NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI - 620015

Department of Management Studies

MB706 Organizational Structure and Design

Assignment Report on

Saras Spice
A Spice Manufacturing Company

By Group 14

Abhijeet Pandit - 215122001

Abhisheik Kumar L - 215122003

Rupsika Hansepi - 215122055

Sourabh Raikwar - 215122068

S Shrikhanth - 215122076

Under the Guidance of

Dr V. Lavanya

Assistant Professor
Who are we?
Spices have a long and ancient history, especially in India, where they are a part of
life and heritage. In every home & in every province across the country, different
spices and blends are used to create different and distinctive tastes in dishes.
Several decades ago, housewives used to grind their spices manually at home and
make their own blends for use in their cooking. To make this process easier for the
housewife, ’SARAS' visualised the concept of ready-to-use ground spices.

Starting with manually ground spices, Saras soon switched over to automatic
machines to meet the fast growing demand for Saras Spices. So much so today
spices are manufactured and packed by modern machines and sold throughout India
and abroad through a network of over Stockists and over retail dealers.

Saras has set up state of the art plants for meeting the ever growing demand. The
company procures raw material directly from the centres of produce to maintain
uniform taste and quality. The raw material is first cleaned, dried and tested with the
help of special machines. It is then carefully grounded into the finished product
passing through various stages. Fully automatic machines have been installed for
this process.

Organisational Structure
One of the aspects influencing the Saras Spice’s successful innovation is its
organisational structure. The organisational structure of a company might generate
chances for commercial success. However, it can also constrain how the business
grows.

A divisional organisational structure is a system in which a company segments its

employees based on products or markets, as opposed to their job roles, such as
marketing, sales and communications departments, while a divisional organisation
has teams dedicated to a specific region or product. This structure is useful for our
business as it helps us organise workforce into independent groups
Owners of the company -They are the board of directors of company, CEO reports to
them regarding the company. All the major decisions are made by them.

Chief Executive Officer - He is responsible for managing a company's overall

operations. This may include delegating and directing agendas, driving profitability,
managing company organizational structure, strategy, and communicating with the
board.

Chief Marketing Officer - A Chief Marketing Officer is responsible for overseeing the
planning, development and execution of an organization's marketing and advertising
initiatives. They play a vital role in a company's growth and have important
responsibilities that range from creative influence to business strategy.

HRM - It concentrates on making the most of the human resources that are at the
disposal of the organization and enhances the performance of employees to achieve
the organization’s objectives. HRM ensures the seamless and effective application of
policies and processes in the business. HRM is there to keep the balance between
employee needs and satisfaction and an organization’s profitability and capability to
reach its objectives.
Chief Product Officer - He typically reports to the company's chief executive officer
(CEO). The role is also sometimes referred to as the vice president (VP) of product
or head of product. A CPO's primary goal is to lead and facilitate product
management teams to ensure they are creating products that deliver value to both
the user and the business.

Chief Operating Officer - The chief operating officer (COO) is a senior executive
tasked with overseeing the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of a
business. The COO typically reports directly to the chief executive officer (CEO) and
is considered to be second in the chain of command.

Chief Finance Officer - Chief financial officers hold the top financial position in an
organization. They are responsible for forecasting the organization’s financial
standing based on financial and operational data and reports provided by the finance
and accounting teams and advising the CEO and board on strategic direction.

Research and Development Head - Research and development (R&D) managers

oversee research activities and develop knowledge-based products for a company.
They develop research programs incorporating current developments to improve
existing products and study the potential of new products

Organisational Strategies

Analyzer strategy

We consider ourselves to be an Analyzer. Analyzer strategy under Miles & Snow

Topology is stated as companies that attempt to take the best parts of both Defender
and Prospector strategy. They are defending their current market position, whilst
looking for new opportunities and innovating.

Saras Spices is an analyzer, as they are other players in the market for spices, for
example, MDH Masala, and Aachi Group who are a threat to our existing products,
hence we need to defend our ground. Further, to be relevant in this fast-changing
market, we need to innovate to be at the forefront of the food and spice industry.

Corporate Brand Building

Saras spices has prepared a series of TV ads on its business verticals as part of its
corporate brand-building goals. Each commercial showcases some of its company’s
product while emphasising the significance it plays in people's daily lives. The
adverts emphasise the organization's two main values:

• Quality

• Customer satisfaction and development

Pricing Strategy
Price management is a systematic approach to understanding the numerous cost
components of a transaction and enforcing a procedure to avoid unstructured
decisions, resulting in improved bottom-line development. Companies nowadays are
under tremendous pressure to improve their shareholders’ value while also satisfying
ongoing client demand.

Low-Cost Leadership & Predatory Pricing In low-cost leadership, a company strives

to be the lowest-cost manufacturer in its industry. Predatory pricing is the practice of
providing a product or service at a very cheap price with the intent of driving
competitors out of the market or creating barriers to entry for possible new
competitors. If competitors or future competitors cannot maintain the same or lower
pricing without losing money, they go out of business or refuse to enter the market.

Marketing Strategies

● Flanking - A typical strategy where the same product is sold in different

volume and packaging.
● Evolution and Adaptation - Changing the product line, making it better to meet
the contemporary needs is mandatory for the survival of the brand.
● Multi-brand Strategy - To capture as much of the market share as possible by
trying to cover as many segments as possible, as it is not possible for one
brand to cater to the entire market.
● Incentivise specific stores to increase sales
● ‘Try me free’ for brand awareness
● Buy 1, get 1 free
● Invest in a campaign that customers can relate to at a personal level and
promote same in social media
● Social Media competition like dream blend of spices and choose best among
them, also rewarding the winner.

Organisation Environment Competency

External environment

To understand the spice market, it would be beneficial to have an idea of the overall
market trends prevalent in the country and various factors affecting it. In the given
market, industry would be affected by certain social, technological, economic and
political factors.

Political factors – India has been considered to be a republic country ever since it
gained independence from the British in 1947. Ever since its independence, various
measures have been taken by the India government to regulate import and export
and trade of products with other countries. India is known as the home of spice and
today, Indian spices are the most sought-after globally, given their exquisite aroma,
texture, taste and medical value. Thus the company would not find it difficult to
accommodate in the new market.

Social Factors – social factors form an integral part of the external environment of
any country. India is one of the most populated countries in the world and in this
particular generation belongs to the era of fast food or junk food. However there is
also the awareness about the impact of junk food on health and more youngsters
choosing health over fast food today. Thus, people in India would prefer to eat
delicious home cooked meals, instead of eating out at restaurants. Therefore, Saras
Spices would be the perfect fit if they cater to a niche market of people who prefer to
eat home cooked meals with blended spices.

Technological Factors- As a developing country, India has made significant progress

as far as technological advances are concerned. The transportation and
communication systems in India are well developed with connectivity in both sectors,
which are required for seamless export and import.

Economic Factors –India is the world largest producer, consumer and exporter of
spices. Since it is a developing country, India relies heavily on export and import.
The changes in population have led to an increase in income and export and import
rates enhancing the sales rate of Saras Spices.

Target Market and Market Segmentation - The target market for Saras Spices in
India would be men and women between ages twenty and fifty, especially people
who have a taste for good, home cooked meals. The older generation, who prefer to
cook tasty meals at home, would be willing to experiment with spices and create
their own recipes. Moreover, the younger generations who are interested in cooking
would like to try out different spices of Indian origin.

Internal environment

Buyer - It must be mentioned that large retailers and brands dominate the herbs and
spices market in India. Thus, in India the buyers' power is high and must be taken
into account while Saras Spices plans to penetrate the market. Moreover, the buyers
or the customers in the spice market have high demands and expectations like low
price, consistency in terms of quality, and compliance with the existing standards of
the product and so on.

Competitors- the India spice market, as mentioned earlier, it is world largest

producer, consumer and exporter of spices. For example, MDH is one of the
well-known brands for Indian spices. Similarly, Everest Spices is another great brand
for Indian spices and largest. As such, Saras Spices might find it hard to overcome
these rivals and establish itself as a forerunner in the spice industry.
Suppliers – Spice industry requires large inputs of labour, raw materials and
services. The cost of these inputs can have a significant effect on profitability.
Whether the strength of a supplier is weak, moderate or strong depends on how
much bargaining power it can exert. As a result the company has some flex in
determining product pricing, delivery and distribution.

Threat of substitutes - The threat that Saras Spices might face due to substitute
products is moderate. However, it must be remembered that owing to advancement
in technology, there has been a rise in the popularity of artificial flavouring or extracts
which provide the same taste at lower costs.

Technology

Organizations that employ largebatch or mass production technology produce

massive volumes of standardized products, such as cars,razor blades,aluminum
cans,and soft drinks. Due to wide usage of spices in households and restaurants,
here, for Saras Spices, the product is spices. With large-batch and mass production
technology,machines control the work process.Their use allows tasks to be specified
and programmed in advance.As a result,work activities are standardized,and the
production process is highly controllable.

The control provided by large-batch and mass production technology allows an

organization to save money on production and charge a lower price for its products.
In an organization that uses mass production technology,the ability to program tasks
in advance allows the organization to standardize the manufacturing process and
make it predictable. A mechanistic structure becomes the appropriate structure to
control work activities in a mass production setting, and the organizational structure
becomes taller and wider.

Production Plan/cycle

(i) Washing:The raw material inputs arewashed with water under high pressureso
that the impurities are removed.

Machine used - Horizontal centrifugal sieve / sifter

(ii) Peeling & Cutting to Small Pieces: Some of the spices require peeling and cutting
to small pieces. Such spices are peeled with hand knives.

(iii) Drying: Spices are spread on the floor to provide sun drying. Mechanical dryers
are also used at times. Tray type dryer is most suitable.

(iv) Grinding/ Pulverising: Spices are grinded in dry form.

Machine used - Impact Pulverizer

(v) Mixing: After all the above operations, various spices for different purposes are
mixed together.

Machine used - Ribbon Blender Masala Powder Mixing Machine

(vi) Packaging: At the end, spices powder are packaged in automatic form, fill and
sealing machine.

(vii) Transportation and Marketing: Thereafter, the products are transported and
supplied to the bulk purchasers.

The operating cycle is assumed at 30 days for the unit.

Organisation’s Goals

1. Produce High-Quality Products

Although it might seem obvious, this topic must come first on the list because it is so
crucial. Without quality, a business is just "fluff." If a company ignores the quality of the
products it is creating, no amount of marketing techniques or talented staff will be able to
prevent it from failing.

All of the equipment and supplies should be modern and of the highest calibre. Your
customers' satisfaction will rise, resulting in more purchases and favourable word of
mouth. To outperform the competition in the manufacturing industry, you need an
outstanding reputation. You'll get there by setting high standards for yourself.

2.Great Time Management

Time management is the key to a good working day. Being effective with time is even
more crucial for manufacturers because there are so many distinct jobs that must be
completed every day.

Making a to-do list at the start of each day and crossing off everything you
accomplish is an easy approach to accomplish this aim. So that everyone is working
toward the same objective, be clear about what you anticipate to be done in each
area of the workplace.

3.An Organized System

Each day must be regulated. That means management should oversee that every
task is being performed correctly and that all the workers are finishing their jobs in a
timely fashion.

When working with several different materials, everything must be accounted for.
Everything needs to be logged, from purchases to each item that comes through the
door. When something goes wrong, it will help to have a record.

If your company is struggling to manage the workload, then investing in better

machinery and software will make the day go smoother. Spending money on an
organized system isn’t a waste as it will save you a lot of time in the long run.

4.A Safe Workplace

Every manufacturer’s number one priority should be the safety of the workplace.
Before quality, marketing, and profits, you must think about the welfare of your
employees.

Firstly, you should ensure that all equipment is up-to-date and managed regularly. A
checking rota is an efficient way of making sure everything is in working order. You
should also ensure that every single member of staff has sufficient training before
they work on any machinery.

Communication is key when it comes to safety. Employ an open-door policy so, if

anything goes wrong, your employees know they can walk through your door and tell
you directly. Sticking clear, bold safety rules around the workplace and reminding
staff of emergency procedures will help staff retain the safety rules, too.

5.A Reduction in Costs

To manage a manufacturing company effectively, you must find the right balance
between cost-effectiveness and high-quality. This entirely depends on your business
profits and what you can afford.

Investing in new technologies and equipment can do a lot for your budget. While you
might be spending more initially, over time it can massively reduce your outgoings.

6.A Fantastic Team

No great business got to where it is without the brilliance of their staff. It is just the
same for manufacturers.

Your goal is skilled, hard-working employers who use their initiative and have
sufficient training. To get this, you must master the recruiting and onboarding
process and provide training for every single member of staff.

The office-based roles are just as important as those who work manually. Everyone
plays a crucial role in the overall functioning of the company, so be selective when
employing new members of staff and treat your current ones well.

7.A Positive Work Environment

Every company strives for a positive work environment. A manufacturer is special, as

it is not generally office-based, so you might find it harder to create a comfortable
and uplifting workplace.

Offering great benefits, a decent wage, and incentives will be a great mood booster
for your employees. The happier the workers, the more productive the work, so
creating a positive work environment is beneficial to all.

8.Growth on the Horizon

The main goal of a manufacturing business is exponential growth. Always stay

striving toward increasing profits, connecting with other companies, and building your
brand.

The climb never ends, and if you feel like you’ve reached the top of your game, then
just keep pushing. There are always ways to perform better, produce more, and
become a larger company.

Knowing the goals of your company will shift your focus and help you become more
productive each day. By keeping them at the forefront of your mind, you set your
manufacturing business up for success.

Organisational Culture
(1) Progressive career development Most of FMCG companies have prepared
well-built career path for their employee. Which will refine you via holding certain
responsibilities, challenges, and knowledge which will prep you to higher position. At
a higher level (e.g Team Leader, Director, VP), you will also have the ability to
develop the people who have been placed under you as well as influence key
decisions in the company.

(2) Results & skills are what matters when working in FMCG as compared to
having certain degree of academics/qualification. This is a result-based industry in
which if you deliver, you will advance quickly as well. These skills are not only what
you learn in school, because you may not working behind desk only. You need to be
able to crack the problem and collaborate with others to achieve whatever objective
assigned to you.

(3) Big-Named & Fast innovative Industry. There are many brands out there in a
highly competitive market. Market landscape and consumer behaviour may change
rapidly following latest trend or innovation. If you like to problem solve, challenge the
status-quo, make-or-break innovation, this is a perfect place for you. The hardest
part on working in this industry is how to make the other believe in your idea and
support you with concrete built.

Organisational Future

Designing a robust and sustainable organization begins by asking four questions:

1. On Process: What are the key processes required to survive and thrive? For a
learning organization, change everything at once is complicated.

2. On Structure: What kind of structure will enable changes and the successful
implementation of new technologies? We're getting close to the end of the
hierarchical, bureaucratic organization.

3. On Technology, Itself: Who in the organization is accountable for technology

innovations and their implementation? Technology has a history of costing a
lot and not delivering much value.

4. And on People: Is our challenge of change a matter of culture, behavior, or

skills? As Drucker wrote in his introduction to the Foundation’s book, “The
organization is, above all, social.” It’s “purpose must therefore be to make the
strength of people effective and their weaknesses irrelevant.”
Future Scope

● Widen the Indian spice market and bring in new consumers from
unbranded products.
● Besides dry blends like chilli powder, produce wet blends such as ginger
garlic paste, etc.
● Expand to read-to-eat segment.
● Introduce cuisines from North-east part of India.