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Org Structure
Orgstructurecanbedefinedastheframeworkoftasks,reporting&authorityrelationshipswithinwhich [Link].
Work Specialization
Workspecializationordivisionoflaborreferstothedegreetowhichactivitiesintheorgaresubdivided [Link] individual,itisbrokendownintoanumberofstepswitheachstepbeingcompletedbyaseparate [Link],individualsspecializeindoingpartofanactivityratherthantheentireactivity. Improvesemployeeproductivityandspeeduptheprocessofproductioninanorg. Costeffectivetotrainemployeesinasinglesubtask. [Link] employeeproductivityandefficiencyinorg. Beyondacertainpoint,workspecializationsleadstoadeclineinproductivityandefficiencysince employeesgetboredandexperiencefatigueandstresswhentheyperformrepetitivetasksforan extendedperiodoftime. Orgtoprovideemployeestheopportunitytoperformavarietyofactivitiestoavoidthemonotonythat [Link] throughjobrotation.
Departmentalization
Theprocessinwhichjobsaregroupedtogethertobringcoordinationamongtheorgtasksiscalled [Link],product,process,geographyor customer.
FunctionalDepartmentalization Groupsjobsaccordingtofunction. Efficienciesfromputtingtogethersimilarspecialitiesandpeoplewithcommonknowledgeand orientation. Indepthspecialization. Poorcommunicationacrossfunctionalteams. Limitedviewoforggoals. GeographicalDepartmentalization Groupsjobsaccordingtogeographicregion. Moreeffectiveandefficienthandlingofspecificregionalissues. Servesneedsofuniquegeographicmarketsbetter. Duplicationoffunctions. Canfeelisolatedfromotherorgareas. ProductDepartmentalization Groupsjobsbyproductline. Allowspecializationinparticularproduct&services. Managerscanbecomeexpertsintheirindustry. Closertocustomers. Duplicationoffunctions. Limitedviewoforggoals. ProcessDepartmentalization Groupsjobsonthebasisofproductorcustomerflow. Moreefficientflowofworkactivities. Canonlybeusedwithcertaintypesofproductsorservices. CustomerDepartmentalization Groupsjobsonthebasisofspecificanduniquecustomerswhohavecommonneeds. Customersneedsandproblemscanbemetbythespecialists. Limitedviewoforggoals. [Link] gettingandkeepingcustomersisessentialforsuccess,thisapproachworkswellbecauseitemphasizes monitoringandrespondingtochangesincustomersneeds. Anotherpopulartrendistheuseofteams,especiallyasworktaskshavebecomemorecomplexand [Link] usingisacrossfunctionalteam,whichisaworkteamcomposedofindividualsfromvariousfunctional specialties.
Chain of Command
Thechainofcommandisthelineofauthorityextendingfromupperorglevelstolowerlevels,which [Link], responsibilityandunityofcommand. Asuperiorsrighttogiveorderstohissubordinatesandtheobligationsofthesubordinatestoactaccording [Link] carryouttheresponsibilitiesentrustedtothembytheorg. Accordingtotheconceptofunityofcommand,anemployeeshouldreporttonotmorethanonesuperior. Theviolationofthisrulecanleadtoconfusionandconflictinorg. Whenmanagersusetheirauthoritytoassignworktoemployees,thoseemployeestakeonanobligationto [Link]. Assigningworkauthoritywithoutresponsibilityandaccountabilitycancreateopportunitiesforabuse. However,[Link],anemployeeatthe [Link],employeesneed nolongerwaitfortheirsuperiorstogivetheminstructionssincetheyareempoweredtotakedecisions wheredelayindecisionmakingcouldaffecttheorginterests.
Span of Control
[Link] whoaredirectlyunderthecontrolofamanagerdiffersfromorgtoorg. Inorghavingtallstructures Spanofcontrolisverysmall. Thisallowsmanagerstoexercisetightcontrolovertheirsubordinates. Butthenumberoflayersofmanagementissohighthatitleadstoacomplexorgstructure. Ascommunicationpassthroughseverallayers,themessagegetdistortedandthechancesof employeereceivingaccurateinformationislow. Decisionmakingisverylowinorgwithtallstructures. Tallstructureprovidesanopportunityforhighlevelofinteractionbetweenthemanagerand subordinates. Foraflatstructureorg Largespanofcontrol Largenumberofsubordinatesunderamanagermakemanagementmoredifficult. Simpleorgstructure. Smoothflowofcommunicationthatenableemployeetoreceiveinformationquicklyand accurately. Fastdecisionmakingduetolimitednumberoflayers.
[Link] [Link] includetheskillsandabilitiesofthemanagerandtheemployees,andthecharacteristicsoftheworkbeing [Link],managerswithwelltrainedandexperiencedemployeescanfunctionwellwithawider [Link] employeetasks,thephysicalproximityofsubordinates,thedegreetowhichstandardizedproceduresarein place,thesophisticationoftheorganizationsinformationsystem,thestrengthoftheorganizationsculture, andthepreferredstyleofthemanager. Thetrendinrecentyearshasbeentowardlargerspansofcontrol,whichisconsistentwithmanagers effortstospeedupdecisionmaking,increaseflexibility,getclosertocustomers,empoweremployees,and reducecosts.
Centralization / Decentralization
Thetermcentralizationreferstothedegreetowhichdecisionmakingisconcentratedatasinglepointin [Link],itissaidthatiftopmanagementmakestheorgkeydecisionswithlittleornoinputfrom lowerlevelpersonnel,[Link],themorethatthelowerlevelpersonnel provideinputoractuallygiventhediscretiontomakedecisions,themoredecentralizationthereis. Inadecentralizedorg,actioncanbetakenmorequicklytosolveproblems,morepeopleprovideinputsinto decisions,andemployeesarelesslikelytofeelalienatedfromthosewhomakethedecisionsthataffect theirworklives. Tomakeorgmoreflexible&responsive,therehasbeenamarkedtrendtowarddecentralizingdecision [Link],lowerlevelmanagersareclosertotheactionandtypicallyhavemore detailedknowledgeaboutproblemsthantopmanagers.
Formalization
[Link] formalized,thenthejobincumbenthasaminimumamountofdiscretionoverwhatistobedone,whenisto [Link]
[Link],lotsoforg rulesandclearlydefinedprocedurescoveringworkprocessinorginwhichthereishighformalization. Standardizationnotonlyeliminatesthepossibilityofemployeesengaginginalternativebehaviorsbutit evenremovestheneedforemployeestoconsideralternatives. [Link] havelittleformalization. Althoughsomeformalizationisnecessaryforconsistencyandcontrol,manyorganizationstodayrelyless onstrictrulesandstandardizationtoguideandregulateemployeebehavior.
Simple Structure
Afirmwithasimpleorgstructurehasawidespanofcontrol,fewdepartments,centralizedauthorityanda [Link] [Link],thedecisionmakingpowerfortheentireorgisvestedinoneperson. Thesimplestructureisaflatorgitusuallyhasonly2or3verticallevels,aloosebodyofemployeesand oneindividualinwhomthedecisionmakingauthorityiscentralized. [Link], employeeshaveclearreportingrelationships,decisionmakingisfast,maintenancecostsarelowandrules [Link]. Moreover,astheentirepowerandauthorityisconcentratedinasinglepersonatthetop,deathordisability ofthepersonislikelytohaveanegativeimpactonthebusiness.
Bureaucracy
Thisisastructurewithhighlyroutineoperatingtasksachievedthroughspecialization,veryformalizedrules [Link],tasksaregroupedunderfunctionaldepartmentswithcentralized authorityandnarrowspanofcontrol. Theprimarystrengthofbureaucracyliesinitsabilitytoperformstandardizedactivitiesinahighlyefficient [Link]&lowerlevel [Link] [Link] innovativeandexperienceddecisionmakersbelowthelevelofseniorexecutives. Themajordrawbackofthisstructureistheobsessiveconcernwithfollowingtherules.
Matrix Structure
Matrixisastructurethatassignsspecialistsfromdifferentfunctionalareastoworkonprojectswhothen
[Link] [Link],employeesmoveontothenextproject. Themainadvantagesarefluidandflexibledesignthatcanrespondtoenvchangesandfasterdecision making. Majordisadvantagesarecomplexityofassigningpeopletoprojects,task&personalityconflicts.
Team Structure
[Link] thatitbreaksdowndepartmentalbarriersanddecentralizesdecisionmakingtothelevelofthework [Link]. Underthisstructure,[Link] [Link].
Virtual Organization
Virtualorghavecreatednetworksofrelationshipsthatallowthemtocontractoutmanufacturing, distribution,marketingoranyotherbusinessfunctionforwhichmanagersfeelthatotherscandobetteror [Link] structureisthatitreducesmanagementscontroloverkeypartsofitsbusiness.
Boundaryless Organization
Anorgthatseekstoeliminatethechainofcommand,havelimitlessspanofcontrolandreplace departmentswithempoweredteams. Byremovingverticalboundaries,[Link]. Crosshierarchicalteams,participativedecisionmakingpracticesanduseof360degreeperformance appraisalsarecommoninsuchorganizations. Horizontalboundariescanbeeliminatedbyreplacingfunctionaldepartmentswithcrossfunctionalteams [Link] transfers,[Link] generalists. Whenfullyfunctional,theboundarylessorgalsobreaksdownbarrierstoexternalconstituentslike suppliers,customers,[Link],strategicalliances, telecommutingetcareexamplesofpracticesthatreduceexternalboundaries.
Why Do Structures Differ?
StrategyThepurposeoforgstructureistomeetorgobjectives,whicharederivedfromoverall [Link],thestructurewillalsoneedtobe [Link] orgstructurewhereascostminimizationstrategydemandaamechanisticstructure. OrgSizeLargeorgtendtohavemorespecialization,moredepartmentalization,morevertical levelsandmorerules®ulationsthanasmallorg. [Link] usuallyassociatedwithtallerandmoredepartmentalizedstructures. EnvironmentThemorescarce,dynamicandcomplextheenv,themoreorganicastructure [Link],stableandsimpletheenv,themoremechanisticstructurewillbe preferred.
Implication For Managers