Mckinsey 7 S Model

‘Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term, which achieves advantage in a changing environment through it’

Having the appropriate structure is vital for an organisation or business to meet its aims and objectives. A business may be structured by:

Organizational Structure Organization structure is the differentiation; that is the way the organisation is differentiated into tasks, responsibilities, departments and hierarchies and the integration (the way the organisation is coordinated to form a unitary whole). It defines how activities in the organization are directed toward the achievement of organizational aims. The structure provides the foundation on which standard operating procedures and routines rest, determines which individuals get to participate in which decision making processes and thus to what extent their view shape the organization’s actions (Stephen, 1987) United Parcel Services Organization Chart United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) is the world’s largest package delivery

The relationship between an organization’s strategy and structure are extremely important because it “directly impacts a firm’s performance” (Rothaermel, 2013, p. 309). Also, as an organization grows, it should reevaluate the current strategy and structure to ensure that it remains the optimal choice for the organization (Rothaermel, 2013). The four types of organizational structures, listed in order of least to most complex according to Rothaermel (2013), are: (1) simple, (2)

Organizational structure refers to the way that an organization arranges people and jobs so that its work can be performed and its goals can be met. According to USA their structure states in order to provide clear alignment and focus for the planning process of USAA’s organizational structure, a planning team was assembled with strategic-thought leaders to author a strategic market outlook.

Why is it important for an organization to have alignment between its strategy and structure?

According to Slack et al. The corporate strategy or business strategy is the guide lines for the whole corporation’s businesses in relation to its markets, customers, and the competitors (2007). In the same context, the same authors discussed the link between the corporate strategy and

A competitive strategy, or business-level strategy, is the way a business used to successfully enter and penetrate into a market (Eastwood et al, 2006), and also, to succeed in this chosen market against its competitors (Johnson et al, 2014). A company needs to develop and apply appropriate strategy to help the company to generate distinctive competences (David, 2007). Compared with the strategies implemented in other levels of operation, competitive strategy is more focused on the competition against other competitors and strategic choices to better attain market share (Harrison and St. John, 2009). According to

According to Miles et al. (1978, p. 547), an organization is both its purpose and the mechanism constructed to achieve the purpose. It means that the concept of organization is embracing both goals and all the elements that represent unique combination. Miles et al. (1978, p. 553) draws the conclusion that structure and the processes taking place inside the organization are closely aligned; it is hard to speak about one without mentioning the other. It is important to understand the conclusion drawn by Miles et al. (1978). It illustrates how the

Organizational structure is a system that consists of explicit and implicit institutional rules and policies designed to outline how various work roles and responsibilities are delegated, controlled and coordinated. Organizational structure also determines how information flows from level to level within the company (investopedia.com, 2017). If one level or department does not undertake its function accurately the entire business suffers, because all the departments interrelated to each other. There are generally four types of organizational structure:

Manager’s of an organization has to use structure to help the company run efficiently. “The five types of organizational structures are functional, divisional, matrix, team-based, and virtual network” (Draft, 2013, p.316). Functional structure in an organization that is developed by grouping departments by the skills, level of knowledge, activities done daily, and the resource used. “This structure places specific departments from the bottom to the top” (Draft, 2013, p.318). For example, specific departments such as: human resources, accounting, engineering, and manufacturing are placed at the top, while there are mostly seen at the bottom in other organizations. While common functions such as; people, facilities, and other resources are combined together as a single department instead of being divided into multiple departments.

Organizational structure is a formal relationship between management and the employees. It is a way to motivate the employees and get them to working. It is also away to get employees to follow the company goals, and work together as a team. To make an organization work they need to have an organized structure to be able to run the company. The mission

In a global environment, the strategies that managers pursue have a significant effect on a business performance as compared to the competitors. Hill and Jones define strategy as a set of actions that a company’s managers put in place in order to increase performance of the company (2013). When the strategies lead to a superior performance of a company relative to its competitors, then the company is said to be at a competitive advantage. This is a case study of Federal Express, in the small package express delivery industry. It

Alfred Chandler(1963) defines strategy as ‘ the determination of the long-run goals and objectives of an enterprise and the adoption of courses of action of an enterprise and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals’. And Michael porter(1996) sees it as ‘Competitive strategy is about being different. It means deliberately choosing different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value’.

Strategy can be defined as being different from one’s competitors, finding the race to operate and accomplished it. According to Michael Porter (1996), while becoming better at what you do is desirable, it will not benefit you in the long run because it is something other competitors can also do. Strategies for organizations are originally developed by Michael E. Porter in 1979 by introducing the five forces model. A company can identify the industry profitability and attractiveness by analyzing the five forces of Porter (Johnson et al., 2008). And then a reasonable strategy can be set up in line with the strengths and the weakness of an organization is able to create a plan for a stronger position for the organization within its