Introduction

Part of enterprise planning is identifying the individuals in charge of various projects

and forming a chain of command within the company. A hierarchy is critical for any business
because it establishes duty for the success of each department. Moreover, it helps members of
the staff to understand who to report to for clarification of job responsibilities. Also, it helps
in creation of the management team that is responsible for planning the organization's future.
Without a structure, the company is not defined and it likely not to grow. The following paper
will discuss various topics ranging from defining the term organizational structure,
organizational culture, formal, and informal structure; illustrating the challenges associated
with running a structure-less business; explaining the advantages of formal structure to
elaborating the relationship between organizational structure and organizational culture.
1. Define organizational structure and discuss some of the problems/challenges of
keeping and running businesses structure less.

Support your arguments with

hypothetical examples
Organizational structure can be referred to as a system that is used to define the
hierarchy within a company. It identifies each work, its function, and the appropriate place it
reports to within the business (Friend & Media). Furthermore, it is formed to establish how
an enterprise operates and assists the business in achieving its goals to allow for future
development. A structure depends on a businesss strategy and plans. For instance, in a
centralized type of structure, the top level managers do most of the decision making duties
and tightly controls departments and divisions. A business that is structure-less may face the
following challenges.

The first problem is neglect of responsibilities. When there is no organizational

structure in a business, projects and administrative duties are ignored. Besides, productivity
of the enterprise can breakdown. For example, if an enterprise has no managers, there is a
mix-up; responsibility, roles, and power are not controlled and well coordinated. Thus,
communication among staff members and performance of duties may be very poor leading to
closing down of the business. On the other hand, where strong structure exists, responsibility
is not used as a vehicle for pointing fingers (Root III & Media, par. 3). Instead, it is utilized
to recognize areas within an organization that requires improvement and also identifies
whether it is workers who need training or the whole company is to be restructured.
The second challenge is conflict among employees. When there is no structure,
conflicts may arise for several reasons. First, job-duty responsibilities are not clearly defined
(Root III & Media). Hence, fracas of who to do the task and when it should be done may
occur. Violence can also happen when individuals want to exert control in an organization
when he/she has no authority. To illustrate, in an organization where we have three people
who are at the same level, an individual may decide to manage the rest because one thinks
that he/she is superior in some way than the others. In the process, a conflict will arise since
the other two may feel that the person has no power to control them as they are all equal.
Other problems that result from structure-less business include low profitability, lack of
employee development, and downsizing of the business.
2. Explain the meaning of formal and informal structure and elaborate on some of the
advantages of a formal business structure. Provide relevant examples
Formal structure clearly defines the job to be performed by each person, duties
assigned to every worker, the senior-junior relationship, the authority, and the designation of
each individual in the company. This type of structure is formed by the management

intentionally so that the organization can achieve its goals (Saritha Pujari Organization). On
the contrary, informal structure commonly develops around project or social groups. It is
based on camaraderie, and thus, there is immediate response from people. This saves
individuals time and effort; therefore, making it easier to work within the informal type of
structures. Moreover, individuals depend on it when the formal structure becomes ineffective.
For instance, if an organization changes or grows but it does not reevaluate its work group or
hierarchy formal structure becomes inefficacious and is replaced with informal structure.
Formal structure has advantages. It pools together similar resources (Shtub & Karni,
2010). As a result, activities of each department are coordinated. To illustrate, when
individuals who share a common responsibility and expertise are pooled and provided with
suitable equipment and facilities, utilization of resources is improved. Further, the flow of
information in every section of the company is made easier due to common terminology,
background, and interests of the individuals in each group. Proper communication is a critical
factor that impacts organizational learning.
Another advantage is the systematic working. It results in smooth and systematic
functioning of a company. As an illustration, in formal structure, each organizational unit acts
as a link to a chain. In other words, each organizational unit gets inputs from the previous one
and produces output that is the input for the next unit that takes part in the process. Also,
formal structure ensures that there is no overlapping of work. Work is divided among the
employees and departments, therefore, preventing overlapping and duplication of the job.
Even more, the structure puts more emphasis on job than interpersonal relations which is
stressed in informal. The fifth benefit is the fact that the structure is formed to facilitate
achievement of the organizational structure. The last of the vantage is the existence of the
chain of command. It gives a clear definition of the superior-subordinate relationship, that is,
who reports to whom.

3. Define organizational culture and discuss the relationship between organizational

structure and organizational culture. Support your arguments with examples
Organizational culture can be defined as a system of values, beliefs, and assumptions
which govern how individuals behave in a business (Mcnamara, 2000). These shared
values and beliefs have a strong impact on the people in the company and
dictate how they act, dress, and perform their work. Each organization creates
and maintains a culture that is unique which gives guidelines and limits for the
behavior of companys members.
There exist a dependent relationship between organizational culture and
organizational structure (What is the relationship between organizational structure and

organizational culture?). In the corporate world, organizational structure

determines the dispositions, attitudes, ethics, and behaviors that create the work
culture. In short, the way a business allocates authority and power determines
how workers behave. If an enterprise's structure is stringently hierarchical, with
the decision-making process centralized at the top levels, the organization's
culture will possibly reflect a lack of autonomy and freedom at the lower levels.
On the other hand, if a business's structure is decentralized and has shared
authority and power at all levels, there is a likelihood of the culture being more
personalized, independent, and accountable. For instance, if the president of a
firm only wants to handle the most critical decisions and wants to leave the daily
decision-making to a different person, he will be at the top line and the vicepresident will be at the second line. This efficaciously means that the deputy
president will deal with all operations and he will be the only person in direct line
with the president. Besides, he will be the individual every person will be
reporting to.
Conversely, the president can allow most of his executives to directly
access him. According to organizational structure, this is a decentralized

approach because more individuals are allowed to contribute to the decisionmaking process. In this way organizational culture and structure are interrelated.
Conclusion

References
Friend Lucy and Media Demand. (n.d). What is the meaning of
organizational structure? Small business. Retrieved from
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/lack-organization-lead-company22804.html
Mcnamara Carter.(2000). Organizational culture and changing culture.
Managementhelp. Retrieved from
http://managementhelp.org/organizations/culture.htm#anchor1427719

Root III George N., Media Demand .(n.d). What does a lack of organization
lead to in a company? Small business. Retrieved from
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/lack-organization-lead-company22804.html
Saritha Pujari Organization. (n.d). Formal and Informal Organization:
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http://ir.nmu.org.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/139943/2ef2f1917
95495e570a6935325c1e1ff.pdf?sequence=1
http://theclariongroup.com/images/insights/Structure_less_Structures.pdfWhat is the
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