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ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Business organisational structure

Zenith Foods sells in Europe, Asia and South America. Each region has its own manager who is responsible for all marketing, sales and distribution in that region, so that the business can respond to local tastes. Which is the main disadvantage of this form of departmentation?

The main disadvantage is duplication of functions across regions and weaker central control. Each region carries its own marketing, sales and distribution resources, which increases cost and can lead to inconsistent practices, although local responsiveness improves.

  1. ADuplication of functions across regions and difficulty keeping central controlCorrect
  2. BStaff cannot develop deep specialist expertise within their function
  3. CCustomers in each region have no single point of contact

Explanation

Geographical departmentation gives local responsiveness but each region duplicates activities and head office may find it harder to maintain consistency and control. The other options are not the typical weakness: regional managers provide a single local contact, and the specialist-expertise issue relates more to a pure divisional structure than to the question's emphasis.

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