Introduction
An organization structure is important in each and every company. It helps in improving the working relationship between different departments in a company and also improves performance efficiency in the company. A company with an organizational structure has a proper definition of reporting lines and thus the employees are aware to whom they are supposed to report to incase of any complaints, comments or grievances. It also makes it easier for the company to have control over its resources because money is allocated to every department and ensured that it is used in the most productive way possible. It also helps in cost reduction because the control of the cost centre is done at micro levels. This article will feature the organizational structure of Kraft Foods Company which is located in the United State of America and a multi operation company. The company deals in manufacturing and marketing of quick meals and snacks worldwide.
Corporate Business Level
This level consists of the senior management like the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Corporate head, president of the company, vice president and the chairman of he board. The corporate level of a business comes up with the entire strategy of the company. The managers inspect how other members of the organization carry out their duties. They decide how the company’s products will compete and the geographical areas to operate in. The Kraft Food Company which is a multi business firm make decisions on allocation of funds at this level, allocation of staff and other company resources at this level. Corporate managers make the overall company goals and come up with strategies of how these goals will be achieved. These managers have managerial experience and thus are entirely responsible for the organization’s performance (Trenerry, p. 289).
The corporate level of a company is also concerned with managing functions and interrelationships. The top managers coordinate the employees and resources in all units of the company and invest resources in these business units. Corporate managers decide how the company should be governed. (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor, p. 591).
Top management develops the company’s strategies which show the long term performance of the business. The strategies made by top manages include product and market diversification and business expansion. The managers in the corporate level report to the company’s shareholder and directors in an organization and ensure that company’ goals are put in to consideration by the top managers.
Business level
This level consists of departmental managers like the marketing managers, accountants, production managers and purchasing managers. Their responsibilities include carrying out the goals formulated by the corporate managers. Departmental managers formulate goals for their functional areas. These managers are involved in daily activities of the company and can communicate upwards to the executives to give their suggestions which may be valuable information to improve the organizations performance. The business level of the Kraft Food is involved in matching their functions with the goals set at the corporate level. The managers in this level are also concerned in speculating the market they are competing with in order to gain a marketing and financial edge over the competitors (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor, p. 591).
The business level of every organization has responsibilities of determining how resources will be allocated in its departments and how the corporation’s business diversification should be. Whether the firm should operate either as a related or unrelated diversification and how each of the diversification methods will benefit the products or services of the organization. Strategies made in this level of the company focus on one unit of a business unlike the corporate strategies which focus on the overall management of the business. In multi-business organization, individual units of business are brought together to form strategic business units (SBUs) which represent related business units and each is responsible for the profits or losses it makes. Business level strategies are concerned in the identification of market niches for product and services and formulation of competing strategies. It is also concerned in coordination of the business functions to help in achieving the company’s strategies (Trenerry, p. 289).
Functional level
This consist of supervisors or first line managers who include office managers, foreperson, store manager and shift supervisor. Functional managers direct and supervise the employees in the production process of goods in the organization. The first line managers influence the goals set by the company. Employees work together with their supervisors in their daily activities and thus these supervisors should motivate the employees in order to increase the company’s production and achieve the organization’s goals. In order to achieve the company’s set goals a strategy is developed to bring together the functional areas of the company. The goals in functional level have shorter time period compared to the corporate and business level (Pride, Hughes & Kapoor 591) Accountability at this level is very easy because results of an action are quickly got and thus it is possible to attribute to the action or function of a certain department.
Functional level of a company ensures efficient utilization of activities in the functional line. It also ensures that company activities are coordinated and thus the marketing activities can be coordinated to reduce the cost. Also the purchasing activities can be coordinated to reduce the production cost. First line managers ensure that the strategies in the functional level match with the strategies in the corporate and business level.
Conclusion
Organization structure gives long term direction of the company’s performance. The article explains the three organizational levels of a company which include the corporate business level that consist of the top managers who make the long term goals of the company and also the corporate strategies. The other level as stated by the article is the business level which is made up of the departmental managers. These managers make medium goals for their business units and also departmental strategies which help in achieving the corporate goals. The goals and strategies made by the departmental managers should match those made in the corporate level. The final level is the functional level which consists of the company supervisors. These supervisors are involved in day to day activities and make short term goals and strategies which conform to those in the corporate and business level. The article also has given an organization structure of a multi business company which has the corporate level, business and functional level.
Works cited
- Pride, William, Hughes Robert & Kapoor, Jack. Business. New York. Cengage Learning, 2009.
- Trenerry, Alan. Principles of Internal Control. New York. UNSW Press, 1999.