COMMUNICATION AND
ORGANIZATIONS
THE PARADOXES OF ORGANIZING:
STRUCTURING LATERAL COMMUNICATION
Lecture 9b
FUNDAMENTAL PARADOX OF
ORGANIZING
•
Machine Bureaucracies divide work
- First by function then by job type
•
They take work apart to get control over it and
over the workers
- Many simplified, specialized jobs
- Each easy to learn to do quickly
•
All tied together by Vertical Coordination
- By management decision-making, rules and direct supervision
•
Why?
FUNDAMENTAL PARADOX OF
ORGANIZING
FUNDAMENTAL PARADOX OF
ORGANIZING - AT UNIT LEVEL
•
The more divided the work becomes,
the more controllable it is
- The more each department focuses on doing it’s
work it’s own way to achieve efficiency
•
But, the harder it becomes to
coordinate flow (throughput) between
units
- More struggling between departments
about whose causing delays, higher costs
- Cost of management efforts to control
struggle begins to rise reducing profits
from unit efficiencies
FUNDAMENTAL PARADOX OF
ORGANIZING - AT INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
•
•
The more divided the work becomes,
the more controllable it is, the easier
and faster it is to do
But, the more each worker becomes
bored, disconnected from the work
- The more repetitious, the less they care
•
Alienation
- Symptoms: mistakes, carelessness, sabotage,
absenteeism, work actions, strikes
FUNDAMENTAL PARADOX OF
ORGANIZING
• THE
OVERALL
RESULT IS:
FUNDAMENTAL PARADOX OF
ORGANIZING
FUNDAMENTAL PARADOX OF
ORGANIZING
•
•
CONTROL THE WORK TO GET INCREASED
EFFICIENCY AND IN THE END GET
DECREASED EFFICIENCY
IT’S CALLED SUB-OPTIMIZATION
- EACH UNIT OPTIMIZES IT’S OWN EFFICIENCY BUT AT A
COST TO OTHERS AND THE LARGER EFFICIENCY
GOALS OF THE ORGANIZATION
MANAGING THE PARADOX OF
ORGANIZING - AT THE UNIT LEVEL
•
•
SO PUT WORK BACK TOGETHER
TO REGAIN OVERALL EFFICIENCY
CROSS FUNCTIONAL
COORDINATION MUST HAPPEN TO
ACHIEVE ORG.’S OUTPUT GOALS
• HOW?
MANAGING THE PARADOX OF
ORGANIZING - AT THE UNIT LEVEL
LATERAL COORDINATION
•
USE STRUCTURE TO ENCOURAGE MUTUAL
ADJUSTMENT BETWEEN UNITS
TASK FORCES (ADHOCRACIES)
MATRIX STRUCTURES: EACH
INDIVIDUAL HAS TWO BOSSES
- ON-GOING PROJECT TEAM LEADER AND
FUNCTIONAL MANAGER
•
LIAISON (INTEGRATIVE) ROLES
•
•
•
•
BRAND ACCOUNT MANAGERS
INTEGRATOR - MANAGERS
ADMINISTRATIVE
ADHOCRACY
MANAGING THE PARADOX OF ORGANIZING AT THE UNIT LEVEL
•
•
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES OF USING MUTUAL
ADJUSTMENT FOR INTERDEPARTMENTAL
COORDINATION
IMPROVING THE MANAGEMENT FUNCTION
3 HIGH PERFORMING ORGANIZATIONS
AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS
•
CONTAINER ORGANIZATION:
- SIMPLE / STABLE ENVIRONMENT
•
FOOD PROCESSING ORGANIZATION:
- MORE COMPLEX / DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT
•
PLASTICS ORGANIZATION:
- COMPLEX / DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT
LAWRENCE AND LORSCH: COMPARISON OF
INTEGRATIVE DEVICES
PLASTICS
DEGREE OF
DIFFERENTIATION
MAJOR
INTEGRATIVE
DEVICES
FOOD
CONTAINER
LOW
1. DIRECT
MANAGERIAL
CONTACT
2. MANAGERIAL
HIERARCHY
3. PAPER SYSTEM
LAWRENCE AND LORSCH: COMPARISON OF
INTEGRATIVE DEVICES
PLASTICS
DEGREE OF
DIFFERENTIATION
MAJOR
INTEGRATIVE
DEVICES
FOOD
CONTAINER
MEDIUM
LOW
1. INDIVIDUAL
INTEGRATORS
1. DIRECT
MANAGERIAL
CONTACT
2. MANAGERIAL
FUNC’T TEAMS
2. MANAGERIAL
HIERARCHY
3. DIRECT MGT
CONTACT
3. PAPER SYSTEM
4. MGT HIERARCHY
5. PAPER SYSTEM
LAWRENCE AND LORSCH: COMPARISON OF
INTEGRATIVE DEVICES
DEGREE OF
DIFFERENTIATION
MAJOR
INTEGRATIVE
DEVICES
PLASTICS
FOOD
HIGH
MEDIUM
CONTAINER
LOW
1. INTEGRATIVE
DEPARTMENT
1. INDIVIDUAL
INTEGRATORS
2. PERMANENT
CROSS-FUNC’T
TEAMS
2. TEMP. CROSS
2. MANAGERIAL
FUNC’T TEAMS
HIERARCHY
3. DIRECT MGT
CONTACT
3. DIRECT MGT
CONTACT
4. MGT HIERARCHY 4. MGT HIERARCHY
5. PAPER SYSTEM
5. PAPER SYSTEM
1. DIRECT
MANAGERIAL
CONTACT
3. PAPER SYSTEM
MANAGING THE PARADOX OF ORGANIZING AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
•
NEXT STEP:
•
USE MUTUAL ADJUSTMENT IN THE
OPERATING CORE TO ACTUALLY DO WORK
•
IMPROVE THE PRODUCTION
FUNCTION
•
BUILD ON THE NATURAL TENDENCY OF
PEOPLE IN THE CORE TO TALK WITH EACH
OTHER
INFORMAL COMMUNICATION
•
COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
- SOMETIMES CHALLENGES FORMAL STRUCTURE
- GRAPEVINE, GOSSIP
- SOMETIMES SUPPORTS FORMAL STRUCTURE
- BETTER INFO FLOW
•
•
TOOK 100 YEARS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO REORGANIZE
WORK IN WAYS TO USE INFORMAL COMMUNICAITON
EFFECTIVELY
SHIFT FROM INDIVIDUAL TO TEAM-CENTERED
ORGANIZATION OF WORK
-
LET WORKERS LEARN MORE THAN ONE JOB
TALK TO EACH OTHER ABOUT THE WORK TO INCREASE EFFICIENCY
RE-CONNECT WITH THE WORK ITSELF
REDUCE ALIENATION