ch 15: organizational structure

organizational chart

1. drawing that represents every job in the organization and the formal reporting relationships bw those jobs 2. helps ppl understand and comprehend how work is structured within the company

restructuring

1. process of changing an organizations structure 2. small negative effect on task performance 3. negative effect on organizational commitment bc less emotional attachment 4. increase stress and jeopardize trust

organizational design

1. process of creating, selecting, or changing the structure of an organization 2. business environment- customers, competitors, suppliers, distributors and other factors external to the firm all which have an impact on the organization a. whether environment is stable or dynamic 1. stable- dont change frequently and changes are slow a. focus on efficieny and require little change over time 2. dynamic- change on a frequent basis and require organizations to have structures that are more adaptive 3. company strategy- an organizations objectives and goals and how it tries to capitalize on its assets to make money a. low cost producer- rely on selling precuts at lowest possible cost, to do this u need to be efficient b. differentiator- ppl will pay more for a product that is unique 4. technology- method by which it transforms inputs into outputs a. more routine it is, more mechanistic a should be 5. company size

common organizational forms

1. simple structures- mot common form of organizational design bc there are more small organizations than big ones, more than 80% companies have 19 or fewer ppl a. used by extremely small organizations in which manager, press and owner are all the same person b. flat organization with one person as central decision maker c. employees have ripple effect and owner becomes more complex 2. bureaucratic structure- organizational form that exhibits many of the facets of the mechanistic organization a. designed for efficiency and rely on high specialization, formalization, and centralization narrow span of control b. functional structure- groups employees by functions they perform for the organization 1. hard when an organization as a whole has a narrow focus, few product lines and a stable environment 2. biggest weaknesses revolve around the fact the ppl within each function get so wrapped up in their own goals and viewpoints they lose sight of bigger orgnzitonal picture c. multi divisional structure- employees are group into divisions around products, geographic regions or clients 1. has own function group 2. develop when goals become diverse 3.. product structures- group businesses around different products that the company produces a.. downsides- divisions don't communicate and don't learn from one another 4. geographic structures- based around different locations where the company does business 5. client structure- have a number of very large costumers that all act in a similar way 3. matrix structures- more complex designs that try to take advantage of two types of structures at the same time a. employees separated into teams on the basis of their functional expertise and the product they happen to be working on b. matrix represents a combination of a functional structure and a product structure c. 2 important points a. allows an organzion to put together flexible teams based on experiences and skills of employees b. gives each employee two chains of command, to groups to interact and two sources of info

elements of organizational structure

1. work specialization- way in which tasks in an organization are divided into separate jobs (division of labor) a. never ending tradeoff among productivity, flexibility, and worker motivation b. highly specialize jobs can cause organizations to lose the ability associated w employees who can be flexible in what they do, can't practice their other skills, problematic in smaller firms c. highly specialized can also struggle w job satisfaction bc little variety 2. chain of command- answers the question who reports to whom a. flow of authority through levels of organizations structure b. can report to 2 or more managers 3. span of control- how many employees a manger is responsible for in the organization a. narrow allow managers to be more hands on with employees and die them leadership opportunity and mentor them 1. requires to hire many mangers, which increases labor costs 2. too narrow employees can become resentful and want more latitude in dat to day decision making b. moderate control is best c. determines how tall or flat organizational chart is d. when an organization becomes taller 1. more layers of management means more salaries 2. communication becomes complex 3. decision making slower e. better when flatter- reduce costs and adapt to environment 4. centralization- where decisions are formally made in organizations a. highly centralized- only managers make decisions 1. tight group of ppl bc have formal authority b. decentralzied- employees make decisions too 1. necessary as company becomes bigger 5. formalization a. high when they are many specific rules and procedures used to standardize behavior and decisions b. more predictable level of output 6. elements in combonation a. wide span of control associated with decentralization b. high work specizilation= high level formalization c. mechanistic organziations- efficient, rigid, predicatable, and standardized organizations that thrive in stable environments 1. high formalization, high chain of command, high centralization and speciizaltion and narrow span of control d. organic organizations (opposite)- flexible, adaptive, outward focused, low formalization, weak or multiple chain of command, low specialization and wide span of control

organizational structure

formally dictates how jobs and takes are divided and coordinated bw inidivudals and groups within the company foundation for organizing jobs, controlling employee behavior, shaping communication channels, and providing a lens through which employees view their work environments