Introduction Apple Inc., formerly Apple Computer, Inc., is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software and personal computers. Google Inc. is an American multinational corporation specializing in Internet-related services and products. These include search, cloud computing, software, and online advertising technologies.
Most of its profits are derived from AdWords. This paper includes an explanation of organizational structure and culture of Apple and Google, how the relationship between Google’s organizational structure and culture impacts the performance of its business, the main factors influence employee behavior of Google and comparison of the different management approach.Task 11) Please compare and contrast the organisational structure and culture of Apple and Google. (1.1)1.
1.Apple and Google’s organisational structure 1.1.1 Definition Organizational structure refers to the different hierarchies or levels in a company. An organizational structure appears as a series of boxes, vertical and horizontal lines. The boxes represent various titles within the organization, and the vertical lines represent to whom that position reports.
Horizontal lines show which employees are on the same level. The appearance of an organization structure is usually pyramidal because there are fewer executive-level positions at the top of the company.The key elements of organizational structure are as follows: (1)Work specialization—refers to the degree to which tasks in the organization are subdivided into separate jobs.a.the entire job is broken down into steps, each step completed by a separate individualb.individual workers specialize in doing part of an activityc.
involves repetitive performance of a few skillsd.can be viewed as a means to make the most efficient use of employee's skillse.some task requires highly developed skillsf.others can be performed by the untrained(2)Departmentation/ departmentalization— Departmentalization is the basis on which work or individuals are grouped into manageable units.
There are five traditional methods for grouping work activities.a.Departmentalization by function organizes by the functions to be performed. The functions reflect the nature of the business. The advantage of this type of grouping is obtaining efficiencies from consolidating similar specialties and people with common skills, knowledge and orientations together in common units.
b.Departmentalization by product assembles all functions needed to make and market a particular product are placed under one executive. For instance, major department stores are structured around product groups such as home accessories, appliances, women's clothing, men's clothing, and children's clothing.c.
Departmentalization by geographical regions groups jobs on the basis of territory or geography. For example, Merck, a major pharmaceutical company, has its domestic sales departmentalized by regions such as Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and Northwest.d.Departmentalization by process groups jobs on the basis of product or customer flow. Each process requires particular skills and offers a basis for homogeneous categorizing of work activities.e.
Departmentalization by customer groups jobs on the basis of a common set of needs or problems of specific customers. A current departmentalization trend is to structure work according to customer, using cross-functional teams. This group is chosen from different functions to work together across various departments to interdependently create new products or services.(3)Centralisation and decentralization—Centralization is the concentration of authority for making most decisions at the top levels of the organization. And decentralization is the dispersion of authority to make decisions throughout all levels of the organization. Reasons to move from centralization to decentralizationa.
Considerable company growth- a company may find it advantageous to switch to a decentralization model in order to keep organized. In this manner, a company may establish new divisions or departments to keep track of its growth.b.Geographic- decentralization could involve the dispersing of power from a centralized headquarters to localized branches. This designation of power is most commonly used in the situations where a domestic company has offices in a foreign country.
c.Technological complexity- a company may also choose to decentralize its chain of command in order to better facilitate its technological departments. This maneuver may also indirectly demonstrate a sense of confidence to the technology employees, as it proves a company has confidence in their actions. A positive side effect could be the creation of an environment where ideas can be freely explored and where they may flourishd.
Time- decentralization is sometimes necessary as a time solution. For instance, a company might experience a time limit to finish a project, and the most feasible solution would be to appoint lower-level mangers that are more directly involved in the project to supervise.(4)Chain of command—Chain of command is the unbroken line of authority that connects each level of management with the next level. The chain of command helps organizations function smoothly by making two things clear: who is responsible for each task, and who has the authority to make official decisions. In organizations, employees are assigned:a.
Responsibility for their jobs; they are obligated to perform those duties and to achieve goals and objectives associated with their positions.b.Accountability for reporting their results to supervisors or team members and justifying outcomes that falls below expectations.(5)Span of control—The Span of Control in an organization is defined as the number of employees reporting directly to one supervisor.
Traditionally, the Span of Control has been defined as a number between 4 and 7 subordinates under one manager.a.wider spans of management increase organizational efficiencyb.Narrow span drawbacks: expense of additional layers of management; increased complexity of vertical communication; encouragement of overly tight supervision and discouragement of employee autonomy.
