Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Managers must first make decisions regarding division of labor, work specialization,
chain of command, departmentalization, centralization and formalization. After these
decisions are finalized, groups then mobilize to achieve a stated goal.
The division of labor involves deciding who does particular jobs. Some workers or
departments have special skills while others have different sets of abilities. Managers
must organize these workers in certain ways to get jobs done.
Jobs are then divided into different departments. One of the most common ways to
departmentalize is to group workers together by function. If certain workers and jobs
serve similar functions, those people should logically work together.
The chain of command, along with the span of management, determines who is
responsible for getting various tasks done. Managers must decide how many people to
oversee effectively to get the tasks done. Similarly, centralization and formalization
refer to rules, procedures and decision-making. This process sets forth who has the
authority to enforce the rules along the chain of command.
Well defined jobs - Organizational structure helps in putting right men on right job
which can be done by selecting people for various departments according to their
qualifications, skill and experience. This is helping in defining the jobs properly
which clarifies the role of every person.
Sense of security - Organizational structure clarifies the job positions. The roles
assigned to every manager is clear. Co-ordination is possible. Therefore, clarity of
powers helps automatically in increasing mental satisfaction and thereby a sense of
security in a concern. This is very important for job- satisfaction.
Scope for new changes - Where the roles and activities to be performed are clear and
every person gets independence in his working, this provides enough space to a
manager to develop his talents and flourish his knowledge. A manager gets ready for
taking independent decisions which can be a road or path to adoption of new
techniques of production. This scope for bringing new changes into the running of an
enterprise is possible only through a set of organizational structure.
1. Common purpose
2. Coordinated effort
3. Division of labor
4. Hierarchy of authority
Common Purpose
An organization without a clear purpose or mission soon begins to drift and become
disorganized. A common purpose unifies employees or members and gives everyone
an understanding of the organization's direction. Ensuring that the common purpose is
effectively communicated across organizations (particularly large organizations with
many moving parts) is a central task for managers. Managers communicate this
purpose by educating all employees on the general strategy, mission statement, values,
and short- and long-term objectives of the organization.
Coordinated Effort
Coordinating effort involves working together in a way that maximizes resources. The
common purpose is achieved through the coordinated effort of all individuals and
groups within an organization. The broader group's diverse skill sets and personalities
must be leveraged in a way that adds value. The act of coordinating organizational
effort is perhaps the most important responsibility of managers because it motivates
and distributes human resources to capture value.
Division of Labor
Division of labor is also known as work specification for greater efficiency. It
involves delegating specific parts of a broader task to different people within the
organization based upon their particular abilities and skills. Using division of labor, an
organization can parcel out a complex work effort for specialists to perform. By
systematically dividing complex tasks into specialized jobs, an organization uses its
human resources more efficiently.
Hierarchy of Authority
Hierarchy of authority is essentially the chain of commanda control mechanism for
making sure the right people do the right things at the right time. While there are a
wide variety of organizational structuressome with more centralization of authority
than othershierarchy in decision making is a critical factor for success. Knowing
who will make decisions under what circumstances enables organizations to be agile,
while ambiguity of authority can often slow the decision-making process. Authority
enables organizations to set directions and select strategies, which can in turn enable a
common purpose.
Planning
The first of the managerial functions is planning. In this step, the manager will create
a detailed action plan aimed at some organizational goal.
Organizing
Leading
The third function of management is leading. In this step, Melissa spends time
connecting with her employees on an interpersonal level. This goes beyond simply
managing tasks; rather, it involves communicating, motivating, inspiring, and
encouraging employees towards a higher level of productivity. Not all managers are
leaders. An employee will follow the directions of a manager because they have to,
but an employee will voluntarily follow the directions of a leader because they believe
in who he or she is as a person, what he or she stands for, and for the manner in which
they are inspired by the leader.
Controlling
Controlling is the final function of management. Once a plan has been carried out, the
manager evaluates the results against the goals. If a goal is not being met, the manager
must also take any necessary corrective actions to continue to work towards that goal.
Six Key Elements in Organizational Design
I. Work Specialization
Describes the degree to which tasks in an organization are
divided into separate jobs. The main idea of this organizational
design is that an entire job is not done by one individual. It is broken down into
steps, and a different person completes each step. Individual employees specialize
in doing part of an activity rather than the entire activity.
II. Departmentalization
It is the basis by which jobs are grouped together. For instance every organization
has its own specific way of classifying and grouping work activities.
o Coordination
within functional area
o In-depth
specialization
o Closer to customers
6.
Authority: Refers to the rights inherent in a managerial position to tell people what to do
and to expect them to do it.
Unity of command: The management principle that each person should report to only one
manager.
VI. Formalization
It refers to the degree to which jobs within the organization are standardized and
the extent to which employee behavior is guided by rules and procedures.