Chapter 11

11. Basic Elements of Organizing

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What Is Organizing?

Deciding how best to group organizational activities and resources.

What are the building blocks of organizing?

Organization Structure:

The set of elements that can be used to configure an organization.

Why Do You Have to Organize an Organization?

Because all the structural elements of the company and how those elements work together are used to manage the total organization.

The Importance of Organizing

Clarifies

Divides

Provides

Establishes

Develops

Relates

Establishes authority

Organizing Leads to Decision Making

Decision making is part of planning that involves selecting a course of action.

When the manager is organized activities are coordinated.

Organizational Structure

The building blocks used to form an organization.

One of the manager’s jobs is to know how to put the building blocks together.

Designing Jobs

What is one of the building blocks?

Job Design:

The determination of an individual’s work-related responsibilities.

Overall Tasks Are Broken Down By?

Job Specialization:

The degree to which the overall task of the organization is broken down and divided into smaller component parts.

The Five Alternatives to Job Specialization:

Job Rotation:

Involves systematically moving employees from one job to another.

Job Enlargement:

Involves increasing the total number of tasks worker performs.

Job Enrichment:

Involves increasing both the number of tasks the worker does and the control the worker has over the job.

Job Characteristics Approach:

Suggests that jobs should be diagnosed and improved along five core dimensions, taking into account both the work system and employee preferences.

Work Teams:

Allows an entire group to design the work system it will use to perform an interrelated set of tasks.

Job Characteristics Approach

This is an alternative to job specialization. See Figure 11.1, the job characteristics approach. This approach suggests that jobs should be diagnosed and improved along five core dimensions:

Skill variety

Task identity

Task significance

Autonomy

Feedback

Grouping Jobs: Departmentalization

What is it?

The process of grouping jobs according to some logical arrangement.

Functional Departmentalization:

Grouping jobs involving the same or similar activities.

Product Departmentalization:

Grouping activities around products or product groups.

Other Forms of Departmentalization:Some organizations group certain activities by:

Time.

Sequence.

Other Considerations

Sometimes departments are called something different, such as:

Division.

Units.

Section.

Bureaus.

Establishing Reporting Relationships

What needs to be clarified?

Chain of Command:

Clear and distinct lines of authority among all positions in an organization.

Span of Management: What is it?

The number of people who report to each manager.

Tall Versus Flat OrganizationsWhat is the difference?

Flat organizational structure leads to higher levels of employee morale and productivity.

Tall organizational structures usually tend to be more expensive requiring more managers.

Factors Influencing the Span of Management

Competence of supervisor and subordinates.

Dispersion of subordinates.

Extent of non-supervisory work.

Degree of required supervision.

Extent of standard procedures.

Similarity of tasks.

Frequency of new problems.

Preferences of supervision.

Distributing Authority: An Important Building Block

Authority:

Power that has been legitimized by the organization.

Delegation:

The process by which managers assign a portion of their total workload to others.

Decentralization and Centralization

What are the differences?

Decentralization:

The process of systematically delegating power and authority throughout the organization to middle- and lower-level managers.

Centralization:

The process of systematically retaining power and authority in the hands of upper-level managers.

Coordinating Activities

What is coordination?

The process of linking the activities of the various departments of the organization.

Why coordinate?

Systems must be put into place to keep the activities of each department focused on organizational goal attainment.

Three Major Forms of Interdependence

Pooled Interdependence:

When units operate with little interaction; their output is simply pooled at the organizational level.

Sequential Interdependence:

When the output of a unit comes becomes then input for another unit.

Reciprocal Interdependence:

When activities flow both ways.

Structural Coordination Techniques

Managerial hierarchy.

Rules and procedures.

Liaison roles.

Task force.

What Is the Difference Between Line and Staff?

Line Position:

A position in the direct chain of command that is responsible for the achievement of an organization’s goals.

Staff Position:

A position intended to provide expertise, advise, and support for the line position.