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Aims, Objectives and ownership In this assignment I am going to investigate the internal structure and functional areas of The Trafford Centre and explain how its internal structure and functional areas have changed over time. All businesses have organisational structures, even if they are small or big, they have some type of structure so they can operate productively. Types of organisational structures; o Hierarchical structure o Flat structure The Trafford Centre has an organisational structure.
The type of organisational structure the Trafford centre has is a hierarchical structure, large organisations have organised hierarchies and The Trafford Centre has a number of layers of management. Staff no their position in the hierarchy and their position and job title some staff may have power because of their job title for example a Director has more power or a manager. In a hierarchical organisation employees are ranked at various levels within the organisation, each level is one above the other. At each stage in the chain, one person has a number of workers directly under them, within their span of control.
A tall hierarchical organisation has many levels and a flat hierarchical organisation will only have a few. The chain of command (the way authority is organized) is a typical pyramid shape. The above is a traditional hierarchical structure; senior managers make up the board of directors which are responsible for the businesses direction and the middle managers have responsibility of specific functions such as finance or customer service. Advantages of hierarchical organisations o Authority and responsibility and clearly defined o Clearly defined promotion path. Employees very loyal to their department within the organisation. o There are specialists managers and the hierarchical environment encourages the effective use of specialist managers. Disadvantages of hierarchical organisations o The organisation can be bureaucratic and respond slowly to changing customer needs and the market within which the organisation operates. o Communication across various sections can be poor especially horizontal communication. o Departments can make decisions which benefit them rather than the business as a whole especially if there is Inter-departmental rivalry.
The reason why the Trafford Centre is a hierarchical structure is because of the levels they have in their structure they have directors, below them there are a number of functional area managers below them there is assistant managers all the way till assistant staff. Chain of command Chain of command is the line on which orders and decisions are passed down from top to bottom of the hierarchy. In a hierarchy the chain of command means that a production manager may be higher up the hierarchy, but will not be able to tell a marketing person what to do.
The chain of command at The Trafford Centre starts from the Director, to the managers of all the functional areas who pass the message onto assistants then floor workers. Managers have authority over their subordinates; also managers are responsible for seeing that all necessary work is carried out. The advantages of hierarchies are: o Helps create a clear communication line between the top and bottom of the business – this improves co-ordination and motivation since employees know what is expected of them and when. Hierarchies create departments and departments form teams. There are motivational advantages of working in teams. The disadvantages of hierarchies are: o The formation of departments can mean that: o Departments work for themselves and not the greater good of the business. o Departments do not see the whole picture in making decisions. o Hierarchies can be inflexible and difficult to adjust, especially when businesses need to adapt to changing markets – remember employees do not tend to react well to change. Span of Control
A span of control is the number of people who report to one manager in a hierarchy. The more people under the control of one manager – the wider the span of control. Less means a narrower span of control. The span of control of The Trafford Centre is that the managers of the different functional areas have authority over subordinates in an organisation like The Trafford Centre manager’s span of control will be larger because of the size of the business. An example of a narrow span of control is shown in the diagram below:
The advantages of a narrow span of control are: o A narrow span of control allows a manager to communicate quickly with the employees under them and control them more easily o Feedback of ideas from the workers will be more effective o It requires a higher level of management skill to control a greater number of employees, so there is less management skill required An example of a wide span of control is shown in the diagram below: The advantages of wide span of control are: There are less layers of management to pass a message through, so the message reaches more employees faster o It costs less money to run a wider span of control because a business does not need to employ as many managers The width of the span of control depends on: The type of product being made – products which are easy to make or deliver will need less supervision and so can have a wider span of control Skills of managers and workers – a more skilful workforce can operate with a wider span of control because they will need less supervision.
A more skilful manager can control a greater number of staff A tall organisation has a larger number of managers with a narrow span of control whilst a flat organisation has few managers with a wide span of control. A tall organisation like The Trafford Centre can suffer from having too many managers (a huge expense) and decisions can take a long time to reach the bottom of the hierarchy, however The Trafford Centre can provide good opportunities for promotion and the manager does not have to spend so much time managing the staff.
Authority and Responsibility Authority means having power the managing director has the most power in The Trafford Centre’s organisational chart. The managers of the Trafford centre direct the business in the right direction the manager of the Hr department sets out guides for hiring, firing and other issues of the department. This shows that the Managers have to authority and the responsibility of major issues of the Trafford Centre. Line Authority A line management system will operate in department with a chain of command.
An example for the Trafford Centre would be that The Finance manager has authority over the assistant Finance Manager. They can overrule their decision because of the authority they have. Staff Authority Managers have authority over their line works they can be conflict for example in a large organisation the marketing department needs an assistant and they produce a job description and advertise that would be the line manager produced the job description but the Manager has more authority to make a decision it can make the staff authority and line authority have an argument.
However the higher the staff person is in the business and the structure the more authority they will have but causing an issue or argument between other will deflect the team and create issues in The Trafford centre business. Functional Area’s The functional areas of The Trafford Centre are the centre of the business and makes The Trafford Centre successful. The functional areas of the Trafford centre are Human Resource department, Sales and Marketing, Customer Service, Finance, I. T, Security, Health and Safety, Environmental, Building services.
The Human Resource Department of The Trafford Centre deal with; Recruitment o Job description o Person specification o Job adverts o Applications and CVs o Interviews The Trafford Centre has become a key employer in the northwest creating 7,000 jobs, including 380 who are directly employed by The Trafford Centre Ltd, in the following areas: o Retail o Catering & Hospitality o Security o Cleaning Services o Landscaping o I. T o Management Administration o Stores & Administration o Customer Services o Landscaping o Marketing & PR o Events o Finance o Building Services o Community Human Resources Through investing in its employees, The Trafford Centre aims to ensure that the highest levels of service are provided in order to meet the expectations of our customers. Just six months after opening its doors to the public, the Centre gained the prestigious Investor in People (IIP) accreditation. As part of our recruitment process, candidates are assessed in a group situation against the Following criteria: o Appearance o Customer service o Involvement o Communication skills o Interpersonal skills The Trafford Centres Human Resource department also deals with;
Retention o Pay and conditions Disciplinary Action o Verbal warnings o Written warning o Dismissal The Trafford Centre is an equal opportunities employer. This means that applicants Are not discriminated in any way on the grounds of their race, ethnic origin, gender, disability, sexuality or age. Administration The administration department provides services such as; o Clerical, filing and keeping records o Photocopying o Secretarial services o Reception/telephone o Incoming and outgoing mail Training, Development and Promotion o Internal/ External training o Internal promotion
The Trafford Centre provide training programmes range from induction courses to modern apprenticeships and management development programmes, all of which are geared towards the operational requirements of the Centre. The Trafford centre commitment is to provide training that ensures the highest levels of customer service are met with the ultimate aim of yielding return visits from customers. Our core training programme is completed by every member of staff and includes: o Blind, Deaf and Disability Awareness o Appointed Person First Aid o Trading Standards o Health and Safety o Manual Handling Equal Opportunities o Fire and Evacuation Training needs are established through performance reviews and through ongoing Communication between departments. A comprehensive training plan is designed each year to meet the needs of the Company through the delivery of courses to staff members, whether this is in-house or through external providers. The Human Resource department has to deal with all training and have to organise different training for all staff some may require more training then other this shows the commitment of the Trafford centre and how the vital importance of the functional areas.
Employees are encouraged to progress their career at The Trafford Centre by applying for new appointments internally. Many people who began their careers at staff level have since been promoted to Team Leader status and beyond, while others have taken on new challenges by pursuing their careers in other departments. This shows the development the Human Resource department has made with its recruitment and training process The Trafford Centre has used it functional department in a appropriate way which will get the department to get the bets employees working for the Trafford Centre.
Customer Service The customer service department of the Trafford Centre deals with; o Information of product/service ranges o Delivery information o Product safety o Product/service advice and information o Information on credit facilities o After sales service – guarantees, help lines Businesses to maintain good reputation have to meet customer satisfactions by setting customer service standards. The Trafford Centre has said that maintaining a high standard of customer service is a top priority for the business.
The Trafford Centre has employed 40 staff just for the customer service department also they are ensuring customers get the very best out of each visit and leave with a positive impression about the Trafford Centre. The Trafford Centre has carefully planed and paid attention to detail has resulted in an enviable range of customer services, which they believe are among the very best provided within the shopping centre industry. These include: A creche for two to eight year olds sponsored by Walls o The Barney Bear club – loyalty scheme for children, members of the club are able to benefit from a number of special offers and gifts o Children’s pushchairs and fun buggies available from our Customer Services Desks o Security ID tags for parents and children o Unisex parent and child toilets o Baby changing facilities and breast-feeding rooms o Babies bottle-warming facilities in a special unit in The Orient o Meet and Greet Services – five friendly meeters and greeters are employed
This shows the role of the customer service area in The Trafford Centre they have one oif the most challenging and important roles to play because they keep the customers happy and customer keeps the Trafford Centre running. Security Throughout the planning, development and operation of The Trafford Centre the safety and Security of its customers and employees has been a priority. With over 29 million visits annually, as well as 7000 employees, a highly effective security provisions required.
Security within The Trafford Centre is a fully integrated system supported by state-of the-art technology and is viewed by the shopping centre industry as a ‘best practice’ approach. Security consultants worked alongside architects and other design teams to ensure safety and crime issues were a key part of the design equation. The security consultants identified six areas which the design team had to address: o Shoplifting o Theft from motor vehicles o Theft of motor vehicles o Burglary and burglary with intent o Robbery and theft from
The Security functional area has a role of keeping customer and everybody safe within the Trafford Centre the security area changes from time to time with new technology more cameras. Awards improve the security area in the Trafford centre they security area won the; Secured by Design Award From the outset of the project it was the management team’s aim to achieve the Secured by Design accolade. This vision became a reality when The Trafford Centre gained the award from the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Home Office in May 1999, and it was the first building of its size and type to receive the prestigious accreditation.
The Centre was required to comply with an extensive list of criteria for the award. These included fencing the entire boundary and providing adequate lighting to illuminate the site after dark. The award also requires that gates into service yards are carefully controlled via intercom and public toilets are designed to avoid opportunities for drug dealing. Finally there had to be direct communication between all retailers and the control room in order to report any incidents immediately. The security provision at the Centre is monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure the Secured by Design standards are adhered to.
Sales and Marketing The sales and marketing department deal with ; Marketing 4 P’s o Product o Price o Promotion o Place Two types of market research: o Primary research (Field) o Secondary Research (Desk) For the customers to buy a good or service it must be: o The right product o In the right place o At the right time The role of the Marketing and PR department is to create and build awareness of the Centre and to encourage usage and spend by effectively communicating the Centre’s facilities, convenience and services to its core catchment population.
In order to put forward effective communication and marketing strategies, the marketing Department evaluates the Centre’s performance and appeal to establish the greatest potential to make marketing spend effective. The Marketing & PR Department at The Trafford Centre consists of three people with additional Services outsourced to specialist suppliers. The team comprises of: o Marketing & PR Manager – responsible for the implementation and management of the Marketing and PR strategy o Consumer Press Officer – responsible for the development and implementation of the PR plan Marketing & PR Co-ordinator – responsible for the planning and execution of a number of specialised areas within the department and to assist the Marketing & PR Manager. An important function of the marketing department is to design and produce a number of Trafford Centre leaflets for customer information purposes – these are available in the mall, and also to mail to existing and potential customers within the catchment area. Finance The finance department deals with; Financial Accounting o Recording all transactions o Keeping all financial records o Preparing financial reports
Costs and Budgets o Work out all costs of products/services o Analysing past costs o Setting targets and department budgets o Comparing budgets to actual figures Managing Finance o What resources are needed o Raising additional capital for new resources Payroll o Recording employee hours worked o Calculating pay and deductions Six employees work in the Finance team at The Trafford Centre. The Finance Manager is responsible for five members of staff and reports to the Director of Operations at The Trafford Centre and to the Finance Director of Peel Holdings.
Each member of the team has a major discipline, but is also multi-skilled in order to cover holidays and sickness. The areas of responsibility covered are: Payroll – Responsible for the correct and timely payment of salaries, PAYE and other employee deductions. Purchase Ledger – Processing and subsequent payment of suppliers’ invoices. Sales Ledger – Issuing all invoices to tenants and other third parties and credit control. Internal Reporting – The provision of information to Trafford Centre Management, which includes: o Service charge costs v budget o Cash forecasts Profit forecasts o Control of unrecoverable expenses o Management accounts o Statutory accounting External reporting o Complying with VAT legislation o Complying with the requirements of ? 610m loan notes issue o Complying with current tax legislation The finance area has to deal with all money ingoing and out going also they need to pay wages of staff and make sure they are paid correctly and not under paid because they can sue the Trafford Centre if they are underpaid. I. T The I. T functional area deals with I. T Support o In house support to all departments o Websites
The Trafford Centre IT division is made up of a large combination of hardware and software utilities that allow The Trafford Centre to function at the leading edge of today’s technology. The Finance Department uses many products including specific payroll software, which sit Comfortably alongside our ‘Time and Attendance’ packages that monitor when staff start and finish their day at the Centre. This system is integrated with a sophisticated Electro Magnetic Proximity System, allowing all Trafford Centre personnel to move freely around The Trafford Centre whether they are direct TTCL employees, contractors, retailers or visitors.
Additional software modules support The Trafford Centre and help keep track of the many operational statistics. The I. T department has to deal with all functional areas to maintain support with technology and computer and make sure they are running correctly. Health and Safety The Trafford Centre takes its responsibilities towards health and safety very seriously. It has a duty under The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 to look after, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all Centre employees and visitors. It is also responsible for ensuring that all retailers fulfil their duties under this Act.
The Health and Safety department consists of a Health and Safety Officer and a Fire Officer. The role of the Health and Safety Officer is to formulate and circulate the health and safety policy and to work closely with all departments, especially Environmental Services, Security, Building Services and Catering, to complete risk assessments and health and safety procedures. Health and Safety within The Trafford Centre is very much a two way process. Information is cascaded at all levels of the business to ensure that individual’s issues are addressed.
Consultation is maintained via regular Health and Safety Committee meetings where the site’s representatives of employee safety play a vital role. The safety of our visitors is of paramount importance and is maintained by vigilance and careful monitoring of public areas. The health and safety department has to make contact with security if there are problem with customer if they are injured and so on health and safety is a major issue at the Trafford Centre when it was first opened a toddler named Samuel Adams, 6, from Altrincham, died when an 18-stone (114kg) railing fell on him at the centre in October 1998.
This could have shutdown the Trafford Centre they had to rethink their health and safety standards and all customer service and staff had to be trained this was a major shock but a shock which made the Trafford Centre realise the health and safety they had to provide to the customer. Environmental The Environmental Services department is the largest in The Trafford Centre. It cost ? 1. 5 million to set up and employs nearly 80% of the Centre’s 380 staff, including an eight-strong landscape gardening team.
The department is responsible for waste management, maintaining standards of cleanliness inside and outside the Centre and for the upkeep and development of the surrounding landscape as well as pest control. It is this unique landscape that sets The Trafford Centre apart from other UK shopping centres. Woodland plants line the routes into the 150-acre site, within which the preserved Wilderspool Wood, an area of natural woodland, is a haven for wildlife.
Since the Centre has opened Wilderspool Wood has become a breeding ground for many species including wrens, blue tits mallards and koi karp. Bird and bat box have also been introduced to attract other species and a programme of recycling dead wood has provided suitable habitats for insects and this will, in turn, attract more wildlife. The Trafford Centre has to maintain cleanness and make sure the environment is clean n so that customer enjoy when they come to the Trafford Centre they have to enjoy their experience and feel that it is pleasant and looks good.
Building services The Building Services department is responsible for all maintenance and development of the building throughout the Centre. The department employs 37 staff, of which 18 are contractors, runs a 24-hour operation and manages a Help Desk throughout the day. More specifically it organises and oversees: o Planned and reactive maintenance of building and fabric services o Specialist contractors for maintenance of systems o Projects to develop and improve the Centre o Tenant shopfit approval and liaison o Energy management and purchasing.
The Building Services department is a key service in ensuring the safe and secure running of the building. Building Services’ Fast Facts o The Help Desk has received and processed over 30,116 calls from 1 September 1998. (As of September 2004). o The Help Desk team can deal with anything from problems with the air conditioning to the Centre’s telephone systems. o The Permit Office has issued over 23,343 ‘permits to work’ to contractors since 1 January 1999. o The granite floor contract was the largest placed in the UK, covering some 21,356m. q o The Lighting Management System controls over 38,000 individual lights. Light bulbs re changed in a major single operation at various times throughout the year. o There are 536 distribution boards and in excess of 10,600 electrical circuits at the centre. o The cost of energy to The Trafford Centre is over ? 1. 5m/annum. o There are over 200 location sites for plant and equipment on the Centre roof. o To support the planned maintenance programme we have 230 operation and maintenance manuals and 22,000 drawings.
The structure of the Trafford Centre has changed over the time because of the history first it was small then the more popular it became more staff were employed and the more staff that were employed the bigger and expansion of the organisational structure. Over time the organisational structure will changed because of the growth of the business, the Managing Director of The Trafford Centre Mike Butterworth said: “Shopping has become the most popular leisure experience within 21st century culture and the next five years will be crucial in terms of building on the Centre’s formative years to further evolve and respond to consumer demands.
So for the Trafford Centre to meet customer demands they will need to expand and the more they expand and the more staff will be required. The functional areas will also change over time because they will need to employee more people and the bigger The Trafford Centre goes the more work the functional areas will be required to do.