Essay On Organisational Structures

Introduction

Different organisational structures are used in all types of businesses and companies. Organisational structure is a system of tasks, workflows, reporting relationships and communication links; that if used fittingly, can be an asset to the organisation (Schermerhorn et al. 2014, p. 260). This can be hard for managers as the environment and times are always changing and with that, structures must change also (Schermerhorn et al. 2014, p. 260). Two types of structures have been created from the changing times; vertical and horizontal. Traditional structures have used this vertical system while the contemporary movement of structures are opting for a horizontal approach. Both these traditional and modern structures have many organisational charts for structuring the many different varieties of businesses.

The purpose of this report is to describe the three traditional organisational structures and to describe two modern organisational designs. The highlighted structures are the Functional, Divisional and Matrix structures, along with the team and network structures. Illustrations of each structure will be provided as charts along with their advantages and disadvantages. This report will also mention how the contemporary environment has had an impact on organisational structures.

Traditional Organisational Structures

Functional

Traditional structures rely largely on the vertical hierarchy and the chain of command to define departmental groupings (Anand & Daft 2007). In functional structures, people are grouped together according to their similarity in skills and the tasks that they perform. Members work within their own area of expertise where each department is responsible for only their own work and problems. Each func...

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...organisations that are fast-moving, are highly innovative, require speed and flexibility and high levels of customer focus (Stanford 2007, p.58).

Chart

Advantages/Disadvantages

Conclusion

This report has looked at ….

Reference List

Anand, N & Daft, R 2007, ‘What is the right organization design?’, Organizational Dynamics, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 329-344

Daft, R.L 2013, Organizational theory & design, 11th edn, Cengage Learning, South-Western.

Mohrman, A 2000, ‘Consulting to team-based organizations: an organizational design and learning approach’, Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 20-35

Schermerhorn, J R, Davidson, P, Poole, D, Woods, P, Simon, A, McBarron, E 2014, Management, 5th Asia-Pacific Edn, John Wiley & Sons, Milton.

Stanford, N 2007, ‘Chapter 3: organisational structures’, Guide to Organisational Design, pp. 46-79