Unidad Muestra Communication Customer Service

1Unit

Business organizations

In this unit you’ll learn how to:

• Identifythedifferenttypesofexistingbusinessinstitutions.

• Relatetheusualfunctionsoftheorganization:management,planning,organization,executionandcontrol.

• Beawareoftheimportanceofanadequateorganizationalstructuretocarryouttheprovisionofqualityservices.

• Identifythedifferentstagesofthedecision-makingprocess.

• Recognizethedifferenttypesofexistingtrademarks.

• Differentiatebetweencorporateidentityandcorporateimage.

And you’ll study:

• Thelegal,functionalandorganizationalfeaturesofeverytypeoforganization.

• Thedepartmentsinanorganization.

• Organizationalcharts.

• Existingmethodsfordecision-making.

• Trademarks.

• Corporateimage.

• Corporateidentity.

Business organizations 1

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1. The company as an organization

Howmanycompaniessurroundus?Thebusthatwetakeeverydaybelongstoatransportcompany;thebakerywherewebuybread(Fig.1.1)isacompanytoo;andthebookstorewherewebuyacademicmaterialortextbooksisacompanyaswell.Theyalllookdifferentbuttheyhavemanythingsincommon.Fromthisstartingpoint,wecandefinewhatacompanyisasfollows:

Let’sconsiderthisdefinition:

• Entity.Thisisacommunityconsideredasaunit,thatistosay,thereisagroupofpeopleformingtheentitythatarenottreatedindividually,butcollectivelyasawhole.

• For-profit. Thismeansthatithasbeencreatedintheinterestofmakingmoney,unlikeothertypesoforganizationssuchasfoundationsorNGOs(non-profitorganizations),whichareaimedatobtainingasocialbenefit.

• Throughthesale of goods or services onthemarket.Companiesmayengageinthesaleofgoods(bread,photocopies...)orservices(publictransport).

Whenacompanyiscreated,theemployerorthepartnersprovidecapitalwithwhichthecom-panypurchasesa rangeofgoods. In addition,many timespremisesarebought todeveloptheactivity;itmayalsohavemobilephones,companycars,etc.Thesearetheassetsofthecompany.

However,the value of the companyrarelycoincideswiththevalueofitsassets,andthisisbecausethecompany,initsevery-dayperformance,gainscustomersandtriestoretaintheirloyalty,createsagoodimageinthemarket(corporateimage),andalsogeneratesexpectationsforbenefits.

The value of these intangible assets is very difficult to assess. In addition, they are notincludedinthelistofthecompanyassetsthatwecancheckthroughaccountancy.However,whenthecompanyissold,itisnotonlyforthepriceofitstangibleassets,butalsoforthevalueofitsintangibleassets.Thoseassetsthataddvaluetothecompanyexistbecausethereisanorganized exploitation of resources.

This is the reason why the most relevant is-sueaboutthecompanyconceptisthatallthisgroupofgoods, rights and people must be or-ganized; therefore,hereinafterwewillrefertoitasanorganization(Scheme1.1).

Inturn,organization isa broad concept thatmayhavedifferentmeanings:

• Regardingtheallocationoftaskstoemplo-yees,thewaydecisionsaremadeandwhotakes the corresponding responsibility, wemaytalkabout internal organization

• Inabroadsense,companies arecalledor-ganizations.

A company is a for-profit entity the primary purpose ofwhich is to obtain benefitsthroughthesaleofgoodsorservicesonthemarket.

Profit.Gainoradvantagetakenofsomething.

Vocabulary

Fig. 1.1. Asmallshopisacompanytoo.Thinkaboutoriginalorveryspecialisedsmallshopsthatyouhaveseenlatelyinyourtownorneighbourhood.

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1Business organizations

When it comes to perform their activity, organizations must develop mechanisms forcommunication,bothamong itsmembersandwithothereconomicagentstheyarerela-tedto(suppliers,customers...).That istosay,an internalcommunicationandanexternalcommunication.We’lldealwiththesetwotypesofcommunicationlater.

Also internally, the organization is structured on areas or functions, which give rise todepartments.Imagineyoureadanarticleinthenewspaperorhearaninterviewwithapres-tigiousdoctor;usuallythefunctionofthepersonwhowritesthearticleorthedoctorappearsunder the name and includes the correspondent department (for example, JaimeÁlvarez,DirectorofHumanResourcesofPetrolerosEuropeos,S.A.orAlejandroSalgado,HeadofGas-trointestinalSurgeryatHospitalSaludesVida).

Thus, theorganizationhasan internal structure inwhichthework isdividedamongem-ployeesandhierarchical relationshipsaresettledwith theaimofoptimizing theskillsandknowledgeofeachmember.

Inthefollowingsectionswe’lllearnmoreabouttheseissues,aswellastheirlegal or juridical form,asorganizationscanbeformedinseveraltypes(corporation,limitedpartnership,etc.),andalsoaboutcorporate image or corporate identityofthecompany.

Company=

OrganizationWork

Employer + employees

AssetsProperty + rights

+ obligations

Intangible value of

the companyImage

+ customers

Scheme 1.1. Componentsoftheconceptoforganization.

ThecompanyBrokers,S.A.wantstobuyanothercompany,Aislantes,S.L.whichhasbeenrunningforseveralyears.

ThetotalvalueofthegoodsofAislantes,S.L.afterdeductingdebts(thatistosay,itsassets),amountstothreemillioneuros.However,Brokers,S.A.iswillingtopayuptofourmillioneurostoobtainnotonlytheassetsofAislantes,S.L.butalsoitsimage,techno-logy,customersandprofitexpectations(alreadysignedcontracts).

Solution:

ThisgapofonemillioneuroscorrespondstothevalueoftheorganizationAislantes,S.L.andit’susuallyknownasgoodwill.

Case study 1. Buying a company

Goodwill. Intangible value of acompany.

Vocabulary

Haymuchasformasdereferirseaunaempresaeninglés.Eltérminomás general es business, que serefiere al concepto de "negocio"en general. Cuando ese negociosecreaporlaasociacióndevariaspersonas, recibe el nombre decompany, que es el término queusaremos casi siempre en estelibro. Además, también pode-mos referirnos a ella como firmo enterprise. Por otro lado, unacorporation es una empresa quetienepersonalidadjurídicapropia.

Spanish assistant


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2. Types of business organizations

Businessorganizationsmaybeclassifiedaccordingtovariouscriteria.Inourcasewe’llfocusonthosefeaturesthatallowustodistinguishtheirlegalandorganizationalstructure.

2.1. Legal classification

Firstofall,wemustdistinguishbetweenpublicandprivatecompanies,dependingonwhoholdsthemanagingpower(theStateinthefirstandindividualsinthelatter).

Inturn,private companiesaredividedinto individual companies, whentheybelongtoonlyoneperson,andcorporate companies,whentheownersareseveralpeople.

InSpain,thereareseveraltypesofcompanieswiththeirownlegalfeatures:

BesidestheabovementionedfeaturesinTable1.1,thefollowingarealsorelevant:

• TheminimumcapitaloftheS.A.ishigherthantheoneoftheS.L.

• TheidentityofthepartnersisimportantintheS.L.,sopartnersmustgivetheirapprovalwhentheytransmittheirshares;inthecaseofaS.A.(stock),thisisnotimportant.

• IntheS.C.,partnersbringmoneyortimetoimplementit;intheC.B.,theparticipantsex-ploitormanagepre-existingpropertywithoutobligationtobringfurthercapitaltoformthecommunity.

Freelance workers (self-employedworkerssuchasmanytaxidrivers,lawyers, etc.) belong to the cate-gory of individual private com-panies.

Do you know that...?

Table 1.1. TypesofcompaniesinSpain.

The owner of the company isnotalwaysitsmanager.Inpymes(small and medium-size compa-nies)bothrolesusuallycoincideinthesameperson,butinlargecom-panies management is delegatedtoprofessionalsonafee.

Watch out!

1. Search the web and indi-catetheminimumrequiredcapital to form a corpo-ration(S.A.)anda limitedcompany (S.L.), and thedifferencebetweenstocksandshares.

2. List the types of existingS.A.andS.L.Youcanfinddocumentationonline.

Activities

According to the partners’ liability

Limitedliabilitycompanies(partnersdonotrespondwiththeirpersonalassets)

Sociedadanónima(S.A.)

Sociedadderesponsabilidadlimitada(S.R.L.oS.L.)

Sociedadcooperativa

Companieswithunlimitedliability(partnersrespondwiththeirpersonalassets)

Sociedadcolectiva

Sociedadcivil

Comunidaddebienes

Limitedpartnership(generalpartnersrespondwiththeirgoods,butcommunitypartnersdon’t)

Sociedadcomanditaria

According to the requirement of a minimum capital

Societiesinwhichaminimumcapitalisrequired

S.A.

S.L.

Societiesinwhichnominimumcapitalisrequired

Othercompanies

Aimed at social economy or not

Companiesthat,apartfromobtainingbenefits,aimatintegrationwiththeenvironmentandsocialcohesion

Cooperativas

Sociedadeslaborales

Companiesthatonlyseekprofit Othercompanies

Classified as commercial

companies in the Commercial Code

Marketcompanies

Sociedadcolectiva

Sociedadcomanditaria

S.A.

S.R.L.

Companieswhoseactivitiesarecommercial

Non-marketcompanies Othercompanies

Hemos dejado los nombres delas diferentes formas jurídicasen español porque suelen variarde país a país, así no tienen unatraducción exacta. Por ejemplo,seguro que has visto alguna vezlas siglas Ltd. después del nom-bre de una empresa anglosajona;pues bien, esas siglas significanLimited, que se corresponderíaconnuestraS. L.,aunquecondife-rencias.Siquieressabermás,con-sulta el siguiente enlace: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_companies.

Spanish assistant

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2.2. Classification according to the organizational structure

Eachoftheseveraldivisionsthatwemayfindinthistypeofstructureisknownasdepartment.

The organizational structure is the distribution of the parts of an organization.Organizationsusethismeanstoachievethegoalstheyhaveset.

Types of organizations by organizational structure

According to the way tasks are assigned to employees and to the way they coordinate among themselves

Formal• Itsstructureisclearlydefinedandverystable.• Eachelementofthecompanyislocatedandidentifiedandperformsitsfunctionobeyingorders

fromotherindividualsthatareclearlyidentified.

Informal • Itarisesfromspontaneity:itsmembersengageinrelationsthatwerenotpreviouslydefined.

According to the role of the decision-making

authority

Centralized• Thedecision-makingauthorityoccupiesthetoppositioninthecorporatehierarchy.• Thepossibilitytodelegatetaskstolowerpositionsisminimal.

Decentralized• Theauthorityassignsordelegatesthedecision-makingtoindividualsinlowerpositionsof

thestructure.

Depending on the degree of specialization

of job positions

Simple

Linear organization• Theprincipleofhierarchy:eachemployeereceivesordersfromhis

immediatesuperior.• Itistypicalofpymes.

Functional organization

• Subordinatesinlowerlevelsreceiveordersfromseveralheadsofdepartmentinsteadofreceivingthemfromonlyonehead.

Complex

Mixed or hierarchical functional

organization

• Headswithauthoritymaketheirdecisionsuponthepreviousadvicefromspecialists(staff).

Organization in committees

• Decisionsaremadeandresponsibilityistakenasagroup,butnotindividually.

Matrix organization

• Theorganizationalstructureresemblesadouble-entrymatrix.Forexample:oneentrywouldbethefunctiontoperforminthecompanyandtheotherwouldbetheprojecttobedevelopedinthecompany.Thus,thereareatleasttwoheads:ahierarchical-typeheadlinkedtofunctionsandaprojecthead.

Depending on the degree of hierarchy

Highly hierarchical

• There’salargenumberofhierarchicallevelsandthusabiggapbetweenstaffandmanagers.

Flat • Virtualabsenceofintermediatelevelsofcommandbetweenmanagementandstaffofthecompany.

Table 1.2. Typesoforganizationsaccordingtotheirorganizationalstructure.

ThecompanyRicosQuesos,S.L.isdividedintotwogeographi-calareas:northandsouth.Inturn,itdevelopsthreedifferentproducts:curedcheese,semi-curedcheeseandsoftcheese.

Thus,ifRicosQuesos,S.L.wasorganizedindependentlyineachgeographicalarea,wewouldhaveduplicatestructuresandtasks.Itcouldalsohappenthatthedifferentcriteriabetweenthebothareasresultedindifferentproductsdependingonthearea.Howe-ver,thiscouldbeavoidedifemployeessimultaneouslyreceivedordersfromtheareamanagerandfromaproductmanagerinchargeofunifyingthetechnicalcriteriaforbothareas.

Howcouldthisapproachbereflectedinamatrix?

Solution:

Case study 2. Matrix organization

Head of semi-cured cheease Employees Employees

Head of soft cheese Employees Employees

Head of the north area

Head of the south area

Head of cured cheese Employees Employees

General management


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3. Functions in the organization: planning, management, organization and control

Inthedifferentclassificationsthatwehaveseenbefore,wetalkedabouttheleadershiproleoflinemanagers.Inturn,wedistinguishedbetweentheowner(employer)andthemanagerofthecompany,who,aswestudied,maynotalwaysbethesameperson.

Theindividualorindividualswhomanagethecompanyhavethemissionoforganizingalltheresources with the aim of obtaining benefits for the company or organization throughfour functions: planning function, organization function, direction function, and controlfunction.

3.1. Planning function

Forexample,thecompanyDiscontaXS,S.L.wantstolaunchanewproducttomarketwiththepurposeofcoveringanunmetneed.

Theemployercanplanmanyvariablessuchaswhatproductorserviceacompanywillsell,whichactivitiesitwilldeveloporwhichorganizationalstructurewillbeimplemented.

Todothis,goalsmustbeinitiallysettled,and,accordingtothem,thebeststrategiestoachievethemwillbedetermined.Thisisknownasstrategic planning.

Inanystrategicplanningthereareseveralfactorsthattheemployermusttakeintoaccount:

• Resources: thequestionsconcerning thisparticular issuearewhichelementsshouldbeusedtoachievethegoals,iftheyareavailableand,iftheyarenot,howtoobtainthem.Forexample:accordingtotheexampleabove,andasaresultofseveralmarketstudies,thecompanyDiscontaXSwilldevoteaninitialbudgetof¤50000andatotalof15workerswillhandlealltheprocessestolaunchthisproduct.

• Actions: thequestionhereiswhatisgoingtobedoneinordertoachievethesegoals.Mo-reover,theseactionshavetobesequencedintimeand,ifit’snecessary,someofthemwillhavetobeprioritizedoverothers.Forexample,theplanmadebythecompanyDiscontaXSimpliestheperformanceofthefollowingphases:

a)Marketresearchfortheproduct.

b) Determinationofphysicalresourcesandstaffneeded.

c) Manufactureoftheproduct.

d) Distributionandsaleoftheproduct.

• People: thepointhereishowmanypeopleareneededtoachievetheobjectivessetandwhich tasks or functions have to be performed by each staffmember. In the event ofnothavingallthosepeopleavailable,thequestionis if it’spossibletohirethemornot.Forexample:

a) Product design: as the company itself does not have this specialized staff, it has tooutsourceit.

b)Manufacturing:ithasbeendecidedthatatotalnumberoftenemployeeswillbeneededfortheperformanceofthedifferentstagesinthemanufactureoftheproduct.

Theplanning function consistsofestablishingthegoalsthatthecompanyhastoreach.Inotherwords,itistheidealthatwillguidethecompanyinitsperformance.

These are some concepts relatedtoplanning:

• Forecast. It’s something that isexpectedtooccur. It isahypo-thesis about what we believewillhappeninthefuture.

• Budget.It’saforecast,butasse-ssedinmonetaryterms.

• Program.Asetoftasks,acalen-darforcarryingoutthesetasks,aresponsiblepersonforthem,andresourcestoperformthem.

Vocabulary

Thereareseveraltools inplanningthatcanhelpusmakeplansintheshort,mediumorlongterm.

The most important and well-knownarethefollowingtwo:

• PERT:itwasoriginatedintheU.S.Navy. Basically it involves thegraphic representation of a se-riesoftasksthatformaproject.

• GANTT: it’sanothergraphicte-chniqueinwhichyouspecifytheexpectedtimetospendoneachtaskwithinaprocess.


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c)Storage:threeworkersareconsiderednecessaryforthisfunction.

d)Distributionandsales:thetasksofdistributionandsaleswillbeoutsourced(thatis,theywillbeperformedbystaffoutsidethecompany);therefore,there’snostaffassignedtothisfunction.

• Control: thepointhere iswhich controlmeasureshave tobeestablished toact in theeventswheredeviations fromplannedobjectivesorgoalsoccur.Forexample: theesta-blishedcontrolsystemisbasedonthefollowingstandards:

a) Product/employee:productivityofeachemployeecannotfalloutsidethe5%overtheinitialtargetthathasbeenproposed.

b) Costs:thecostsforeachproductionprocessmaynotvarymorethan3%ofplanning.

3.2. Organizational function

The employer must ensure that every human and material resource meets the assignedfunction,andalsocontrolswhatrelationsareestablishedamongthemandintervenesifitisnecessary.Thatistosay,theaimoftheorganizationalfunctionisthatalltheresourcesthathavebeensettledintheplanningphaseareadequateandthattherelationshipbetweenthemisoptimaltoreachtheachievementofthetargets.

Everyorganizationprocessimpliesarestructuringinwhichbodiesordepartmentsarecreatedtocarryoutthecorrespondingtasks.

3.3. Leadership function

Oncethefunctionsofplanningandorganizationhavebeendefined,thecompanyhastostartworking.

Leading is also toexplainor transmit the company’splans toothers andgiveappropriateinstructionssothat,bymeansofperformingthem,theplannedgoalsarefinallyreached.

Thisisoneofthemostcomplexexistingfunctionsinbusiness,astheemployershouldnotonlyguideandmotivate,butalsounderstandtheproblemsthathisorheremployeesmayfaceintheprocessofachievingtheobjectives,inordertointervene,ifit’snecessary,byfaci-litatingsupporttools.

Schematically,thisfunctioncouldbesummarizedasfollows:

Theleadership function (ormanagement)isthetaskofcontrolthattheemployerhastoperformuponhisorher staff tomotivateandguide it in theachievementof theobjectivesthathavebeenpreviouslyplanned.

Scheme 1.2. Functionsofthemanagementofthecompany.

Lead towards the expected

targetMotivate

Understand problems

Transmit business

plans

Give specific

instructions

Leadership function

A leadership style is the set ofmethods and procedures used bymanagementtofulfiltheirleader-ship roles. Therearemanyclassi-fications of leadership styles, butthey can be grouped into threemaintypes:

a) Authoritarian style:alsocalled"autocratic", it’s based on theallocationoftasksandworkersby managers. Each employeeknows what to do. This is notpositive for the participationof employees in the decision-makingprocess.

b)Democratic style: also knownas"supporttoworkers",itfaci-litates teamwork and the par-ticipation of employees in thedecision-makingprocess.

c) Advisory style: itisregardedasacombinationofthetwostylesabove. The manager consultswithhisorheremployees,andthereforetheyfeelvaluedinthecompany. However, the mana-ger is the one that ultimatelydecides.

d)Passive or liberal style: inthiscase,thedirectorsormanagerssettle the objectives that theorganization has to reach andemployees organize with eachotherhowtoachievethem.Theroleofthemanagerislimitedtogivingadviceortransmittingin-formation on work proceduresintheeventthattheemployeesaskforit.

Important


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Inturn,whenwetalkaboutmanagementwemayfindthreedifferentlevels(Fig.1.2):

• Globally:thisismanagementitself,sinceitreferstotheentirecompany.Thisisalsoknownastopmanagement.

• Departmental level: itincludeswhatisknownas"companymanagement",asitrelatestothetechnicalorintermediateheadsoftheorganization.Itsscopeiseachandeveryoneofthedepartmentsinwhichthecompanyisstructured.

• Operational level: itreferstoeverydefinedgroupofpeopleortasks.Itisusuallyknownassupervision,anditcorrespondstotheoperationalleveloftheorganization.

3.4. Control function

Moreover,thisfunctionalsohelpstheemployer to assess the outcome of the decisions that have been adoptedbymeansofthemeasurementandcorrectionoftheactivitiesthatarebeingperformedinthecompany,andalwaystryingtoensurethattheoutcomefitstheplansthatwerepreviouslydeveloped.Thus,theemployermaydetectpossibledeviationsthatcanbeanalyzedinordertodecidewhichcorrectivemeasuresarethebesttoadoptwiththeaimofsolvingpotentialproblems.

Aswecansee,thereisadirectrelationshipbetweenplanningandcontrol,asanyplanningprocessnecessarilyrequiresacontrolsystem.Thus,theorganizationhasamonitoringme-chanismthatallowsittoassesstheextentofachievementoftheobjectivesthathavebeenproposedand,therefore,toassesstheeffectivenessoftheplanning.

Inanycontrolprocess,wecandefinethefollowingstages:

a) Establishingseveralcontrolvariables(forexample,productivity/employee).

b)Specifying howwearegoingtogatherinformationaboutthevariablethatwehaveset(dailyproductionstatistics,etc.).

c) Headsofthecontroldepartmentwillcomparetheexpecteddatatothosethathavebeencollectedonanactualbasisandwilldiscussthedeviationsthatmayhaveoccurred.Forexample,ifitisplannedthat1000unitsofproductAmustbeobtainedeverydaybutdailyproduction statistics showthatonly950unitshavebeenobtained, there isadeviationfromthefiguresthatwerepreviouslyplanned.

d) According to the obtained deviations, the most appropriate remedial actions will beproposed.Inourcase,themeasurecouldbetoincreaseworkingtime.

Other employees

Operational management

Middlemanagement

Seniormanagement

Fig. 1.2. Levelsofdirection.

Thecontrol function istoverifyifeverythinggoesasitwaspreviouslyplanned,iftheinstructionsthathavebeengivenarebeingfollowed,and ifthesettledprinciplesarebeing observed. This verificationwill highlight potentialweaknesses andmistakes sothattheycanbesolvedorcorrectedandpreventthemfromhappeningagain.

Effectiveness. Ability to achievethedesiredeffect.

Efficiency. Ability to achieve thedesiredeffectattheleastpossiblecost.

Vocabulary

ThecompanyControl,S.L.isdedicatedtomanufactureandsellcomputerhardware.Itdecidestoestablishacontrolsysteminthecompanyinordertoevaluatetheresultsofthemanufac-turingprocess.

Theestimatedproductionvolumepermonthis5000unitsforatotalamountof200workinghourspermonth.Whichcontrolsystemwouldbethemostsuitableforthiscompany?

Solution:

a) Controlvariable:avariable regardingproduction/em-ployeewill be set.Moreover, the affordable rangeof

variationforthisvariablewillalsobeset(forexample:-5%).

b) Datacollection:itwillbedonethroughthecompany’sinternal accounting. To do this, worksheetswith theproduction of each employeewill be obtained everyday.

c) Control department: the heads of departments willreportdailydatatothecontroldepartment.Thisde-partmentwillassessanddeterminethecorrectivemea-surestobecarriedoutintheeventofdeviations.

Case study 3. Control systems

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4. Departments in the company. Organizational charts

4.1. Concept and types of departments

Aswementionedbefore, the functionof organization involves dividing the company intosmallerunitsorstructures.

Thetasksthatarecarriedoutineachdepartmentareusuallysupervised bytheheadofsuchdepartment.

Generally speaking, departments are usually set according to the functions attributedtothem.Thus,therearefourmainfunctionsthatmostcommondepartmentsusuallyper-form(Table1.3):production,commerce,financeandhumanresources.

Common departments in companies Features

Production department• Itgeneratesproductsorservicesthroughthetransformationofresources.• Itisalsoknownasoperationunit.

Commercial departmentPurchasing department • It’sresponsiblefortheprocurementofgoodsorservicesforthecompany.

Sales department • It’sresponsibleforpricing,customerrelations,conditionsofsale,etc.

Finance department• Itobtainsandmanagesthemoneythatthecompanyneedstodevelopits

activityandcontrolsalleconomicactivities.

Human resources department

• Itplansandimplementsthedecisionsrelatingtorecruitment,selection,traininganddesignofcompensationpoliciesofthecompanystaff.

• Itmayalsoberesponsibleforsecurityandhygieneatwork.• Inlargecompanies,itdevelopsperformanceevaluationprogrammesto

assesstheactivityofemployees.

4.2. Organizational charts. Concept, features and types

Anorganizational chart isadiagramthatschematicallyshowstheformalstructureofthecompanyanditsdepartments,functionalareasanditsrelationshipofinterdependence.

ThemainfeaturesofaclassicorganizationalchartarethoseappearinginTable1.4:

Table 1.3. Mostcommondepartmentsincompanies.

Features of organizational charts

Itoutlinesthestructureofthecompany,representingtheunitsthatformitandindicatingthehierarchicalrelationshipsamongthem.

Ithighlightsthedegreeofdependence,aswellasitshierarchicalrelevance.

Itindicatesthespecificnameofdepartmentsand,sometimes,thenameofthoseresponsible.

Itshowsatemporalreality:itmustrepresentthehierarchicalstructureinthecompanyatthetimeitismade,butnotthewhenthecompanywascreated.

Itmustbeunderstandable:thegraphicalrepresentationmustbeeasilyunderstoodbythosewhoreadit.

Itisexpressedsimply:itmustcontainonlytheessentialelementstoprovidetheinformationthatisintendedtotransmit.

Table 1.4. Featuresofaclassicorganizationalchart.

These units are known as departments, areas or functional units of the company,andtheyarespecializedinoneormorespecifictasksinordertoachievethegoalsorobjectivesthathavebeenplanned.


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Asfortheexistingtypes of organizational charts,theyvarydependingonthecriterionthathasbeenchosen,asshowninthefollowingtable:

Sorting criterionTypes of

organizational chartsFeatures

PurposeInformative Itinformsthegeneralpublicaboutthecompanystructure,soittendstobeverysimple.

Analytical Itcontainsthewholestructureofthecompanyindetail.

RangeGeneral Itcoversthefullsetoftheorganizationconcerned.

Partial Itonlyshowsapartofthestructure.

Content

Structural Itonlyshowsthenamesoftheelements,theirhierarchicalpositionandauthorityrelations.

Functional Itreflectsthefunctionsorcontentsthatareassignedtothedifferentdepartments.

Staff Itcontainsinformationonjobpositions.

Graphical layout

Vertical Itismadefromtoptobottominapyramidallayout.

Horizontal Itismadefromlefttoright,andthebaseofthepyramidwouldbeontheright.

CircularThehighestauthorityisplacedinthecentreandfromthispoint,increasingcirclesaredevelopedtorepresentthedifferentlevelsofauthority.

Hereyoucanseetwoexamplesofcharts:thefirstbelongstoahighlyhierarchicalcompany,andthesecondbelongstoaflatcompany.

Asyoucan see in the first chart (Scheme1.3), thereare threedepartmentmanagers: staff,financialandcommercial.Thegeneralmanager(orCEO)isabove,andbelowwecanfindheadsofdifferentareasortechnicians,whomayalsohave,inturn,workersinchargeofdifferenttasks.

In the second chart (Scheme 1.4), only basic information is shown: a manager and fourdepartmentheads.

Table 1.5. Typesoforganizationalchartsaccordingtodifferentsortingcriteria.

Scheme 1.3. Chartofahighlyhierarchicalcompany.

General managementGeneral management

Head of the technical office

Payroll responsible Selection responsible

Head of sales department Head of purchasing department

Store operator

Staff director Commercial directorFinancial director

Financial technicians

Example of a highly hierarchical company

Scheme 1.4. Chartofaflat-organizationcompany.

ManagerManager

Marketing head Production head Financial head Human resources head

Example of flat organization

3. Howmanyorganizationallevelsarethereintheorganiza-tionalchartinScheme1.3?Specifywhoreportsdirectlyto:

a) Thecommercialdirector.

b) Theheadofsales.

c)Thestoreoperator.

4. Makethefollowingorganizationalcharts:

a) Informativechartofafarmingcompany.

b) Partialchartofacomputingcompany.

c) Functionalchartofahotelcompany.

d) Verticalchartofawineexportcompany.

Activities

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5. Decision-makingWeareconstantlymakingdecisionsinourdailylife:wedecidetheclothesthatwewillbewearing,theroadwewilltaketogosomewhere,andmanyotherissuesthatariseallthetime.However,wearescarcelyawareofmanyofthosedecisions,aswemakethemasiftheywerereflexactions;nevertheless,thereareotherdecisionsthatweconsiderimportantenoughtothinkaboutthemthoroughly.

Thedecision-makingprocessisoneofthemajorresponsibilitiesformanagersorexecutives,because,dependingonthedecisionstheymake,thecompanywillmeetitsobjectivesornot.Thisisthereasonwhymanyeconomistsandhumanresourcesspecialistsbelievethatbusi-nessmanagementisdefinitelyanongoingprocessofdecision-making.

5.1. Types of decisions

Decisionsmaybetakenasanindividualorasaresponsibleforanorganization;allthosedeci-sionsmayvaryalotdependingontheirlevel,importanceorscope.Therefore,inTable1.6youcanfindthemostsignificantclassifications:

Decision-making in the companyisarationalprocessbywhichoneormoreindividualschoosebetweentwoormorealternativesinordertosolveaproblem.

Fig. 1.3. Thedecisionswemakeleadusonewayoranother.JustthinkaboutthedecisionyoumadetostudyVocationalTrainingandthechangesthatithasbroughttoyourlife.

Table 1.6. Typesofdecisionsaccordingtodifferentsortingcriteria.

5. Mr.RodaisthefinaldecisionmakerofBancoOscense.Giveexamplesofthedecisionsthatheortherestofdecision-makinglevelscouldadoptforthebankaccordingtothetypesinTable1.6.

6. Searchthewebforotherpossibleclassificationsofdecisions(regardingexperience,authority,consensus,etc.).

Activities

Types of decisions:

• Strategic/Level I: where to lo-cateproductionfacilities,whichthe capital resources should beor which products will be pro-duced.

• Tactical/Level II:budgetuseandcontrol.

• Operational/Level III: alloca-tionoftaskstoworkers.

• Programmable:payroll.

• Non-programmable: launchinganewproduct.

Examples

Sorting criterion

Type of decision

Features

Number of individuals

Individual• Itismadebyonesingleindividualwhoistheoneresponsible

forit.

Group • Itismadebyseveralpeople,whoareresponsibleforit.

Level of the decision maker

Strategic / Level I

• Itismadebythetophierarchicallevel.• Thisdecisioninvolvesplanningandorganizationissues

ofthecompany.• Ithastodowithlong-termgoals.• Thisdecisioninvolvesplanningandorganizationissues

ofthecompany.

Tactical / Level II• Itismadebythemiddlepositionsofthecompany.• Itisaimedattheefficientallocationofresourcestoachieve

thegoalssetatthestrategiclevel.

Operational / Level III

• Itismadebytheexecutivesatthelowestlevel.• Itinvolvesthetypeofdecisionsthataremadeinthe

performanceofregularwork.

Depending on the

method

Scheduled• Itisrepetitive;itmustbetakenregularly.• Thereisaprocesstofacilitateitsperformance

Non-schedulable• Itisnewtothecompany,andthenithastobemadewhen

theunforeseencircumstancearises.• There’snosettledprocedureforit.


18

5.2. The process of decision-making

Asweindicatedbefore,decision-makingisaprocessconsistinginchoosingbetweentwo or more alternatives(takethebusorthesubway,gotothegymorgoshopping,etc.).

Itisobviousthatwhenwehavealternativesthatarecommonandwithoutmuchimportance(asthoseabove),thedecisionprocessisalmostmechanical.Butwhenwefacenewproblemsorthosethatarerelevantsomehow,itisnecessarytoperformtheentireprocessandassessallpossiblealternatives.

Thedecision-makingprocessconsistsoffour main stages:

1.Analysis of the situation.Inthisfirststage,wemustdefinethegoalwewanttoachievetosolvetheproblemandwhatcausesit.Therefore,itisessentialtofindallthenecessaryinformation,bothpresentandpast.

2.Planning and assessment of alternatives. In a second step, we identify the differentoptionsthatwecanchooseandevenraisenewones.Thus,themoreoptionswehave,themoreweareabletofindthemostsuitable.Wewillmakeanassessmentofthealternativesbyeliminatingthelessadvantageous.

3.Decision and execution. Atthisstage,wewilldecidewhichthebestoptionisamongthepossibilitiesandwewillputitintopractice,thatistosay,wewillexecuteit.

4.Monitoring and evaluation.Finally,wewillassesswhethertheresultscorrespondtoourplanningornot,thatistosay,ifwehaveachievedtheobjectiveorifwehavesolvedtheproblemthatwewantedtosolve.Otherwisewewillhavetogothroughtheprocessandtheselectedalternativeagain.

When somebody has to make adecision, the choice is influencedbyseveralfactors:

• Resourcesavailable.

• Risk.

• Time.

• Pressure.

• Beliefs.

• Values.


Gestoría FiscalSur, S.L. is increasing its customer base andplanstohiremorestaff,butithasaproblem:thelackofspaceinitscurrentworkplace.Whichprocessofdecision-makinghastobetakeninordertosolvethisproblem?

Solution:

Theprocessthathastobetakenformakingsuchadecisionhasthefollowingstages:

1. Analysis of the situation: thecompanywantstorentanewplace,wherethereisroomformoreworkers,butinturnthisplacemustbeeasilyaccessibletotheircusto-mersandallowthecompanytogainnewcustomers.

2. Planning and assessment of alternatives: FiscalSur,S.L.hasthreealternatives:a)placeA:it’sdowntown,butwithfewparkingareas(itwillbedismissedforlackofacces-sibility);b)placeB: it’sveryaccessible,but it’s located

onthesuburbs;c)placeC:thislocationisslightlysma-llerthantheabove,butitisinabigneighbourhoodinthecityandsurroundedbymanybusinesses.

3. Decision and execution: thecompanywillfinallytakeplace C, because although it is somewhat smaller, itiseasilyaccessibleandissituatedinaneighbourhoodwheretherearemanypotentialcustomers.

4. Monitoring and evaluation: onceinstalledatthenewlocation,FiscalSur,S.L.willcheckifthemainproblemissolved,thatistosay,iftheyhaveenoughroomforever-yone.Italsohastomakesurethattheplaceiscomfor-tableforitscustomers,andif,moreover,movingtothisnewplacehasimpliedanincreaseinitscustomerbase.Otherwise,itmaywanttorethinkitsdecisionandkeeplookingformoresuitablepremises.

Case study 4. Decision-making process

5.3. Decision-making in a group

In business, individual decisions are very common, although today there is a growing tendency tomakedecisionscollectivelyoratleasttoallowagrouptoexpresstheiropinions,althoughthefinaldecisionismadeonlybyoneperson.

Thedecision-makingprocessinagrouphasanumberofadvantagesanddisadvantageswithrespecttodecisionsonanindividualbasis:

19


Advantages:

• Itallowsformoreandbetterinformationgatheringandoffersdifferentviewpoints.

• Itproducesmoreandbettersolutions.

• Itincreasesmotivationandcommitment.

• Itencouragescreativity.

• Decisionsareusuallyacceptedbyeveryone,eventhosethatareriskier.

Disadvantages:

• Ittakesalongertime.

• Itdilutesindividualresponsibility.

• There’sariskofconformism:sometimesarightpersonalopinionisabandonedinordertoreachaconsensus.

• Theremaybemembersofthegroupthatself-censor,avoiddefendingtheirviewsorcritici-zingtheothersforfearofrejectionfromthegroup.

• Thereisinequality:membersofagroupareneverequal,astheydifferinexperience,levelorroleintheorganization,verbalskills,etc.Therefore,amembermaytrytodominatethegroup.

As for the way of making group decisions, there are many techniques (Table 1.7), andthefollowingarethemostimportant:

Fig. 1.4. Todaycompaniestendtomaketheirdecisionsonagroupbasisbecauseofitsmanyadvantages.

Brainstorming

• Itsaimistodevelopcreativityandfindaninnovativesolution.• Oncetheproblemhasbeenexplained,eachparticipantbringsideasspontaneously,regardlessoftheorderinwhichtheyspeak,

thevalueorrelationshipoftheideas.• Ideasarewrittenwhereeverybodycanseethem.• Tobeeffective,onecannotjudgetheideasofothersandself-censorshiphastobeavoided.• Oncethegroupisnotabletodevelopmoreideas,theseideasmustbevaluedandthemembershavetodecidethesolution;

thisstagemaybedonebythesamegrouporbyadifferentone.

Philips 6/6• Itconsistsindividingthegroupintosubgroupsof6people,whowilldiscussatopicfor6min.• Afterthistimetherewillbeasharing,andtogethertheywilldrawafinalconclusionbasedonreportsofthesubgroups.• Itisveryusefulwhendealingwithaproblemthatcanbesplitbyassigningeachofthesidesoftheissuetoasubgroup.

Six thinking hats

• Thedecisioncanbeanalyzedfromsixdifferentperspectives,eachofwhichisrepresentedbyahatofonecolour:—White:itrepresentsthefactsobjectively,itworkswithfacts.—Black:thisisthemostpessimisticthinking,workingwithdrawbacksandmistakes.—Yellow:itsymbolizesoptimism,andworkswithadvantages,successesandbenefits.—Red:itrepresentsemotions,feelings,intuitions...—Green:it’srelatedtocreative,innovativeanddifferentideas.—Blue:itorganizesandcoordinatesthevariousthoughts.Itisusedbythoserunningthemeeting.

• Theideaistogivethedifferenttypesofthinkingamongthemembersofeachgroupandanalyzetheproblemfromtheperspectiveofthecorrespondinghat.

Nominal group

• Itcombinesindividualworkandgroupwork.Itisdividedintothesesteps:—Themoderatoroftheteamformulatestheproblemandaskseachgroupmembertowriteasmanyanswersaspossible.—Themoderatorcollectstheanswersandreadsthemaloud,guaranteeinganonymity.Similarideasaregroupedon

awhiteboard.—Thegroupdiscussesideastoclarify,developorqualifythem.—Inwriting,eachmemberassignsascoretoideas.Themoderatorcollectsthescores,alsoanonymous,andquantifiesthem.—Theideaswiththemostvoteswillbeadoptedasgroupdecisions.

• Itdevelopsagreatdealofideasand,astheprocessismadeinwriting,itpreventssomeofthedisadvantagesoforalgroupdecision-making,suchasinterferencescausedbyhierarchicaldifferencesorhavingmoreoutgoingpeoplecoveringmostofthemeetingtime.

Table 1.7. Techniquesofdecision-makinginagroup.


20

6. Corporate identity and corporate image

6.1. Corporate identity

Inthebeginningofthisunitwetalkedabouttheneedforcontrolledcommunicationprocessesinthecompany.Inordertounderstandthisimportance,firstofallwemustunderstandwhythecompanyneedstocommunicate.Andnotonlytocommunicate,butalsowhythiscommu-nicationhastobeperformedina controlled way.

Inadvancedsocieties,peoplearesubjectedtothousandsofdailyadvertisingstimuli.Wegodownthestreetandthereareadvertisementseverywhere;weturntheTVon,andadvertise-mentsaretheretoo;andthesamegoesformagazines.Allthesecompaniesthatlaunchtheirmessageswantustobuyorusetheirproductsorservicesandtorecommendthemtothepeopleweknow,buttherearetoomanyofthem.Thisoversupplyisthereasonwhycompa-nieshavetomakeamajoreffortto stand outfromtheircompetitors,andtheonlywayofstanding out is making their consumers perceive them as a unique product, trademark or professional.

A. Properties of corporate identity

Whenitcomestoimplementcorporateidentity,acompanymustfulfilfourproperties:

• Stability: ithastobemaintainedover timesothatthepublicmayhavethepossibilityofbeingawareofit.

• Consistency: itmustbebasedonactualattributes,butnotinqualitiesthatthecompanydoesnothave.

• Evolution: ithastoevolveastimegoesbytoadapttochangesinsociety.

• Uniqueness: thedefinitionof the companymust be exclusive, that is to say, products,technology or services can be copied, but not the identity. This is themost importantproperty.

B. Dimensions of corporate identity

Corporateidentityhastwo dimensions:

• Objective identity: it is formed by actual elements: legal form, corporate structure,history,thegoodsitproduces...

• Subjective identity: itisformedbytheattributesassociatedwithit,buttheydon’tneedtobetangible.Forexample,thecompanymaybefriendly,modern,classic,green...

Makingananalogywithpeople,wecouldsaythatanobjectiveidentitymightbeformedbytraitssuchasage,haircolour,skincolour,nationality,etc.,whilesubjectiveidentitymightbeformedbyothertraits,suchasbeingsympathetic,altruistic,friendlyandsoon.

Itisessentialthatallmembersoftheorganizationknowandsharethecorporateidentityoftheircompany,asthisidentityispresentineachandeveryactionthatthecompanyperforms:it’sinthewayphonecallsareanswered,andalsoinitsadvertisements.Everythingmustbeinaccordancewithcorporateidentity.

Thus,wecandefinecorporate identity astheenduringtraitsthatdefinethepersonali-tyofthecompany.Thatistosay,itiswhatthecompanydecidesisgoingtodifferentiateitfromitscompetitorsforalongperiodoftime.Wecouldsayit’sitsDNA.

Corporateidentityhastobebasedonactual qualities or intentions of the company, and not onlyin what is believed to please thepublic.

If the company uses attributesthatdonotbelongtoit,thepublicwill clearly notice the inconsis-tency.

Important

21


C. Communication of corporate identity

Anyorganization,bythefactofitsmereexistence,issendinginformationaboutitselftotheenvironment.Thisinformationisissuedintwoways:

• Voluntarily: thisistheinformationthatthecompanyissuesinacontrolledandintentionalway.Forexample,ifalinemanageroftheorganizationoffersalectureonthehistoryoftheorganizationataconference.

• Involuntarily:thisistheinformationthatthecompanyissueswithoutcontrol.Thosedataareinferredfromcomments,actionsoropinionsthatareproducedinprivateorunintentio-nally.Forexample,ifthepresidentoftheorganizationmeetshisorheroldcollegebuddiesandtalksaboutthewaysalesaregoinginthatsemester.

Whenwereceiveinformationfromdifferentcompanies,weunderstanditinthesameway,regardlessofwhetherthiswasvoluntaryand,therefore,controlledbythecompany,orinvo-luntaryoruncontrolled.

That istosay,allthe informationwereceivethroughseveralchannelsmakesuscreateanimage of the company.

Therefore,ifthecompanywantsustohavetheimageitistryingtocreate,communicationmustbe:

• Constant: thecompanycannotcommunicatewith itspubliconlywhen it’sconvenient;ithastokeepaconstantcommunication.

• Consistent: allcommunicationactionsundertakenbythecompanyhavetobefaithfultotheiridentity.Thatistosay,whatthecompanyis,whatthecompanydoesandwhatthecompanysaysitdoesmustbeinthesameline.

If thereare inconsistencies,unconsciouslyorevenconsciously, theconsumerwill triggerawarningsignalthatwillcausedistrustofallinformationandactionsofthecompany,andevenmorewhentheyarevoluntaryorcontrolled.

6.2. Corporate image

A. Building corporate image

Thepublicbuildscorporateimagefromtheinformationitreceivesfrom:

• Thecompany itself:thistypeofinformationmayhavebeenissuedbothvoluntarilyandinvoluntarily.

• Thecompetitors: themessagesofcompetitorsaboutthemselvesinfluencetheimageofothercompaniesforcomparison.

• Theenvironment: this includes any information related to the companyor sector thatreachesthepublicthroughmedia,friends,acquaintances...

B. Measuring corporate image

After creating the corporate imageof the company, it isnecessary tomeasure its impactonthemarket.Thismeasurementispossiblethroughmarket research techniques,suchasopinionpolls.

We may use the term public asa collective nounwhenwemeanthe set of individuals formingthe society in which the orga-nization is immersed. The termgeneral publicisalsousedforthismeaning.

Wealsousethetermpublic whenwerefertoallgroupsofindividualsthat form awholewith commonfeatures.

For example, for the RegionalGovernmentofMadrid,thepublic is formed by all the inhabitantsof the Region of Madrid. But thepublic of anorganization is iden-tifiedwithagroup:workersoftheorganization,usersoftheservicesit provides, suppliers of the orga-nization,etc.

Watch out!

To put it simply, wemay say that corporate image is what the public think of ourorganization.It’snotjustwhatanindividualorgroupthinks,butwhatemergesfromthecollective.


22

Thetwoelementsthatcanbestudiedtocarryoutthemeasurementofcorporateimageare:

• Thereputation of the company, thatistosay,thevaluationthatthepublichasaboutthecompany.

• Positioning,thatistosay,theplacethatthecompanyhasinconsumer’smindcomparedtoitscompetitors.

Tosumup,wecansaythat corporate identityisformedbytraitsthatbelongtotheorgani-zation,whilecorporate imageisformedbythementalperceptionorideathatthepublichasabouttheorganization(Fig.1.5).

Inanycase,thegoalofanyorganizationistomakesurethatitsidentityanditsimagearethesame,asthisisthewaytoensurethatthepublichasthementalpictureoftheorganizationthatisbestforit.

ThesneakercompanyZapatines,S.L.designsandproducesshoesforyoungpeopleagedbetween12and18.Itscorporateidentityisformedbythefollowingobjectivefeatures:youngcompany,foundedin2008,workingteamofanaverageageof32.Andthefollowingsubjectivefeatures:itsupportsyoungpeople,it’sdifferent,rebel,urban,andfighter.

Solution:

To create a corporate image in the public so that it identifies that imagewith theabovementionedvaluesofyouth,rebellion,andsoon,Zapatines,S.L.decidestoadoptthefollowingmeasures:

• Remove formal barriers within the company, creating an informal and equalworkingenvironment.

• Usethemediathatyoungpeopleuseinordertoadvertisethecompany.Forexam-ple,socialnetworks.

• Useayounglanguageinallitscommunications.

• Hiringwell-knowngraffitiartiststodosomedesignsoftheirshoes.

• Sponsorskateandgraffiticham-pionshipsandmusiccontests.

• Support new clothing designersbycreatingscholarships.

Case study 5. Building corporate image

7. ThecompanyReposteríasLópez,S.L.ownsseveralbrandsinthefoodsector.Aftermorethan40yearsonthemarket,ithasdecidedtoreplaceitstraditionallogo,con-sistingoftheinitialsRLinplainblueuppercaseletters,foranewoneinwhichtheinitialsarenotplain,butformedbythesymbolsofthedifferentbrandsofthecom-pany.Indoingso,ReposteríasLópezseekstoconveyvitality,whilemaintainingthestrengthandsoliditythatthepreviouslogotransmitted.Byincludingthesymbolsofallthebrandsofthecompany,thepubliccanalsofullyperceivewhatisbehindReposteríasLópez,whatitdoesandhowitdoesit.Inorthertocomplementthelogochange,thecompanyhashired anadvertisingcampaign.

Whichcorporateidentitypropertiesareevidentwiththisinformation?Whichele-mentsofobjectiveandsubjectiveidentityisthecompanyintendingtocommuni-cate?HowdoesReposteríasLópezwantitsidentitycommunicationtobe?Whatistherequirementforacorporateimagetomatchacorporateidentity?

Activities

,

23


6.3. The trademark

Themainfeatureofatrademarkisthatithastobeunique,thatistosay,therecanbenootheridenticalorsimilartrademarkinthemarket.

Thetrademarkmustbeuniquefortwo reasons:

• Becausethisuniquenesshelpsconsumerstodifferentiateproducts,companiesorservicesfromeachother.

• Because ithelpsthecompanytobe inthemarket,as it supportsvisually itsdistinctivequalities,thatistosay,itsidentity.

Therearethree basic typesoftrademarks:

• Nominative:theseareformedbyanameorletters.Theycanuseauniquefontornot.Intheexampleoftherightmargin,thatwouldbeBBVAlogo(Fig.1.5).

• Figurative:theyaresymbols,signsorimages,suchasMovistarlogo(Fig.1.6).

• Mixed:formedbylettersandsymbolscombined,suchasElCorteIngléslogo(Fig.1.7).

Thesethreetypesarethemostcommones,butthereareotherthingsthatmayalsobeapartofthebrand,suchasamelody(astheoneinNocillaadvertisement)oracolourthathasbeenexclusivelyusedforthistrademark(astheredcolourinthecaseofCoca-cola).Today,evenexclusiveflavoursarecreatedsothattheycanbeassociatedwithtrademarks.

Inanycase,thefundamentaltypesoftrademarksarealwaysformedbythree elements:

• The symbol: thefigureoriconthatrepresentsourorganization.Forexample,theflagofElCorteIngles.

• The logo: thenameofourorganizationwritten inacertainwayor inaparticular font.Forexample:thelettersofElCorteInglés.

• The corporate colours: colours that identify us as an organization. For example,coloursgreen,whiteandblackarethedefiningfeatureofElCorteInglés.

6.4. Corporate Visual Identity (CVI)

Today,asaresultoftheincreasingnumberofexistingtrademarks,companieshaverealizedthattheiridentitycan tonlybebasedondesign,andmustgofurtherandmakea real dif-ference.

Thus,justaswehavenotedtheimportanceofconsistencyincorporate identity,inthecaseofvisual identitythisneedbecomesevenmoreevidentbecause,asageneralrule,thefirstcontactthatanindividualhaswiththeorganizationisthroughthetrademark.

Therefore, ifwewantourtrademarktoberecognizedinthefuture,orifwewantthattheactorofanadvertisementisclearlyidentified,wemustnotchangethegraphicsapplicationofthetrademark.

Forexample,ifwegodownthestreet,thefirstthingweusuallyseebeforeenteringastoreisitssign.Moreover,ifthestorecontactsusbypostalmailtoconfirmanorderthatwehavejustmade,weneedtoidentifythetrademark,andthisisthereasonwhyitmustberecognizablebothinthesignandprintedonpaper.

Thetermtrademarkreferstoanysignusedtodistinguishourproducts,servicesandindustrialorcommercialestablishmentsinthemarket.

Fig. 1.5. BBVAlogo.Examplenominativetrademark:formedbyletters.

Fig. 1.7. LogoofElCorteInglés.Exampleofmixedtrademark:itcombinesaparti-cularfontwiththesymboloftheflag.

Thetermcorporate visual identity referstothedevelopmentandapplicationofthetrademarkinallareasofthecompany.

Lapalabraespañola"marca"puededecirse de dos formas en inglés:trademarkybrand, comohabrásvisto en este página. Aunque lamayoría de las veces se aceptancomo sinónimos, no está demásque sepas que no lo son: mien-trasquetrademarkesuntérminogeneral que hace referencia a lamarca registrada en sí misma, eltérmino brand se suele emplearpara referirse a elementos (visua-les, sonoros o de otro tipo) quesirven para diferenciarse de lacompetencia. Por eso se dice quealgoestábrandedcuandomuestraalguno de estos elementos, porejemplo, un bolígrafo con el logodelBBVA.

Spanish assistant

Fig. 1.6. Movistarlogo.Exampleoffigura-tivetrademark:aspeciallydesignedMasatrademark.

Cliente Telefónica

Logotipo de Movistar positivo con área de protección

03/11/09

Logo_movistar_proteccion_pos_cmyk.ai

Identidad Visual Movistar

Nombre del Archivo

Referencias cromáticas:

Observaciones:

Proyecto

Archivo Digital

Formato

Papel

Fecha

C100 M31 Y8 K44Magenta Amarillo NegroCyan


24

Summinguptoachieveanappropriatevisualidentity,itisnecessarytodevelopasetofrulestoguidetheimplementationofthebrandinvariousmedia;inotherwords,whenthebrandisusedincommercialletters,envelopes,websites,corporategifts,etc.,itmustkeeptheidentityandperfectlysuitthesemedia.

Theserulesofapplicationareusuallyexplainedinthecorporate identity manual.

Theaimofthecorporateidentitymanualisthateveryoneintheorganizationinchargeofworkingwithsomeelementofvisualidentityknowshowtoapplythetrademark.Thisisthewaytoachieveunificationandstandardizationofcommunicationelements.

Asfortheelementsthatformcorporatevisualidentity,theyarethefollowing:

• Logo: it is thewritten part of the identifier of the trademark. For example, the lettersformingthewordsElCorteIngles.

• Symbol:it’sagraphicalrepresentationofthetrademark.Forexample,thesymbolofsportstrademarkNike.

• Corporate colours:thechoiceofthecoloursthatformthesymbol,thelogoorboth.Co-lourshaveanstandardreferenceforeachonesothattheycanbefaithfullyreproduced.Forexample,aPantonereference.

• Fonts:thefontusedinthelogo,aswellastheonetobeusedinallcompanycommunica-tions,hastobeidentified.Forexample,CEPSAhaschosenthefontfamilyGillSansasitscorporatefont.

• Figure-background relationship: that is,howtoapplythe logodependingontheback-groundcolour.Forexample,thebrandCEPSAdeterminesthatifitslogocannotbeusedwithredbackgroundandwhitelettering,thebackgroundhastobeblack.

• Monochrome version: howtoapplythelogoorsymbolusingonlyonecolour.ThelogoinFig.1.8isagoodexample.

• Applications:allpossibleapplicationsofthelogoand/orsymbolindifferentmaterialsandmedia. For example, cards, letterheads, envelopes, banners, uniforms, company cars,andsoon.

http://www.um.es/cpu/imagen/

Inthesection"ServiciodeComuni-caciónyProyecciónUniversitario"of the University of Murcia, youcan access its Corporate VisualIdentityManual.

Web

Pantone is a U.S. company thatinvented a system, the Pantone Matching System, which identi-fies colours by a certain code.Thus, the colours that appear inlogosandsymbolswillremainthesameregardlessofwheretheyareprinted.


8. UsingtheInternet,searchwebsitesofcompanies,educationalinstitutions,govern-mentagencies,NGOs,etc.,andfindacompletemanualofcorporatevisualidentityoftheorganization:

a) Indicatewhichoftheelementsthatwehaveseeninthisunitareincludedinthatmanualandwhicharenot.

b) Onceyouhave identifiedthem, indicatewhichof theabsentelements in themanualshouldappear.

9. FindthreebrandsontheInternetthatmatchtheconceptofnominative,figurativeandmixedtrademark.

10. Do you think that the choice of corporate colour influences the success of abrand?WhatcolourswouldyouchoosetorepresentabrandofwinesfromthesouthofSpain?Why?

11. Thefontmaybeusedtogiveaformalorinformalcharactertothebrand.Useawordprocessortosearchfortwofonts,oneformalandoneinformal,toconveythebrandimageofthecompanyCentrodeformaciónCalculus,S.L.

Activities

Fig. 1.8. LogoofElCorteInglésinblackandwhite.

25


Summar y

Functions of the

organization

Planning

Organization

Management

Control

Departments

Production

Financial

Human resources

Commercial

Sales

Purchasing

Organizational chart

Schematic diagram showing the formal structure of the company and its departments, functional areas and their relationship of interdependence.

Purpose

Range

Content

Graphical Layout

Sorting criteria

Decision-making

Techniques of decision-making in group: brainstorming, Phillips 6/6, Six thinking hats, nominal group.

Situation analysis

Planning and assessment of alternatives

Decision and execution

Monitoring and evaluation

Process with four stages

Classification of companies

according to their

organizational structure

Formal or informal

Hierarchical or flat

Centralized or decentralized

Simple (linear or functional) or complex

Corporate identity (DNA

of the company)

Corporate identity≠

Corporate image (public perception)

Trademark

Objective identity: formed by real elements: legal form, structure, history, goods produced...

Subjective identity, formed by the attributes associated with it, but those doesn’t have to be tangible: friendly, modern, classic, green…

Corporate visual identity: development and application of the mark in all areas of the company.

Sign used to distinguish our products, services, industrial or commercial establishments in the market and so on.


26

Test review

1. ThebusinessorganizationisNOT:

a) Assigningtaskstoemployees.

b) Payingapplicabletaxes.

c) Distributing responsibilities among members of thecompany.

d) Linemanagersmakingdecisions.

2. Whichofthefollowingtypesofcompanydividesitssharecapitalandlimitstheliabilityofthepartners?

a) Sociedadlimitada.

b) Sociedadcolectiva.

c) Sociedadanónima.

d) Sociedadcooperativa.

3. Thefunctionresponsibleforraisingthetargetsorgoalstobeachievedbythecompanyis:

a) Organizationfunction.

b) Controlfunction.

c) Planningfunction.

d) Managementfunction.

4. Which of the following are managing functions of theemployer?

a) Identificationofobjectives,planningandcontrol.

b) Identificationofobjectives,organization,planningandcontrol.

c) Identificationofobjectives, resourceallocation,man-agementandcontrol.

d) Noneoftheabove.

5. Regarding the decision-making process, which of thesestatementsiscorrect?

a) Whenwefaceacommonproblem,thefullprocesshastobeperformed.

b) Thesituationanalysisinvolvesidentifyingthedifferentoptionsthatwecanchoose.

c) Themoreoptionswehave, the lower thechancesoffindingthebest.

d) Itisnecessarytoassesswhethertheresultscorrespondtothoseplannedornot.

6. Inthetechnique"sixthinkinghats"eachcolourreflectsadifferentthinkingstyle.Indicatethewrongoption:

a) Theblackhatrepresentsthemostpessimisticthinking:itworkswithdrawbacksandmistakes.

b) The yellow hat symbolizes optimism: it works withadvantages.

c) Thebluehatrepresentsthefactsobjectively:itworkswithfacts.

d) Thegreenhatisassociatedwithcreativity,innovativeanddifferentideas.

7. Thepropertiesofcorporateidentityare:

a) Uniqueness,objectivity,consistencyandevolution.

b) Stability,objectivity,evolutionanduniqueness.

c) Stability,consistency,evolution,uniqueness.

d) Consistency,kindness,uniquenessandevolution.

8. Theconstructionofthecorporateimageresultsin:

a) Thecreationofthecompany’strademark.

b) Thecommunicationofvoluntaryandinvoluntaryinfor-mation.

c) Twomeasurableelements:positioningandreputation.

d) The subjective elements of the company’s corporateidentity.

9. Theelementsofatrademarkare:

a) Figurative,nominativeandmixedelements.

b) Fonts,thefigure-backgroundrelationshipandapplica-tions.

c) Design,colourandcreativity.

d) Thesymbol,logoandcorporatecolours.

10. Adecisionthatismadeonmattersarisingrepetitivelyandwithanestablishedprocedureisknownas:

a) Scheduleddecision.

b) Intendeddecision.

c) Routinedecision.

d) Non-schedulabledecision.

11. Adecisionthatismadebyasuperiorandthatreferstotheorganizationalstructureofthecompanyis:

a) StrategicorLevelI.

b) TacticalorLevelII.

c) OperationalorLevelIII.

d) Noneoftheabove.

12. Theorganizationwhosedecisionsaretakenbytheleadersbutwithprofessionaladviceis:

a) Amatrixorganization.

b) Ahierarchicalfunctionalorganization.

c) Acloverorganization.

d) Noneoftheabove.

27


Check your learning

Distinguish types of existing business institutions

1. Mediausuallyrefertoaspecialkindofcompanyknownaspyme.Findoutwhatapymeisanddefinethedifferenttypesofexistingpymes.

Tip: the website www.creatuempresa.org/apoyoinfo.htm may be helpful to solve this activity.

2. SearchtheInternetandfindoutwhatthelawsgoverningcorporationsandlimitedliabilitycompaniesareandindi-catetheminimumcapitalrequiredtoconstitutethem.

3. Thereareothertypesofcompaniesthatparticipateinthesocialeconomyprinciples.EnterthewebsiteofConfedera-ciónEmpresarialEspañoladelaEconomíaSocial(CEPES),www.cepes.es,andindicatewhichtheyare.Alsoindicateallthebasicfeaturesofsocialeconomycompanies.

Relate the common functions of the organization: manage-ment, planning, organization, execution and control

4. Listthefactorsthatinfluencestrategicplanningandthateveryemployershouldconsider.

5. Whichisthedifferencebetweenthefunctionsofmana-gementandorganization?Giveanexampleofataskthatbelongstoeachofthesetypesoffunctions.

6. ThecompanyTEXTILNOR,S.L.raisedthefollowingissuesinamanagementmeeting:

a) Theoperationsdepartmentproposesachangeinstaffshiftstoproduceatlowercosts.

b) Itisproposedtochoosebetweentwopossibleproductlinestolaunchnextyear:decorativeitemsortoiletries.

c) Theheadsofdifferentdepartmentsexplainthedegreeofachievementoftheobjectivesandthedeviationsthathaveoccurredontheplanswhileestablishingmeasurestocorrectthesedeviations.

d) Themanageremphasizestheneedtomotivatestaffandtoexplainclearlyitsfunctions.

Which function of the organization relates to each caseabove?

Be aware of the importance of an adequate organizational structure to perform the provision of quality services

7. Makethechartofacompanyincluding(fromthehighesttothelowestpriority)thefollowingorganizationallevels:

• Presidentofthecompany.

• Generalmanager.

• Departmentsof:

—Production.

—Staff.

—Logistics.

—Administration. This one has a technical staff ofinvestments.

• Employees (hierarchicallydependentand independentfromthedifferentdepartments).

8. Following the classification of the charts, match thefollowingtypeswiththegrouptheybelongto:

9. Describethefeaturesthatconcurinthefollowingorgani-zationalchart:

10. ThinkaboutthereasonsyouhadtostudythisVocationalTrainingCourse.Inrelationwithyourthoughts,designyourowndecision-makingprocessforthisspecificcase.

11. Make a classification of the types of existing decisionsaccordingtothelevelcriterion.

Generalchart

Organizationalchart

Circularchart

Analyticalchart

Horizontalchart

PartialChart

Staffchart

Dependingonthepurpose

Dependingontherange

Dependingonthecontent

Dependingonthelayout

Employees

Middle positions

Department heads

Manager


28

Check your learning

12. Matcheachtypeofdecisionwithitsmeaning:

13. Describe a scheduled decision you usually make everyday.Whydoyouthinkthatitisscheduled?Wasitanon-schedulabledecisioninthepast?

14. Listtheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofdecision-makingingroups.

15. Indicateifthefollowingstatementsaretrueorfalse:

a) Decision-makinginthecompanyisanirrationalprocessbywhichoneormoreindividualsarechoosingbetweentwoormorealternatives.

b) Accordingtothelevelofthedecisionmaker,therearescheduledandnon-schedulabledecisions.

c) Strategicdecisionsarethoserelatedtotheobjectivesofthecompanyonalong-termbasis.

d) Encouraging creativity is an advantage of decision-makingingroups.

e) The technique Phillips 6/6 combines individual workwithteamwork.

f) The technique "six thinking hats" allows analyzing adecisionfromsixdifferentpointsofview.

Recognize different types of existing trademarks

16. Listthreeexamplesoffamouscompaniesofeachofthesetypesoftrademarks:nominative,figurativeandmixed.

Differentiating between corporate identity and image

17. Indicatewhetherthefollowingstatementscorrespondtoelementsofsubjectivecorporateidentity,objectivecorpo-rateidentityorcorporateimageofthecompany:

a) ThecompanyTadamidecidedtoadoptthelegalformofcorporationtofacilitatetheentryofnewmembers.

b) Itwasfoundedfortyyearsago.

c) Itmanufactureswoodenfurnitureofhighquality.

d) It has always advocated the use of wood from sus-tainableexploitationanditsproductsarecoveredbyapan-Europeanforestcertification.

e) Itscustomersvaluetheirinvolvementwiththepreser-vationoftheenvironment.

f) Tadami,S.A.commitstocutting-edgedesignsthatofferinnovativesolutions.

g) Itsdesignshaveobtainedseveralawardsforinnovationfrommagazineconductingconsumersurveys.

h) Itproducesfurniturecollectionsforliving-rooms,bed-rooms,officesanddiningareas,andthereforecustomersfindsolutionsfortheentirehouseinitscatalogue.Theyvaluethisissuebecausetheycankeepthesamestylethroughoutthehouse.

18. Readthefollowingstatementsandindicatewhethertheyaretrueorfalse:

a) Corporateidentitymaychangeconstantlytoadapttowhatthepublicdemands.

b) Companies should always communicate with theirpublic,andnotjustwhenit’sconvenientforthem.

c) Theidentityofacompanycanbecopied,aswellastheservicesitprovides.

d) Corporateidentityisknownbythelinemanagersofacompany,andtherestofthecompanymembersdon’tneedtoknowaboutit.

e) Theinformationreceivedbythepublicofacompanythroughfriendsorrelativesdonotaffectitscorporateimage.

f) Consistencyisoneoftheissuesthatthecorporateiden-tityneeds tohave so that thepublicmaycreate theimagethatthecompanyisinterestedin.

19. Wehavecreatedthecorporatevisualidentityoftheba-keryTupán.Whichpotentialapplicationsshouldweconsi-derinthemanualofcorporatevisualidentity?

20. Indicateifthefollowingstatementsarecasesofvoluntaryorinvoluntarycommunicationofcorporateidentity:

a) ThepresidentoftheNGOSalvaciónSuroffersalectureonthehistory,goalsandvaluesoftheorganization.

b) ThemarketingmanagerofZapatines,S.L.callsforaninternal meeting to inform partners about the newadvertisingcampaign.

c) TheaccountantofthebakeryTupántellstheaccountantofthefruitstoreFreshverdthatsalesaregoingdown.

d) ThepurchasingmanagerofZapatines,S.L.meetstwofriendsandtellsthemthatthenewadvertisingcam-paignthathercompanyisabouttolaunchseems"fordummies"toher.

1.Decisionsmadeduringthedevelop-mentofregularwork.

2.They are adopted by the supe-riorleveloftheorganization. Theysettlelong-termgoals.

3.Decisionmadebya singlepersonwithfinalresponsibility.

4.Decisionstobetakenperiodically.

a) Scheduled

b) Operational

c) Individual

d) Strategic

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