
The Corporate restructuring can be done for change in structure of organization, business
model of a company, for making financial adjustments. Although, companies restructure has
variety of reasons like for reducing costs, concentrating on key their products or accounts,
adopting & incorporate new technology, making better utilization of talent, improving effective
competitive advantage, merging with another company, to decrease or consolidate debt and
many for reason.
Organizational Structure:
An organizational structure refers to an system which defines outlines of different certain
activities that are directed and operated for achieving organizations goals and objective. This
focuses on defining specific and effective hierarchy within business organization and also
determines how information will flows among different levels of company (Lunenburg, 2012).
An effective and successful structure will consist of every employee's job role and their position.
Although, structuring provides a management a visual representation of shape of company. It is
usually illustrated in attractive form of chart and diagram like a pyramid or table form, where
most biggest & powerful members sit at top, where are less power of employee are at bottom. By
this only organization structure is framed.
Current organization Structure of Xerox corporation:
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Xerox Corporation is an American global corporation which sells print and digital
documents products and services in more than 160 countries. Its a biggest company in US which
is dealing in many offerings in numbers of regions. Xerox company has more than 35 thousand
employee in their business due to this, they are using decentralization organization hierarchical
structure. As huge number of employees can not be managed by one person. When a company is
this big, the level of complexities get increased which affect the profit of the company. It is
appoints people belonging to diverse background are employed in this who hold different
perceptions and has distinguish way of working. This is the main cause for conflicts and disputes
within the company (Cosh, Fu and Hughes, 2012). In order to eliminate the differences, it has
considered to restructure the organization. It is currently following decentralisation
organizational structure which is suitable for large entities like Xerox.
In decentralized structure, decision-making power is distributed between different levels
of organization. In other words, decentralized organization is defined as an structure in which
almost all decisions are taken middle or lower level managers, instead of decision made by
centralized head of company. It can also be defined as to an structure where daily operations and
decision-making responsibilities and duty is delegated given by top management to middle and
lower-level mangers. Thus, it will frees up top level management for focusing on more major
decisions and issues of company. With this, management can relive form burden, it also helps in
facilitating effective marketing decision, enhancing employees productivity, empowering
workforce. There is certain amount of flexibility which is given to the employees and are
actually encouraged to participate in decision making by sharing their ideas, views and opinions.
The higher authority believe that with the use of this structure, it can have better control on the
activities by retaining the staff member and motivate them to use creative and innovation.
Thus, for generating these all benefits the management of Xerox company is using
decentralization structure. In this, low level has to coordinate with his superior. As they have
structure their organization according to their business operations and functions. Each and every
employee has to report to their superior efficiently. With the use of decentralisation, Xerox was
able to achieve some of its targets and goals but failed to attain the major objectives. The
possible reason for the same is because each of the employees was given authority to interfere
and give their advices in the internal matters. This delayed the important decision making and
quick actions on some of its activities which were wrong. Furthermore, it also acquired Fuji
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which was one of the blunder it made back then. By analysing this, it can be said that, the
structure was successful but to a certain extent that cannot be considered. This was realised by
Xerox not so early enough due to which number of challenges occurred in the business. Also,
whenever changes have been implemented within the organization, it was always a problem to
make employees adapt the changes and adjust their work accordingly. This was huge problem in
managing the whole work. Hence, it can be said that the structure was not appropriate with the
increasing competition in the market and there was a need for Xerox to undergo restructuring by
which it can achieve its goals and objectives. Also, the expectations of stakeholder were not met
by the company which caused huge loss to the company. This led to decline in stock value of in
the trading platform. Hence, everything was capable to create more challenges for the company
an make it suffer for the long time.
Reasons for restructure
When a company make new strategy for the goals and objectives to be achieved within
the time allotted for them, then restructure can be a good option for the same. Change is
important in a business which can be brought by developing new strategies and applying them
within the entity. Some of the benefits of the same in the context of implementation of strategy
are as follows: To incorporate new technology: This is related with the advancement that takes place in
the existing technology. Xerox is a company engaged in business related to technology
only therefore, this could be a reason. Its strategy includes utilization of new technology
in the products and services sold by it so that customers can be satisfied. To include quality: The strategy of Xerox focuses on producing quality goods which can
be sold to customers. It helps in understanding the details of the target buyers so that the
final output can be achieved in desired manner. To make better use of talent: Employees are the one who make carry the whole work by
following the instructions of the company. The company should evaluate the performance
of each employee and allot them work on the basis of their skills and competencies.
When an entity is restructured, it may motivate the employees to work with full
efficiency so that strategy can be successfully implemented.
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 To reduce costs: This is one of the main reasons for which restructure can be beneficial.
When new strategy is formed the main motive is to reduce the cost so that profit can be
increased. It is for long term which can help Xerox to focus on main motives.
 To cater the expectations of stakeholder: These are the groups which are important not
only for Xerox but for other companies as well. With the change in organizational
structure, Xerox can be at better position to understand the needs and requirements of
each one of them so that these can be fulfilled without any failure.
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The above chart shows the individual department and three layer hierarchy which is
currently being followed by Xerox. In this, different departments are made by giving them their
own tasks and objectives. Furthermore, there is no such requirement to report to the top
management or follow their decisions. The team members of each unit may provide their own
way to complete the work for achieving the common goals. It has given some authority to each
of its employees. However, with the implementation of new strategy, it is likely to switch to
centralisation where the ultimate authority to make decisions will be held by the top
management. In proposed structure, the decision making power will be in the hands of John
Visintin who is the CEO and vice chairman of the company. There will be no scope for the
interruption of the lower or middle management. Along with this, the every person will be liable
to follow the instructions of the highest authority without any compromise.
With the restructure, there comes changes that are likely to take place and their benefits
should also be taken into account, these have been elaborated below:
 Introduction of innovation in Xerox will help it in improving the sales leading to higher
profit. With this, it can provide higher return to its shareholders resulting in fulfilling
their expectation.
 By shifting the business to eco-friendly mode can help it to develop products that are
embedded with features of paperless. This may require marketing research for gathering
information about the new trends started in the market.
 To have a strong position in the market by following the new structure. Decentralisation
will give it a chance to have effective control over the activities of employees so that
they can perform as per the instructions of the top management.
Critical evaluation of the restructure plan for identifying possible issues and negative
consequences and ways to overcome them
The restructure plan has been formulated with extensive research and according to which
Xerox has decided to change the structure from decentralisation to centralisation. This structure
is likely to provide an environment in which all the employees will work with uniformity in
order to meet the goals and objectives. Furthermore, monitoring and controlling can be done with
accuracy so that any mistakes or faults can be removed. With this plan, the delay in completion
of each task can be reduced leading to achievement of the goals within the time. However, there
are some issues in this which should be analysed by the company. These are the rigid structure
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which often leads to lack of motivation among the employees. Apart from this, employee
turnover can be high as more workers may not be interested in carrying the work for a long time
in a company which does not take into consideration the ideas, opinions and perceptions of its
members. Apart from this, people working in the entity may be highly resisted to accept the
change this can result in low productivity. Along with this, outcomes like deadlocks, strike etc.
may also occurred.
In order to resolve the above-mentioned problems, Xerox has found variety of solutions
for handling and eliminating them. In centralised structure, top management should take
decisions by taking into account the expectations of each individual working in the organization.
It should get regular feedbacks for determining the issues that the workforce is facing and should
put such problems at the priority of all other decisions. The other issue which is related to
employees showing resistance to accept the changes. It should be dealt in a delicate manner by
adopting new leadership style which can be democratic so as to give the opportunity to sub-
ordinates to share the difficulties facing by them in such circumstances. This is also going to help
in keeping all the people motivated to give their best in completing the work. Leadership style
has great impact in shaping the behaviour of employees.
TASK 3
Covered in PPT
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