Compare and contrast different organizational structures and culture?

Answer 1

Compare and contrast different organizational structure and CultureOrganizations are 'social arrangements for the controlled performance of collective goals'. (Buchanan and Huczynski, 1991)

The writer Chester Barnard (1938) used the example of a man trying to lift a stone which is too heavy for him. By getting together with another person, and combining their efforts, the man is able to move the stone.

Organizational Structure:-Every organization must have an organizational structure. Organizational structure is the form of structure that determines the hierarchy and the reporting structure in the organization. Organizational structure shows information, flows from level to level within the company. Designing of Organizational Structure:-Work Specialization:-Work specialization is the key element of organizational structure and it refers to the degree to which tasks in the organization are subdivided in to separate jobs. In the work specialization the entire job is subdivided into different steps and each step have to complete separately by individual. For example: - making of an automobile. Advantages of work specialization are that, employee's skills can increases by doing one job again and again. It saves time and there is accuracy in production. It allows managers to supervise more employees. While the disadvantages are that employees might get bored by doing same job again and again. Sometime if the person is on leave then no one can do his job, due to which absenteeism rises. Quality of work may suffer. Departmentalization:-Through departmentalization common tasks can be coordinated. In Departmentalization, work or individuals are grouped into manageable units. The primary forms of departmentalization are:-

Functional Departmentalization

Customer Departmentalization

Geographical Departmentalization

Product Departmentalization

Process Departmentalization

Chain of Command:-Chain of command is the formal line of authority, communication, and responsibility within an organization. According to classical organization theory the organizational chart allows one to visualize the lines of authority and communication within an organizational structure and ensures clear assignment of duties and responsibilities. In many organizations, the chain of command principle is still very much alive. Military is an example of straight chain of command which starts from a top to low level ranks. Span of Control:-In a business of more than one person, unless the business has equal partners, then there are managers and subordinates. Subordinates are workers controlled by the manager. Span of control can be:- Tall and Narrow:-The manager controls six or few employees. There is close supervision of the employees, tight control and fast communication. However, the supervision can be too close; the narrow span means that there are many levels of management, resulting in a possibly excessive distance between the top and the bottom of an organization. Flat and Wide:-A wide span of control forces managers to develop clear objectives and policies, select and train employees carefully. Since employees get less supervision, they are more responsible and have higher morale with a wide span of control. Flat and wide span of control is successful if employees have the awareness about their responsibilities and job tasks because managers are not able to check employees every day. Centralization and Decentralization:-Centralization and decentralization refer to the extent to which decision making power is devolved in an organization, or the degree of delegation of duties, power and authority to lower levels of an organization. Organizations' which have a high degree of delegation of power are thought to be decentralized. Organizations which have a lower degree of delegation of power tend to be centralized. A decentralized structure often means power over both operational issues and strategic direction is devolved to lower levels in the hierarchy. Matrix Structure:-An organization which has a Matrix structure contains teams of people created from various sections of the business. These teams will be created for the purposes of a specific project and will be led by a project manager. Often the team will only exist for the duration of the project and matrix structures are usually deployed to develop new products and services. The advantages of a matrix include that, individuals can be chosen according to the needs of the project. Project team which is dynamic and specialist are brought together in a new environment to view problems in different ways. Project managers are directly responsible for completing their project in a specific time and budget.

While the disadvantages include: A conflict of loyalty between line managers and project managers over the allocation of resources If teams have a lot of independence can be difficult to monitor. Costs can be increased if more managers (i.e. project managers) are created through the use of project teams.

Organizational Culture:-Culture basically refers to the norms, values and behaviour adopted by the organizational members during working. When the members of an organization join the organization they adopt particular culture of an organization. Every organization has different culture depending upon their working and the nature of their business. From the culture of organization one can assume the operating environment and working behaviour of employees. Types of Culture:-Power Culture

In power culture, control is the key element. Power cultures are usually found within a small or medium size organization. Centralized Decisions making are found in the power culture organization. That person likes control and the power behind it. As group work is not evident in a power culture, the organization can react quickly to dangers around it as no consultation is involved. However this culture has its problems, lack of consultation can lead to staff feeling undervalued and de-motivated, which can also lead to high staff turnover.

Role Culture

Common in most organizations today is a role culture. In a role culture, organizations are split into various functions and each individual within the function is assigned a particular role. The role culture has the benefit of specialization. Employees focus on their particular role as assigned to them by their job description and this should increase productivity for the company. This culture is quite logical to organize in a large organization.

Task Culture

A task culture refers to a team based approach to complete a particular task. They are popular in today's modern business society where the organization will establish particular 'project teams' to complete a task to date. A task culture clearly offers some benefits. Staff feels motivated because they are empowered to make decisions within their team, they will also feel valued because they may have been selected within that team and given the responsibility to bring the task.

Person culture

Person cultures are commonly found in charities or nonprofit organizations. The focus of the organization is the individual or a particular aim