Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Assignment 1
LO1
Comparing and contrasting the diff erent organisational
structures and cultures of Apple and Google.
Structure is the arrangement and organisation of a business. It
will have a hierarchy with people of diff erent authority all
working together towards a certain goal, with a common set of
values and beliefs put in place. For an organisation to succeed
it must have a clear goal, with a soundly designed structure, to
ensure communication within the company is good. Drucker
(1989) said "good organisational structure does not by itself
produce good performance. But a poor organisational structure
makes good performance impossible".
The objective of structure is to co -ordinate diff erent parts of the
organisation. This is to allow management to monitor the
activities of the organisation, and resource utilisation, to
improve effi ciency. It is a framework of order and command
designed to link individuals in an established network. Having
structure provides authority, and makes people accountable for
their areas of work. By having a strong structure, a fl ow of work
and information is passed down via clear lines of co -operation,
this also allows for fl exibility, in order to respond to future
demands.
A structure of an organisation will diff er depending on its
nature, just like a building will diff er according to its use, e.g. a
house is built for a family to live, whereas an offi ce would be
built for work to be done. The table below explains what
infl uences a structure.
Infl uences
Purpose
Defi nition
If an
organisation
has a specifi c
purpose, the
structure of
that
organisation
will be altered
to ensure the
purpose is met,
with maximum
effi ciency.
Apple
Apple's purpose
is to bring the
best technology
to the world.
The centralised
structure,
where the CEO
checks
everything,
makes sure that
everything is
done perfectly.
Google
Google's
purpose is to
provide
information to
the world, and
rid it of evil. A
matrix structure
means that
Google has a
foothold in all
areas, this
makes it very
Size
The size of an
organisation
will have an
eff ect on its
structure
because the
organisation
will have to
alter itself in
order to
accommodate
its needs.
Staff
An organisation
must look at
who their staff
is, and what
staff is needed.
Depending on
this a structure
will change
drastically
Legal,
Technical,
Social, and
Commercia
l
environme
nts
The external
aspects which
have a big
impact on
structure.
accessible and
helps it reach
all areas of the
world.
Apple is a
Google is an
global
enormous
organisation. Its organisation, as
structure was
a result of this
very simple,
they have a
where Steve
cross-structured
Jobs did
organisation.
everything, but Employees are
as it grew so
made
did Jobs' duties accountable for
and as a result
themselves, to
the structure
ease stress on
grew and duties managerial
were assigned
staff , who
to other people would have too
many people to
monitor.
Apple wants its
Google has very
staff to feel
creative staff .
appreciated,
As a result staff
and as part of
decide what
the company.
times they go
As a result
into work and
Steve Jobs
for how long
would go
they will work
around and
on certain days.
personally work
with staff ,
instead of
monitor their
progress.
Commercially
Google is
Apple has
socially seen as
strong
a website that
competitors.
can fi nd
Steve Jobs
everything. The
based the
matrix structure
structure of the means that all
company
parts of Google
Age
Culture
and
manageme
nt
Geographic
al position
By looking at
the age of the
company it can
be realised
what the
company is
surviving on,
products or
reputation. It is
essential to
look at age to
make sure that
the hold on the
market is not
being lost
The culture of
an organisation
will alter the
way they want
to run. It will
aff ect their
management
style because
depending on
their outlook
they will do
things in a
certain way
Looking at
where an
organisation
bases
themselves has
a big eff ect on
the structure.
around himself
in order to
make sure that
everything was
done correctly
and to stay
ahead in the
market.
Founded in
1976 Apple
emerged at the
start of our
current
technological
revolution. It's
structure is
aff ected by its
age in that it
has a very
innovative
structure,
unseen by
anyone before.
Apple has a
culture where
Steve Jobs
(former CEO)
wanted to be
connected to
everyone, this
resulted in a
centralised
structure,
where Steve
Jobs managed
everything.
Apple have
based
themselves in
'silicone city',
in California.
This place is
seen as a
are connected,
this makes it
easier for
Google to
integrated its
diff erent areas,
and meet social
views.
Google is a very
young
company, and
as a result its
structure that
follows
Crainer's habits
(see appendix
6.).
Google has a
very openminded culture.
Management
structure has
been altered to
encourage this
by off ering
massages to
employees.
Google want to
be everywhere,
and as a result
has centres in
nearly all major
cities in the
world.
technological
hub and is the
ideal place for
Apple to situate
themselves.
Role
culture
Task
culture
Person
culture
Human
relations
Elton Mayo
developed this
approach
where people
are no longer
Systems
Contingency
A
reconciliation
of classical
and human, it
has the best of
The
contingency
rejects the
idea that one
approach is
seen as
machines, and
are put fi rst.
However, little
eff ort is put
into the
organisation.
both worlds.
Considers the
needs of both
the
organisation
and its
employees.
Appendix
1. Example of a tall structure:
Principal
Deputy
Principal
Assistant
Head
Teacher
Faculty
Head
Teacher
Teacher
2. Example of a fl at structure:
Managing
Director
Area
Manager
Staff
Area
Manager
Area
Manager
Staff
Staff
Staff
Staff
Finance
Marketing
Research
Production
Staff
7. The Paradigm: