Chapter 8 Flashcards
Organisational design
Process of choosing and implementing a structural configuration for an organisation.
Formal structure
Intended configuration of the positions, job duties and lines of authority among the parts of an organisation.
Does size determine structure?
Structure can determine size - opening an office in a new country means increasing spatial differentiation, but staffing leads to an increase in size.
Can structure determine technology?
Yes. While technology influences structure it exists as a range of potentials. Some things are technologically impossible.
Factors influencing organisational design
scale - staff growth creates complexity, and systems substitute for direct supervision.
Tech - combination of resources, knowledge and techniques that concert input to outputs.
Environment
Strategy - org strategy: process of positioning org in the environment and implementing actions to compete successfully.
Organisational goals
Output goals define type of business. Primary beneficiaries are particular groups expected to benefit from the efforts of an org.
Systems goals are concerned with conditions within the org. May focus on growth, stability.
Business control process
Set standards ➡️ measure output ➡️ compare output with standard ➡️ take corrective action if necessary.
Organisational coordination
Set of mechanisms used to link actions of organisation subunits into a pattern.
Personal and impersonal methods
Personal: Dialogue through informal and formal channels, shared values through org.
Impersonal: budgets, policy, procedure, management info systems, cross department work units.
Organisational design types
Organic: more flexibility, responsive to change, delegated responsibility.
Mechanistic: emphasis on procedures, documented systems, middle management authority.
Vertical specialisation
Division of labour - mechanistic tends to many formal layers, organic tends to fewer formal layers.
Central/decentralisation - degree to which authority make decisions is given to higher/lower levels of management. Mech- central, organic - decentral.
Unity of command - each worker has single supervisor.l
Span of control - no. of individuals reporting to a supervisor.
Horizontal specialisation
Departmentalisation - establish groups in organisation. Fix final, divisional, matrix.
Line personnel -work groups conducting the core business directly affecting organisation.
Staff personnel - specialist work groups supporting line groups.
