Foundations of Organizational Structure
FOUNDATIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Overview
No other topic in management has undergone as much change in the past few years as that of organizing and organizational structure. Traditional approaches to organizing work are being questioned and re-evaluated as managers search out structural designs that will best support and facilitate employees' doing the organization's work—ones that can achieve efficiency but also have the flexibility that's necessary for success in today's dynamic environment. Recall that organizing is defined as the process of creating an organization's structure. That process is important and serves many purposes. The challenge for managers is to design an organizational structure that allows employees to effectively and efficiently do their work. Just what is an organization's structure? An organizational structure is the formal framework by which job tasks are divided, grouped, and coordinated. When managers develop or change an organization's structure, they are engaged in organizational design, a process that involves decisions about six key elements: work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, centralization and decentralization, and formalization.
Organizational Structure and Design
Organizational Structure The formal pattern of how people and jobs are divided, grouped and coordinated in an organization.
Organizational Design
The decisions and actions that result in organizational structure.
What Determines Organizational Structure?
• To what degree are tasks subdivided into separate jobs?
• On what basis will jobs be grouped together?
• To whom do individuals and groups report?
• How many individuals can a manager efficiently and effectively direct?
• Where does decision-making authority lie?
• To what degree will there be rules and regulations to direct employees and managers?
The Basics of Organizational Structure
• Organizational structure defines how job tasks are formally divided,
Overview
No other topic in management has undergone as much change in the past few years as that of organizing and organizational structure. Traditional approaches to organizing work are being questioned and re-evaluated as managers search out structural designs that will best support and facilitate employees' doing the organization's work—ones that can achieve efficiency but also have the flexibility that's necessary for success in today's dynamic environment. Recall that organizing is defined as the process of creating an organization's structure. That process is important and serves many purposes. The challenge for managers is to design an organizational structure that allows employees to effectively and efficiently do their work. Just what is an organization's structure? An organizational structure is the formal framework by which job tasks are divided, grouped, and coordinated. When managers develop or change an organization's structure, they are engaged in organizational design, a process that involves decisions about six key elements: work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, centralization and decentralization, and formalization.
Organizational Structure and Design
Organizational Structure The formal pattern of how people and jobs are divided, grouped and coordinated in an organization.
Organizational Design
The decisions and actions that result in organizational structure.
What Determines Organizational Structure?
• To what degree are tasks subdivided into separate jobs?
• On what basis will jobs be grouped together?
• To whom do individuals and groups report?
• How many individuals can a manager efficiently and effectively direct?
• Where does decision-making authority lie?
• To what degree will there be rules and regulations to direct employees and managers?
The Basics of Organizational Structure
• Organizational structure defines how job tasks are formally divided,