Organizational Structure
Types of organisations and associated structures:
Organizational design - is the process by which managers select and manage various dimensions and components of organizational structure and culture so that an organization can achieve its goals.
Organizational structure - is the formal system of task and reporting relationships that controls, coordinates, and motivates employees so that they cooperate to achieve an organization's goals.
Types of organizational structures
Formal organization is a fixed set of rules of intra-organization procedures and structures. As such, it is usually set out in writing, with a language of rules that ostensibly leave little discretion for interpretation. In some societies and in
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Practical experience shows no organization is ever completely rule-bound: instead, all real organizations represent some mix of formal and informal. Consequently, when attempting to legislate for an organization and to create a formal structure, it is necessary to recognize informal organization in order to create workable structures. However, informal organization can fail, or, if already set in order, can work against mismanagement.
Reasons for informal organization
There are many different reasons for informal organization:
Informal standards: personal goals and interests of workers differ from official organizational goals. Informal communication: changes of communication routes within an enterprise due to personal relations between coworkers. Informal group: certain groups of coworkers have the same interests, or (for example) the same origin. Informal leaders: due to charisma and general popularity, certain members of the organization win more influence than originally intended. Different interests and preferences of coworkers. Different status of coworkers. Difficult work requirements. Unpleasant conditions of
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Flat organizations
A tall organization is one which, in relation to its size, has a large number of levels of management hierarchy
A flat organization is one which, in relation to its size, has a small number of hierarchical level.
Span of control refers to the number of subordinates a supervisor has.
Types of Organizational Structures
There are different types of organizational structures and a company should choose the one that best suits their
The Organisation structure of a company addresses the fact that every organisation has specific units that are responsible for different roles and actions in the organisation and that no department within the organisation stands alone, they are intertwined. The organisational chart or structure should be designed to divide up the work load, responsibilities and roles to be done
Organizational structure is the linking of departments and jobs within an organization. The idea of self managing teams was a significant insight gained into organizational structure. Bolman and Deal state that self-directed teams typically produce better results and
Organizations are initially structured around tasks, and as the organization continues to grow, the structure within the organization takes on many characteristics. Not all structures are advantageous, especially if they are lacking in some areas. There is a relationship between structure and size of the organization that affect the centralization of the organization. At the highest levels, the personality of the chief executive may amend the organizations' structure. The structure within an organization helps define the roles and responsibilities among the members from each department and work group. The four general types of organization structure are functional, divisional, matrix, and project based. “Organizational structure is the skeleton of an organization” (Feigenbaum, 2013) and how these individuals relate to each another. Structure is a statement of the current affairs, not the ideas, intentions or improvement within an organization. When business leaders develop their initial plans for an organization, he or she looks at how to design a company and takes inventory of all the tasks, functions and goals of the business. The leader then develops groupings and ordering of job positions, departments, and human resources to effectively and efficiently perform these tasks. Technology, size, environment, strategy and goals affect an organizational structure and effects, whether they are categorized as mechanistic or organic.
Organizational culture is a reflective view of the inner workings of an organization. This culture reflects hierarchical arrangements as it pertains to the lines of authority, rights and obligations, duties, and communication processes. Organizational structure establishes the manner in which power and roles are coordinated and controlled amongst the varying levels of management. The structure of an organization is dependent upon their goals, objectives, and strategy. Determining organizational structure best suited for an organization is generally found within the six key elements of organizational structure and choosing those to implement those best suited for the organization. The six key elements include:
Meyer , J. W. , and Rowan , B. “ Institutionalized Organizations: Formal Structure as Myth
Organizational structure can be defined as the “formal arrangement of jobs within an organization” (Robbins & Coulter, 2009, p. 185). Having a defined and unified structure helps employees work more efficiently. Jacques Kemp, former CEO of ING Insurance Asia/Pacific, realized this need early on in his role. The company had been performing well and recently acquired another insurance company to become “one of the largest life insurance companies in Asia-Pacific” (Schotter, 2006, p. 4). However, Kemp’s proactive personality led him to seek out ways to achieve more efficient coordination between the regional office and business units (Robbins & Coulter, 2009). Kemp noticed that “most business unit managers did not even know the current corporate standards” and he began searching for a way to manage the managers (Schotter, 2006, p. 5). ING Insurance Asia/Pacific’s organizational structure was mechanistic and fairly well structured, but for a company that had recently been involved in a major acquisition and was divided across 12 geographically dispersed markets there was a great need to tweak this structure to unify the company (Schotter, 2006). If I had been in Kemp’s position as CEO, I would have made modifications to the organizational chain of command, formalized business processes, and used technology to stimulate collaboration amongst the region to help this company overcome organizational design challenges.
Organizational structure within an organization is a critical component of the day to day operations of a business. An organization benefits from organizational structure as a result of all it encompasses. It is used to define how tasks are divided, grouped and coordinated. Six elements should be addressed during the design of the organization’s structure: work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, spans of control, centralization and decentralization. These components are a direct reflection of the organization’s culture, power and politics.
and other resources needed to achieve goals. Organizing activities include attracting people to the organization, specifying job responsibilities, grouping job into work units, marshaling and allocating resources, and creating conditions so that people and things work together to achieve maximum success (Bateman & Snell, 2011). When a company is able to successfully organize each portion of their business, they will then be able to maintain a strong foundation. A company that has managed to be successful through its well use of organization is that of General Electric Company. They have what it is called a ‘flat’ structure in which everyone becomes equal (Clawson, 2012). General Electric used to have 29 levels, but today it has only a handful of layers (Bateman & Snell, 2011).
“Informal groups have a powerful influence on the effectiveness of an organization, and can even subvert its formal groups. But, the informal group’s role is not limited to resistance. The impact of the informal group upon the larger formal group depends on the norms that the informal group sets. So the informal group can make the formal organization more effective, too.” Informal groups can either be a manager’s best friend or worst enemy. Group Development: The Formation of Informal Work Groups Informal work groups are part of any working environment; how they form, the leadership within the group and how these groups communicate, follow the same basic model. “Groups are particularly good at combining talents and providing innovate solutions to possible unfamiliar problems.” “There are five stages of group development. The first is forming,which is where the group first comes together. Everyone is usually polite. Conflict is seldom voiced directly. Individuals will be guarded in their own opinions and reserved.” The second form of developmentis “storming a chaotic vying for leadership and trailing of group operates.” The third is norming as the second stage evolves the rules of engagement for the group becomes established, and the scopes of the group’s task or responsibilities are clear and agreed. Fourth is performing,not all groups reach this point. Everyone knows each other well enough to be able to work together. And the fifth stage is adjourning; this is about the completion and disengagement of the tasks and group members. The formations of informal work groups are employed by an organization to perform specific functions. Informal groups almost always arise ...
Organizational structure is the way that an organization arranges people and jobs so that work can be performed and goals can be achieved. Good organizational design helps communications, productivity, and innovation. Many organization structures have been created based on organizational strategy, size, technology, and environment. Robbins and Judge (2011, p. 504) listed three common structures: simple, bureaucracy, and matrix. In this post the author will describe the matrix structure, and discuss its advantages and disadvantages.
In modern days, organizational architecture plays a key role in order to allow companies to get success in the market. Organizational architecture, also known as organizational structure, defines as a structure that where the specific company whether works roles, decision making or responsibility are centralized, delegated or coordinated. The organizational structure also identify how the information from level to level within the company. IKEA is one of the international famous firms that designs and produces home furniture such as bed frames and desks. The company also is the leader in retailing furniture and has become the largest furniture retailer over the globe.
Informal groups can have a powerful influence on the effectiveness of an organization, and can even undermine the goals of the formal group within the organization. The informal group's role is not limited to resistance; it can also make the organization more effective. The impact depends on the norm that the informal group sets for itself.
First of all, they criticise that Fayol’s theory is too formal to the extent of it can hardly be applied to informal organisations. His theory is too rigid and it will only shows its effectiveness in formal organisation structure.
Organizations are established in specific ways to obtain different objectives, and the structure of an organization can help or restrain its advance toward accomplishing these goals. Organizations of different sized and types can achieve higher sales and other profit adequately by identifying their requirements with the structure they use to operate.
Organizations must operate within structures that allow them to perform at their best within their given environments. According to theorists T. Burns and G.M Stalker (1961), organizations require structures that will allow them to adapt and react to changes in the environment (Mechanistic vs Organic Structures, 2009). Toyota Company’s corporate structure is spelt out as one where the management team and employees conduct operations and make decisions through a system of checks and balances.