14
ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN AND STRUCTURE
CHAPTER SCAN
Organizations are structured initially around tasks. As the organization develops, the
structure of the organization can take on many characteristics. Mintzberg illustrated the basic
structures as simple structure, machine bureaucracy, professional bureaucracy, divisionalized
form, and adhocracy. There is a relationship between size and structure that affects the
centralization of the organization. Technology affects organizational structures and affects
whether they are categorized as mechanistic or organic.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, you should be able to do the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Define differentiation and integration as organizational design processes
Discuss six basic design dimensions of an organization.
Briefly describe five structural configurations for organizations.
Describe four contextual variables for an organization.
Explain the four forces reshaping organizations.
Discuss emerging organizational structures.
Identify two cautions about the effect of organizational structures on people.
243
244
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
KEY TERMS
The following key terms are introduced in Chapter 14.
organizational design
organizational structure
contextual variable
differentiation
integration
formalization
centralization
specialization
standardization
complexity
hierarchy of authority
simple structure
machine bureaucracy
professional bureaucracy
divisionalized form
adhocracy
technological interdependence
environment
task environment
environmental uncertainty
organizational life cycle
THE CHAPTER SUMMARIZED
I.
THINKING AHEAD: Organizing for Emergencies, Crises, and Disaster Relief
Organizational design is the process of constructing and adjusting an organization's
structure to achieve its goals. Organizational structure is the linking of departments and
jobs within an organization. The contextual variables that influence organizational design
are size, technology, environment, and strategy and goals.
II.
KEY ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN PROCESSES
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
A.
Differentiation
Differentiation is the process of deciding how to divide the work in an organization.
Differentiation is a check to ensure that all aspects of the tasks are assigned and will
be accomplished. One of the earlier studies found four dimensions (1) manager's goal
orientation, (2) time orientation, (3) interpersonal orientation, and (4) formality of
structure.
B.
Integration
Integration is the process of coordinating the different parts of an organization.
III.
BASIC DESIGN DIMENSIONS
The basic design dimensions are broad, and include the following: Formalization is the
degree to which the organization has official rules, regulations, and procedures. An
organization may have a formal structure, but may operate informally. Centralization is the
degree to which decisions are made at the top of the organization. The quality movement and
programs that stress delegating responsibility and decision making to lower levels result in
decentralization. At the same time, reductions in organizations have altered the middle
management tier of the organization by eliminating part of the central reporting structure.
Typically, the larger and longer the organization has been in existence, the more centralized
will be its structure. Specialization is the degree to which jobs are narrowly defined and
depend on unique expertise. Standardization is the extent to which work activities are
described and performed routinely in the same way. Complexity refers to the number of
different types of activities that occur in the organization. The hierarchy of authority is the
degree of vertical differentiation across levels of management.
Organizations that are highly specialized, formalized, and centralized, typically have a tall
hierarchy of authority, and are highly bureaucratic. The term bureaucracy has not always had
the negative connotation that it carries today. Max Weber coined the expression to mean a
complex organization, based on hierarchy of authority and adherence to rules.
IV.
FIVE STRUCTURAL CONFIGURATIONS
Mintzberg provides five structural configurations for organizations.
A.
Simple Structure
The simple structure is a centralized form of organization that emphasizes the upper
echelon and direct supervision. Most organizations pass through the simple structure
in their formative years. It is the riskiest structure because success is often based on
whims.
245
246
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
B.
Machine Bureaucracy
The machine bureaucracy is a moderately decentralized form of organization that
emphasizes the technical staff and standardization of work processes.
C.
Professional Bureaucracy
The professional bureaucracy is a decentralized form of organization that
emphasizes the operating level and standardization of skills. One of the difficulties
that hospitals face is the professional bureaucracy. Physicians typically are loyal to
their profession rather than to the hospitals in which they practice.
D.
Divisionalized Form
The divisionalized form is a moderately decentralized form of organization that
emphasizes the middle level and standardization of outputs.
E.
Adhocracy
The adhocracy is a selectively decentralized form of organization that emphasizes the
support staff and mutual adjustment among people.
V.
CONTEXTUAL VARIABLES
A.
Size
The larger the organization, the more likely the basic design dimension will be
formalized, central, specialized, standardized, and complex. Additionally, the
hierarchy of authority is typically a tall structure. Large organizations also reap the
efficiency advantages of economies of scale.
B.
Technology
Joan Woodward classified technologies by their complexity. Others considered the
rate of change of the technology to determine the best organizational structure.
Technological interdependence is the degree of interrelatedness of the
organization’s various technological elements.
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
C.
247
Environment
The organizational environment is considered anything outside the boundaries of an
organization. The task environment includes elements that are specifically related to the
attainment of the organization's goals. Burns and Stalker compared the rate of change
and determined that organizations with stable technologies typically have an organic or
flexible structure. Those with low rates of change were mechanistic structures. The
perception of environmental uncertainty or the perception of the lack of environmental
uncertainty is how the contextual variable of environment most influences organizational
design.
D.
Strategy and Goals
Table 14.6 compares formalization, centralization and complexity in relationship to
strategic decision processes. There is commonality across the characteristics of all
three processes.
VI.
FORCES RESHAPING ORGANIZATIONS
A.
Life Cycles in Organizations
The organizational life cycle is comprised of differing stages of an organization's
development from birth to death. The initial stages of the life cycle exhibit aspects of
organic structures. As organizations progress through the stages they become more
mechanistic.
B.
Globalization
As organizations develop globally, they often change their structures to accommodate
the decentralization necessary because of geographic boundaries. As companies
become transnational in perspective they are likely to have two or more headquarters.
C.
Changes in Information-Processing Technologies
Technology serves to share resources and can enhance either a structure of
centralization or decentralization.
D.
Demands on Organizational Processes
Organizations must adapt quickly to changes at a pace unprecedented in
organizational history.
248
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
E.
Emerging Organizational Structures
Emerging structures will necessarily consider the dynamics and issues surrounding total
quality management.
VII.
CAUTIONARY NOTES ABOUT STRUCTURE
Not all structures are advantageous, particularly if they are deficient in some area. If the
hierarchy is overloaded with too much information, decision making is cumbersome and
delayed. At the highest levels, the personality of the chief executive may affect the
organization's structure.
VIII.
MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS: FITTING PEOPLE AND STRUCTURES
TOGETHER
IX.
LOOKING BACK: American Red Cross Disaster Response Field Organizations
CHAPTER SUMMARY








Three basic types of differentiation occur in organizations: horizontal, vertical, and
spatial.
The greater the complexity of an organization because of its degree of differentiation, the
greater the need for integration.
Formalization, centralization, specialization, standardization, complexity, and hierarchy
of authority are the six basic design dimensions in an organization.
Simple structure, machine bureaucracy, professional bureaucracy, divisionalized form,
and adhocracy are five structural configurations of an organization.
The contextual variables important to organizational design are size, technology,
environment, and strategy and goals.
Life cycles, globalization, changes in information-processing technologies, and demands
on process capabilities are forces reshaping organizations today.
New, emerging organizational structures differ from the traditional ones.
Organizational structures may be inherently weak or chief executives may create
personality-organization constellations that adversely affect employees.
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
REVIEW QUESTIONS: SUGGESTED ANSWERS
1. Define the processes of differentiation and integration.
Differentiation is the process of deciding how to divide the work in an organization.
Integration coordinates the different parts of an organization.
2. Describe the six basic dimensions of organizational design.
Formalization is the degree to which the organization has official rules, regulations, and
procedures. Centralization is the degree to which decisions are made at the top of the
organization. An organization is specialized if the jobs are narrowly defined and require
specific, unique expertise. If the tasks are fairly routine, the organization structure would be
standardized. If the organization has multiple types of activities occurring, the dimension
would be complex. Hierarchy of authority is the degree of vertical differentiation across
levels of management.
3. Discuss five structural configurations from the chapter.
The five configurations are from Mintzberg's research. A simple structure is centralized,
having direct supervision and the upper management has the dominant impact. Most small
organizations adopt this structure, or early organizations before the growth phase. The
machine bureaucracy has a specialized technical staff with limited decentralization.
Professional bureaucracy organizations are highly skilled, and have vertical and horizontal
decentralization in the organization. Divisionalized forms key on the middle level, and are
standardized in their outputs. Adhocracy supports staff, and practices a form of selective
decentralization.
4. Discuss the effects of the four contextual variables on the basic design dimensions.
The four variables are size, technology, environment, and strategy and goals. As these
elements change, so will the design of the organization. In general, large organizations are
more formalized, specialized, standardized, and complex than smaller ones. They also have
taller hierarchies and low centralization. Determining the relationship between technologies
and basic dimensions is more complicated. One pertinent stream of research is Thompson's,
who suggested that greater technological interdependence produces greater complexity and
the need for more decentralized decision making. One way of looking at the environment is
to use Burn's and Stalker's perspective. If the environment is complex, an organic structure is
better. The relationship between strategy and goals and the basic design dimensions is
summarized in Table 14.5.
249
250
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
5. Identify four forces that are reshaping organizations today.
Downsizing affects the hierarchical structure, team and group orientations alter job designs,
globalization changes the centralization concept, and technology is intended to reduce
duplication.
6. Discuss the nature of emerging organizational structures.
One of the key ideas in total quality management is organizing around processes. New
structures will be characterized by this type of organizing, along with an emphasis on selfmanaged teams. Organizations are also becoming more horizontal as they downsize,
eliminating layers of management. The modular corporation is another emerging design,
with its emphasis on outsourcing rather than vertical integration.
7. List four symptoms of structural weakness and five unhealthy personality-organization
combinations.
Symptoms of structural weakness include: (1) delayed decision making because the
hierarchy is overloaded; (2) poor quality decisions because information linkages are not
effective; (3) lack of innovative responses to the changing environments because of poor
coordination; and (4) conflict among departments because of a lack of shared strategies and
goals.
Five dysfunctional combinations of executive personality and organization are: paranoid,
depressive, dramatic, compulsive, and schizoid.
DISCUSSION AND COMMUNICATION QUESTIONS: SUGGESTED ANSWERS
1. How would you describe the organization you work for (or your college) on each of the
basic design dimensions? For example, is it a very formal organization or an informal
organization?
Most students will see their organization as formal, particularly university structures.
2. Do the size, technology, and mission of your organization directly affect you? How?
Students typically relate to the size and technology aspects of this question, rather than the
strategy and goals, which are harder to ascertain.
3. Who are your organization's competitors? What changes do you see in informaiton
technology where you work?
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
251
Students are likely to identify competitors in the local market, and may need to be reminded
of global competition. The geographic range of competition will, of course, vary depending
on the type of industry.
Students will readily identify changes such as increased computerization and the use of email and the internet. Some workplaces, of course, may have more advanced technologies.
4. Does your company show any one or more of the four symptoms of structural deficiency
discussed at the end of the chapter?
Students should be prompted to think about why these deficiencies occur, and how they can
be altered.
5. Write a memo classifying and describing the structural configuration of your university based
on the five choices in Table 14.2. Do you need more information than you have to be
comfortable with your classification and description? Where could you get the information?
Students should give specific examples and characteristics of the university to support their
choices.
6. Interview an administrator in your college or university about possible changes in size (Will
the college or university get bigger? smaller?) and technology (Is the college or university
making a significant investment in information technology?). What effects does the
administration anticipate from these changes? Be prepared to present your results orally to the
class.
It would be a good idea to coordinate in-class who students are interviewing so that a wide
variety of administrators are approached. Class discussion can then focus on similarities and
differences in the responses an how each administrator’s frame of reference influences his or her
perspective on these issues.
ETHICS QUESTIONS: SUGGESTED ANSWERS
1. For what types of individual behavior is it ethical for an organization to have formal rules
and regulations? For what types of individual behavior is it unethical for an organization to
have formal rules and regulations?
Job related policies are the easiest category. However, there is an increase in the policies that
relate to employees off the job. For example, some organizations will not provide insurance
coverage for smokers.
252
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
2. Should legal limits be set to prevent large companies from engaging in very competitive
behavior to drive small companies out of business?
These laws and regulations exist, although students may be opinionated as to the degree in
which they should exist.
3. As an organization changes its structure over time, how much commitment should it show
to employees who need to be retrained to fit into the new system? Or is it acceptable for the
organization to hire new people to fit the new structure?
Both of these approaches are acceptable, however, it is illegal to exchange older employees
for newer employees as a direct cost saving benefit.
4. Suppose an employee complains about organizational design problems and suggests a
solution. The organization is redesigned accordingly, but that employee's department is
eliminated. Is it ethical for the company to terminate the employee? Should the company
always make room for a person who has a beneficial idea for the organization?
This is closely related to the underlying concept of entitlement. Entitlement is the belief that
an organization owes a job to employees that are loyal, performing, and committed.
Entitlement laws are vastly different from country to country.
CHALLENGES
14.1 HOW DECENTRALIZED IS YOUR COMPANY?
This might be a good challenge for students to complete prior to the discussion on
decentralization. Students can then share their perceptions of their companies as examples
during the discussion.
EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES
14.1 WORDS-IN-SENTENCES COMPANY
The purpose of this exercise is to understand issues of organizational design. Because the
students are given a fairly easy and innocuous assignment, it is not difficult to see how the design
issues of the various groups influence the success of the outcome.
It is better to have several groups, so if the class is smaller, then assign groups to have only six
members. By having several groups, it is possible to compare later which design worked best for
this type of task.
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
253
If you can, assign one observer per group so that the debrief will be richer. Using observers to
“float” is highly beneficial to learning. They still have their “home” group, but they freely move
throughout the various groups. This gives them much more insight and ability to give more
meaningful feedback later.
You should give each group the raw material words, preferably on a notecard or a piece of paper,
so that each group gets a notecard. Some possibilities include:
organic and mechanic
Lawrence and Lorsch
task and design
Woodward on technology
Using raw materials related to the concepts of this exercise seems to reinforce the learning.
During the debrief, spend a lot of time on what the groups learned from Production Run #1 to
Production Run #2. If they reorganized, how so and why? Some groups reorganize, but it is
senseless. What information did they get from #1 that led them to the changes in #2? Was the
outcome better?
SOURCE: Dorothy Marcic, Organizational Behavior Experiences and Cases, 4th Ed. (St. Paul:
West, 1995), 303-305.
14.2 DESIGN AND BUILD A CASTLE
Instructor's Notes
This exercise is intended to give students an opportunity to design an organization and
produce a product. Students are in groups (of 6-8 members) of one of three productdevelopment teams working within the research and development division of the General
Turret and Moat Corporation. Each of the 3 teams designs a castle for the company to
produce and sell. Given limited resources, the company cannot put more than one design on
the market. Therefore, the company will have to decide which of the three designs it will use
and discard the others. Students are given 45 minutes to complete the project.
Exercise Schedule
1. (5 minutes) Each group is designated either #1, #2, or #3. Members read only one
memorandum, the appropriate one for their group. One (or two for larger groups) observers
are selected for each group. Observers read their materials.
2. (10 minutes) Groups design their organization in order to complete the goal.
3. (15-20 minutes) Each group designs its own castle and draws it on newsprint.
4. (5-10 minutes) “Typical consumers” (may be observers or others) tour building locations and
hear sales pitches. Judges caucus to determine the winner.
254
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
5. (10-15 minutes) Groups meet again and write up the central goal statement of the group.
Also write the organization chart on newsprint with the goal written beneath. These are
posted around the room.
6. (5-15 minutes) Instructor leads a class discussion on how the different memos affected
organization design. Which design seemed most effective for this task?
Option 2
If there is time, have students actually build the castles. To build the castles, you may give
students:
a. Sheets of plain/scratch paper and tape, or
b. Sheets of colored construction paper, staples and tape, or
c. Paper, sheets of cardboard or tagboard, staples and tape, or
d. Paper, staples, tape plus handfulls of shredded paper (from a paper shredder)
Discussion Questions
1. What do you think made one “castle” “win” over the others?
2. How much difference did the “sales pitch” make?
3. Is one group’s organizing structure better than another’s? Are others more useful in different
“Castle Companies” or different situations?
4. Was communication influenced by any particular structure?
5. What other dynamics of your group seemed to be important and influenced your final
product?
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
255
CASTLE BUILDING
MEMORANDUM
TO:
PROJECT TEAM #1
FROM:
Edward Grimsbsy Bullhouse, III
Chief Executive Officer
General Turret and Moat Corporation
SUBJECT:
Development of new castle product
In order to perform effectively and to develop a useful product for our firm, I have
decided that
will serve as manager of product development team #1. It
is
responsibility to see that the team develops a useful and feasible
product, and I hope that all of you will cooperate with
in this effort.
256
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
CASTLE BUILDING
MEMORANDUM
TO:
PROJECT TEAM #2
FROM:
Edward Grimsbsy Bullhouse, III
Chief Executive Officer
General Turret and Moat Corporation
SUBJECT:
Development of new castle product
In order to perform effectively and to develop a useful product for our firm, I am asking
that you select one of your team to serve as manager of product development team #2. I trust that
you will also determine and select any committees, task forces, subgroups, etc. that are needed in
order to perform your job.
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
257
CASTLE BUILDING
MEMORANDUM
TO:
PROJECT TEAM #3
FROM:
Edward Grimsbsy Bullhouse, III
Chief Executive Officer
General Turret and Moat Corporation
SUBJECT:
Development of new castle product
In order to perform effectively and to develop a useful product for our firm, I am asking
that each of you put forth your maximum effort. I trust that you will provide us with a
worthwhile product that can contribute to the profits of the firm.
258
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
CASTLE BUILDING
Observer’s Guide
During the course of the building period, observe what is happening within your particular group.
Specifically, you should look for the following things.
1. What was the reaction of the group to the memorandum?
2. What was the basic structure of the group?
3. To what degree did people specialize and work on the same particular part of the overall
task? How did this specialization come about?
4. Who was (were) the leader(s) of the group? How was leadership determined? How effective
was the leadership in helping the group to perform its task?
5. Were there any specific patterns of communication among members of the group, or did
everyone talk with everyone else?
6. How were important decisions made? Did you see conflicts or were decisions made
cooperatively and with compromise?
7. Other general observations
After the session, be prepared to discuss your observation with the entire group.
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
259
ALTERNATIVE EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISE:
THE GLITCH THAT LOST KRISTA
Instructor's Notes:
This excerpt is a true story. The episode is followed by legal and human resources experts who
briefly suggest how to cope with this colorful character.
Many employees are overlooked and treated as if they don't exist. With little attention and
feedback, they become bored and complacent. This management problem may have encouraged
Krista to "play dumb and stay lost." Any time a company undergoes a reorganization, it should
include a personal meeting with every employee to explain or discuss the impact on the
employee's job. Despite the fact that the agency did not handle the reorganization appropriately,
it has the right to hold Krista responsible for her actions. She should have received discipline for
being AWOL.
This story demonstrates an often overlooked point. Employees have no obligation to seek out
work. Whether private or public, it is management's obligation and legal right to insist that
employees perform assigned duties in a satisfactory manner. This seems obvious, but many
employers are reluctant to exercise their basic right to tell employees to go back to work when
such situations arise.
260
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
THE GLITCH THAT LOST KRISTA
Elizabeth N. Fried, Outrageous Acts of Behavior, Intermediaries Press, Dublin Ohio,
1990.
Chase was quite pleased. He was instrumental in redesigning the organization and
implementing the communication program. He arranged for small-group meetings so that
employees could understand the need for reorganization. The process took him nearly a month
of continuous meetings, but the response was favorable. The employees cooperated and helped
make the transition very smooth. After six weeks, the first productivity report showed a fifteen
percent decrease in expenses, and morale seemed stable. The agency had plans to administer a
work-climate study after twelve months. Chase was immersed in the glowing productivity report
when his assistant, Suzanne, walked in his office.
"Here they are, fresh off the presses, our first run since the reorganization," Suzanne
chirped.
Chase looked up from his desk puzzled, "What?"
"The performance review reminders," Suzanne responded. "You know, every month we
get a printout for those employees due for their annual performance review. They have little
computer-generated postcards that we send out to the managers."
"Oh, right, right. Go ahead and send them out," Chase said, still preoccupied with his
productivity report.
Several days later he got a call from Gordon Fishman, the information officer.
"Say, Chase," Gordon began, "I just got the computer reminder to give Krista Reed, one
of my former clerks, her performance review. Since we reorganized, Krista doesn't work for me
any more."
Krista was fairly far down in the organization, so her name would not show up on the
major charts. Chase remembered hiring her about three years ago for a simple, routine clerk job.
She was rather plain, not very bright, but quite pleasant. When her performance reviews had
crossed his desk, there was nothing unusual. They were mostly peppered with satisfactories. She
had received only one promotion in three years and tended to blend right into the agency.
"Well, what happened to her?" Chase asked.
"I'm not really sure, but I think she's reporting to Bill Acton in Administration. Try him,"
Gordon responded.
Chase looked up Bill's extension. "Say, Bill, this is Chase Vidmar. We have a
performance appraisal due on Krista Reed, and I understand she report to you now."
"Krista Reed: Nope, not me. I think she was shipped over to Tracy Karras after the
reorganization. Give Tracy a call," Bill suggested.
Chase tapped out Tracy's four-digit extension. "Ms. Karras's office, Jane speaking."
"Hi, Jane, this is Chase Vidmar. Is Tracy available?"
"Sorry, Mr. Vidmar, but Tracy is out of the office at a meeting with one of our vendors."
"Oh, he paused, "well, maybe you can help me. Does Krista Reed report to your
section?"
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
261
"That name doesn't sound familiar, but I'll check. Can you hold?"
"Sure."
Chase waited while he scanned his own personnel computer runs. There was Krista
Reed's name all right. She still retained Gordon Fishman's budget code, but the section
reassignment code was blank. That's why the performance appraisal reminder defaulted to
Gordon. "Where the hell could she be?" he thought.
Jane returned to the line. "Sorry, Mr. Vidmar, but we don't have her here."
"Thanks, Jane." Chase rang off and sat at his desk bewildered. The agency had over two
thousand people and he wasn't about to send out a missing-rewards memo on Krista. She was
getting her paycheck. That must be a clue.
"Rats," he thought, after he checked with payroll. "My luck, she has her pay directdeposited, with the confirmation mailed to her home. "Her home," he thought, "maybe she's at
home. I'll try there." for an entire week Chase periodically called Krista's number - no answer or
busy. He was getting very frustrated.
Chase usually worked through his lunch, grabbing some junk food from the vending
machine. Today he felt especially hungry for some reason, so he ventured into the employee
cafeteria. He filled his tray from the deli bar and passed through the register.
Seated a few tables from the register was Krista Reed! Chase couldn't believe his eyes.
His surprise almost caused him to set his Coke off balance. He regained control and casually
sauntered over to Krista, who was seated with some other women. There was an available seat
across from her.
"Mind if I join you?" Chase asked politely.
"Sure, no problem," Krista smiled.
"So, Krista, it's been a long time since we've talked. How have you been?"
"Pretty good."
"So where are you working now that we've reorganized?" he asked.
"I'm glad you asked," she responded sincerely. "When everyone got their printout of
where to be reassigned, the section for me was blank. My boss was tied up in meetings that day,
so I didn't get to discuss it with him. Even though the move wasn't scheduled for two weeks, I
wasn't able to get to him because I left that Friday for my two-week vacation. So, when I
returned, everyone was in their new offices, and my boss, as you know, was shipped over to
Building G across the complex. My section was split three ways, so I didn't even know which
group to follow and haven't known what to do. I've felt really lost and kind of upset that the
agency has forgotten about me. So I just came to work and visited with friends in the various
break rooms, and then I'd sit through all three lunch sessions. That part has been a lot of fun, but
to tell the truth, I've been getting kinda bored."
"That's terrible, Krista," Chase feigned sympathetically.
"And not only that," she added "with all these lunches I've eaten over the past several
weeks, I've gained nearly eight pounds!"
Chase was astounded. He knew Krista wasn't a rocket scientist, but how could she spend
over a month occupying her day having one long lunch, just hoping someone might notice?
Incredibly, no one did notice, and Krista appeared deadly serious and wholly sincere. Rather
than embarrass himself and the whole agency for the major snafu, Chase politely suggested to
262
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
Krista that she return with him to his office. He reviewed the organizational design study and
determined where Krista should logically be located. Chase contacted the section manager and
notified him that he was sending Krista on up. The he put a change action through to the
computer to ensure that the elusive Krista would once again have a home.
Discussion Questions:
1. What type of organizational structure is this most likely to have occurred in?
2. What organizational response should have taken place to prevent this situation?
3. Do you believe this could happen in a restructuring company?
Chapter 14: Organizational Design and Structure
EXTRA EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES
The following alternative exercise to supplement the material in the textbook can be obtained
from:
Marcic, Dorothy & Seltzer, Joe. Organizational Behavior: Experiences and Cases, 5th Ed.
South Western College Publishing Company, 1998.
The Four Frame Model: Analyzing a Hospital Department Consolidation. p. 235-239.
Time: 50 minutes.
Purpose: To introduce and provide an example of the use of Bolman and Deal's fourFrame Model.
The Honda Case: Designing for Quality. p. 244-249. Time: 40 minutes.
Purpose: To explore a Japanese approach to designing an organization for quality.
263