Mgt 521 Week 4 - Organizing Work

Organizing Work

MGT/521

Organizing Work

American Express is one of the biggest credit card distributers in the world. The business services customers 24 hours a day and 7 days a week and processes millions of transactions daily.  American Express services a majority of businesses and also provides commercial tools that help businesses monitor spending capabilities (American Express, 2014). American Express has a unique and robust organizational structure that complements and supports all functions of their business worldwide. American Express possesses the correct senior management roles that fit perfectly into a functional organizational structure. Currently there are 13 Board of Directors, a CEO, a CFO and 13 other executives that manage the business.  This paper will discuss how the current company’s organizational structure continuously contributes to business success, profitability and growth.

Currently the organizational structure that is practiced at American Express is similar to a standard matrix design.  The departments are all working closely together and communicating any changes and initiatives in business plan.  An example of this may be the department of American Express openly working with the U.S. Consumers manager to drive new business initiatives in the U.S.  Another specific example from the 2013 Annual Report stated “In our core businesses, we focused on acquiring new Card Members and merchants globally; expanding our network of card-issuing partners; and developing new services and capabilities to better support our customers and business partners (pg. 6, p3)”.This style allows for quick decision making by the managers for the needs of the customer and organization.  The Matrix structure also increases employee satisfaction and motivation by allowing them the ability to contribute their thoughts and ideas to their managers in each department. From the Global market perspective the Matrix organizational structure allows American Express to make changes proactively to ensure efficiency.

             After careful consideration for the current organizational structure of American Express, Learning Team B has decided that the current matrix structure is a good fit and should not be changed. American Express has been business for over 150 years which led us to decide that they are a company set up for success and changes to their structure could hinder their progress rather than facilitate future growth.

             American Express has shown they have what it takes to remain a stable structure of business in not only their industry, but as a leader in business as a whole. American Express has a solid investment of time, money, and in their future leaders of their company. By investing in their future and focusing on growth, American express is able to ensure their leaders and staff is effectively getting their job done across all business units. Additionally, by focusing on having the right people at in the right places, having a solid work life balance, and investing in their future leaders they will continue to be successful and efficient by keeping their structure intact.