Chapter 8 Flashcards
Downs’s (1967) “law of hierarchy.”
Large government bureaucracies have more elaborate centralized hierarchies compared to firms with “economic outputs.”
Mainstream organization theory’s view of public vs. private organizations
size, environmental complexity, technology, and other factors are more important influences on structure than public or private status.
Examples of what constitutes a structural measure
- Size - total organizational size (F/T employees)
- Centralization - degree [of] power, authority at higher levels
- Configuration -“‘shape’ of administrative apparatus (control, hierarchy, communications
- Specialization - division of labor (task)
- Interdependence of subsystems - task interdependence, autonomy (internal functions)
- Standardization of procedures - “[how] standardized (ad hoc)
- Complexity - subunits, levels, specializations
- Red tape - administrative rules, requirements
- Administrative burdens - “[personal] experience of policy implementation (onerous) (learning, psychological, compliance (costs))
Influences on organization structure
- Size – “larger organizations structurally complex (levels; departments; job titles)
- Centralization/decentralization – “environmental turbulence, complexity are boundary conditions
- Configuration – “greater span of control, [then] production of higher value products (communication)
- Specialization – “hierarchies, specialization [help] organizations integrate
- Interdependence of subsystems – “complementarity is mitigated when interdependencies are grouped
- Complexity – “managers’ misperceptions [about] complimentary activities are costlier than substitute activities (performance)
- Red tape – “rules are designed ineffective or become ineffective during implementation
- Administrative burdens – “how citizens perceive government (trust, fair, participation)
- Information processing and decision making – “how [do you] organize to make decisions (process information) (Herbert Simon)
Additional influences on organization structure
- Environment – formalized, centralized structure [is] best in stable environment (specialization; communication; authority)
- Technology and tasks – structure depends on work processes.
- Information technology – transformed organizations and [work] life.
- Strategic choice – managers’ strategic choices determine structure (divisions, departments; markets, products, challenges).
Research about influences on structural dimensions indicates that
- Larger organizations tend to be more structurally complex (Kalleberg, Knoke, Marsden, and Spaeth)
- Larger organizations tend to have less administrative overhead (Parkinson)
- Environmental turbulence and complexity may be important boundary conditions for the advantages of such centralization (Siggelkowand Rivkin).
negative impacts of red tape on organizational performance according to Sanjay Pandey and his associates
- Reduced services to clients
- Role ambiguity
- Managerial alienation
- Lower morale
Jay Galbraith (1977) defines uncertainty as:
- the gap between the information that is required and the information that is possessed by the organization.
- when companies grow, the level of uncertainty grows. More uncertainty means more information is needed to make decisions
Galbraith’s organizational information processing levels
- Organizational hierarchy - superiors direct subordinates, answering their question and specifying rules and procedures for managing information processing
- Managers make plans and goals and allow subordinates to pursue them with less referral up and down with fewer rules.
- Reduce span of control so managers have fewer subordinates and therefore fewer decisions (information processing)
What are the components of Mitzenberg’s Model
“the sum total of the ways in which and organizations divides its labor into distinct tasks and then achieves coordination among them.”
- Operating core: people directly related to service/product production
- Strategic apex: serves needs of people who control the organization
- Middle line: managers who connect the strategic apex with operating core
- Technostructure: analysts who design, plan, train the operating core
- Support staff: specialists who provide support to the organization outside of cores activities
- Ideology: the traditions and beliefs that make the organization unique
Mitzenberg’s design parameters
structures within the units (operating core; strategic apex; middle line; technostructure; support staff) that divide and coordinate the work within them fall into 4 categories
- Positions - Job specialization, behavior formalization
- Superstructures - Unit grouping (ex. criteria - knowledge and skills, function, time, output, clients, location.
- workflow interdependencies - phases of work required close communication
- process interdependencies - people perform the same type of work
- scale interdependencies - unit is large enough to need its own functional categories
- social interdependencies - facilitate social relations, morale, and cohesiveness
- Lateral linkages
- performance-control systems - general results as an indicator of effective coordination
- action-planning system - specific actions that people and groups must take
- liaison devices - liaisons from other units facilitate coordination
- Decision-making (through decentralization)
- Vertical decentralization - pushing decision-making authority down
- Horizontal decentralization - spreading decision-making authority across the unit
Mitzenberg’s types of organizational structure
- simple (vertical, horizontal centralization, strong apex)
- machine bureaucracies (standardize political oversight, increased tecno-structure)
- professional bureaucracies [standardization of skills (rather than tasks), general decentralization]
- divisionalized forms (economies of scale)
- adhocacy (organic, fluid communication, [flexible].
Functional structures (classic prototype)
- organization is structured around major functions (marketing and sales, manufacturing, finance, etc…)
- allows for economies of scale but concentration on specialization of functions weakens coordination with other functions
Product and hybrid structures (organization design alternative)
- response when functional structures are too slow, hierarchical
- separate divisions to focus on products instead of functions
- maintains quality of product and allows more rapid response to environmental changes
- Hybrid includes a combination of product structures and functional structures (HR, finance)
Matrix design structures (organization design alternative)
- purposely violate the “one master” and clear chains of authority rules
- product emphasis (high quality); functional (rapid and reliable)
- one line of authority for each
- Allows to shift resources across tasks in response to the environment
- requires massive investment in coordination and conflict resolutions
Market and customer-focused designs (organization design alternative)
- organization based on orientation to groupings of customers, markets, or industries
- driven by the rise of the service industry
Geographical design (organization design alternative)
- organization based on geographical regions or districts.
- Can reduce transportation and logistics costs and challenges
Process structures (organization design alternative)
Divisions are organized around processes
Holacracy (organization design alternative)
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Decentralized management, structure of governance (‘no-structure structure; self-organizing teams)
Macrostructure of Public Organizations
- Structure in public organizations cannot be separated from structures outside organization (government)
- Internal structures in public agencies reflect jurisdictional structures of government in which they operate.
- Units of government differ in structural arrangements (formal, constitutional powers) (238).
- Public organizations tend to have higher levels of internal structural complexity, centralization, formalization (239).
- Within specific task categories public organizations favor stable hierarchies, centralized, formalized rules (239).
- Government rules tend to follow from government ownership, funding (239).
Information Technology and Public Organizations
- IT precipitated implications for organizations and management (computer; internet; social media) (240).
- Salient effects of industry have expanded computing technology into design and production (240).
- Computer-aided design (CAD)
- Computer-aided manufacturing
- Computer-integrated manufacturing
- Mass production to mass customization (240). production of large quantities of good and services that are more tailored to the preferences of individual customers than previously possible.
Social Media
- Social media – wikis, blogs, websites, email (248).
- Tim O’Reilly (2005) – “Web 2.0” – users are able to contribute to collective intelligence, information, communication.
- Mergel (2012) - “Government 2.0” - the use of social media in government
- Use of social media – higher levels of interaction and information sharing (government and clients, stakeholders, citizens) (248)
- Ines Mergel and Stuart I. Bretschneider (2012) – three-stage framework for government use of social media
- Intrapreneurship and experimentation - mavericks experiment with initiatives using the new technology. No protocols, norms, or procedures among them. chaos ensues
- constructive chaos - recognizing the chaos, committees or task forces are formed to create a common standard and coordinate activates.
- institutionalization - organization develops uniformity and standards, rules, and processes.