Assignment 1 , P1,2,3,4
Unit 1 Assignment 1
Business 1 - Paignton Zoo
Type of business and purpose
Paignton Zoo is an education, scientific and conservation charity which was founded in 1923
and in 1955 The Whitley Conservation Trust and Paignton Zoo were set up as registered
Education and Scientific charities.The Zoo’s vision is to have “A world rich in wildlife and wild
places” and their mission is “Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is an education, scientific and
conservation charity dedicated to protecting our global wildlife heritage and inspiring in people a
respect for animals, plants and the environment”. Paignton Zoo is a non-profit organisation
which is in the tertiary sector, meaning they provide a service. The Zoo’s main purpose is to
educate the public and look after and protect animals / wildlife.
Stakeholders
A stakeholder is someone who has interest or concern with a business. Paignton Zoo’s
stakeholders include customers, employees, shareholders and the community. Customers are
people who Paignton Zoo think will use their service, they have an interest in the business
because they want to get the best service possible. Customers have influence because if they
do or don’t like a certain event, exhibit etc, the zoo will use their opinions to decide whether to
keep an event or start a new one. Employees are people who work for the organisation to help
achieve their aims and goals, they have influence because they help to keep the business
running and working, so their opinion is taken into account too on how things may be run.
Employees have an interest because they want to keep their jobs, which requires the business
to continue to run. Shareholder’s have influence because they own part of the business and so
have influence over it. The community also has influence, because if the business were to do
something which affected the community, their opinion would matter because if they didn't like it
there would be complaints etc. Stakeholders differ because some work directly with Paignton
Zoo (customers, employees, shareholders) whilst others, such as the community, have a more
low key and secondary stake.
Organisational Structure and functional areas
The Zoo has a tall, matrix structure, this helps to fulfil their purpose it means individuals can
work across teams and projects as well as within their own department or function meaning they
are flexible and more dynamic than a typical structure. It means Paignton Zoo is able to work
with Living Coasts and Newquay Zoo as well as work together within Paignton Zoo. This can be
seen with how departments can work together or be ‘group’ departments on Paignton Zoo’s
organisational structure. This helps for the Zoo to be more efficient and deliver the best service
to its customers and care for its animals. However, having a matrix structure can have its
disadvantages as it can make the structure more complex and cause possible conflict. For
example, confusions could be made between who was in charge of a project or who someone
should report to, which could lead to issues and disorganisation. This complex structure is
