Improving the organizational structure of Fresco PHL towards role clarity, better synergy and streamlining: An insider action research

• Main Author: Abis, Abigael D.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2021
• Subjects: Small business > Philippines; Business Administration, Management, and Operations
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_manorg/11; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etdm_manorg/article/1015/viewcontent/Abis2.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

E-commerce’s resilience on the ever-changing landscape paved the way to a more agile and adaptive industry even so under a pandemic outbreak. The growing online market and prevalent use of social media platforms enabled the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to thrive and even made it easier for new players to enter. The majority of these enterprises in the Philippines are said to be family businesses. Yet, less attention is given to the governance, management, and organizational structure of small family-run businesses in the mainstream literature for the past decade. This paper aims to contribute to the knowledge base on the relevance of organizational structure in MSMEs and how to improve the same in the context of Fresco PHL Online Shop, an online micro-business with a simple retail business model. The action research tools such as the first, second, and third practices are applied in the spirit of collaboration and co-inquiry. This method alongside force-field analysis and the concept of group dynamics is embedded in Lewin’s proposed change management strategy of unfreezing the present, moving to the next, and refreezing the new level. This paper argues that organizational structure in MSMEs is paramount as it contributes towards role clarity, synergy, and streamlining. Nonetheless, structural configurations vary. I find support in the related studies on organizational theory, role theory, and flow theory. I concluded by presenting a cause and effect diagram that would serve as a reference guide for MSMEs in establishing their organizational structure. Keywords: Action research, organizational structure, MSMEs, family business, e-commerce, role, flow