Organization and Design
I. TERMS
1. Chain of command
2. Division of labor
- Job specialization
3. Span of Control
- flat (horizontal)
- tall (vertical)
I. TERMS (cont’d)
4. Line vs. Staff
5. Centralized vs. Decentralized Authority
6. Organization Chart
7. Bureaucracy
8. Mechanistic versus Organic
II. Organization Structure
1. Contingency theory – Type of structure should reflect
environmental conditions
a. types of structure:
i. mechanistic – rigid hierarchy, many rules,
formalized communication, centralized
authority, taller structures
ii. Organic – collaboration, few rules, informal
communication, decentralized authority,
flatter structures
1. Contingency theory (cont’d.)
b. environmental conditions
i. technology (routine or innovative)
ii. size
iii. environmental stability/uncertainty
1. Contingency theory (cont’d.)
c. Routine technology, large size, stable/certain
environment suggests a mechanistic structure
d. Innovative technology, smaller size,
unstable/uncertain environments suggest an organic
structure
II. Organization Structure (cont’d)
2. Departmentalization (structure)
a. functional
b. product
c. customer
d. geographic
e. matrix – combines functional and
product forms
f. divisional
g. horizontal team organization
h. network/virtual organization
i. learning organization
III. Job design
1. Job simplification (specialization)
2. Job expansion (less specialization)
a. job rotation – Boeing?
b. job enlargement - horizontal integration of a job by
increasing perception of ownership. Sony did
this in their manufacturing plant. “At a plant
here, men are dismantling conveyor belts on
which as many as 50 people assembled
camcorders. Nearby, Sony has set up tables
to form a snail-shaped shop for four people.
Walking through this “spiral line,” workers
assemble an entire camera themselves,
doing everything from soldering to testing.
Output per worker is 10% higher! WSJ
c. Job enrichment - vertical integration of a job by
adding responsibility/motivators.
3. Other job expansion methods - job sharing, flextime,
homework, shift scheduling, compressed workweek.
4. Work teams – cross-functional (integrated)
autonomous, self-managed, leaderless etc.
5. The Job characteristics model is a description of the
job!!!!
Job characteristics  critical Psy states  outcomes
a. How do you find out if job has characteristics?
MPS = (skill var + task ID + task sig) x Aut x Feedback
3
b. Equation is moderated by growth need strength.
c. Implication? Design jobs with intrinsic rewards to
substantially increase morale and performance.
AETNA uses this model to design jobs.