Business Environment. Understanding the Organisational Purposes of Business

Introduction In this assignment I am going to identify the purposes of different types of organisations, describe the extent to which an organisation meets the objectives of different stakeholders and explain the responsibilities of an organisation and strategies employed to meet them. I am also going to give examples based on my own personal experience. Identify the purposes of different types of organisation Business organisations can be divided mainly into two sectors. The private sector, which is formed by sole traders, partnerships, companies and franchises. The sole trader is the most popular form of business ownership. This kind of business is managed by only one individual who puts all of his savings and his time into making it a success. He is his own boss but it also has a negative aspect which is that he has to deal with a lot of responsibilities. For example window cleaning, plumbing. Partnerships can have between two and twenty partners. There can be exceptions for some forms of partnerships such as big accountancy firms whose partners also enjoy limited liability. This means that they can only loose the amount of money that they have invested even if the business goes bankrupt. E. g. vets, solicitors. Companies are owned by shareholders who choose Directors to give direction to the business. The Chief Executive has the responsibility of making the most important decisions. Specialist Managers will be appointed to run the company on behalf of the Board. Shareholders put funds into the company by buying shares. Every company must register with the Registrar of Companies, and must have an official address. Private companies have Ltd after their name. They are normally smaller than public companies. Shares in a private company can only be bought and sold with permission of the Board of Directors. Franchises are businesses in which someone gets formal permission given by a company to sell its goods or services in a particular area. The business policies have to be the same in every establishment. The franchise pays a sum of money as capital and the franchisor is responsible of the equipment. The first one must buy a certain amount of supplies from the econd in order to make sure that the quality of the product is the same as the original. This together with a percentage of the profits of the business goes to the franchisor. The advantages of Franchises are that they have a well-known name. For example McDonalds. The main aim of all of these private organisations is to make a profit. Other goals consist on having a good customer service, gaining a good reputation, offering quality product s, etc. Even when they do charity events these organisations earn a profit on the long run because of the positive publicity they obtain. This will make them increase their number of customers and make them look more competitive towards their rivals. The public sector is made up of central government, local government and businesses that are owned by government. A Public Limited Company has its shares traded on the Stock Exchange, which can make it win a large sum of money in a very short period of time. On the contrary the original shareholders could lose the control of the business if large quantities of shares are bought as part of a takeover. To create a Public Limited Company the directors must apply to the Stock Exchange Council, which will check the accounts. Non- Profit organisations receive donations or funds from groups or governments. All the money they earn from selling goods, which have usually been donated by the public, goes straight back into the organisation to improve the quality of their service. The aim of the public sector is not to generate a profit but also not to waste money just to generate enough to be able to continue with their community services. Describe the extent to which an organisation meets the objectives of different stakeholders A stakeholder is a person, group or organisation that has a direct or indirect stake in an organisation because it can affect or be affected by the organisations actions, objectives and policies. The following are different types of stakeholders which you could find in the private sector. Owners or shareholders who want the business to be a success because they have invested their own capital and expect to gain a profit out of it. An organisation has legal and moral obligations to its owners being the most important one to try and ensure that they receive an adequate return on their investment. Employees are a vital part of any organisation. In order for a business to succeed it needs to offer a nice working atmosphere and pay good wages to their employees to keep them motivated at the workplace. One way to achieve this is by implanting performance related bonuses which are usually related to the success of the business as a whole. In this case both parties will be satisfied with the end result. Unions. Their goal is to better the employees work conditions by trying to increase wages and secure jobs. Managers usually have a fluent verbal communication with the union’s spokesperson to avoid any conflicts that could occur if their demands are not materialised even if not completely in some way. Customers. A business has to know how to fulfil their customers’ needs which includes offering quality products at a reasonable price, that the goods they have gone to purchase are available because otherwise they will go to the competition to get them and that they receive good customer care. All of these factors will make the organisation have a fixed clientele because they will come back if the experience has been good and it will also make it gain customers thanks to the word of mouth recommendations. All of the above are primary stakeholders as they have some direct interest or stake in the organisation. Secondary stakeholders are public or special interest groups that do not have a direct stake in the organisation but are still affected by its operations. Some examples could be the local, state, and federal government, trade and industry groups, media, competitors, etc. Explain the responsibilities of an organisation and strategies employed to meet them Organisations not only have moral and ethical responsibilities towards a range of stakeholders but also towards the wider community. The term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the responsibilities that modern business organisations have to create a healthy and prosperous society. They also have legal responsibilities which include consumer and product laws, environment laws and employment laws. These laws obligate the organisation to create new jobs, reduce contamination by for example using plastic bags that can be recycled, etc. nd at the same time they are doing something good for the community. Corporate Social Responsibility involves making sure that the organisations goods and services meet the customers’ demands and are provided in a fair way and also that they are involved in relevant sponsorship and humanitarian activities to help social development. Normally there are e ight main types of strategies in which an organisation can be involved with at any time: Growth involves the expansion of a business, its markets, products, size, etc. For an organisation to grow it needs to find up and coming markets where they will be able to make a profit. Stability involves a consolidation strategy for the organisation. There must be set guidelines so that the business can keep on working efficiently even if changes occur. Profitability. Gaining a profit is essential for nearly every organisation especially for the private sector where shareholders have a lot of influence. Efficiency consists on using the means the organisation has in the right way. It is an important strategy for public sector service organisations to demonstrate that the taxpayer’s money has been used properly. Market leadership strategies are about being the best in your market. The market leader can obtain cheaper stock because they buy larger amounts of it. Survival. In such a competitive business environment survival is the key to be able to continue advancing. Merger and acquisition makes the organisations benefit from the advantages of integration by for example gaining new customers. Globalisation strategies involve expanding internationally to countries where normally the cost of production is lower and this will make them gain a larger profit. Based on my personal experience in the private sector in which I have worked for McDonalds and for El Corte Ingles I have observed several differences. On the one hand, McDonalds which is a franchise, pays the minimum wage and their clientele is formed by the working class. On the other hand, El Corte Ingles, which is the first distribution group of Spain in the sales volume sector and is formed by eighty department stores all over the Spanish territory. The wages are higher than in McDonalds and the products they offer are usually select. For this reason customers range from middle to upper class. Both are commercial organisations which means that their income must be bigger than their expenses. Conclusion In conclusion I have learnt that for an organisation to be successful it needs to adapt to the current situation and has to develop new strategies to be able to compete with rivals. Offering quality products at a reasonable price will make customers buy more which will activate the economy and the organisation will still gain a profit. References The Times 100 Business case studies. Revision theory – Strategy theory. www. businesscasestudies. co. uk VCE IT Lecture Notes – Organisational goals. www. vceit. com :