The Corpus of Organizational Structure - Essay Example

Organizational Structure The corpus of organizational structure entails; the manner in which various active organizations plans and implements its work force, resources and other organizational facets in order to promote efficiency and high level of productivity. In the contemporary society, the demand for various resources and materials has facilitated the development various forms of organizations with a need to satisfy this demands. Owing to the competition between various organizations, stakeholders have been compelled to apply different organizational structures in order to play a significant role of improving their operational efficacy as well as efficiency. In this aspect, any active organization has a specific structure that fits needs; the other role of organizational structure is facilitating efficiency through allocation of roles and responsibilities. The arrangement of different organizational activities also promotes efficiency as well as efficacy in production. Organizational Culture The concept of organizational culture has been studied in various fields such as anthropology as well as sociology on a wide perspective. However, from these studies, no clear meaning of organizational culture has been provided; despite the lack of a clear meaning, several definitions have been provided such as: A set of commonly comprehended issues that an organization’s actions are undertaken, for instance; a form of language that applies to a specific organization. On the other hand, other social scientists have also described organizational culture as a benchmark formulated to perceive things, a system of skills commonly applied in an organization to promote evaluation of issues and processes. In addition, organizational culture plays a significant role by promoting reconceptualization of issues and process in different sectors: That is, to enhance the understanding of various stakeholders and the important role their organizations play within the society. It also enables stakeholders to a gain a deeper understanding of their goals, objectives as well as determining ways in which they relate to one another within and outside the organization. Failure of a large Organization Organizational design, specifically organizational structure plays a key role in promoting the success of any organization. Poor organizational structure i.e. inappropriate methods of duties allocation, inappropriate methodologies applied to guide the flow of resources. Moreover, organization culture also plays a crucial role by promoting proper relationships among workers hence creating a harmonious working environment for the workers. In the case study provided, it is apparent that the organization is faced with challenges of poor organizational culture as well as poor organizational structure. This has led to its poor productivity that has caused a reduction in its market share hence creating a need to lay-off some workers. However, a solution to this challenge is to ensure that the management team formulate and implement a proper organizational structure as well as a culture that suits the size and functions of the organization. External Stakeholders of an Organization In any organization there are persons that are usually affected directly or indirectly by its operations, these are reffered as stakeholders. The external stakeholdesr of an organization may include: Suppliers who may provide the organization with certain imperative resources, learning institutions from which the organization may seek human resources, financial institutions such as banks, governments and other regulatory bodies, research instituions as well as customers and the media. Internal Stakeholders Internal stakeholders of an organization may include persons who are affected directly by an organization’s activities, they include: Employees, employers (Management) and business owners. Ways in which a CEO can influence an organization’s effectiveness and Decision Making Chief Executive Officers (CEO’s) in any organization is simply a leader with an overall responsibiliyt to manage the organization. One of the ways in which a CEO can influence effectiveness is through implemention of effective managerial techniques to promote effeciency and proper decision making. A CEO can also promote the spirit of innovation among its employees geared towards creating new ideas that would enhance proper decision making; this would also act as a boost of the employees’ morale hence promotng their work effecieny. Additionally, allocation of roles by the CEO to various employees may promote proper flow of activities hence promoting work effeciency. Models of Ethics The three models of ethics include meta-ethics, normative ethics and applied ethics: Meta-ethics encompasses the understanding of the processes involved in ethical terms, comprehending ethical arguments and the facets of ethical judgment. Normative ethics on the other hand, involves various forms of arguments and ideas that are directed towards determining the strongest ethical morals. Consequently, applied ethics entails considers the implemenation of ethical issues into real life scenarios. Sources of Organizational Ethical Values One of the principle sources of organizational value is religion; relgion has played a major role as a source of organizational ethics overtime. Sociolgists posit that religions has varying effects in different organizations and has a direct effect on the modus operandi of any organization. Moreover, culture has also been recognized as an imperative source of organizational ethical value; it has been described as a set of behaviors and activities that can be transferred from generation to generation. It has a direct and indirect effect on the operations of any organization. In addtion, rules and regulations play a crucial role in any organization; they are stipulated codes of conduct that are meant to guide the operations of any organization hence act as important source of organizational ethics. Organizational Domain Organizational Domain is described as the methodologies applied by any organization to attain maximum productivity, people affected by the activities of the organization as well as the services provided by an organization. Specific and General Organization Environment The concept of general environment encompasses factors that may not have a direct effect in any organization and that may pose certain effects that influence productivity of an organization while specific environment, includes processes, resources and persons that have a direct effect on the productivity of any organization. Environmental Complexity Environmental complexity is described by sociologists as the degree, magnetude and amount of components as well as resources within an organization and the level at which an organization is aware of the exsistence of such facets. Dependence Theory Organizations rely on resources that are procured to facilitate their operations; these resources form an imporant part of organizational strategic management as well as tactical management. The study on how resources, acquired from external environments affect the fucntionality of any organization is discussed by the dependence theory. It alludes that organizations rely on specific resources that are acquired from external and internal environments; these environments also contain certain organizations that define their functionality. Therefore, resources required by organizations are usually in possession of other organization. Additionally, this theory reciognizes that; the possession of resources by any organization usually occur on the basis of power while organizations that legally independent can rely on one another hence creating a direct link between power and dependence. Mechanistic and Organic Structures Organizations with mechanistic structures are those that are organized in a specific organizational structure with a hierarchical and bureaucratic modus operandi characterized by centralization of power or even authority. On the other hand, organic structures encompass those that are characterized by facets of flatness, horizontal forms of communications as well as interactions. It is also characterized by decentralization of authority and low level of specialization. Contingency Approach The corpus of contingency approach to organizational design is based on the fact that there is no universal organizational design for any organization. This emanates from the fact that organizations differ in their sizes, components as well as operation hence may require different organizational designs. Integrating Mechanisms used in organizations There are four main integrating mechanism applied by different organizations to facilitate their processes. The first mechanism is standardization that allows operational units to function in the same manner. Secondly, regulations are also applied to guide actions of various personnel within and outside an organization. The third integrating mechanism is the goals that are formulated to ensure that organizational workforce are driven by a common desire or work towards achieving a common objective. Consequently, mutual adjustment is another mechanism employed by different organizations to accommodate situations that may arise due to conflicting situation. Balancing differentiation and integration The major challenge in any organization characterized by rapid growth is how to manage differentiation. Larger organizations have different working components i.e. departments that may work towards achieving a common objective. However, such departments may be integrated by certain strategies implemented to ensure that the overall objective of the organization is achieved. Advantages of Decentralization Decentralization is important for the diversification of an organization’s activities; it also facilitates quality decision making within an organization. Moreover, it leads to the development of a personnel group majorly charged with management; studies have also shown that decentralization improves employees’ morale through motivation. Disadvantages of Decentralization Decision making in a decentralized organization may not be concentrated hence causing challenges in co-ordination. Moreover, inconsistency in certain important information may occur due to lack of uniformity hence leading to poor decision making. It may also lead to higher operational costs due to increased expenses allocated at each operational level. Decentralized organizations may be faced with challenges of delayed decision making especially when faced with scenarios of operational uncertainties. Balancing Centralization and Decentralization Most organizations are usually faced with a greater task of balancing centralization and decentralization. However, standardization has been used as an effective tool to balance both of these organizational facets. In addition, rules and regulations play a critical role in balancing these facets as they guide the operations of the personnel. Consequently, organizations may implement goals and objectives that drive them towards achieving certain desires. Functions within an organization There are various functions that may be conducted within an organization; firstly, managerial function which may be conducted by various team leaders. Others include; financial transactions, communication, purchases and procurements, supply, budgeting et cetera. Vertical and Horizontal Differentiation Vertical differentiation is the comparison of various organizational activities, products and services in manner that identifies the lowest to the highest in relation to quality while horizontal differentiation involves describing the variation of organizational products and services especially those that cannot be distinguished in accordance to their quality. Work Cited Media, Demand. "Small Business - Chron.com." Small Business - Chron.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. . Read More