Question

What's a business structure? Differentiate between the company-centric side and the market one using the example of a real company, let's say Apple

Answer 1

Business structure is a formal setup of a business that is considered as a legal entity. This means that whenever a business is registered, it is given a business structure. For example, a business may be structured as a sole proprietorship, corporation, and partnership or as LLC.

The company centric side of an organization focuses on the internal strengths, weakness and competencies. For example, if we consider a company like Apple, we can consider their strength to high quality craftsmanship, superior design practices etc. Similarly we could also figure out their weakness and competencies. These attributes of a company are internal characteristics and when a company focuses on improving and managing these, it is known as the company centric approach.

Market centric side of the organization focuses on matching their core competencies with the gaps in the market. This include the likes of market demand, forecasting, anticipation of trends and taking advantage of market situations. If we take example of Apple, their market centric operations include the likes of supply chain, distribution, and partnerships with other vendors that make them successful. These attributes of the company helps them achieve success in the market with the use of their core competencies.