Organizational Analysis and Business

Hybrid Organizations blur the boundary between for profit and non-profit: they serve a social or environmental purpose yet utilized for-profit business model in order to sustain their mission. Examples include Ten Thousand Villages, which is a non-profit that acts as a retailer for artisans around the world seeking to sell their products and earn a living. Or there is Seventh Generation, a for-profit that sells environmentally-safe products and makes this the basis of its brand.

Common commercial functions of this type of organization include selling a product that is environmentally safe or that helps achieve a social good -- such as the livelihood of a minority group (Haigh, Hoffman, 2012). Service organizations provide a service for customers and can include anything from Midas, which provides car service, to Uber which provides a pick-up service. These companies do not produce anything but do provide a service. Common commercial functions of these types of organizations are that they perform some work for the consumer.

Manufacturing organizations do produce goods -- examples would include Mattel, which produces toys, or Audi which manufactures cars. The common commercial function of a manufacturer is that it supplies parts and goods for the economy, which people need for their lives to function properly: people need cars, buildings, furniture, etc. Trading Companies act as importers or wholesalers. They keep stock, inventory and sell at retail locations such as shops or they employ brokers and agents to sell. These would include Dodwell Co. and Compagnie du Nord.

The common commercial function of a trading company is that it stockpiles goods that can be sold cheaply at a retail location, such as an outlet. Trading companies effect the price of goods by providing the market with a below-average option. They keep the marketplace competitive in this regard. Trading companies may also take part in the purchase and sale of stocks, options, real estate, etc. -- virtually anything that is bought and sold is something a trading company may be interested in.

Question B The three different types of mapping examined in this course include process maps, relationship maps and cross-functional mapping. Flowcharts are also examined. The purpose of the process map is to illustrate in a visual form the way that work can be accomplished. The visualization helps to improve the overall process by allowing workers to see how the parts of the organization fit together. Visualizing it can help to streamline the process and remove inefficient aspects.

It is also a way for the process to be documented for future reference so that later people can know how a process or endpoint was achieved. The process map outlines the steps (Biazzo, 2002). The relationship map shows how the parts of an organization are related or how they fit together. It will typically include aspects such as the supplier, the input, the throughput, the output and the customer. It visualizes the entire chain of variables and parts from beginning to end.

The cross-functional map visually describes how work is divided among various departments: it provides an image of inputs, throughputs and outputs for the steps and the sequential manner in which they are to be performed. It includes persons or roles required and decision points upon which future activity is based (Anjard, 2008). Flowcharting is another way in which mapping can show how a process is conducted. It is a simpler form that connects players with roles and activities and depicts a step-by-step process of an action.

In a sense all mapping is really flowcharting and these three types of mapping are ways in which the organization and flow of a company can be charted so that workers can better visualize and understand their relationship to the whole. Each one has its own specific focus and when used together can create a better idea of how everything is working in the same unified wheel.

Question C Process Analysis can be used to identify and address the strengths and weaknesses of our business by allowing the various points and intersections of divisions and departments to be scrutinized. Every stop of the process can be overlooked and it can be seen where bottlenecks in work are occurring and how those can be overcome in order to allow the processing flow to proceed more smoothly (Biazzo, 2002; Anjard, 2008).

It can also be used to identify strengths and show where work flow picks up steam and where workers and parts are moving quickly and efficiently and in unison with other divisions. Different types of performance measurement include customer satisfaction and market performance: these are external measures. Internal measures would include employee turnover rates and employee satisfaction. The lower the rates and higher the satisfaction, the more likely it is that the company is performing well. The higher customer satisfaction is and the greater the market performance,.