Lafluer Trading Company

Lafleur Trading Company
Lafleur Trading Company was founded in 1975 and has been supplying fine foods and wines to countries all over the world (Apollo Group, 2009). The founders of Lafleur Trading Company believe their products meet the needs of consumers for their lifestyle, health, and ethics. Company leaders offer only products that have passed Canada’s strictest guidelines for organic products (Apollo Group, 2009). The Lafleur Trading Company teams members stand by their company ethics, believe in the company mission, and stand by the values on which the company was founded.
Organizational Analysis
“Whether a firm is developing a new business or reformulating direction for an ongoing business, it must determine the basic goals and philosophies that will shape its strategic posture” (Pearce & Robinson, 2009, p. 25). To accomplish this effectively, the leaders of Lafleur must have clarity on the organization’s mission, vision, values, and goals. These fundamental concepts serve as the foundation for why and how the organization will do business.
Lafleur Trading Company has clearly identified the mission of the organization, which is providing high quality, organic products at competitive prices (Apollo Group, 2011). A company’s mission embodies the unique purpose it serves to meet and is developed with the values the leadership intends to infuse in the execution of its business. At Lafleur, they are committed to a high quality product, which meets the needs of their customers in an ethical manner. The importance for any business to identify its mission is to describe the expectations it plans to meet on a daily basis, expressing the organizational attitude to all its stakeholders. The values the leadership holds dear, like seeking out the most reputable producers of products and certifying those products meet the highest standards, provides insight into the commitment of Lafleur’s leadership to their values and mission.
A vision, unlike the mission, is forward-thinking and identifies what the company’s leaders aspire for it to become. Lafleur Trading Company seeks to become the premier supplier of fine foods and wines in the world. This vision cannot be accomplished without clearly expressed goals. Its already impressive list of trading partners indicates the vision and goals for Lafleur was determined early in the organization’s conception. By continuing to make strategic decisions with the mission, vision, values, and goals in mind, Lafleur is sure to attain a desirable future.
Organizational Structure
Lafleur Trading Company implemented a divisional organizational structure that allows the Chief Executive Officer to delegate responsibilities to separate department leaders. The decision to use a divisional organizational structure provides Lafleur Trading Company the ability to create departments that consists of experienced individuals in specific duties related to the department. This method creates additional accountability for employees because the department manager delegates a task to an individual or team who is responsible for the competition of that task (Apollo Group, Inc, 2011). Creating individual departments also creates an environment where Lafleur Trading Company can focus on providing customers with quality products at the lowest price because employees in his or her departments focus on his or her assigned task without interruption form other unrelated tasks. This structure allows Lafleur Trading Company to make decisions with better information and in less time because of the concentrated focus in each department.
The divisional organizational structure at Lafleur Trading Company consists of four main positions the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Chief Information Officer (CIO), the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and the Chief Operations Officer COO) (Apollo Group, Inc, 2011). The CEO oversees the total operation of the company using information from the CIO, CFO, and COO to determine what actions are appropriate. The CIO is responsible for the information technology aspect of the company, and the CFO oversees the accounting and legal aspect of the company. The COO maintains the general operations of the business that consists of sales, purchasing, warehouse operations, and human resources. Each department manages the responsibilities assigned to them and reports to the CEO who can use the information to make decision with more information about each department involved (John A. Pearce, 2009).
Collaboration Process
The collaboration process is a process in itself. It involves the process of parties coming together to work through the project. Each party should bring the project together; provide the scope of the project and the expectations. The parties need to understand and be clear on the success and the results of the project and then discuss the specifics. The framework offers the general components of collaboration. The elements include grounding, core foundation, outcomes, process and contextual factors. Grounding is the foundation of collaboration in which the parties get together and share the idea. Core foundation is the mutual idea of the collaborative efforts. Outcomes are the efforts achieved by collaboration and process and contextual factors are what effect the each day actions of the collaboration. Once the process is complete and it has been implemented, the parties are on their way to getting results that they would have not got otherwise. It is important to understand that the process is not for all situations and teamwork is the only way to achieve it. It is important to select the right people, for the right reason, and with the support of management.

References
Apollo Group, Inc. (2011). Lafleur Trading Company. Retrieved 12 8, 2011, from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Lafleur/intranet.htm
Pearce, J. A. II, & Robinson, R. B. (2009). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control (11th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

References: Apollo Group, Inc. (2011). Lafleur Trading Company. Retrieved 12 8, 2011, from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cist/vop/Business/Lafleur/intranet.htm Pearce, J. A. II, & Robinson, R. B. (2009). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control (11th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.