Work Specialization in Starbuck's - Research Paper Example

Case Study Starbucks Question 1 What examples of organizational structural elements do you see discussed in this case? Describe. The organizational structure of any company is a formal arrangement of jobs and reporting interactions which lets the organization to control, manage and inspire workers so that the common objectives can be accomplished. There are around six organizational structure elements which are: 1. Work specialization 2. Departmentalization 3. Chain of command 4. Span of control 5. Centralization and decentralization 6. Formalization Source: (Mukherjee, 2009). Each organization has its own approach to drag the above elements into one regulated framework to represent the required relationships. Starbucks has prepared their company by simple organizational structure on the basis of the strengths of the company executives. As the organization has enlarged its business, the organizational structural components have transformed accordingly. In this case, five organizational structural elements are discussed which are: work specialization, departmentalization, and chain of command, span of control and centralization & decentralization. Work specialization: Work specialization refers to how the operational jobs are divided into several small parts. In work specialization, an organization does not assign a whole task to one employee; rather the organization divides the task to certain sub-parts which are performed by individual employees. It is widely used in production procedures which help to accelerate the whole operation. The positive side of work specialization is that it not only can raise the level of expertise of employees, assist in the improvement of special technology, minimize training expenses; but it can also generate dullness and tediousness by performing same type of task and also offer fewer prospects for development (Mukherjee, 2009). In Starbucks, the work is highly specialized. In the stores, the operation is divided into several sub-parts. Almost four employees are required to operate a ‘drive through window’. One employee is in charge of receiving order, second one runs the cash register, third one operates the espresso machine, and fourth employee completes any additional requirements when required. In the roasting facility of Starbucks, each employee has his/her own tasks to preserve the product quality of their assigned step in the entire production process (Robbins & Et. Al., 2008). Departmentalization: Departmentalization is the alignment of interrelated organizational actions into divisions. The focus of departments in organization can be internal or external. Internal departmentalization is characterized by internal tasks or jobs of employees and resources required to undertake the jobs. On the other hand, external departmentalization is divided in segments such as products, consumers, or regional divisions (Lussier, 2008). In the case, it can be seen that Starbucks has different departments for different tasks such as: support divisions which provide assistance to commercial tasks in the field of bookkeeping, finance, information technology, sales and supply chain management; regional divisions which oversee the regional operations of retail outlets and provide support to human resource management and facilities management among others (Robbins & Et. Al., 2008). Chain of command: Chain of command is a precise and discrete ‘line of authority’ within the job positions in any company. Chain of command identifies that an employee must have only one manager above him to whom he/she can report tasks directly. To simplify synchronization within organization, each job position is provided with a ‘chain of command’ and each executive is delivered with a level of authority to fulfill the duties (Mukherjee, 2009). In the case study, it can be seen that the employees of Starbucks’ retail stores work under the direction of assistant store managers and store managers. The employees report directly about everyday operations to the store managers or assistant store managers under whom they work (Robbins & Et. Al., 2008). Span of control: Span of control denotes the number of juniors being competently and effectually managed by a single manager. It defines the maximum number of staffs who report directly to a manager. If the span of control is narrow, then supervisors can have strong control over the subordinates’ performances, but the cost is high in this scenario as it needs many administrative levels. On the other hand, wider span of control can result in reduced management cost but it can reduce the efficiency of employees due to insufficient leadership from the superiors (Mukherjee, 2009). In Starbucks, the district managers manage the communication between regional offices and retail stores. There are 8 to 10 retail stores under one district manager. District manager directly oversees them and spends more time to administer them with the help of mobile technology (Robbins & Et. Al., 2008). Centralization & decentralization: Centralization is the level of authority focused at central point of an organization. If every significant decision is made by the top management authority without involving the lower level workers, then it can be stated that the company is extremely centralized. On the other hand, if a company involves the lower level employees in the significant decisions then the company is regarded as decentralized. A higher centralization can provide a company better control over the policies and operations and higher decentralization can inspire the employees to perform better and become more loyal to the organization (Mukherjee, 2009). The organizational structure of Starbucks is decentralized. The organizational communication does not move only from one direction, rather it moves in every direction. The CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz visits almost 30–40 outlets per week and provides opportunities to the associates to communicate with the top executives of the organization. The former CEO, Jim Donald also used to visit the Starbucks outlets to communicate with the employees. It is the motive of Starbucks to improve the internal communication so that the top managers can pay attention to the needs and requirements of lower level employees (Robbins & Et. Al., 2008). Question 2 Do you think there should be a president of the US division and the international division? There should be a president in the US division and in the international division. The reason is that it can provide better customer satisfaction as employing a president in those divisions can help to increase enhanced communication with the customers and employees. It can help the organization to listen to the employees’ requirements and make adjustments accordingly. Besides, better communication can help the organization to measure the market demand and develop products to appeal to the customers. Placing a president in the US and the international division can facilitate the tasks of organization and it can support the mutual objectives and aims of all the divisions. Question 3 What types of departmentalization are being used? Departmentalization can be of five types which includes Functional, Product, Customer, Geographic, and Process. Starbucks uses functional and geographical departmentalization. There are many functional departments at Starbucks such as Administration, Supply Chain, Human Resources, Global Development, Marketing, International and Public Affairs among others. On the other hand, Starbucks has also divided the departments on the basis of geographic areas such as Western Pacific, Northwest Mountain and Northeast Atlantic among others (The Official Board, 2011). References Lussier, R. N., 2008. Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Applications, Skill Development. Cengage Learning. Mukherjee, K., 2009. Principles of Management Second Edition. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Robbins, S. P. & Et. Al., 2008. Management Ninth Canadian Edition. Pearson Education. The Official Board, 2011. Starbucks. Org–Chart. [Online] Available at: http://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/starbucks [Accessed November 03, 2011]. Read More