Questions and Answers
What does standardization of skills aim to achieve within an organization?
Who represents the operating core in schools according to the content?
What is an important consequence of organizations specializing in one coordination mechanism?
According to the content, how does standardization facilitate coordination in professional settings, such as in surgery?
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What is the primary role of the strategic apex in an organization?
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Study Notes
Mintzberg's Structural Framework
- Henry Mintzberg provides a framework for examining organizational structure, describing it as the way an organization divides its labor into tasks and achieves coordination among them.
Coordinating Mechanisms
- Five basic coordinating mechanisms are used to monitor and control work: mutual adjustment, direct supervision, standardization of work processes, standardization of outputs, and standardization of worker skills.
- Mutual adjustment: coordination through informal communication and discussion.
- Direct supervision: coordination through personal command, where one individual monitors and controls others' work.
- Standardization: coordination achieved by incorporating work into a planned program; has three forms:
- Standardization of work processes: specifying or programming the contents of the work.
- Standardization of outputs: specifying the results of the work, enumerating fundamental dimensions of the product or performance.
- Standardization of skills: specifying the kind of training required to do the work, providing indirect control of work.
Key Parts of the Organization
- Mintzberg identifies five key parts of the organization, each with a critical function:
- Operating core: those who perform basic work directly related to production of products and services (e.g., teachers in schools).
- Administrative component: has three parts:
- Strategic apex: top administrators (e.g., superintendent and assistants) responsible for ensuring the organization serves its mission.
- Middle line: administrators connecting the strategic apex with the operating core.
- Technostructure: analysts and specialists supporting the operating core and middle line.
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Description
Test your understanding of Henry Mintzberg's framework for examining organizational structure, including coordinating mechanisms and labor division.
