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CIPD Level 7 Organisation Design & Organisational Development Assignment Answers

Why Students Study This Course

CIPD Level 7LD01 Assignment answers

ODD is a postgraduate level course that will assist graduates shape organization structure and culture. Learners taking this course are expected to understand and apply change management and develop organization design strategies. Organizational development is an important cog in enhancing organizational effectiveness and efficiency. An efficient organization is able to achieve organizational goals.

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CIPD Level 7LD01 Assignment Example

Course Requirements

Note for the assessment: All submissions should be in the region of 3,000 words plus or minus 10% and references should be added in the Harvard Referencing Format. There is a Harvard Referencing tutorial in the Resources Area which outlines the formatting required.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Understand, analyse and critically evaluate the processes and systems that need to be in place to maintain such structures and relationships and evaluation of same.
  • Understand, analyse and critically evaluate possible change management strategies and activities through the application of organisation development strategies, which might support organisation design and realignment outcomes.
  • Understand, analyse and critically evaluate organisation culture, norms and behaviours.

Assessment Brief/Activity

Formed in October 2013 as a result of a number of mergers, Travel Group (TG) is a public limited company.  TG’s head office is in Germany and The Group employs 56,000 people worldwide. Providing services to more than 40 million customers from around the world, TG’s key operational areas are 1600 travel agencies, 7 airlines, 350 hotels and 14 cruise liners. Travel UK is the UK tour operator subsidiary and airline. Travel UK has the following operational divisions: Airline, Commercial, Customer Operations and the following business support departments: Finance, IT, Marketing, Public Relations/Business Change and Human Resources.  Each operational division is clearly defined and has its own sphere of competence.  Each division has a hierarchy that is clearly defined with operational rules and processes that guide managers in making objective decisions.

Each operational division has its own business support departments.  Following the most recent merger a decision was made to put in place new organisational structures in recognition of the duplication that existed in some functions, and where different brands were in place for travel agencies these have now been rebranded Travel UK.  Differences also exist in terms and conditions of employment and working practices of TG’s employees depending on which pre-merger company the employees worked for.  Some of these differences can clearly be identified in job descriptions whereas others exist in agreements that were the result of consultation and negotiation with trade unions. The trade unions are strong and have high levels of membership.  For example, in the UK department heads have been reluctant to make changes to cabin crew hours and working practices because of the underlying threat of strike action. Joint Consultative Committees meet on a monthly basis and the scope of issues can include almost anything from terms and conditions of employment to costs and allocation of employees to flying schedules.  This consultative machinery has a significant impact on decision making.

Organisational performance is measured in a number of ways.  In addition to the standard financial measures (such as turnover and profits that are important to all public limited companies) TG as the parent company has three key non-financial measures.  These are customer satisfaction, employee engagement and sustainability.  In this highly competitive market, customer satisfaction is crucial in ensuring that customers book future holidays with TG and recommend TG to friends and family.  The second key non-financial measure is engagement. TG believes that happy and engaged employees will help to achieve sustained competitive advantage in a fairly turbulent market. The third measure, sustainability within the travel industry, is seen as crucial. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (which establishes and manages global sustainable standards with the aim of increasing sustainable tourism knowledge and practices among public and private stakeholders) sets two criteria.  Their website states these two criteria are, ‘…those that relate to destinations and those that relate to tour operators that provide the guiding principles and minimum requirements that any tourism business or destination should aspire to reach in order to protect and sustain the world’s natural and cultural resources, while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for conservation and poverty alleviation’.  Practical examples of how TG meets these criteria include using e-ticketing, reducing waste, saving water and reducing carbon emissions.  Sustainability is a key organisational goal and TG aspires to be included on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and the FTSE4 Good Sustainability Index.  Having the right organisational culture is viewed as being central to achieving this goal.

The travel industry has been affected by a number of different external factors in recent years including: terrorism affecting flights, airports and resorts; industrial action taken by baggage handlers and air traffic controllers at various airports in Europe; volcano ash and extreme weather grounding or rerouting flights; Norovirus on cruise ships, etc.

Write a 3000 word report in which you:

  1. Critically analyse TG’s current organisational structure Evaluate its appropriateness for the future.
  2. Provide a detailed analysis of external factors currently affecting TG and the impact that these may have on change and organisational development at TG.
  3. Produce organisational development and design recommendations of how TG can achieve its sustainability goal. In doing so you should consider the extent to which organisational culture can be changed and whether a culture change is important in achieving the sustainability goal. You should use research evidence and your knowledge of organisational practice to support your recommendations. Consideration should also be given to possible implementation issues and/or tensions.

CIPD Level 7LD01 Assignment Answers by Expert CIPD Assignment Writer KSA

Introduction

Organizational design and development undertakings take different dimensions and aspects that affect the operations of a business as well as performance. It covers different aspects of the organization including organizational structure, culture, and performance management. This report explores the different aspects of organizational development and design based on a company TG. Travel Group (TG) is a public limited company.  TG’s head office is in Germany and The Group employs 56,000 people worldwide. Providing services to more than 40 million customers from around the world, TG’s key operational areas are 1600 travel agencies, 7 airlines, 350 hotels and 14 cruise liners. Travel UK is the UK tour operator subsidiary and airline. Travel UK has the following operational divisions: Airline, Commercial, Customer Operations and the following business support departments: Finance, IT, Marketing, Public Relations/Business Change and Human Resources.  The company merged with another firm and hence there is a need to reorganize the structure and its operations management to ensure sustainability of the firm.

Critically analysis of TG’s Current Organizational Structure and it appropriateness for the Future

The current organizational structure by TG is hierarchical based. In this organizational structure, employees in the organization are grouped based on the job functions, product, and processed. According to this hierarchical organizational structure, employees are grouped into divisions where there are clearly defined roles and people are classified based on competence. Every division of the organization has a clearly defined hierarchy and operational rules and processes that guide the manager in making decisions.  Even after the merger, the decisions of the organization became restructured but maintaining a hierarchical approach that is based on the organizational functions. In addition, the organizational structure is based on the different brands. As such, the general outlook of the organizational structure is hierarchical based. This organizational structure is based on the functions where employees are groped on the roles that they provide to the firm. For instance, TG has different functions including Airline, Commercial, Customer Operations and the following business support departments: Finance, IT, Marketing, Public Relations/Business Change and Human Resources.  This has been restructured in an attempt to eliminate redundancies after the merger

The organizational structure is also grouped based on geographic locations. In this case, the company is headquartering in Germany but has its divisions across the globe. As such, the German based office is considered as the top office while the others are region, which could be headed by different regional leaders. In some instance, this could be grouped according to different countries.  Another form of hierarchical leadership that is demonstrated by the company is the product based structure. In this approach, the company which produced multiple products and services are grouped based on such.

A hierarchical based organization structure that is exhibited by TG is considered as a traditional approach, which values the top-down management approach. Under this approach, the management is centralized and the top management is considered to constitute the bosses (Foss, Woll & Moilanen 2013). This management approach is considered advantageous yet it has some demerits. First, it is merited for creating a well defined structure for the communication in the organization. In this case, a hierarchical approach creates a well defined structure where communication cans easily descend to reach every member of the organization. This approach has direct supervisors who are allocated to every worker thereby making it easier to communicate (Foss, Woll & Moilanen 2013). Secondly, this approach is merited as it offers multiple layers of authority for the company. In this case, the company is able to communicate through an internal and external authority. In doing this, the authority is granted and create more responsibility while having a clear structure for reporting but still allowing consistent movement of information through a up and down chain of command (Foss, Woll & Moilanen 2013).

A hierarchical structure creates a true picture of authority in the organization. Within a hierarchical organizational structure, it becomes possible to identify the persons in the authority. In addition, one is able to identify the managers and the power that they have as well as the allocated resources (Foss, Woll & Moilanen 2013). The company is also able to identify the places where there exists duplication of the duties. Concerning this, the hierarchical structure makes it possible to identify the team that shares the resources. It also finds places where there may be job responsibility overlap that costs the organization money. This approach also eliminates the chances of indecisiveness among the leaders in the company. In the hierarchical approach, there are always people who are vested with the role of making decisions (Nell, Ambos & Schlegelmilch 2011). In addition, it is not possible to hide from accountability even if the manager may make attempt of assigning blame to other people. As such, there is clear communication of the person who is in charge of the undertaking.

Despite the merits associated with a hierarchical organizational structure, it is considered inappropriate for the future of the TG. This method is traditional based and does not lead to the benefits that are associated with new models of management. For instance, the hierarchical approach leads to poor collaboration among the employees. In this case, a hierarchical structure tends to have people with clearly defined roles and hence they do not attempt to meddle on the issue of the others. In this case, it leads to poor teamwork among the employees. Secondly, people tend to work in a manner that exhibits competition for power as opposed to working for the advancement of the company’s mission (Nell, Ambos & Schlegelmilch 2011).  A hierarchical approach is not appropriate for the company as it is a cause for managers to become more territorial (San Cristóbal, Fernández & Diaz 2018).  For the TG, a company that has merged, applying a hierarchical organizational structure would be detrimental as it would hinder the integration of the two merging units of business. On this method, managers become defensive and instead of focusing on the organizational level of the business, the company managers may become competitive for power, which would hinder the attainment of the intended goals for the merger.

The hierarchical structure impedes innovation and would not be appropriate for the TG. This method creates a rigid structure that may hinder innovation. If an employee approaches the manager with an innovative idea and is rejected, this employee will be hindered from proceeding on with the idea. If the idea would have been accepted at a higher level in the organization, it could impact on the future revenues (San Cristóbal, Fernández & Diaz 2018). As such, as opposed to a hierarchical structure that hinders employees from sharing their ideas, a matrix organizational structure would be appropriate. On the same note, a hierarchical structure centralizes the power to a few people. As such, this approach may encourage the management to delegate power and hence reduce the overall productivity that could be available (San Cristóbal, Fernández & Diaz 2018). This would also mean that instead of having leaders in charge of making high level decision, it may promote them to be involved in real time implementation.

A hierarchical approach is also discouraged for an organization such as TG as it would create bureaucracy. When an organization records bureaucracy, it tends to develop a poor growth trend (San Cristóbal, Fernández & Diaz 2018).  In this case, a hierarchical structure promotes heavy reliance on leadership making the processes less responsive and not possible to make fast decision. On this note, requests are forced to travel up the chain of command, and then back down again, which can be destructive when dynamic movement is required (Nell, Ambos & Schlegelmilch, 2011). Finally, hierarchical organizational structure creates a communication barrier (Nell, Ambos & Schlegelmilch, 2011). Despite the fact that it is intended at improving communication, it may also be a hindrance. Some workers may be forced to avoid communication as they may distrust their direct supervisors.

Analysis of External Factors currently affecting TG and the impact on organizational development

A PESTEL approach is appropriate in the analysis of the external factors that affect the business operations by TG. From the analysis, the business may not be in a position to control all the external factors but rather it can take actions to prevent possible adverse effect on the operations and return.

Political

Being an international business whose mode of operation is characterized by travel to many countries, the open boundaries have enabled the firm to thrive. Most of the countries are open to foreigners, despite having some that are still inaccessible for political reasons (Cole et al. 2019). However, currently, most of the countries are accessible and they can give out visas. From a worker’s perspective, the company’s employment laws differ from one country to the other, which may affect the operations. For instance, being a Germany based firm, there were differences in the working hour’s requirement in UK. Despite the fact that TG was reluctant to make changes to the cabin crew working hours because of the underlying threat of strike action, it was necessary to have the issue being resolved leading to an agreement based on the UK laws and trade union policies. Political stability is also another factor that affects the operations at TG (Cole et al. 2019). The company operates from an international perspective but it still managed from a headquarter in Germany. In this case, the political instability in some countries affects the manner in which the company will structure its business leadership chart. For instance, despite having more than 40 million customers across the globe, regional offices are based on the political stability of the country. Indeed, the industry is also affected by safety issues such as terrorism, which affect the operations in some airports. Indeed, this also hinders business organization and growth as travel is one of the key pillars of the country.

Economic

From an economic perspective, TG operates in international business and hence affected by the prevailing economic situations in various countries. As such, key metrics of economic growth such as unemployment rates, interest, rate, foreign exchange rates, and inflation affects the business growth (Rita, Brochado & Dimova, 2019). The unemployment rate index shows the extent to which people have no jobs indicating the labor supply (Rita, Brochado & Dimova, 2019). A high unemployment rate indicates that the country has a high population of unemployed people hence the wage rate is lower and probably reduces the cost of labor (Rita, Brochado & Dimova, 2019). The foreign exchange rate also affects the company’s financial prospects where it operates. Huge fluctuations in exchange rates affect the company’s development negatively. On the same note, increase in inflations of the affected country also affects the growth of the company negatively.

Social

From the social perspective, the culture of the people where the company operates at also affects the operations (Rita, Brochado & Dimova, 2019). For instance, for the firm that operates based in Germany, it has to make consideration of the cultural practices, beliefs, and norms of the people in different countries. In particular, the firm has to consider the expected working conditions of the employees and their cultural orientation (collectivism and individualism). If the country under perspective exhibits collectivism it becomes easier to promote teamwork as opposed to one that values individualism (Mir & Mir, 2019). The growing racial integrations also affect the business on different aspects. First, it helps to reach many countries and promote business and it also increases chances of international expansion.

Technological

The extent to which the countries have adopted technology also matters as it affects the integration and business operations. The extent to which people value technology determines their ability to use technological tools such as e-ticketing (Mir & Mir, 2019). Furthermore, in the current era where social media is widely adopted, it becomes possible to for TG and other firms to market through online methods, which are easier to target the customers as well as reduce the cost (Mir & Mir, 2019).

Environmental

The major concern for the transportation and tourism industry is the reduction of pollution. The biggest environmental issue is the reduction of carbon emissions for the transport operating businesses (Düerkop & Huth 2017). As such, there is increased demand for the use of alternate sources of energy and fuel other than fossil fuel. It is evident that the use of airplanes is contributing immensely to the contribution of global warming through carbon dioxide emissions (Düerkop & Huth 2017). Another concern for the firm operating in the hospitality industry is the need to save water as well as reduce the level of waste (Düerkop & Huth 2017).  Such demand in the environment needs to be addressed through the appropriate channels and have occasioned TG to change its operations and its development is based on sustainability considerations. Indeed, the firm has taken the issue of sustainability as a key organizational goal and TG aspires to be included on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and the FTSE4 Good Sustainability Index.  Having the right organizational culture is viewed as being central to achieving this goal.  In Europe, the company could be affected like other airline operating firms due to the volcano and extreme weather grounding or rerouting flights

Legal

From the legal perspective, TG is considering the appropriate methods of meting all the legal requirements. For instance, the company is considering the legal requirements and policies regarding the travel to different nations (Rita, Brochado & Dimova, 2019). There are restrictions by some countries regarding airports and resorts. In addition, the firm could be affected by industrial action taken by baggage handlers and air traffic controllers at various airports in Europe (Mir & Mir, 2019).

Recommendations on how to Achieve Sustainability Goal

The organization can apply different organizational development approaches that touch on human resource, structural processes, leadership, and strategic change interventions. From a human process intervention, it takes the form of interventions in the human processes that relate to the interpersonal relations. The company could focus on interventions that target individuals and aim at improving the communication with others (Morales, True & Tudor, 2020). As such, individuals in the company could be coached on the expected code of conduct and behaviors. From a group based interventions, the company could lead on the different methods that can build teamwork. In addition, the company could organize seminars and training workshops to equip the workers with the necessary skills. In regard to the third party interventions, the business should deal with any conflicts that arise from third parties and be resolved quickly (Morales, True & Tudor, 2020). The third party intervention will help to control and avoid iterations that could affect the business operations. To promote productivity and sustainability, it is recommended that firms develop team building, which should encompass a range of activities that could help the group and improve the way tasks are accomplished (Morales, True & Tudor, 2020).  On the same note, TG can develop and organize organizational confrontation meeting. The confrontation meetings are aimed at identifying problems, setting priorities and action targets, and begin working on identified problems organization-wide.

From a techno structural perspective, the firm could implement strategies that are aimed at improving the technology in the firm. Such interventions are more important in the current times where there is massive change in the market and technological landscape. In regard to the structural changes, the company could use organizational structural design approach (Hannouf & Assefa 2017). The current organizational structure is hierarchical based, which has its drawbacks as it is traditional based.  As opposed to using this approach, it would be recommended to use matrix based, process based or customer centric method. The key activities in the organizational design are to reengineer and downsize the operations (Hannouf & Assefa 2017). It also entails rethinking of the way work should be done and preparing the organization for the new business interactions.  On the same note, the organization can apply a total quality management approach. Under this approach, TG will benefit from the different processes improvements, and apply the appropriate methods such as sigma and lean (Hannouf & Assefa 2017). Total quality management approach is recommended based on the positive outcome it leads and ability to remain sustainable in the business. Total quality management approach advocates for the continued quality control and long term efforts of an organizational activities and the concept of quality.

Work design is also recommended as an appropriate method of structural alignment that focuses on achieving the outcome. Jobs can be aligned in order to achieve the most efficient outcome. Depending on the approach chosen, different skills are needed and designing work is a manner that leads to optimum productivity (Chams  &  García-Blandón 2019). This is closely related to the application of job enrichment method, which focuses on creating an interesting and challenging atmosphere for the person to do the work (Chams  &  García-Blandón 2019). Examples of such factors that need to be keenly sought include skill variety, task identity, autonomy, and provision of feedback.

From a human resource management, there are necessary interventions that could help in developing the firm for better growth. First, it is recommended that the firm should engage in proper performance management. Performance management encompasses the process of setting the right goals, performance appraisal, and reward system. The second method is to develop talent among the employee in a manner that positions them to take on their roles in the right manner (Chams  &  García-Blandón 2019) Different approaches are also applied such as mentoring, career planning, and management and leadership development. The HR department could also apply diversity intervention measure, which helps to incorporate different personalities into the firm based on their ages, gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, and cultural orientation (Baum 2018). Such measures are set in place in order to enhance diversity and improve on the capability of the firm. The firm could also apply wellness intervention policies and procedures (Baum 2018).  Such interventions help to manage stress and provide the right environment for work. Different methods are applied including stress management programs, employee assistance program, and flexible working, which help to keep a healthy work life balance.

References

Baum, T., 2018. Sustainable human resource management as a driver in tourism policy and planning: a serious sin of omission?. Journal of Sustainable Tourism26(6), pp.873-889

Chams, N. &  García-Blandón, J., 2019. On the importance of sustainable human resource management for the adoption of sustainable development goals. Resources, Conservation and Recycling141, pp.109-122.

Cole, S., Zhang, Y., Wang, W., & Hu, C. M. 2019. The influence of accessibility and motivation on leisure travel participation of people with disabilities. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing36(1), 119-130.

Düerkop, S. & Huth, M., 2017. Transportation under Threat–A PESTLE Analysis for Critical Logistical Infrastructures. ICTA2017, p.14.

Foss, L., Woll, K., & Moilanen, M. 2013. Creativity and implementations of new ideas: Do organisational structure, work environment and gender matter?. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship5(3), 298-322.

Hannouf, M.& Assefa, G., 2017. Life cycle sustainability assessment for sustainability improvements: A case study of high-density polyethylene production in Alberta, Canada. Sustainability9(12), p.2332

Mir, F.A. & Mir, M.A., 2019. Macro-Environment Analysis of the Tourism Industry of Kashmir. E-Commerce for Future & Trends6(1), pp.65-76

Morales, P. A., True, S., & Tudor, R. K. 2020. Insights, challenges and recommendations for research on sustainability in marketing. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science30(4), 394-406.

Nell, P. C., Ambos, B., & Schlegelmilch, B. B. 2011. The benefits of hierarchy?–Exploring the effects of regional headquarters in multinational corporations. In Dynamics of Globalization: Location-Specific Advantages or Liabilities of Foreignness?. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Rita, P., Brochado, A., & Dimova, L. 2019. Millennials’ travel motivations and desired activities within destinations: A comparative study of the US and the UK. Current Issues in Tourism22(16), 2034-2050.

San Cristóbal, J. R., Fernández, V., & Diaz, E. 2018. An analysis of the main project organizational structures: Advantages, disadvantages, and factors affecting their selection. Procedia computer science138, 791-798.

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In this course students learn development phases of an organization by applying design principles. Students should be able to create functional organizational structure that supports overall organizational goals and objectives. Additional identification and implementation of necessary organizational changes to improve effectiveness are discussed.

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