Transcript The Structural Frame

The Structural Frame
B&D's structural frame focuses on how
reporting relationships and hierarchies
develop in response to an organization's
tasks and environment.
The structural frame is the most rational and
visible manifestation of the organization. It
addresses the following characteristics:
Structural Assumptions
• Organizations exist to achieve established goals and
objectives
• Organizations increase efficiency and performance via
specialization and division of labor
• Appropriate forms of coordination and control ensure
performance
• Organizations work best when rationality prevails
• Structure must align with the organization’s circumstances
• Problems arise from structural deficiencies and can be
remedied by restructuring
Characteristics Addressed by the
Structural Frame
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Goals
Boundaries (between the organization and its environment)
Levels of authority
Divisions of labor (differentiation and integration)
Formal communication channels
Coordination and control of tasks
Rules and procedures
• Desired patterns of activities and relationships among participants.
What Causes Problems?
Organizational problems originate from
inappropriate structures or inadequate
control.
They can be resolved by changing the
structure or the control system
The structural frame deals with how work gets
done. It is rational in that it assumes that
organizations exist primarily to accomplish
established goals. Likewise, their structures
should be designed around those goals. We
call this "technical rationality."
Using the Structural Frame
• Low ambiguity or uncertainty of outcome. The structural frame does
not match up well with ambiguous or uncertain outcomes. It is usually
very clear what should happen following a decision in the structural
frame.
Using the Structural Frame
• Resources are not overly scarce and conflict is low. The structural
frame works best in a stable organization, where members are not
threatened by change and perceive the logic of the decisions being
made. Where instability exists, either because the organization is
threatened by a lack of resources (usually money), or internal factions
disagree over goals, then a different frame must be used to address
these concerns.
Using the Structural Frame
• Top down decisions. Structure, hierarchy, rules, and procedures
usually flow from the top down to the members of the organization.
The hierarchy itself defines the leaders who make the rules.
Structural Configuration
• Mintzberg’s
Fives
• Strategic apex
• Middle
management
• Operating core
• Techno structure
• Support staff
Mintzberg’s Structural
Configurations
• Simple Structure
• Machine
Bureaucracy
• Professional
Bureaucracy
• Divisionalized Form
• Adhocracy
Mintzberg’s Structural
Configurations
• Simple Structure
• Machine
Bureaucracy
• Professional
Bureaucracy
• Divisionalized Form
• Adhocracy
Mintzberg’s Structural
Configurations
• Simple Structure
• Machine
Bureaucracy
• Professional
Bureaucracy
• Divisionalized Form
• Adhocracy
Mintzberg’s Structural
Configurations
• Simple Structure
• Machine
Bureaucracy
• Professional
Bureaucracy
• Divisionalized
Form
• Adhocracy
Mintzberg’s Structural
Configurations
• Simple Structure
• Machine
Bureaucracy
• Professional
Bureaucracy
• Divisionalized Form
• Adhocracy
Why Restructure?
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The environment shifts
Technology changes
Organizations grow
Leadership changes
Troubled firms
• Impulsive firms
• Stagnant bureaucracies
• Headless giants
Generic Issues in Restructuring:
each component exerts distinct pressures
• Strategic apex pushes for more alignment,
centralization
• Middle managers try to protect autonomy and
room to run their own unit
• Techno structure pushes for standardization,
believes in measurement and monitoring
• Support staff prefers less hierarchy, more
collaboration