Structure of Dodge Dealership

In terms of global revenue creation, the automobile industry is regarded as one of the top industries. One of the well-known automakers in the US is Dodge Company, which has a number of dealers spread around the organization (Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram, 2017). Brian Olson, the sales manager for Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram FIAT in Ontario, gave me the chance to interview him and discussed the organization's structure for management and leadership (Corkindale, 2011). The administrative, executive, and operational tasks are clearly separated in the block diagram of the system. From the interview, it was evident that the organization is arranged in terms of departments with each having specific roles in the maintenance and promotion of the company’s product. The structure of the dealership is illustrated below:

The organizational structure of Dodge Company is arranged in a descending level. The interviewee explained that the company has its structure from the top managers at the top of the structure to regular and part time employees at the lowest level (Clarke, 2007). The three levels that are visible in the company are: administrative level, executive level, and automobile levels. The administrative level is the highest rank, and the employees at this level engage in conducting administrative job duties. They are considered the senior professional with the years of knowledge and experience in the specific fields (Clarke, 2007). Some of the job profiles at this level include: automotive technology president, chief technical officer, automotive finance professional, automotive research head, and automotive development manager.

After inquiring about the role of the general manager, the interviewee listed various roles. First, it was apparent that the manager at the company is in charge of hiring all management positions and conducting frequent performance evaluations in order to develop goals for every department at the company (Clarke, 2007). At Dodge, the manager must also communicate with the office or comptroller manager to review various departmental forecasts, especially the sales departments, in order to ensure consistency in the annual sales and projections (Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram, 2017). She must also explain the existing dealership procedures and policies to all the departments in order to ensure that the organizational culture is maintained. The manager, together with the other departmental managers must always maintain the enthusiastic attitude and moral of the employees. This emphasis has made the production at the company to be high throughout the year.

The executive level of the company is considered the mid-level position of the hierarchy (Corkindale, 2011). These employees have experience under the senior administrative professionals and may include: tire technician, auto technician, automobile engineer, maintenance technician, parts manager, sales manager, and the supervisors. At Dodge, the parts manager has various roles; he ensures that there is efficient operation at his department. He educates the train employees about the departmental policies and procedures, and train staff on tool usage, sales techniques, and product knowledge (Klepper, 2002). He must also ensure that inventory in his department is maintained in regards to the daily invoices and orders, and ensures the back orders are filled and reviewed on a daily basis. A parts manager must also set profit and sales goals in his department, and ensure there is weekly reporting of current sales. In the third level, there are professionals who handle the entire operational duties of the automobile. Such employees at job include the fresher, parts distributor, sales assistant, technician, mechanic, and a painter.

One aspect of leadership at the dealership that has enabled progress is the decentralized decision making. Although there is hierarchical structure of leadership, the leaders interact collaboratively with the lower level employees. Most of the workers have the opportunity to interact with the top employees. Through a collaborative leadership style, the leaders provide the employees with the opportunity to make their recommendations and proposals at the company. During the interview, it was clear that employees are engaged in the decision making process. There is also encouraged teamwork at the company; every department is expected to hold meetings at least twice a week to ensure that employees in the same department work together to produce results.

A weakness that is evident at the company is the fact that the current decision making procedure at the company is hierarchical. In case an employee has an issue at the departmental level, he or she is unable to approach the top management without going through the supervisor. This might one ineffective in situations when the problem is very urgent (Klepper, 2002). The interviewee noted that some customers have always felt loss of trust in the company because of the bureaucratic decision making process; it always takes too long for their issues to be addressed because of the procedures needed to reach the top management for change. As such, the company should come up with a suggestion box in which urgent issues can easily be posted. The problems posed can then be addressed to by the top management without taking more time.

References

Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram. (2017). Meet the team at Jeep Chrysler Dodge Ram FIAT of Ontario. Retrieved from http://www.jcofontario.com/staff.htm

Corkindale, G. (2011). The importance of organizational design and Structure. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2011/02/the-importance-of-organization

Clarke, S. H. (2007). Trust and Power: consumers, the modern corporation, and the making of the United States automobile market. Cambridge University Press.

Klepper, S. (2002). The capabilities of new firms and the evolution of the US automobile industry. Industrial and corporate change, 11(4), 645-666.