Organizing is undertaken to facilitate the implementation of plans.

In effective organizing, stepsare undertaken to breakdown the total job into more manageable man-size jobs. Doing these willmake it possible to assign the particular tasks to particular persons. In turn, these will helpfacilitate the assignment of authority, responsibility, and accountability for certain functions andtasks. ORGANIZING DEFINED Organizing is a management function which refers to the the structuring of resources andactivities to accomplish objectives in an efficient and effective manner. The arrangement or relationship of positions within an organization is called the structure. Theresult of the organizing process is the structure. THE PURPOSE OF THE STRUCTURE 1. It defines the relationships between tasks and authority for individuals and departments.2. It defines formal reporting relationships, the

organizational manual and3. policy manuals.The organizational chart is a diagram of the organizations official positions and formal lines of authority.The organizational manual provides written descriptions of authority relationships, details thefunctions of major organizational units, and describes job procedures.The policy manual describes personnel activities and company policies. INFORMAL GROUPS Formal organizations require the formation of formal groups which will be assigned to performspecific tasks aimed at achieving organizational objectives. The formal group is a part of theorganization structure.There are instances when members of an organization spontaneously form a group withfriendship as a principal reason for belonging. This group is called an informal group. It is notpart of the formal organization and it does not have a formal performance purpose.Informal groups are oftentimes very useful; in the accomplishment of major tasks, especially

everyoneengaged in one functional activity, such as engineering or marketing, is grouped intoone unit.2. Product or Market Organization this refers to the organization of a company bydivisions that bring together all those involved with a certain type of product orcustomer.3. Matrix organization an organizational structure in which each employee reportsboth a functional or division manager and to a project or group manager. Fig 4.1 Reasons for Joining or Forming a Group OR which attract individualslike: consumer society,sports club, etc.which is derived fromunions, fraternities, etc.which are derived fromunions, cultural societies,fraternities, etc.which gives people thechance to share ideas,opinions, and feelingslike: concern for theenvironment or love forclassical music FRIENDSHIPCOMMON INTERESTNEED

Employees are provided with career progress within functional departments.Disadvantages:1. Communication and coordination between the departments are often poor.2. Decisions involving more than one department pile up at the top management level andare often delayed.3.

Work specialization and division of labor, which are stressed in a functional organization,produce routine, no motivating employee tasks.4.
It is difficult to identify which section or group is responsible for certain problems.5. There is limited view of organizational goals by employees.6.

There is limited general management training for employees.

There is poor coordination across divisions.4. There is less top management control.5. There is competition for corporate resources. Fig. 4.3 A Typical Product/Market Organization for a Construction Company Matrix Organization A matrix, organization, according to Thompson and Strickland, is a structure with two (or more)channels of command, two lines of budget authority, and two sources of performance andreward. Higgins declared that the matrix structure was designed to keep employees in a centralpool and to allocate them to various projects in the firm according to length of time they wereneeded. Advantages:1. There is more efficient use of resources than the divisional structure.2.

There is frustration and confusion from dual chain of command.2. There is high conflict between divisional and functional interests.3. There are many meetings and more discussion than action.4. There is a need for human relations training for key employees and managers.5. There is a tendency for power dominance by one side of the matrix.Fig. 4.4 A Typical Matrix Organization of a Construction FirmTYPES OF AUTHORITY The delegation of authority is a requisite for effective organizing. It consists of three types.1. Line authority a managers right to tell subordinates what to do and then see they doit.2.

up to make decisions related to

Fig. 4.5 Line and Staff Organizatio

ESIDENT/GENERAL MANAGE FinanceCorporatePlanningLeg

pervisorSecond ShiftSupervisor

permanent committee that deals with issues on anongoing basis. An example is the grievance committee set up to handle initiallycomplaints from employees of the organization.Committees may not work properly, however, if they are not correctly managed. Delaneysuggests that it might be useful to set up some procedure to make the committee a moreeffective tool to accomplish our goals. QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND DISCUSSION1. Why is it important for the engineer manage to acquire skills in organizing? 2. How may organizing be defined? 3. What purpose do organizational structures serve? 4. What must be the concern of the manager when structuring the organization?