Part 5: Organizational Structure Design

Background Information about the Organization.-

One of the companies I provide professional services for is a luxury second hand automobile dealership, located in Maryland, in the United States. The company has been in business for over ten years now and, according to their own web site, they are proud to hold an inventory of vehicles hand-selected by their professional car buyers, who ensure every automobile they sell meets their exceptionally high standards.

Furthermore, based both on information disclosed on their very web site and on my own experience working for them, it is clear this dealership does not only seek unique and special luxury vehicles, but also focuses on providing ultra clean-title vehicles, with clear history reports disclosed for their customers’ sake.

They carry on their business both the old fashion way, caring to their customers face to face at the dealership location and online, in which case the sold vehicles are shipped to all states across the country. Moreover, they are also keen to assisting Spanish-speaking customers and doing business with them in their own language.

Thus, the organization’s broad mission is to assist people from Maryland, Virginia, and other states obtain the vehicle of their dreams with competitive financing and nationwide shipping. My role within the organization is being part of the Business Development Center (BDC) team, in freelance long-distance mode, working as a Bilingual BDC Representative and assisting in the recruiting, hiring, training, and supervising of the sub-group of Spanish-speaking BDC reps, as the market for said target segment of our customer base is notoriously increasing.

External Environment Analysis.-

When it comes to analyzing the organization’s external environment, there are key factors to consider, such as political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal, as understanding them will better enable management to be prepared to overcome any potential risks or take advantage of any eventual opportunities associated with them.

Politically, as the place of business is close to the nation’s capital (Washington D.C.), manifestations and demonstrations and instability triggered mainly during elections season are somewhat a concern sometimes, affecting sales, but currently this is not an issue, although elections will take place by late 2024, so there is enough time to prepare for that.

Economic wise, lately customers have been seeming to have more access to credit approvals and increased cash flow streams, which have been boosting the organization’s sales, and management expects this trend to continue in the short to medium term. 

Social wise, their market being so diversified, the organization is always tending to a broad base of social backgrounds, and incorporates different social background within its team, making their customers feel comfortable and identified with.

Technologically, the organization is always one step ahead, always updating their IT infrastructure and obtaining the latest developed CRM platforms, hence being able to expand their customer base throughout the entire country.

Environmentally, the organization is always on the look out to be friendly with the physical location in which it operates (the state of Maryland) and strives to keep it pollution free.

Legal wise, the organization makes sure to keep current and up to date on legislation that dictates the way in which it is supposed to operate and handle business. They accomplish this by engaging duly accredited legal external advice.

Internal Environment Analysis.-

As far as the organization’s internal environment goes, the key factors to consider which could have the biggest impact on its structure comprise the sales force for sure, the quality of the acquired vehicles for their inventory, the empowering of the BDC team as a key factor that enhances the organization’s commercial efforts, and HR team to oversee this whole interaction.

 It is important to consider this is an automobile dealership we are analyzing, and as such its main drive is sales, hence their sales force is one of the most key elements into play, duly supported by the BDC team, as their goal is to increase traffic of potential customers into the lot (or online). And, for all this to work, the Purchasing team must also ensure the quality of the vehicles being brought into the inventory is top of the line. Some of the BDC personnel aim at becoming part of the Sales team, said aspiration being therefore part of the internal dynamics of the growth cycle.

Argument for the Ideal Organization Structure.-

The ideal structure for the organization would be with the Owner / President on top of the chart, having the Sales Manager, the Procurement Manager, the BDC Manager, the Service Manager and the HR Manager reporting directly to him / her, having those four levels interact in parallel across teams. This is the best structure because while it is simple and straight forward, it also serves the purpose of multitask teams focusing on their specific internal goals, while at the same time aiming at the bigger picture of ultimately serving customers by selling them the best possible luxury vehicles and boosting sales and customers’ loyalty through the delivery of great post sales service as well.

Organization Chart.-