Division of Labour & Coordination Division of labour – Subdivision of work into separate jobs assigned to different people Coordination of work – Informal communication – Formal hierarchy – Standardization • Formalization • Goals/outputs • Training/skills J. Player, New York Times 1 Organizational Structure and Design Chapter 16 2 DIVISION OF LABOUR: A SUMMARY Division of Labour High Dimension Low Degree of specialization General tasks Highly specialized tasks Typical organizational size Small Large Economic efficiency Inefficient Highly efficient Elements of Organizational Structure Departmentalization Span of Control Organizational Structure Elements Formalization Centralization 4 Span of Control • Number of people directly reporting to the next level • Assumes coordination through direct supervision • Wider span of control possible when: – with other coordinating methods – employees perform similar tasks – tasks are routine 5 Tall versus Flat Organizations: Comparison Flat hierarchy Tall hierarchy Chief Executive Chief Executive Relatively wide span of control Relatively narrow span of control Forces for (De)centralization Centralization • Organizational crises • Management desire for control • Increase consistency, reduce costs • Complexity — size, diversity • Desire for empowerment Decentralization 7 DECENTRALIZATION: BENEFITS WHEN LOW AND WHEN HIGH Low Decentralization (High centralization) High decentralization (low centralization) Eliminates the additional responsibility not desired by people performing routine jobs Can eliminate levels of management, making a leaner organization Permits crucial decisions to be made by individuals who have the “big picture” Promotes greater opportunities for decisions to be made by people closest to problems Formalization • The degree to which organizations standardize behaviour through rules, procedures, formal training and related mechanisms. • Strengths and limits? 9 Mechanistic vs. Organic Structures Mechanistic Organic • High formalization • Low formalization • Narrow span of control • Wide span of control • High centralization • Low centralization 10 MECHANISTIC VERSUS ORGANIC DESIGNS: A bird’s eye view Structure Dimension Mechanistic Organic Stability Change unlikely Change likely Specialization Many specialists Many generalists Formal rules Rigid rules Considerable flexibility Authority Centralized in few top people Decentralized, diffused throughout the organization Effects of Departmentalization • How are employees and their activities grouped together? • Areas of common supervision • Establishes work teams and supervision structure • Creates common resources, measures of performance, etc • Encourages informal communication among people and subunits 5 pure types of departmentalization… 12 Simple • Few employees reporting directly to one person (owner) Owner Employee Employee Employee 13 Functional Organizational Structure •Organizes employees around skills or other resources (marketing, production) •Create subordinate goals President Finance Production Marketing 14 Divisionalized Structure Organizes employees around outputs, clients, or geographic areas President Enterprise Systems Laserjet Solutions Consumer Products 15 Project-Based Matrix Structure Employees are temporarily assigned to a specific project team and have a permanent functional unit President Engineering Manager Marketing Manager Software Manager Project A Manager Project B Manager Project C Manager 16 HYBRID structures • Parts are combined to maintain balance of power and effectiveness across functional, product, geographic and client focused units 17 Features of Team-Based Structures • Structure is built around Self-directed work teams rather than individuals • Teams organized around work processes • Very flat span of control • Very little formalization • Most supervisory activities are delegated to the team • Usually found within divisionalized structure • Very responsive and flexible; empowerment is high; reduced need for managers; time consuming; ambiquity 18 Network/Virtual Organizational Structure Product Development Firm (France) Marketing Firm (U.K.) Core Firm (Canada) Customer Service Firm (U.S.A.) Production Firm (China) Accounting Firm (Canada) 19 Contingencies • Organizational size • Technology • External environment • Organizational strategy 20 Types of Organizational Technology High Analyzability Low Analyzability Assembly Line Engineering Projects Skilled Trades Scientific Research Low Variety High Variety 21 Org. Environment & Structure Dynamic Stable • High rate of change • Use team-based, network, or other organic structure • Steady conditions, predictable change • Use mechanistic structure Complex Simple • Many elements (such as stakeholders) • Decentralize • Few environmental elements • Less need to decentralize 22 Org. Environment & Structure (con’t) Diverse • Variety of products, clients, locations • Divisional form aligned with the diversity Hostile • Competition and resource scarcity • Use organic structure for responsiveness Integrated • Single product, client, location • Don’t need divisional form Munificant • Plenty of resources and product demand • Less need for organic structure 23