Mechanistic Organizations in Static Environments - Essay Example

Where a mechanistic organization focuses on the parts that make the whole, organic organizations focus on the whole itself. With less focus on hierarchy and more concern with an across-the-board contribution to a common problem, organic organizations tend to be much more collaborative. I think the dynamic nature of today’s markets will favor the organic organization over the mechanical, and the organic form will be the predominant form in the 21st Century.

1. Discuss generic organizational design including defender, prospector, analyzer, and reactor organizations. Offer examples of the different organizations where you have worked that adopted these designs. Which type do you believe would best fit a criminal justice organization, and why?

The generic organizational design theory sets forth four broad categories to describe the nature of a company. The “defender” has more of an institutional relationship to a market or community as it uses its organizational control to ensure the efficiency of production and distribution. Examples of this type of organization include Mcdonald's, IBM, and other standardized manufacturers. The “prospector” organization, as the name implies, is focused on the identification of new opportunities and finding ways to take advantage of them. Their operations tend to be less standardized, more diverse, and multi-process oriented.

Probably any and all of the Dotcoms would be considered in the prospector category. “Analyzer” organizations tend to bridge the concepts of the defender and prospector; developing new opportunities at the institutional level while maintaining a traditional base approach to customers and products. The analyzer organization tends to combine standardized and innovative elements into efficiency and stability. I think the LAPD is the best example of this type of organization. The “reactor” organization tends to lack a compelling strategy and retains processes in spite of environmental changes. These types of organizations can become stilted and unresponsive to market changes and environmental adjustments.

I think criminal justice organizations should adopt the analyzer model. In this way, the good aspects of the traditional approach to law enforcement can be retained while innovative solutions are also employed. Like the LAPD, Chief Bratton has been able to bring in innovation and organizational change without compromising the fundamental ethic of protecting and serving the community. Read More