An Evaluation of the Hierarchy and Boundaries within an Organization - Research Proposal Example

An Evaluation of the Hierarchy and Boundaries within an Organization College An Evaluation of the Hierarchy and Boundaries within an Organization Background In the 21st century, the issue of organizational behavior has become a critical issue for the top level managers. The success of a business organization depends on the ability of the top level managers to maintain cohesive relationships between managers at all levels of the organization. Since organizations adopt a hierarchical approach in defining organization roles, there exist clear cut boundaries between different roles in the organization. Inter-boundary conflict with an organization’s hierarchical networks causes friction in the organization which is a cause of organization instability. On this note, the top level managers have a role to ensure the due professionalism and relationship is created across the boundaries of organizational roles. The main focus of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the efficiency of hierarchical structures and the organizational performance. The research will identify the various benefits of boundary and hierarchy formation and the impact they have within an organization. Drawing from a wide source of textual materials will help in identifying the impact of efficient hierarchies and boundaries within an organization. By using a qualitative approach, the research will close the gap that exists within literature concerning the impact of organizational formation in terms of organization behavior. The research will provide viable recommendations that can be used to model organizational behavior within the business environment. Purpose of Research In the recent past, research has shown that rigid hierarchical structures within organization are the cause of poor organization behavior. Dauber (2009) noted that the reason for failure of many business organizations is because most of them have remained static in maintaining hierarchical structures that result to inter-boundary conflict, which ends in organizational failure. When there is conflict between employees in different levels of the organization, the organization labour output is considerably affected. In era when organizational behavior is a matter of priority within organizations, it is important to ensure that there is harmony between organization boundaries so that the whole workforce is focused to the organization goals and objectives. This research seeks to investigate on the problem of inter-boundary conflict within organizational hierarchical networks, and provide recommendations for change. Therefore, this research will be an immense in the literature underpinning organizational boundaries and Hierarchy. The research targets to provide an actionable plan for managers who intend to review their organizational framework. The findings of this research will provide a strong ground which managers can use to facilitate effective team behavior in their organizations. In turn, this will help them to improve performance by reaping from strong teamwork and high worker output. Objectives of the Study Main Objective To investigate the relationship between the efficiency of organizational hierarchy and boundaries and the organization performance. Specific Objectives To identify the hierarchy and boundary formations within business organizations To investigate the relationship between efficiency in organizational hierarchies and boundaries and the organization behavior. To draw a relationship between organizational behavior and the performance of organizations To provide recommendation on how organizations can implement health inter-boundary relationships within business organizations. Research Questions This research aims to answer where there is any relationship between the organizational performance and the organizational hierarchy and boundaries. Literature Review A brief literature review of the organizational structure will help to identify the issues arising within organization hierarchies and boundaries in the contemporary internal business organization. Hierarchical Organizations Most organizational structures are organized in a hierarchical manner based on the duties and role of the various work groups in the organization. A hierarchical organization is one in which entities are organized in an order of seniority and each entity except one is subordinate to the other (Baligh, 2006). In such organization, the distribution of power decreases as one transit from the top level management to the operational teams. The differences in power as you move from one level to the other results to formation of boundaries within the organization (Allcorn, 2003). In these organization structures, each entity has specific duties that are interrelated with that of their neighboring entities. The interrelationship between the various organization entities is of great significance to the formation of healthy relationships within an organization. Types of Hierarchical networks The relationship between different entities in an organizational structure depends on the formation of the hierarchical networks. Two formations of hierarchical networks can be identified within the contemporary business organizations; bureaucratic structures and non-bureaucratic structures. In bureaucratic organizational structures, the top level managers, often the board of directors in the organization makes management decisions depending on their own perceptions, knowledge and experiences. In this case, the subordinate entities take the role of communicating and implanting the management decisions. In these structures, communication is one way and the recipient of the information can only pass it to their junior down the hierarchical boundaries. In these organizational structures, friction is a common as often the decisions designed by the top level managers do not agree with the opinions of the other entities. As such, there arises conflict between the boundaries as the ideas flow along the chain of command. The non-bureaucratic organizational structures allow all members of the organization to play role in the development of business strategies. In this structure, communication is bidirectional as senior employees pass their opinions down the hierarchy and the other entities provide feedback up the hierarchical chain. In addition, inter-boundary exchange is evident as the different entities come together to develop the organizational goals in a collective approach (Baligh, 2006). In this kind of organizational structure, each business entity is considered important and the superimposition of power. The Relationship between Hierarchical Networks and Organizational Behavior In the contemporary business organization, organizational behavior is crucial matter for the management. Organizational behavior refers to the nature of relationships between all the stakeholders within a business firm. In a century of business competition, modest organizational behavior has been linked to organization performance (Dauber, 2009). The main aim of managers is to ensure that all teams in the organization relate well with each other. Healthy relationships within an organization ensure that all organizational members work as a team and are aligned to the management goal. In turn, this will ensure that the organization can optimize its production potential. Many scholars have identified the value of developing efficient hierarchical networks. Hierarchical networks are vulnerable to abuse of power, which in turn results to tension between different network entities. For instance, when operational managers abuse their power while handling the operational teams, these workgroup is likely to reduce its work output and at times strikes may arise. Secondly, hierarchical networks pave way for competition for senior positions. Since organization provide a particular promotion strategy, competition for senior positions may result to intra-level friction which may cause group disorientation. For instance, when employees compete for management positions, the issue of integrity and truthfulness may be jeopardized. This makes it a big challenge to enhance cohesion between work teams and this may impact negatively to organizational productivity. Another problem with hierarchical networks is that communication breakdown may cause great harm to the organization productivity. Since information is passed using a top-down approach, there is likely hood of information loss or alternation between the chains, which may lead to wrong management goals (Massa and Zhang, 2010). From this point of view, hierarchical networks and boundaries my result to unhealthy organizational behavior within the organization. Previous research has shown that all forms of hierarchical structures have their own strengths and challenges (Tullock, 2007). Although a wide range of research has been conducted on the best approach to the design of hierarchy and boundaries within business organizations, there is no concession on the best way to establish organizational structures. If allowed, this research will reveal the optimal way to design hierarchy and boundaries within organizations for efficient business performance. The findings of this research therefore will help organization to eject efficiency inn their business organizations. Methodology In this analysis, the qualitative research method will be text-based and a wide range of resources will be evaluated for the purpose of this study. One of the reasons why I chose this method is because of the shortage of resources. A field research would be demand a lot in terms of resources and time. In an era when most information can be found on the internet, it is possible to collect accurate data from which conclusions can be drawn. Secondly, a text based research is superior in obtaining credit-worthy sources as compared to subjective sources of information such as interviews and questionnaires. Since I will refer to validated sources, the information can be dependable and the conclusions will be valid. This approach is also simple as compared to field research that is limited by geographic and environmental factors. A multi-stage approach will be used to investigate the efficiency of the information available that links organizational hierarchy and boundary to the organization performance. The first stage of this process will involve the development of the theories that cover the various hierarchical formations of the business environment. These theories will help to develop an understanding the merits and demerits of each organization structure (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2010). At this point, the theories revolving around the bureaucratic structures and non-bureaucratic structures will be studied. Also, vertical hierarchical networks will be compared with horizontal hierarchical networks. In the second stage, we will refer to the theories that link organization structures to organizational behaviors within an organization. It is indisputable that organizational behavior has a direct link with the organizational performance. The main purpose of this stage is to identify how power distribution in a hierarchical order influences the employee inter and intra-relationships (Marchington, 2005). By understanding the relationship between the organization performance and hierarchical networks will help to identify boundary issues that may arise with an organizational structure The last stage will involve assessment of individual hierarchical structures as well as an integrative approach to organization structure. This will help to compare how different hierarchical networks impact on the organizational behavior. Since research shows that each hierarchical structure has its own weaknesses, it will be crucial to design, at this stage, an integrated approach to hierarchical formation to take advantage of various strength of each models and eliminate their weaknesses (Parker & Bradley, 2000). Therefore, it will be possible to provide recommendation on the strategy that organizations should use in designing effective hierarchy models within their business for optimal organizational performance. The target population for this research will be the UK business industry. Only organizations with enough information will be identified for the purpose of the research. This will ensure that adequate information is available for the development of a valid conclusion. Organizations that have discrete organizational structures will be identified for the purpose of this research. The research is expected to last for one month after which a full report will be provided. Limitations of the Research One of the limitations of this research emanates from its qualitative nature. While qualitative researches are easy to carry out, they are subjective and this may impact on the accuracy of the research. Secondly, the fact that the research is text based, it is works on the assumption that the information provided in these text sources is accurate. Since no research is perfect, it implies that any errors in the information sources will be propagated into the results of this research. However, depending on peer reviewed sources will ensure that the research is dependable and the conclusions applicable. References Allcorn, S., (2003). The dynamic workplace: Present structure and future redesign. Westport, Conn: Praeger. Baligh, H. H. (2006). Organization structures: Theory and design, analysis and prescription. New York: Springer. Daft, R. L., Murphy, J., & Willmott, H., (2010). Organization theory and design. Andover: South-Western Cengage Learning. Dauber, D., (2009). Increasing Performance of Hierarchical Organizations Through Flexibility Enhancing Measures. Retrieved from: < http://www.wu.ac.at/iaccm /files/iaccm 09/dp/dauber_d.pdf> Marchington, M., (2005). Fragmenting work: blurring organizational boundaries and Disordering hierarchies. Oxford [u.a.], Oxford Univ. Press. Massa, M. & Zhang, L., (2010). The Role of Organizational Structure. Between Hierarchy and Specialization. Retrieved from: Parker, R., & Bradley, L. (2000). Organizational culture in the public sector: Evidence from Six organizations. The International Journal of Public Sector Management, 13(2/3): Pp. 125-141. Tullock, G., (2007). Economic hierarchies, organization and the structure of production. Boston u.a,: Kluwer. Read More