Organizational Design and Structure Flashcards
describe a mechanistic structure
- industrial revolution led from craft, family models to mass production
- scientific management
- Frederick Taylor –> increased production, deskilled and alienated workers, led to quality and innovation problems
describe scientific management within a mechanistic structure
- attempt to separate design of work from its execution
- break down tasks to small, specialized components
- eliminate wasted motion, effort, interaction
what structure is the opposite of mechanistic?
organic
describe a matrix organization
- have departments working together
- moves info more quickly
- report to team and function
what are the two ways to divide labour?
- specialists: narrow experience/knowledge of small number of tasks
- generalists: variety of experience/knowledge
how do we group jobs?
function, geography, process, product/division
describe span of control
number of subordinates managed
-narrow or wide
describe a narrow span of control
-expensive, more managers; makes vertical communication more complicated; discourages autonomy; encourages tight supervision
describe a wide span of control
-less supervision, employees have more responsibility; forces managers to develop clear goals and policies; managers may become overloaded
describe high and low formalization
high: rules, protocols, operating procedures
low: reliance on discretion, emerging routines
when is a bureaucracy good?
- precision is important
- large labour force willing to work
- stable market
- task straightforward
- producing same product over and over
- human “machines” compliant
compare a mechanistic and organic structure
MECHANISTIC
- high specialization
- rigid departmentalization
- clear chain of command
- narrow span of control
- centralization
- high formalization
ORGANIC
- cross-functional teams
- cross-hierarchical teams
- free flow of info
- wide span of control
- decentralization
- low formalization
describe the order of structures from mechanistic to organic
- modern/machine bureaucracy
- professional bureaucracy
- simple structure
- adhocracy
- virtual
describe contingency theory
- organizations must balance internal needs and must continuously adapt to environment
- organizations designed in relation to task and environment
- managers continuously trying to align organization with these considerations
describe a matrix structure
- practice of managing individuals with more than one reporting line
- reporting relationships set up in grid/matrix instead of traditional hierarchy
- employees have dual reporting relationships
describe a machine bureaucracy
- mechanistic
- tasks simple, environment stable
- slow in adapting to new circumstances
- high centralization
- for firms that are production or efficiency-driven
what is a divisional bureaucracy?
-semi-autonomous units with characteristics of the machine bureaucracy (ex. govn’t with series of agencies)
describe a professional bureaucracy
- tasks complicated
- environment stable
- one side of organization run according to bureaucratic principles, other side run according to professional principles
- allows greater autonomy to professionals
ex. university, hospital
describe a simple structure
- tasks not too complex
- unstable environment
- very informal and flexible but highly centralized
- ideal to achieve quick changes and maneuvers
ex. CEO with group of support staff and group of operators
describe an adhocracy
- organic
- complex tasks and unstable environment
- project teams that come together to perform a task and disappear once task is over
what is the scalar chain (chain of command?)
straight chain of command that extends unbroken from ultimate officer to lowest ranks
describe the classical management theory
- idea that management is process of planning, organization, command, control, coordination
- designing organizations like a machine
- precisely defined jobs organized in hierarchical manner through precisely defined lines of command
which theory says that humans should fit the requirements of a mechanical organization?
classical management theory
what are the 5 steps for scientific management?
- shift all responsibility for organization of work from worker to manager
- use scientific methods to determine most efficient way of doing work
- select best person to perform job thus designed
- train worker to do work efficiently
- monitor worker performance
