I am going to carry out an investigation on any two organisations and to compile a report on the culture, structure, management and leadership of the two organisations. Chosen businesses are Hoar Cross Hall and The Academy of Beauty.

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Introduction

Every organisation has a unique culture, having values, assumptions and attitudes, which results in both formal and informal patterns of rules and working relationships.  Pg6, Blackwell, business functions, an active learning approach.

A comparison of two types of businesses, one large and one small has been chosen with a view to analysing their organisational structure, management culture and the impact it has on business performance.

I am going to carry out an investigation on any two organisations and to compile a report on the culture, structure, management and leadership of the two organisations.

Chosen businesses are Hoar Cross Hall and The Academy of Beauty. The aims in both companies are to provide a dedicated health retreat to members of the public. Organisational structure with in both sectors comprises of functional relationships, responsibilities and communication of individuals within each department. These components are crucial for the smooth running of each business as well as its success pg23, Sexton, (1970). While manager’s play a large role in defining their organisational culture through hierarchal structure, actions and leadership, at ground level organisational culture is defined by the life experiences, strengths, weaknesses, and education of the employees.

Both organisations consist of female oriented environment, by nature of the business. Management culture and organisational structure within both organisations varies due to the size of the business.

Hoar cross hall is a very large organisation, which is located in the heart of Staffordshire countryside. It is grade ii listed building full of individual character and charm. It stands proud and secluded within the 100acres of colourful and exotic gardens, lakes and wildlife areas. It also has a smaller sister company based in Nottingham.

Hoar Cross Hall employees over 250 professionals and has over 40 dedicated treatment rooms, offering over 100 health and well being treatments. A state- of –the- art gymnasium, swimming pool with a hydrotherapy cave. A medical centre and four restaurants offering on a la carte menu and some very delightful but health eating options, including a champagne bar for those extra special occasions. If this is not enough Hoar Cross Hall even has its own shopping boutique and product shop. It attracts people from all over the world and has had celebrities such as Jade Goody to stay. Despite its grandeur, it remains friendly and true to its simple mission statement: “Our aim is your contentment” how can you not be contented with such luxurious pampering set in such magnificent surroundings.

Management and staff reflect the grand designs of this establishment, through product knowledge, professionalism and dress code. Externally, Hoar Cross Hall maintains good relationships with a number of worldwide suppliers and its relationships with these suppliers provides continued recognition for both parties. In order to meet company objectives, Hoar Cross Hall takes on a formal management style in order to control ad co-ordinate task processes and performance. This ensures that specific goals are met in line with company policies as well as forming patterns of organisational relationships with effective grouping of departmental activities in order to promote efficiency and effectiveness. Individuals are strategically placed according to skills and abilities, thereby providing an organisational framework based on:

  1. Function- Specialist individuals and areas, which enable the business to cater for a wide range of consumers.
  2. Product- through effective marketing, employee and consumer feedback the company is able to offer a wide range of products.
  3. Processes- through effective planning, the business aims to maintain and achieved desired outcomes.
  4. Control- effective management structure to measure and monitor business progression and take appropriate action where necessary.

This functional approach provides efficient technical and specialist expertise to be utilised and co-ordinated in order to meet company objectives, as well as providing an efficient teamwork where individuals come together to meet and obtain set targets. Appleby (1991) suggests that whilst functional approaches have many advantages with in larger organisations, there are also many disadvantages because the co-ordination of activities and processes tend to be dictated from higher management which results in lower managers being unable to direct or pursue new directions even if they feel changes would ultimately benefit the company. Functional rigidly between departments may not necessary always meet, thus departmental specialists may have a narrow perspective on the business (individuals only concerned with meeting their departmental objectives, rather than seeing the bigger picture of the whole organisation) pg 28 Blackwell, business functions, an active learning approach.

Management culture with in this organisation is multi-faceted and follows a performance- oriented style, which focuses on strategic issues and service quality. This is largely influenced by customer needs, therefore the company stipulates that all employees have a responsibility in ensuring the consumer needs are met in every way possible during their visit or stay to the venue, thus meeting the company’s mission statement; to assist in the achievement of these goals the organisation employs some of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:

  • Meeting and greeting  (offering a sense of belonging)
  • Tour/introduction of facilities (offering familiarity/ social needs ) good factors)
  • Total indulgence during stay (offering no one else matters only  you factor, raising self-esteem and feel
  • Offering good nutritional food and water (to replenish energy and meet physiological needs)
  • Providing rooms to relax or sleep (offering a sense of security and safety)

Fostering this type of culture enables managers to at least acknowledge some human factors in trying to meet consumer needs.

The corporation employs a variety of managers and leaders who act as champions. Through professional expertise they focus on delegating responsibilities for their specific area, (again it could be argued that they merely function from a narrow perspective). The encouragement of effective teamwork, and the use of SMART targets, provides a driving a force for both internal and external culture changes. A survey conducted of its employees clearly shows that although managers foster an environment where individuals can contribute to the company’s goals, decision making is still taken through hierarchical strands.

Working in this top down approach, managers control recruitment, promotions, incentive and goals, whilst at the same time leaders foster good culture relationships between staff and consumers and rely on the feedback by both parties to adopt an effective business culture. For a business delivering such products and services this appears to be an effective and appropriate method of management. Indeed adopting this goal and performance oriented style is regarded as an important element for this company as it assists in the analysis of ideas concerning progression and growth for the business.

Factors which influence individual behaviour at work

This business has grown and become internationally recognised because communication is effective with an all areas. The company view communication as a opportunity for making improvements both internally and externally, and believe that when things have gone well celebrations should be implemented, this helps individuals invest more time and effort into striving for more success. However, it could be argued that due to the scale of management levels, communication at times is distorted so by the time it reaches the lower ranks there is a slightly different slant on what is expected. Employees are viewed as an asset and the company is actively involved in fostering a healthy environment, however, the following influences can have an impact on individual behaviour in the work place.

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Attitude to superiority –this will vary according to individual belief, age and culture. For many employees frustrations and resentment arise from the bureaucracy that formal management structure provides. Although managers view such structure as strength in terms of achieving objectives, for many individuals in the workplace such structures act as a negative catalyst, thus impacting on low motivation and reduced productivity.

As the aging process occurs, individuals tend to become less flexible with thought and behaviour patterns, which impacts on interpersonal relationships in the workplace. Older members feel that because they hold age status that their beliefs ...

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