Professional Documents
Culture Documents
y Organizational Design
y A process involving decisions about six key elements:
y y y y y y
Work specialization Departmentalization Chain of command Span of control Centralization and decentralization Formalization
Purposes of Organizing
y Divides work to be done into specific jobs and departments y Assigns tasks and responsibilities associated with individual jobs y Coordinates diverse organizational tasks y Establishes relationships among individuals, groups, and departments y Establishes formal lines of authority y Allocates organizational resources
divided into separate jobs with each step completed by a different person
Departmentalization by Type
y Functional
y Grouping jobs by
y Process
y Grouping jobs on the
functions performed
y Product
y Grouping jobs by
y Customer
y Grouping jobs by type
product line
y Geographical
y Grouping jobs on the
Functional Departmentalization
Plant Manager
Manager, Engineering
Manager, Accounting
Manager, Manufacturing
Manager, Purchasing
+ Efficiencies from putting together similar specialties and people with common skills, knowledge, and orientations + Coordination within functional area + In-depth specialization Poor communication across functional areas Limited view of organizational goals
Geographical Departmentalization
Vice President for Sales Sales Director, Western Region Sales Director, Southern Region Sales Director, Central Region Sales Director, Eastern Region
+ More effective and efficient handling of specific regional issues that arise + Serve needs of unique geographic markets better Duplication of functions Can feel isolated from other organizational areas
Product Departmentalization
CEO.
Car Division
Truck Division
Bus Division
+ + +
Allows specialization in particular products and services Managers can become experts in their industry Closer to customers Duplication of functions Source: Bombardier Annual Report. Limited view of organizational goals
Process Departmentalization
Manager
Plant
Spinning
Dyeing
Weaving
Fininshing
+ More efficient flow of work activities Can only be used with certain types of products
Customer Departmentalization
Director of Sales Manager, Retail Accounts Manager, Wholesale Accounts Manager, Government Accounts
+ Customers needs and problems can be met by specialists Duplication of functions Limited view of organizational goals
from upper levels of an organization to the lowest levels of the organization and clarifies who reports to whom
activities of the organization, including production and sales. Line managers have the authority to issue orders to those in the chain of command
y
The president, the production manager, and the sales manager are examples of line managers
cannot issue orders to those in the chain of command (except those in their own department)
Skills and abilities of the manager and the employees Characteristics of the work being done Similarity of tasks Complexity of tasks Physical proximity of subordinates Standardization of tasks Sophistication of the organization s information system Strength of the organization s culture Preferred style of the manager
Organizations in which top managers make all the decisions and lower-level employees simply carry out those orders
y Decentralization y The degree to which lower-level employees provide input or actually make decisions y Employee Empowerment
y
at making decisions as upper-level managers Lower-level managers do not want to have a say in decisions Decisions are significant Organization is facing a crisis or the risk of company failure Company is large Effective implementation of company strategies depends on managers retaining say over what happens
making decisions Lower-level managers want a voice in decisions Decisions are relatively minor Corporate culture is open to allowing managers to have a say in what happens Company is geographically dispersed Effective implementation of company strategies depends on managers having involvement and flexibility to make decisions
are standardized and the extent to which employee behaviour is guided by rules and procedures
y
Highly formalized jobs offer little discretion over what is to be done Low formalization means fewer constraints on how employees do their work
y Organic Organization
y Highly flexible and
y y y y y y
controlled structure
High specialization Rigid departmentalization Narrow spans of control High formalization Limited information network (mostly downward communication) Low decision participation by lower-level employees
adaptable structure
Nonstandardized jobs Fluid team-based structure Little direct supervision Minimal formal rules Open communication network Empowered employees
tends to change from organic to mechanistic with increased specialization, departmentalization, centralization, and rules and regulations
technology y Woodward s classification of firms based on the complexity of the technology employed:
y y y
Unit production of single units or small batches Mass production of large batches of output Process production in continuous process of outputs
y Divisional Structure y Composed of separate business units or divisions with limited autonomy under the coordination and control of the parent corporation
Eliminates the chain of command Has limitless spans of control Uses empowered teams rather than departments Uses virtual, network, and modular organizational structures to get closer to stakeholders
Removing Boundaries
y Virtual Organization y An organization that consists of a small core of full-time employees and that temporarily hires specialists to work on opportunities that arise y Network Organization y A small core organization that outsources its major business functions (e.g., manufacturing) in order to concentrate on what it does best y Modular Organization y A manufacturing organization that uses outside suppliers to provide product components for its final assembly operations
Outsourcing Issues
y Problems in Outsourcing
y Choosing the wrong activities to outsource y Choosing the wrong vendor y Writing a poor contract y Failing to consider personnel issues y Losing control over the activity y Ignoring the hidden costs y Failing to develop an exit strategy (for either moving to
continuously learn, adapt, and change through the practice of knowledge management by employees y Characteristics of a learning organization:
y
y y
An open team-based organization design that empowers employees Extensive and open information sharing Leadership that provides a shared vision of the organization s future; support; and encouragement A strong culture of shared values, trust, openness, and a sense of community