Transcript Slajd 1 - Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat Institute of Administrative Studies University of Wrocław
The essence of organizational structure
Definitions of organizational structure
R.H. Hall, P.S. Tolbert
: (…) organizational structure can be considered as the arrangement of organizational parts. [The six basic organizational (structural) elements that can be used to configure an organization are: designing jobs, grouping jobs, establishing reporting relationships, distributing authority, coordinating activities and differentiating between positions].
P.M. Blau
: (…) the distributions, along various lines, of people among social positions that influence the role relations among these people.
S. Ranson, B. Hinings, R. Greenwood
: (…) a complex medium of control which is continually produced and recreated in interaction and yet shapes that interaction: structures are constituted and constitutive.
dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
Functions of organizational structure
to guarantee effectiveness to minimize or at least regulate the influence of indivi dual variations on the organization (it is an individual that should conform to requirements of the organization, not the organization to requirements of an individual) to make possible: exercising power (organizational structure determi nes which positions have power) making decisions (organizational structure determi nes the flow of information into a decision) carrying out organizational activities (organizational structure is the arena for organizational actions) dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
Plurality of structures in an organization
it is a mistake to think that there is only one structure in an organization: there is intraorganizational variation, both across organizational units and up and down the hierarchy structural differences are especially visible in multinational organizations (in chapters or divisions of international organizations located in different countries)
The essence of organizational structure
Types of organizational structure
• ideal type of bureaucracy • real type of bureaucracy • mechanic/mechanistic organization • organic organization • adhocracy
The essence of organizational structure Ideal type of bureaucracy (designed for efficiency and reliability) as seen by Max Weber 1. Official functions are fulfilled on continuous basis.
2. Jurisdictional areas are clearly specified; activities are distributed as official duties.
3. Organization follows hierarchical principle.
4. Intentional, abstract rules govern decisions and actions. Rules are stable, exhaustive, and can be learned.
5. Decisions are recorded in permanent files.
6. Means of production or administration belong to office. Personal property is separated from office property.
7. Officials are selected on basis of technical qualifications, appoin ted not elected, and compensated by salary.
8. Employment by the organization is a career. The official is a full time employee and looks forward to a life-long career. After a trial period they get tenure of position and are protected from arbitrary dismissal.
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
Real type of bureaucracy 1: deviations from ideas and principles of ideal type of bureaucracy
lack of the continuous fulfillment of official tasks (lack of the continuity of administration) delay in the fulfillment of tasks making decisions on determinants other than legal or not accepted by law ignorance of law and/or wrong interpretation of law non precisely defined competences and/or abuse of competences nepotism cronyism corruption employing on the basis of non meritorial grounds lack of proper systematic control lack of documentation and/or errors in documentation dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
Real type of bureaucracy 2: wrong application of ideas and principles of ideal type of bureaucracy
excessive specialization rigidity, inertia and autonomization of procedures non-elasticity of organization groupthink making mutually contradictory provisions conservatism and resistance against innovations tendency towards oligarchization dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
Tom Burns
: A mechanistic system is appropriate to stable conditions. It is characterized by: 1.
2.
The specialized differentiation of functional tasks into which the problems and tasks facing the concern as a whole are broken down.
The abstract nature of each individual task, which is pursued with techniques and purposes more or less distinct from those of the concern as a whole.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
The reconciliation, for each level in the hierarchy, of these distinct performances by the immediate superiors .
The precise definition functional role.
of rights and obligations and technical methods attached to each The translation of rights functional position.
Hierarchic structure and obligations and methods into the responsibilities of a of control, authority, and communication.
A reinforcement of the hierarchic structure by the location of exclusively at the top of the hierarchy.
A tendency for vertical interaction superior and subordinate.
knowledge of actualities between members of the concern, i.e. between 9.
A tendency for operations and working behaviour to be 10. Insistence on loyalty bership.
governed by superiors .
to the concern and obedience to superiors as a condition of mem 11. A greater importance and prestige attaching to politan) knowledge, experience and skill.
internal (local) then to general (cosmo dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure Tom Burns: The organic form is appropriate to changing conditions, which give rise con stantly to fresh problems and unforeseen requirements for action which cannot be bro ken down or distributed automatically arising from the functional roles defined within a hierarchic structure. It is characterized by: 1.
2.
3.
The contributive nature concern.
The realistic the concern.
of special knowledge and experience to the common task of the nature of the individual task, which is seen as set by the total situation of The adjustment and others.
continual redefinition of individual tasks through interaction with 4.
5.
6.
7.
The The A shedding of responsibilities spread of commitment network structure as a limited field of rights, obligations, and methods.
to the concern beyond any technical definition.
of control, authority, and communication.
Omniscience no longer imputed to the head of the concern; knowledge anywhere in the network; this location becoming the centre of authority.
may be located 8.
9.
A lateral rather than a vertical direction of communication through the organization.
A content of communication which consists of instructions and decisions.
information and advice rather than 10. Commitment to the concern’s tasks and to the ‘technological ethos’ of material progress and expansion is more highly valued than loyalty.
11. Importance and prestige attach to affiliations and expertise technical and commercial milieux external to the firm.
valid in the industrial and dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
Adhocracy
Adhocracy describes an organization which is the diametric opposite of Weber’s bureaucracy. According to Stuart Crainer adhocracy or the new organization disregards the accepted, classical principles of management under which each and every one has a carefully defined and permanent role: the new organization is flexible and free flowing the new organization is non-hierarchical the new organization is based on participation the new organization is creative and entrepreneurial the new organization is based round networks the new organization is driven by organizational goals – rather than narrowly-defined functional ones the new organization utilizes ICT as a key resource dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
Structural features of an organizations
complexity formalization centralization Complexity, formalization and centralization may change within one organization: they are multidimensional pheno mena (they vary from high to low).
dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
Complexity
Complexity of an organization has major effects on the behavior of its members, on other structural conditions (formalization and centraliza tion), on processes within the organization, and on relationships be tween the organization and its environment.
Components of complexity: horizontal differentiation (refers to the ways the tasks performed by the organization are subdivided) vertical (hierarchical) differentiation geographical differentiation (spatial dispersion); it can be a form of horizontal or vertical differentiation or it can be a separate element in the complexity concept when an organization performs the same functions with the same division of labor and hierarchical arrangements in multiple locations. Most organizations are more or less complex (differentiated). One of really highly complex organizations (on all three axes) is of course public administration.
dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure Harry S. Truman The sign "The Buck Stops Here" was on USA President for the way the country was governed.
Harry S. Truman's (1884-1972) desk in his White House office. This was meant to indicate that he didn't "pass the buck" to anyone else but accepted personal responsibility The saying "the buck stops here" derives from the slang expression "pass the buck" which means passing the responsibility on to someone else. The latter expression is said to have originated with the game of poker, in which a marker or counter, frequently in frontier days a knife with a buckhorn handle, was used to indicate the person whose turn it was to deal. If the player did not wish to deal he could pass the responsibility by passing the "buck," as the counter came to be called, to the next player.
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure Good News Bible, Exodus; 18, 13-23: The next day Moses was settling disputes among the people, and he was kept busy from morning till night. When Jethro saw everything that Moses had to do, he asked, „What is all this that you are doing for the peo ple? Why are you doing this all alone, with people standing here from morn ing till night to consult you?”.
Moses answered, „I must do this because the people come to me to learn God’s will. When two people have a dispute, they come to me, and I decide which one of them is right, and I tell them God’s commands and laws”.
Then Jethro said, „You are not doing it the right way. You will wear yourself out and these people as well. This is too much for you to do alone.
Now let me give you some good advice […] you should choose some capable men and appoint them as leaders of the people: leaders of thousands, hun dreds, fifties, and tens. They must be God-fearing men who can be trusted and who cannot be bribed. Let them serve as judges for the people on a permanent basis. They can bring all the difficult cases to you, but they them selves can decide all the smaller disputes. This will make it easier for you, as they share your burden. If you do this, as God commands, you will not wear yourself out, and all these people can go home with their disputes settled”.
dr hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure Formalization: a process in which the organization sets the rules and procedures and the means of ensuring that they are followed.
Jerald Hage, Michael Aiken : Formalization represents the use of rules in an organization. Job codification is a measure of how many rules define what the occupants of positions are to do, while rule observation is a measure of whether or not the rules are employed. In other words, the variable of job codification represents the degree to which the job descriptions are specified, and the variable, rule observation, refers to the degree to which job occupants are supervised in conforming to the standards established by job codification. Job codification represents the degree of work standardization while rule observation is a measure of the latitude of behavior that is tolerated from standards.
In highly formalized situations, there is very little discretion available for members to operate on their own (formalization is designed to be a control mechanism over individuals).
dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
Formalization
formalization is not an abstraction (the degree to which an organization is formalized is an indication of the perspectives of its decision makers in regard to organizational members) formalization is not a neutral concept: it might be helpful, since formalized procedures assist people in accomplishing their work it is coercive as people are forced into compliance (forma lization involves organizational control over the individual; the amount of individual discretion is inversely related to the amount of preprogramming of behavior by the organi zation) The above allows to say that formalization has an ethical and a political meaning in addition to being a structural component.
dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
Centralization
Centralization is commonly referred to the distribution of power within an organization: If most decision making occurs at the top, the organization is centralized.
The matter is not that simple. Centralization is not only a matter of who makes decisions: if employees at lower levels in the organization are making many decisions but the decisions are programmed by organi zational policies, a high degree of centralization remains if evaluation is carried out by people at the top of the organization, there is centralization, regardless of the level at which decisions are made dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
Centrality
It is important to distinguish centralization from centrality.
Centrality refers to a person’s or a social role’s position in workflow, communications, or friendship networks. It is related to people’s being perceived as influential by both supervisors and nonsupervisors.
dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
The degree of centralization in an organization
the degree of centralization says a great deal about a society: a society in which the majority of organizations are highly centralized is one in which the workers have little to say about their work the degree of centralization is an indication of what the organization assumes about its members: • high centralization implies an assumption that the members need tight control • low centralization suggests that the members can govern themselves dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
The essence of organizational structure
Varying degrees of centralization have the major
outcome for the organization itself.
High levels of centralization mean: greater coordination, but less flexibility consistent organization-wide policies, but possibly in appropriate policies for local conditions potential for rapid decision making during emergencies, but overloaded communications channels during normal operations as communications flow up and down the hierarchy dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat
Stand with anybody that stands RIGHT. Stand with him while he is right and PART with him when he goes wrong
, The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, volume II, "Speech at Peoria, Illinois" (October 16, 1854), p. 273.
Concluding remark
The only things that evolve by themselves in an organization are disorder, friction, and malperfor mance.
Peter F. Drucker
(1909-2005)
dr. hab. Jerzy Supernat