Organisational structure & design

The organisation chart of a company is shown.

What is the span of control of the Managing Director?

A 4

B 8

C 134

D 138

Text 3 Shropshire Fruit Farm

Shropshire Fruit Farm (SFF) grows strawberries at its farm in the West Midlands. SFF is owned by business partners Mei and Felix. The strawberries are picked by temporary employees and sold to supermarkets and convenience stores.

Some of the temporary employees have a full-time contract and others have a part-time contract. This does mean that Mei and Felix find it difficult to plan operations, as employees work different numbers of hours on different days. Employee retention is also a challenge, as employees often leave the business for permanent jobs.

Demand for strawberries has decreased over the past three years and this has affected SFF’s revenue (see graph below). Felix suggests they should use market research to help plan for the future. However, Mei is concerned that, as profits have fallen by 45% over the past three years, any extra expenditure on market research would be wasteful.

Identify one way of communicating in a business.

Analyse two advantages for SFF of employee retention.

Mei and Felix have been reviewing the balance of full-time and part-time employees at SFF.

Analyse one advantage for SFF of recruiting each type of employee.

Full-time employees

Part-time employees

Recommend whether it is best for SFF to recruit full-time or part time employees. Give a reason for your answer.

* Evaluate, using the data in Text 3, whether or not SFF should use market research to help plan for the future.

A clothing designer may choose to flatten its organisational structure to reduce the:

A creativity of its garment designers

B independence of its fabric buyers

C need for innovation and change

D time it takes to respond to changes in fashion

A business with a tall organisational structure will have:

A a high market share

B lots of distribution channels

C multiple layers of authority

D short chains of command

An extract from the organisation chart of a manufacturing company is shown below.

The span of control of the Production Manager is:

A 1

B 3

C 21

D 63

Text 2

HSBC

HSBC offers a range of banking and financial services for personal and business customers. The bank has branches in many cities and towns across the UK.

Employing the best people is important to HSBC. It uses several methods to select new employees. Once appointed, all employees are offered training and development opportunities that include studying for academic qualifications such as degrees and professional diplomas.

Over 70% of HSBC’s call centre employees in the UK have begun working from home permanently. Before this change the employees worked together in a busy call centre. The tasks performed by call centre employees are varied, but include taking telephone calls from customers and completing administrative work, such as opening new bank accounts. Senior managers are now considering whether to introduce working from home for all of its UK call centre employees.

State two methods that a business can use to select new employees.

Explain three methods of training HSBC may use.

Analyse one benefit for HSBC’s employees of studying for academic qualifications.

Analyse one advantage for HSBC of its UK call centre employees working from home.

Analyse one disadvantage for HSBC of its UK call centre employees working from home.

Recommend whether HSBC should introduce working from home for all of its UK call centre employees. Give a reason for your answer.

Text 1

Dyson

Disappointed with the performance of vacuum cleaners on the market, James Dyson thought he could design a better product. He started to create his first vacuum cleaner in the late-1970s. In 1984, after trying thousands of designs over several years, James Dyson launched a bagless vacuum cleaner in partnership with Amway, a US consumer goods manufacturer. This partnership did not work out, so James Dyson formed his own company in 1991.

Today, Dyson Ltd produces a range of home appliances including vacuum cleaners, hand dryers, heaters, hair dryers and lights. Creating new and innovative products continues to be important for the company, as seen by its expanding product range. The company has over 12 000 employees worldwide. Dyson Ltd has a unique organisational structure.

All new employees of Dyson Ltd go through an induction training programme. In addition, the company encourages employees to progress by offering apprenticeships and other staff development opportunities. James Dyson promotes careers in engineering, both in schools and in universities.

Explain one reason why businesses have different organisational structures.

Explain three entrepreneurial characteristics that have supported James Dyson’s success.

Analyse one likely reason why Dyson Ltd puts all new employees through an induction training programme.

Dyson Ltd offers apprenticeships as a method of staff development.

Identify two other methods of staff development that a business could offer.

Evaluate whether or not Dyson Ltd should continue to offer apprenticeship opportunities.

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Text 2

Greggs

Greggs is a modern ‘food-on-the-go’ retail brand. It specialises in selling sandwiches, cakes, pastries and pies. Most of these are made by Greggs, using raw materials such as flour, meat and yeast. The company opened its first bakery 80 years ago and has since grown significantly. It currently has 20 000 employees. Greggs’ aim is to become the customer’s favourite for ‘food-on-the-go’ in the UK. This sector is growing quickly and is forecast to be worth £23.4 billion by 2024 (up from £18.5 billion in 2019).

According to The Vegan Society, the number of people in the UK choosing a vegan diet has increased during recent years (see Fig. 1).

The number of vegans in the UK

Using the market data, Greggs responded to this change by launching vegan sausage rolls in January 2019. The publicity generated helped Greggs’ total sales to increase by 9.6% in its next seven weeks of trading. Following this success the business launched other products, including vegan doughnuts and vegan steak bakes, based on consumer demand.

Managers at Greggs constantly monitor changes in consumer tastes. Similarly, they keep up-to-date with changes in employment law. Greggs’ managers also take pride in the business being named one of the happiest places to work in the UK. Greggs offers many ways of working, including part-time roles.

Explain one way that employment law may affect Greggs’ employment of workers.

Other than the government, explain one external stakeholder’s influence on Greggs.

Explain the purpose of planning business activity for Greggs’ managers.

Part-time is one way of working.

State two other ways of working.

Analyse one benefit for Greggs of using market data to create new products.

The managers of Greggs are considering two options for business growth.

Analyse one benefit for Greggs of business growth using each of the following methods.

Merger with a flour producer

Takeover of a rival ‘food-on-the-go’ retail brand

Recommend which of the two methods of business growth Greggs should use. Give reasons for your answer.

State one characteristic of an entrepreneur.

Analyse two benefits for Miles Ahead of using market segmentation.

Nessa is thinking about the best organisational structure for Miles Ahead when she becomes the new owner.

Analyse one benefit for Miles Ahead of each of the following organisational structures.

Tall organisational structure

Flat organisational structure

Recommend which type of organisational structure would be the most appropriate for Nessa to use at Miles Ahead. Give reasons for your answer.

* Evaluate, with reference to the data in Text 3, whether operating as a sole trader is the best

type of business ownership for Miles Ahead in the future.