Jordan Blacker – Business – Unit 1
Learning Aim 3: Task 3
Describe how two businesses are organised and explain how their style of organisation helps them
to fulfil their purposes
I will be looking at how Meopham School and The Cricketers have been organised and I will also look at how
their choice of organisation helps them fulfil their purpose as a business. To do so I will first outline the
purposes, and then discuss the structure this business has. I will go on to discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of having this structure and include a diagram of their organisation. Lastly, I will discuss the
aims and objectives of the business and how the organisation of the business helps to keep these aims and
objectives achievable.
Meopham School
Meopham School is a co-educational secondary school. They have between 650 and 700 students. Meopham
School’s purpose is to deliver “academic and personal success through a traditional curriculum and a focus on
the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science”. They wish to help students be successful as academics
and to challenge them to exceed in the core subjects. Meopham School believes that “success in these subjects
is key to unlocking the broadest range of future opportunities for students.” They produce well-educated young
individuals who can (hopefully) go on into further education with good grades in each of their subjects.
Meopham School’s aim is to produce well-educated individuals who have achieved good grades in both
traditional and creative subjects. They provide education to people aged 11 – 19. They have years 7 to 11 as
well as a 6th form with years 12 and 13, with exception of a few students who re-take and are year 14. They aim
to provide the best education service that they can to young people. Their current objective is to get the school
re-built. This will provide better facilities for students to learn in, therefore achieving the aim of producing well-
educated individuals. They also aim to improve their pass rates for each of the core subjects: English, Maths
and Science. The current pass rates overall show that 59% of the Year 11s of 2014 achieved 5 or more C grades
at GCSE including English and Maths. This shows us that they are making noticeable improvements in their pass
rates – this also shows that they are providing students with better educational resources as more students are
passing their subjects now than they were a few years ago. Each of the departments within the school has to
set themselves specific objectives to meet the overall criteria for achieving the aims of the business as a whole.
Each head of department has to write up what their department as whole is going to do in order to help
Meopham School achieve their goals. For example, the Business Studies department will have to provide a
report of all the things they are going to do within the department and what they are going to teach in order to
help the students achieve the best grades. This goes for all departments. There is also a house structure within
the school. The house structure consists of four houses: Holmes, Brunel, Newton and Redgrave. This house
system helps the school with its aims because students are divided into smaller, more focused groups and they
complete tasks within their form groups that contribute to their learning in other lessons.
Meopham School has set itself up with a tall hierarchical structure. This means that each person is subordinate
to another. This includes having any ‘head of department’ staff, deputy head staff roles and general teaching
staff. All staff members, aside from the trust principal, are subordinate to another member of the
business/company. The business has vertical levels which lead to the top authority figure which in this case is
the trust principal. All employees/staff members have clear roles and are aware of whom they are responsible
for. No one is confused about the boundaries between departments and jobs, and everyone understands the
chain of command and their own individual span of control. The chain of command refers to the order in which
decisions are passed up or down the chain. The span of control is the amount of people that another person is
responsible for. Staff members who are managing larger groups or have a larger role get paid more than those
who don’t have large amounts of responsibility. Having this structure also allows there to be a division of work.
This means that large amounts of work can be split up into smaller tasks within a department. For example
during an open evening, one staff member from the art department may be responsible for finding the best art
work to display, another may be responsible for the presentation of the work. This means that rather than the
pressure all being on one member of staff, it can be split up between departments to make tasks easier and
more quickly achieved.
1
, Jordan Blacker – Business – Unit 1
There are many advantages to this type of structure including that it allows the business to have obvious
authority. Because the structure makes it clear to see who is in charge of whom, employees (or in this case staff
members) know who to report to should there be any problems, issues or questions that they need help or
support with. It helps to make their span of control clear. There is also the advantage of being able to specialise
in specific subjects. Having a hierarchal structure means that the business can ensure that the teachers
specialise in the subject(s) they teach. It also ensures that as a company, the customers who in this case are
students are being given the best service possible by being taught by subject specialists. A third advantage to a
hierarchal structure would be the department loyalty. Each department works to help students in their subject.
The members of staff within that department form bonds with those who are also trying to achieve the same
outcome. There is also the advantage of having a clear promotional pathway. Despite promotion not
happening too often within schools, with this structure, the staff members can be motivated to work to fill the
space of their boss should they leave. There is motivation to fill in for managerial roles, whether this is for
assistant head, deputy head or head of department. The employees/staff members can motivate themselves by
working towards these roles, but also by being aware that they are benefiting students by filling the role they
are in.
There are also several disadvantages to a hierarchal structure. One disadvantage would be the isolation of
departments. Within departments the members of staff can work well together, but on the whole having a
hierarchal structure can isolate one department from another. It reduces interdepartmental communications.
Departments may disagree with the concerns of other departments and may want to put their own subjects’
needs before another. There may also be miscommunications within the company because the employees are
not sure who they need to report to regarding specific problems. In an effective hierarchal structure
communications should be clear, but information can easily be lost when travelling the chain of command.
Decision making is also limited because the other members of staff may not get a chance to put across their
opinion before a final decision is made by a higher up member of staff. Another disadvantage is that the power
that one job role can give an individual may create distance between the company leader such as head
teachers, deputy head teachers and head of departments, and those who are general teaching staff. They may
feel like they are not having their feedback taken seriously or that they are not being supported enough. This
distance can cause tension within departments as a whole and will negatively impact upon customers who in
this case are the students.
There is a clear structure within Meopham School. The highest authority within the school is the Trust Principal.
The Trust Principal has a large span of control as he is in charge of all of the schools within the Swale
Academies Trust. After that, there is the Head of School who is currently Mrs Dickinson. She is subordinate to
the Trust Principal but also has a highly authoritative role within the school. Then there is a chain of Deputy
Head teachers and Assistant Head teachers who are in charge of the Head of Department staff and the
Directors of specific subjects. The Directors and Head of Departments are then responsible for the staff
teaching within the subjects they are responsible for. These staff members are then responsible for the
students. Within this there are also learning leaders and the Head of House for each of the four houses. The
structure is made very clear within the school and in this case, the structure works effectively. For example, the
current Head of Department for Art is Miss Nicolas. This means she is subordinate to the Deputy Heads and
Directors, but she is also the ‘manager’ of other staff within the Art department. She has a large span of control
within the department.
2
Learning Aim 3: Task 3
Describe how two businesses are organised and explain how their style of organisation helps them
to fulfil their purposes
I will be looking at how Meopham School and The Cricketers have been organised and I will also look at how
their choice of organisation helps them fulfil their purpose as a business. To do so I will first outline the
purposes, and then discuss the structure this business has. I will go on to discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of having this structure and include a diagram of their organisation. Lastly, I will discuss the
aims and objectives of the business and how the organisation of the business helps to keep these aims and
objectives achievable.
Meopham School
Meopham School is a co-educational secondary school. They have between 650 and 700 students. Meopham
School’s purpose is to deliver “academic and personal success through a traditional curriculum and a focus on
the core subjects of English, Mathematics and Science”. They wish to help students be successful as academics
and to challenge them to exceed in the core subjects. Meopham School believes that “success in these subjects
is key to unlocking the broadest range of future opportunities for students.” They produce well-educated young
individuals who can (hopefully) go on into further education with good grades in each of their subjects.
Meopham School’s aim is to produce well-educated individuals who have achieved good grades in both
traditional and creative subjects. They provide education to people aged 11 – 19. They have years 7 to 11 as
well as a 6th form with years 12 and 13, with exception of a few students who re-take and are year 14. They aim
to provide the best education service that they can to young people. Their current objective is to get the school
re-built. This will provide better facilities for students to learn in, therefore achieving the aim of producing well-
educated individuals. They also aim to improve their pass rates for each of the core subjects: English, Maths
and Science. The current pass rates overall show that 59% of the Year 11s of 2014 achieved 5 or more C grades
at GCSE including English and Maths. This shows us that they are making noticeable improvements in their pass
rates – this also shows that they are providing students with better educational resources as more students are
passing their subjects now than they were a few years ago. Each of the departments within the school has to
set themselves specific objectives to meet the overall criteria for achieving the aims of the business as a whole.
Each head of department has to write up what their department as whole is going to do in order to help
Meopham School achieve their goals. For example, the Business Studies department will have to provide a
report of all the things they are going to do within the department and what they are going to teach in order to
help the students achieve the best grades. This goes for all departments. There is also a house structure within
the school. The house structure consists of four houses: Holmes, Brunel, Newton and Redgrave. This house
system helps the school with its aims because students are divided into smaller, more focused groups and they
complete tasks within their form groups that contribute to their learning in other lessons.
Meopham School has set itself up with a tall hierarchical structure. This means that each person is subordinate
to another. This includes having any ‘head of department’ staff, deputy head staff roles and general teaching
staff. All staff members, aside from the trust principal, are subordinate to another member of the
business/company. The business has vertical levels which lead to the top authority figure which in this case is
the trust principal. All employees/staff members have clear roles and are aware of whom they are responsible
for. No one is confused about the boundaries between departments and jobs, and everyone understands the
chain of command and their own individual span of control. The chain of command refers to the order in which
decisions are passed up or down the chain. The span of control is the amount of people that another person is
responsible for. Staff members who are managing larger groups or have a larger role get paid more than those
who don’t have large amounts of responsibility. Having this structure also allows there to be a division of work.
This means that large amounts of work can be split up into smaller tasks within a department. For example
during an open evening, one staff member from the art department may be responsible for finding the best art
work to display, another may be responsible for the presentation of the work. This means that rather than the
pressure all being on one member of staff, it can be split up between departments to make tasks easier and
more quickly achieved.
1
, Jordan Blacker – Business – Unit 1
There are many advantages to this type of structure including that it allows the business to have obvious
authority. Because the structure makes it clear to see who is in charge of whom, employees (or in this case staff
members) know who to report to should there be any problems, issues or questions that they need help or
support with. It helps to make their span of control clear. There is also the advantage of being able to specialise
in specific subjects. Having a hierarchal structure means that the business can ensure that the teachers
specialise in the subject(s) they teach. It also ensures that as a company, the customers who in this case are
students are being given the best service possible by being taught by subject specialists. A third advantage to a
hierarchal structure would be the department loyalty. Each department works to help students in their subject.
The members of staff within that department form bonds with those who are also trying to achieve the same
outcome. There is also the advantage of having a clear promotional pathway. Despite promotion not
happening too often within schools, with this structure, the staff members can be motivated to work to fill the
space of their boss should they leave. There is motivation to fill in for managerial roles, whether this is for
assistant head, deputy head or head of department. The employees/staff members can motivate themselves by
working towards these roles, but also by being aware that they are benefiting students by filling the role they
are in.
There are also several disadvantages to a hierarchal structure. One disadvantage would be the isolation of
departments. Within departments the members of staff can work well together, but on the whole having a
hierarchal structure can isolate one department from another. It reduces interdepartmental communications.
Departments may disagree with the concerns of other departments and may want to put their own subjects’
needs before another. There may also be miscommunications within the company because the employees are
not sure who they need to report to regarding specific problems. In an effective hierarchal structure
communications should be clear, but information can easily be lost when travelling the chain of command.
Decision making is also limited because the other members of staff may not get a chance to put across their
opinion before a final decision is made by a higher up member of staff. Another disadvantage is that the power
that one job role can give an individual may create distance between the company leader such as head
teachers, deputy head teachers and head of departments, and those who are general teaching staff. They may
feel like they are not having their feedback taken seriously or that they are not being supported enough. This
distance can cause tension within departments as a whole and will negatively impact upon customers who in
this case are the students.
There is a clear structure within Meopham School. The highest authority within the school is the Trust Principal.
The Trust Principal has a large span of control as he is in charge of all of the schools within the Swale
Academies Trust. After that, there is the Head of School who is currently Mrs Dickinson. She is subordinate to
the Trust Principal but also has a highly authoritative role within the school. Then there is a chain of Deputy
Head teachers and Assistant Head teachers who are in charge of the Head of Department staff and the
Directors of specific subjects. The Directors and Head of Departments are then responsible for the staff
teaching within the subjects they are responsible for. These staff members are then responsible for the
students. Within this there are also learning leaders and the Head of House for each of the four houses. The
structure is made very clear within the school and in this case, the structure works effectively. For example, the
current Head of Department for Art is Miss Nicolas. This means she is subordinate to the Deputy Heads and
Directors, but she is also the ‘manager’ of other staff within the Art department. She has a large span of control
within the department.
2
