THE ORGANIZING FUNCTION

- Structuring jobs, grouping them, and making sure that the functions will be performed by
qualified and competent personnel
- The synchronization and combination of human, physical and financial resources
- To systematize organizations, an organizational structure is established
- The structure involves a design, which has 6 Key elements, including
o Work specialization
Division of jobs into steps so that each step or series of steps are
completed by different persons
o Departmentalization
 Four common types include
• Functional – grouping based on tasks involved
o Jobs are specialized & performed together by people with
common skills; specialization is focused
o There is tendency to have poor communication across
functional areas & there is limited view of organizational goals
• Geographical – grouping based on territory or geography
o Handling of issues is specific & supervision is more confined
to a particular area
o There is duplication of functions & a tendency to feel isolated
from other organizational areas & concerns
• Product – grouping by product line
o Specialization in particular products & services, and more
contact with clients
o Duplication of functions & limited view of the organizational
goals
• Process – grouping according to product flow or customer flow
o More efficient flow of work activities
o Limited to a certain type of product/service only
Other types of departmentalization
• Customer – grouping jobs based on common customers
• Cross-functional team – group of individuals who are specialized on
different areas & who work together to achieve a common goal
o Chain of command
 Indicates line of authority’ “who reports to whom”
 Elements include
• Authority or right inherent in a managerial position to give
orders/instructions
• Responsibility or the obligation to perform assigned duties or tasks
• Unity of command
 o Span of control - refers to the number of employees a manager can effectively
handle
o Centralization/Decentralization – refers to the degree to which decision-making is
concentrated at a single area/section of the organization
o Formalization – the process of standardizing jobs so that employees are guided by
rules and procedures

Traditional Organizational Design

- Simple Structure
o Low departmentalization, wide span of control, centralized authority
o Communication flow is fast and it is flexible, and is less expensive to maintain and
use
- Functional Structure
o Groups & integrates similar jobs and specializations together
o There is less duplication of machines & jobs
- Divisional Structure
o Made up of separate units or areas
o Manager focuses on results and are responsible for their own product/services

Contemporary Organizational Designs

- Team based > made up of work groups focusing on specific tasks
- Matrix > specialists from different departments are assigned to work in specific projects
- Project Structure > employees work on projects continuously until they are completed
- Autonomous Internal Units > composed of business units, each having its own products,
customers, services, competitors, profit goals, criteria
- Boundarylesss Organization > design or structure is not affected by or limited to he
internal and external boundaries
o A boundaryless organization is a contemporary approach in organization design. It is an
organization that is not defined by, or limited to, the horizontal, vertical, or external boundaries
imposed by a predefined structure. This term was coined by former General Electric chairman Jack
Welch because he wanted to eliminate vertical and horizontal boundaries within the company and
break down external barriers between the company and its customers and suppliers; Many
companies are finding that a flexible and unstructured approach are effective means to running a
company (wikipedia.org)
- Learning Organization > A learning organization is the term given to a company that
facilitates the learning of its members and continuously transforms itself. Learning
organizations develop as a result of the pressures facing modern organizations and
enables them to remain competitive in the business environment. A learning organization
has five main features; systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, shared vision
and team learning (wikipedia.org)
o Boundaryless design, with empowered teams; strong sense of community;
information sharing is accurate and timely; there is collaboration of effort
Different Images of Work Relationship
- Master-Servant > employees succumb to the instruction of superiors
- Market > perception that skills and talents are goods and that they can give/exchange
these with salary (supply and demand)
- Teamwork > cooperation, promotion of interpersonal relationships
- Entrepreneurial > initiate new products, ideas, products, services