Report On Operational Problems And Organization Structure Of Lion Company

Organizational Structure of Lion Company

Discuss about the Shared Leadership in Enterprise Resource Planning.

In this report, the organization structure as well as the operational problem of Lion organization. The operational problem mainly arises due to the complex organization structure. The operational issues of the organization are therefore identified in order to propose the most likely acquisition method for the company. Having a proper organization structure is essential for specifying the different roles and the responsibilities of the employees. Development and adoption of the accounting software packages and its use in the organization is discussed in the report as well. The development and adoption of the accounting software packages is illustrated in the report. Maintaining a proper organization structure is essential for smooth operation of the organization. Lion Company can face different operation problems due to an ineffective operational structure which is further discussed in the report (Lionco.com 2018). The report further discusses the suitable system acquisition method for the company that can help the company in overcoming the operational inefficiencies that has been identified for the organization. The second part of the literature review report gives an overview of the accounting software packages including the leaders in the market. Accounting software helps in recording and processing all the transactions of an organization. It is a type of computer software that is mainly used by the accounting professionals in managing the accounts and performing the different accounting operations. This helps in easier management of the accounting and financial operation of an organization.

Organizational structure defines the coordination and the supervision of the different activities of the organization according to the organizational aims. The organizational structure determines the roles and responsibilities of the higher officials in maintaining a smooth operation of the organization. The organization structure of Lion Company represents a hierarchical arrangement of the power, roles and responsibilities of the people associated with the organization. The organizational structure of every company differs according to the operation of the organization (Lunenburg 2012). A proper understanding of the organizational structure of the company helps in understanding the operational efficiencies as well.  

Organizational structure is important for any company for providing guidance and clarity in specific human resource issues including managerial authority. Furthermore, the organizational structure is important for proper decision making as the different employees of the organization have different responsibilities and a proper organization structure helps in clear understanding of the responsibilities of the team members (Claver-Cortés, Pertusa-Ortega and Molina-Azorín 2012). The current organizational structure of Lion Company is illustrated in the following picture-

Operational Problems of Lion Company

The above picture represents the current organizational structure of Lion Company Australia (Hao, Kasper and Muehlbacher 2012). There are severe problem associated with such a linear organizational structure giving rise to different operational issues that are discussed in the next section.

The ineffective and the linear organizational structure of Lion Company have resulted in some severe operational problems. In order to ensure organization efficiency and smooth running of the different processes of an organization, it is essential that the organization maintains proper supervision of those processes (Karim and Arif-Uz-Zaman 2013). The operation of the Lion Company includes providing finished materials to the consumers. Therefore, smooth operation in an organization is necessary for ensuring maximum profit in the organization. The different operational problems that the Lion Company can face due to its organizational structure are as follows-

1. Problem with Product management- Ineffective product management is a major operational problem that can be faced by Lion Company. The main cause of ineffective product management is the improper organization structure. There have been reports of very less productivity in Lion Company that was mainly due to ineffective product management. The target plan set by the Lion Company was not followed in a proper way that resulted in the operational ineffectively. However, proper supervision of this operation of the company is very essential. Proper management of a product is necessary for ensuring smooth operation in an organization. Due to the linear organizational structure of Lion Company there can be certain problems with product management. The supply and the production team should ensure that the thorough supervision is ensured in order to eliminate the problem of product management.
2. Improper Human Resource management: Lion Company can face certain problems associated with the management of human resource as well. The improper organizational structure failed to provide a thorough supervision on the human resources associated with the organization, leading to this problem (Hendry 2012).
3. Poor Communication: Communication is an effective tool in proper management of the different operation of the organization. This is an operational issue since poor communication leads to the conflict in the decision and the perspective of the different human resources of the organization. The organizational structure plays a major role in ensuring proper communication flow within an organization. Since there is a problem in the organizational structure, the Lion Company can face this problem.
4. Ineffective strategic management: The normal operation of the organization depends on the strategic management of all the operations of the organization. Due to an ineffective organizational structure, Lion Company could face different operational problems as well. Strategic management of the different operation of the organization is therefore another major operation issue that can be face by the Lion Company. Ineffective strategic management leads to the different financial and accounting problems as well.

The above discussed points comprise the different operational issues that the company might face because of its organizational structure. Therefore, it is necessary to provide an alternative solution to the company in managing these operational inefficiencies.

The Lion Company supplies different range of products to the customers and has many branches in Australia and New Zealand. Therefore, it is recommended for the company to use an enterprise resource planning for integrating all the operations of the organization (Leon 2014). There are certain benefits of implementing an enterprise resource planning system in an organization as it will not only integrate all the business operation of the organization but also automates the different business process including the accounting the financial transactions of the company (Hoch and Dulebohn 2013).

Enterprise resource system makes use of a software in handling that provides an integrated application for controlling all the different business processes running within the organization (Domeika 2015). The different processes that are handled by an ERP include, supply chain management, product planning, sales and documentation (Shaul and Tauber 2013). Therefore, this system provides and all in one solution to all the possible operational problems that Lion Company might face due to an inefficient and improper organizational structure.

The use of Enterprise Resource Planning system in Lion Company will help in proper management of the different resources of the organization thereby improving the decision making ability (Aslan, Stevenson and Hendry 2012). All the significant human resource of the organization will have a clear idea of the different operations of the organization and therefore it is the recommended system acquisition method for Lion Company.

Suitable System Acquisition Method for Lion Company

The picture below represents the sales procedure of Lion Company in a flow chart format. This is a basic flow chart that has been prepared keeping in mind the post important operations associated with the sales procedure of the company.

The above picture represents the process of sales flow in Lion Company Australia. The process of placing order and delivery of the order is shown in the flow chart.

The control problems in the operations, sales and systems of the company that are being identified are discussed in the following paragraphs. The improper organizational structure is one major cause of the different control problems in Lion Company.

1. One of the main control problems associated with the organization is that it does not possess proper internal control over the human resources of the organization. Lack of proper internal control is a major cause of other operational problems as well.
2. Lack of proper control activities and formalization is another major control problems associated with Lion Company.
3. Another major control problem associated with the organization is the customer relationship management. Maintaining the customers’ satisfaction is an essential need of any organization, which is somewhat lacking in Lion Company. This is therefore a major operational problem associated with Lion.
4. Improper designing of systems’ processes is another significant control problem associated with the Lion Company. If the employees of an organization do not have any proper idea about the system processes, it is evident that they make mistakes while managing them. Therefore, improper designing of the systems’ processes is a significant control problem associated with Lion Company.

The above mentioned points are the main control problems associated with Lion Company Australia that needs immediate attention.

Accounting software is essential for the companies in order to possess the different accounting and financial transactions that include the details of amount receivable, amount payable, balance and other transactional details (Mageto 2017). Therefore it is an essential business consideration since accounting software helps in tracking all the essential financial details of the organization. Many business organizations make use of different accounting software in order to manage the associated financial transactions of the company more effectively.

The accounting software can be simple or sophisticated according to the needs of the organization. Without accounting software, the financial transactions of the company will have to be recorded manually. Therefore, the use of the accounting software packages helps in eliminating the errors associated with the financial and accounting transactions of the company.

Therefore it can be safely concluded that the development and adoption of the accounting software packages provide a wide number of benefits to the organization. Example of effective accounting software is Xero as it provides an effective solution for managing and tracking the financial details of an organization. The use of accounting software like Xero helps in reducing the workload of the company.

Lion Company Australia can be benefitted by implementing an accounting software package as it will help in managing and keeping track of the sales in an effective manner. Therefore it is recommended for Lion to make use of Xero accounting software in order to enhance the transactional and accounting efficiency of the company. 

The current market size of the accounting software is quite huge since majority of the business organizations currently make use of the accounting software packages in order to manage their accounting processes.

Overview of Accounting Software Packages

Currently there are two accounting software that are being adopted by majority of business organization in Australia. These are XERO and MYOB. On analyzing the sales, adoption and development of both the accounting software, it is found out that the XERO has a competitive advantage in the market in comparison to MYOB. This is because of the operational efficiency and simplicity in XERO.  XERO not only helps in managing the accounting and financial details of the organization, it further helps in keeping a track of the customers demand, thereby increasing the customers’ satisfaction (Christensen 2013). Therefore it is quite evident that XERO performs all the necessary tasks of good accounting software and therefore it is used by the different business organization.

Analyzing the different accounting software, it is found out that XERO is a leader accounting software. The reasons behind gaining such an immense competitive advantage are as follows-

1. The accounting software package provided by XERO offers a benefit of fast functional output. That is, the software processes the requests very fast and provides a faster output thereby reducing the transaction time. This is one major reason that XERO is a leader in Australian market.
2. Use of cloud computing has considerably increased over the years. XERO provides an option of setting up the accounting software in cloud environment that in turns gives competitive advantage in the marketplace. The use of cloud provides an option of easy storage of the transactional details as well.
3. XERO is easy to use and manage due to the presence of a simple interface. Furthermore, the management of the XERO software is even easier as it is follows very simple process of data management and data storage.

The above discussed points are the main reasons that provide XERO a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

The current gaps and challenges associated with the customers of the accounting software package is discussed below-

1. There is certain security issues associated with the use of accounting software packages such as issues with data security as the data is stored in cloud (Mudge 2013).
2. The process of development/installation and update is very time consuming.

The recommendations to the customers of accounting software packages are as follows-

1. In order to eliminate the risk of security issue, proper data security measures are needed to be taken after its implementation.
2. It is recommended to train the employees of the organization for proper handling of the accounting software in order to eliminate any issue with the software installation and updates.

Conclusion

The report has taken into consideration, the Lion Company of Australia in order to evaluate the organizational structure and the operational efficiencies of the organization. The report gives an overview of the control problems and the sales flow chart of Lion Company. In the second half of the report, the different accounting software is discussed in order to evaluate the accounting software package that is leading in the Australian market. The issues and challenges of accounting software packages are discussed as well.

References

Aslan, B., Stevenson, M. and Hendry, L.C., 2012. Enterprise resource planning systems: An assessment of applicability to make-to-order companies. Computers in Industry, 63(7), pp.692-705.

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

Claver-Cortés, E., Pertusa-Ortega, E.M. and Molina-Azorín, J.F., 2012. Characteristics of organizational structure relating to hybrid competitive strategy: Implications for performance. Journal of Business Research, 65(7), pp.993-1002.

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

Hao, Q., Kasper, H. and Muehlbacher, J., 2012. How does organizational structure influence performance through learning and innovation in Austria and China. Chinese Management Studies, 6(1), pp.36-52.

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

Hoch, J.E. and Dulebohn, J.H., 2013. Shared leadership in enterprise resource planning and human resource management system implementation. Human Resource Management Review, 23(1), pp.114-125.

Karim, A. and Arif-Uz-Zaman, K., 2013. A methodology for effective implementation of lean strategies and its performance evaluation in manufacturing organizations. Business Process Management Journal, 19(1), pp.169-196.

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

Lionco.com. 2018. Welcome! | Lion. [online] Available at: https://lionco.com/ [Accessed 21 Apr. 2018].

Lunenburg, F.C., 2012. Organizational structure: Mintzberg’s framework. International journal of scholarly, academic, intellectual diversity, 14(1), pp.1-8.

Mageto, J., 2017. Accounting Softwares in Australia. An Overview. GRIN Publishing.

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

Shaul, L. and Tauber, D., 2013. Critical success factors in enterprise resource planning systems: Review of the last decade. ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR), 45(4), p.55.