Students will learn to assess how an organization’s culture and strategy

Organizational Change Management

Introduction

An organizational structure is composed of certain explicit and implicit organizational rules and regulations detailing how specific roles and responsibilities are controlled, delegated, and coordinated. It further depicts how information flows across the firm. Amazon.com uses the matrix organizational structure. Organizational culture is a set of values and behaviors which are unwritten while some written contributing to the unique psychological and social atmosphere in an organization (Meyer, 2017). Conversely, organizational strategies are the steps and actions that a firm takes to ensure that it achieves her long-term goals. Per se, the firm will need formulae for accomplishing the mission and vision of the company. For Amazon.com to fully adopt and realize change benefits from the acquisition of Whole Foods, it must adopt good organizational culture, strategy, and structures.

Organizational strategy

The strategy that Amazon.com has to effect change in her acquisition is firmly anchored in the mission and vision statement of the company. In the mission statement, the firm posits her intention to lower prices for her customers, give them a variety of selection at an utmost convenience. As such, when the deal of buying Whole food was announced, Amazon reduced the prices of most of the items sold at the grocery store and incorporated the online sales to reach clients at their comforts. The vision statement of the organization also advances the intention of the firm to be world`s largest online seller with a variety of products for the consumers. As such, the change process is tuned to be used as the acquisition diversifies the needs of their loyal consumers.

Organizational culture

Schneider (2018) posit that the culture of work established in Amazon.com has been critical in assisting the firm to implement changes arising in the firm effectively. The corporate culture has been described as customer-centric. The actions and decisions taken by the company are centered on the demands of customers. Amazon has developed a tough culture for employees where promotions and awards are based on how one is innovative and critical in meeting consumer demands. Weak people get entrenched from the competitive employer. The company has however been criticized for being very difficult for employees. The mothers coming from maternity are not given fair chance to cope and adjust to the work environment.

As such, the culture can be said to be imperative for an organizational change as the employees will be working hard to meet the job targets.  Information once passed to the employees; actions will be taken promptly. It is, however, critical to note that such a culture can also negatively impact the organization. In the change process, employees from the Amazon.com who did not work in Food sector might get demand so much till they resign from the job. Such employees could be beneficial in other segments. In the change process of the acquisition, however, the culture will be vital for the organization as the employees are allowed to make innovations and creative ideas that satisfy customers without much obstacles from the leadership hierarchy.

Organizational Structure

The primary organizational structure applied by the Amazon.com is the matrix structure. This is seen where the company is divided into various sections depending on the items of trade they deal in and locations of trade or capacity of the firm on international scale (Goetsch, & Davis, 2014). Further, the sections are subdivided into departments of sales and delivery. The overall departments and divisions are under umbrella management of the CEO. Change is implemented efficiently in such an environment since Whole Foods is an entirely new different venture, the Amazon.com firm will adopt all its previous employees.

Conclusion

In summation, corporate culture defines the relationships that are socially or psychologically created in a firm through written or unwritten techniques. The corporate strategy defines the long-term goals of the firm and hence the mechanisms of attaining such goals. In a change process within Amazon.com, the mission and vision statements set explicitly why the acquisition was necessary and how to implement it effectively. It is therefore essential to mention that the solid organizational strategy and structure has been able to inspire positive change transitions for Amazon.com. The corporate culture, however, should be revisited to accommodate more employee interest and not just the customers and more faith in technology than human beings.

References

Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Laura Schneider (2018). Overview of Amazon.com’s History and Workplace Culture. The Balance. https://www.thebalance.com/amazon-com-company-research-2071316  

Pauline Meyer (2017). Amazon.com Inc.’s Organizational Culture Characteristics (An Analysis). http://panmore.com/amazon-com-inc-organizational-culture-characteristics-analysis