Organizational Structure And Operational Problems Of Coca-Cola Amatil

Question:

Discuss about the Organizational Structure Of Coca-Cola Amatil Australia.

Organizational structure of an organization illustrates the process of monitoring and coordinating the different process in organization in order to achieve the organizational goal. An improper organizational structure may result in operational problems, which can ultimately result in decrease in the output of the organization. A proper organizational structure makes it easier to specify the different roles and responsibilities to the employees. This ascertains a proper information flow within the organization (Christensen 2013). Acquisition accounting deals with a formal guideline that describes the assets and liabilities that must follow a proper structure in order to achieve a set goal. The different system acquisition methods include commercial software, custom software and ERP. The report discusses the organizational structure of Coca-Cola Amatil Australia and the different operational problems experienced by the organization. The report identifies the most likely system acquisition method and the control problems in the system. The details of the system flowchart of the sales procedures and the different frauds associated with the current system are elaborated in the following paragraphs.

Organizational structure mainly deals with the hierarchical arrangement of lines of authority, communication and rights associated with an organization. The organizational structure depends on the objectives and the strategy employed in a particular organization. Organizational structure consists of implicit and explicit rules and policies that define the roles and responsibilities of the organizational members. Knowing the organizational structure is important in understanding the various issues associated with the organizational structure. The organization structure of Coca-Cola Amatil is illustrated below-

A smooth process flow and operation is required in an organization in order to achieve the desired result. Operation management is important in order to administer the business practices properly and to ensure highest level of efficiency within an organization. Setting a smooth operational structure is essential for converting materials and labor into finished goods and services (Domeika 2015).

The operational problem of Coca-Cola Amatil are listed below-

1) Improper Human Resource management- Effective human resource management is essential in order to maintain a steady operation. Researches show that Coca-Cola Amatil has an ineffective resource management, which is one of the major reasons of the operational problems arising in the organization. (Hendry 2012)

2) Product management problem: Proper product management is another necessary aspect for having a smooth operation. Effective product management is necessary for dealing with the operational problems arising in the organization. The organization structure is complex, which in a major reason of the operational problems the company is facing. Coca-Cola Amatil should concentrate on the target market and hatch an effective product management plan in order to gain the competitive advantage over others. The ineffective product management is mainly due to the improper and the complex organizational structure (Ccamatil.com 2017). The productivity sector and the supply chain sector should include thorough supervision in order to eliminate the operational problems associated with the organization.

Operational Problems

3) Supply chain management problem- properly managing the supply chain is essential in ensuring the growth of the organization. The supply-chain management problem arises mainly due to the improper organizational structure. The structure is complex and hence it becomes difficult to supervise this sector properly. Improper organization structure is the main reason behind the ineffective supply chain in Coca-Cola Amatil (Gereffi and Fernandez-Stark 2016).

4) Communication difficulty/poor communication: the major operational issue in Coca-Cola Amtil is due to the poor communication among the different level of the organization. The difficulty in communication arises due to the complex organizational structure. Communication is a very important tool for effective decision-making and lack of communication may result in clash of decisions among the executives. Moreover, the poor communication may delay the normal flow of processes and tasks (Kiani, Lamego and O'reilly 2014). Thus, it can be concluded that the ineffective organizational structure is the major reason for all the operational problems arising in Coca-Cola Amatil.

5) Strategic management problem:  A proper strategic management plan is necessary for an effective growth within an organization. An improper management may hamper the growth of the organization by hampering the normal work process within an organization. Strategic management ensures all the tasks are performed according to the set structure thus helping in achieving the goal of an organization (Warren, Reeve and Duchac 2013). Moreover, lack of proper strategic management also hampers the process of decision-making. Effective decision-making is important to eliminate the operational problem associated with the organization. Therefore, an improper strategic management is one of the major causes of the operational problems persisting in the organization.

The system acquisition method recommended for Coca-Cola Amatil is ERP or Enterprise resource Planning System. This can lessen the operational problems face by the organization. Enterprise resource planning system helps an organization in managing and integrating the important processes in an organization. An ERP integrates different process in an organization, which includes planning, purchasing, marketing and sales, finance and human resource (Wallace and Sheetz 2014).

The operational problems that the company is facing are managed with the implementation of ERP. Furthermore, the ERP reduces the workload of the organization by managing the major operations of the company. ERP manages the business operations with the help of  software. ERP use system integrated application in managing the processes within an organization (Leon 2014). Enterprise resource planning system has been undertaken by much organization in order to manage their operations more effectively. The organization can surely implement ERP to eliminate the operational problems associated with the organization. However, proper implementation of ERP is necessary for gaining the advantages it offers. Therefore, implementation of ERP can be the most effective system acquisition method that can be undertaken by Coca-Cola Amatil.

Recommended System Acquisition Method

The flow chart of the sales procedure of Coca-Cola Amatil that can be implemented in order to eliminate the operational issues associated with organization is illustrated below-

Figure 2: Representing the manufacturing and sales procedure of Coca Cola product

(Source: Ccamatil.com 2017)

The control problems that are identified in the operational and sales department of Coca-Cola Amatil are mainly due to the improper organizational structure and the identified operational problems. The control problems associated with the organization are listed below-

1) The internal control system of the organization is not sturdy enough and therefore it becomes difficult to clearly identify and manage the requirements and the processes in a proper way (Cummings and Worley 2014).

2) The lack of proper supervision is another major reason of the control problems arising in an organization (March 2013).

3) Coca-Cola Amatil failed in setting up a clear objective of different compliance activities.

4) The company does not possess proper control activities and formalization of the processes within an organization.

 5) The absence of appropriate methods of assessing the progress of the processes and tasks is another control problem associated with the organization.

The fraud possible due to an ineffective control system in an organization is listed below-

1) Fraud in production due to absence of supervision

2) Fraud in sales due to absence of progress tracking

3) Delay in production se to absence of formalization of processes within an organization

Conclusion

Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be concluded that a major problem lies in the operation department of Coca-Cola Amatil. A complex organizational structure is a source of many problems as well. Poor organization structure gives rise to certain operational and control problems that reflects to the productivity of the organization. The operational and the control problems can be lessen with the implementation of the ERP. Enterprise resource system is very effective in managing the operations within an organization. ERP reduces the workload and increases the efficiency in the work processes associated with an organization.

Accounting software is used to record and process the accounting transactions, which includes amount receivable, payable trial balance and order account related transactions. Accounting software performs all the work of an accounting information system. Accounting software is an important resource in today’s business world (Murthy and Abeysekera 2015 ). The software allows the tracking of all the financial transactions and analyzes it on basis of the organizational target. The different report discusses the different functionalities involved in adoption of different accounting software s discussed in this report. The report further discusses the current market size, leaders in market and their competitive advantage. Furthermore, the current gaps and challenges encountered by the customers of the accounting software is elaborated in the following paragraphs-

Flowchart of Sales Procedure

Development and adoption of accounting software has wide number of benefits in different organization. Accounting software is mainly used for managing the different accounting related problems and procedures of an organization. Xero is an example of accounting software. Xero provides a proper solution for managing and analyzing the accounting related issues persisting in an organization (Von Der Emde et al. 2014). This results in reduction of the workload within an organization.

Researches in the competitive market shows that two accounting software MYOB and XERO are leading in the Australian target market. However, Xero has a greater competitive advantage in the Australian target market. This is because Xero provides an effective support to manage the financial transactions of an organization. Some additional features and great advantages compel the customers in adopting the Xero as their accounting software package. The software helps in managing the needs and demands of the clients and takes care of all the accounting operations within an organization (Robey,  Anderson and Raymond 2013). Therefore, it can be said that Xero meets all the expectations and requirements of proper accounting software and therefore leads in the target market of the organization.

The leaders in the market and their competitive advantages on basis of Xero accounting software are elaborated below-

1) Fast Functional Output: In this competitive world, a software that taken a large amount of time in delivering the results cannot be considered and therefore, fast functional output becomes a necessity. Xero accounting software provides a very fast functional output and therefore it is one of the leading software in the Australian target market.

2) Cloud based setup: use of cloud in data storage is a cost effective option. Cloud based software can be customized according to the needs of the client and therefore it has an increasing popularity in Australian target market. Xero has the feature of cloud-based set up and therefore has a competitive advantage in Australian target market.

3) Simple Interface: simple interface helps in easy management of the software and therefore software that have simple interface has increasing popularity among the clients. This is because it helps in easy management of the software. The interface of Xero is relatively less complex and therefore it gains competitive advantage in the target market.

Different challenges that are encountered by the customers of accounting software are elaborated below-

1) Security issues: the use of cloud for information storage although have certain advantages, the security issues associated with cloud is quite concerning. Proper security measures are essential for maintaining the market position (Mudge 2013).

Control Problems

2) Complexity: Accounting software benefits the organization by managing the different account related tasks. With addition of more features in the software, the complexity of the software further increases. With the increasing in the complexity, the software becomes difficult to handle (Xero Accounting Software 2017).

3) Time Consumption: The update and the installation of the software are very time consuming and complex. An expert’s supervision is necessary in installing the software and therefore, this can be another challenge in employing accounting software.

Conclusion

Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be concluded that the accounting software offers wide benefits in managing the different processes within the organization. Out of the different software available in the market, Xero is the leader of the market. Use of accounting software increases the efficiency of the accounting functionalities of an organization. However, there are certain challenges associated with the use of accounting software,  which should be eliminated in order to increase the effectiveness of the software.

References

Ccamatil.com. (2017). Our Businesses – Coca Cola Amatil. [online] Available at: https://www.ccamatil.com/our-businesses-and-brands/our-businesses [Accessed 11 Sep. 2017].

Ccamatil.com. (2017). Our Businesses – Coca Cola Amatil. [online] Available at: https://www.ccamatil.com/our-businesses-and-brands/our-businesses [Accessed 11 Sep. 2017].

Christensen, C., 2013. The innovator's dilemma: when new technologies cause great firms to fail. Harvard Business Review Press.

Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014. Organization development and change. Cengage learning.

Domeika, P., 2015. Creation of the Information system of enterprise fixed asset accounting. Engineering Economics, 60(5).

Gereffi, G. and Fernandez-Stark, K., 2016. Global value chain analysis: a primer.

Hendry, C., 2012. Human resource management. Routledge.

Kiani, M.J.E., Lamego, M. and O'reilly, M., Masimo Corporation, 2014. Patient monitor capable of accounting for environmental conditions. U.S. Patent 8,740,792.

Leon, A., 2014. Enterprise resource planning. McGraw-Hill Education.

March, J.G. ed., 2013. Handbook of Organizations (RLE: Organizations) (Vol. 20). Routledge.

Mudge, J.C., 2013. Cloud computing-its development and security. Australian Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 1(1).

Murthy, V. and Abeysekera, I., 2015. Corporate social reporting practices of top Indian software firms.

Robey, D., Anderson, C. and Raymond, B., 2013. Information technology, materiality, and organizational change: A professional odyssey. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 14(7), p.379.

Von Der Emde, M., Hoffmann, T., Nowotny, D. and Penning, J., Sap Ag, 2014. Providing payment software application as enterprise services. U.S. Patent 8,671,032.

Wallace, L.G. and Sheetz, S.D., 2014. The adoption of software measures: A technology acceptance model (TAM) perspective. Information & Management, 51(2), pp.249-259.

Warren, C.S., Reeve, J.M. and Duchac, J., 2013. Financial & managerial accounting. Cengage Learning.

Xero Accounting Software. (2017). Xero Limited 2016 Annual Report. [online] Available at: https://www.xero.com/media/9883890/xro_2016_annual_report.pdf [Accessed 9 May 2017]