Why Conventional Forms of Organisation Continue to Persist Despite the Criticisms

In today's landscape successful business are those that are able to constantly achieve their goals and objectives over time, these organisations continue to have a sustainable competitive advantage. Conventional organisations are those characterised by a strong and focused leadership, provide a framework of tasks and responsibilities which are well defined and they are able to distinguish routine vs. non-routine decision making (Child, 2005, p.393). Conventional organisations not only work to make money, but they take careful consideration on how they do so, this is done by thinking about how they will build lasting businesses. Kanter (2011) expresses that great businesses are aware of the importance of establishing themselves in communities to build people and society. Child (2005) described three strategic pillars that organisations need to be acquainted with in their pursuit of profitability and sustainability these are; efficiency, innovation and adaptability (Child, 2005, p. 379).

Conventional organisations show great resistance to change, largely due to the fear of the unknown and the "we have always done it this way" notion. Conventional organisations suffer from not wanting to upset or turn away their current customer base in order to accommodate or appeal to new customers. With this being said conventional firms continue to run their operations in an efficient and militant manner. As identified by Child (2005) traditional firms are highly efficient in the following aspects; bureaucratic control, good command of control and coordination by top management, their rewarding structures and systems are clear and transparent, the organisation is able to create a strong link and affiliation to corporate identity and culture with employees (Child, 2005, p.379 -380). One of the fundamental fibres that make up our wholesale division is that it prides itself in its 'low cost, high volume' mantra. This is translated into a no-frills Cash and Carry format, in which there are simple distribution centres that supply our traders. Through the increased forms of store operational efficiencies this has resulted in smoother and less expensive implementation of strategies.

Miers (2010, p.6) explains that operations in an organisation are constructed in such a manner that they are able to address and respond to problems quickly as they occur, and when a solution to a problem is able to develop new insight, these are rolled out systematically. The adaptability features described by Child (2005, p.381) also resonate with the wholesale division of my organisation. Due to the decentralized model in this specific division Cash and Carry's are able to negotiate pricing and terms of payment at store level, as well they have the ability to change pricing in order to respond to the competitive environment, this is a form of on the spot adaptation. The nature of wholesale ensures that Cash and Carry managers