Organizing as a Management Function

Organizing as a Management Function

• Organizing is the management function of arranging resources and people to work together towards a goal.
• It includes dividing labor and coordinating results for a common purpose.
• Managers must ensure plans are executed effectively after defining the mission, core values, and objectives.

Official Organizational Structure

• The official state of an organization is represented by its formal structure.
• An org chart identifies job titles, the division of work, communication channels, and lines of authority.

Organizational Structure Purpose

• An organizational structure links individuals and groups through tasks, workflows, reporting relationships, and communication channels.
• It allocates tasks through the division of labor and coordinates performance results.
• A well-designed structure aids in implementing the organization's strategy.
• Organizations modify their structure to improve performance.
• There isn't one best structure suitable for all situations.
• Adaptations to organizational structures should be contingent upon environmental and situational changes.

Organizational Chart

• It is a diagram depicting reporting relationships and the formal arrangement of work positions, along with division of work, job titles, and communication channels.

Formal vs. Informal Structures

• Formal Structure: This is the official structure depicted in the org chart, showing the division of work, supervisory relationships, communication channels, subunits, and management levels.
• Informal Structure: A "shadow" organization comprising unofficial working relationships among members.
• Informal structures involve relationships among organizational members.

Advantages of Informal Structures

• They expedite certain projects and help people accomplish their work.
• Can overcome the limits of the formal structure
• They provide access to interpersonal networks for social interaction.
• Facilitate informal learning and provide support groups.

Disadvantages of Informal Structures

• Activities may work against the organization's best interests.
• Susceptibility to rumors and inaccurate information is more common.
• May breed resistance to change.
• Can cause the diversion of work efforts from important objectives.
• May cause alienation of individuals excluded from informal groupings.

Departmentalization Structures

• Three types of structures resulted from departmentalization: Functional, Divisional, and Matrix Structures
• Knowing about each traditional structure is important

Matrix/Hybrid Structures

• This structure blends the functional and divisional approaches.
• It sets up reporting relationships as a grid instead of a traditional hierarchy.
• Attempts to maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages of functional and divisional structures.
• Promotes timely information and expertise sharing via close collaboration of members.

Functional Structure Advantages

• Enables economies of scale with efficient resource utilization which results in cost advantages.
• Allows task assignments consistent with training and employees grouped by skill set which enhances focus.
• Enables high-quality problem solving.
• Provides in-depth training and skill development.
• Offers clear career paths within functions.

Functional Structure Disadvantages

• Makes pinpointing responsibility difficult for outcomes like cost attainment and service quality.
• Suffers from the functional chimney problem (lack of interdepartmental communication and problem solving).
• Weakens the sense of cooperation and purpose across departments.
• Results in employees having a narrow view of performance objectives, focused on individual function responsibilities.
• Leads to slow decision-making due to decisions being referred upwards in the hierarchy.

Divisional Structure Advantages

• Allows more flexibility in response to environmental changes
• Improves coordination across functional departments
• Creates clear responsibility points for delivering products and services
• Positions expertise specific to customers, products, and regions, fostering autonomy within groups.
• Simplifies resizing by adding or removing divisions

Divisional Structure Disadvantages

• It can lead to increased costs due to resource and effort duplication.
• May foster unhealthy competition among divisions.

Matrix/Hybrid Structure Advantages

• Encourages better cooperation across functions and knowledge sharing among employees.
• Improves decision making at the team level.
• Provides increased flexibility in operations to meet changing demands.
• Improves customer service through informed and available program, product, or project managers.
• Enhances performance accountability via program, product, or project managers.
• Improves strategic management by freeing top managers from day to day problem solving.

Matrix/Hybrid Structure Disadvantages

• The two-boss system may lead to power struggles between functional supervisors and team leaders.
• The two-boss system may cause task confusion and conflicting work priorities.
• Team meetings can be time-consuming.
• Adding team leaders increases costs.

Modern Organizational Structures

• Companies are structuring towards more horizontal organizational structures
• Team, Network and Boundaryless structures are key

Team Structures

• Uses temporary and permanent cross-functional teams to improve lateral relations and solve problems.
• Members from various departments collaborate on special projects towards a common goal.
• Team members are creative people with different abilities.

Team Types

• Cross-functional teams: Bring members from different functional departments.
• Project teams: Convened for a specific task and dissolved upon completion.

Network Structures

• A combination of team and network structures, incorporating "temporaries."
• Teams form to address a problem and disband once solved, often online.
• Boundaryless because there are no geographical definitions.
• Breaks down internal boundaries, improving creativity, quality, flexibility, and efficiency through change.

Modern Workplace Organization

• Organized utilizing horizontal structures (flattening).
• Managers seek ways to structure organizations for competitive advantage and better productivity.
• Structures are moving away from the functional, divisional and/or matrix.
• A movement towards horizontal structures decreases hierarchy to increase empowerment of employees.

HR Goal

• Shifting from traditional "employees" with career-long jobs provided by "employers".
• Modern employers seek employees with high performance skills and talents.

Modern HRM Approach

• Attract the right people to the organization, develop effective workers, and maintain a quality workforce.

Human Resource Management

• HR involves major elements like the legal framework, discrimination, qualifications, and employment equity

Legal Framework in Human Resources

• Includes matters like discrimination, bona fide occupational qualifications, and employment equity.

Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications

• Justifiable reasons for not hiring someone based on safety or effectiveness, making it legal.

Employment Equity

• Treating all employees fairly regardless of sex, race, religion, age, national origin, or color.

Canadian Legislation

• The Canadian Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination based on race, colour, and religion.

Human Resource Planning

• Analyzes an organization's human resource needs and determines the best way to fulfill them.
• It includes analyzing jobs, writing job descriptions and specifications, etc.

Attracting the Right People

• An organization must know exactly what it's looking for and have a clear understanding of required talents.

Recruitment

• A set of activities designed to attract a qualified pool of job applicants.
• Recruitment can be external or internal.

External Recruitment

• Job candidates are sought from outside the hiring organization
• Examples: University/college recruiting, websites, employee referrals, employment agencies.

Internal Recruitment

• Internal recruitment seeks applicants from inside the organization.
• It helps in lowering costs, increasing loyalty and accessing access to candidates with established performance records.

Selecting in HR

• Means choosing the best possible person for the job and organization.

Selection Process Includes

• Reviewing applications, conducting interviews, testing, completing reference checks, and making final decisions.

Interview Question Types

• Interview questions include structured, situational, and behavioral questions.

Developing a Quality Workforce

• This involves attracting, selecting, orienting, and training, which takes considerable time and incurs significant costs for any organization.

Employee Orientation

• Designed to familiarize new employees with their jobs, coworkers, values, structure, and aspects of the organization.
• Can be online, in-person sessions, or working with a senior employee.

Employee Training

• A set of activities that provides the opportunity to acquire job related skills.
• The act of training a workforce is an ongoing process

Types of On-the-Job Training

• Job rotation: Working in different jobs to expand skills.
• Coaching: Experienced person provides performance advice.
• Mentoring: Early-career employees assigned to senior mentors.
• Modeling: Learning through observing others' day-to-day behavior.

Performance Appraisal

• It is a regular HR task that monitors and appraises staff member's performance.
• Employee performance appraisals are designed and implemented by the HR department.

Purpose of Performance Appraisal

• Evaluation: Inform employees of their position and how they stack up to objectives and standards.
• Development: Assists in training and continued development.

Career Development

• Career: The sequence of jobs that constitute what a person does for a living.
• Career path: A sequence of jobs held over time during a career.
• Career planning: Matching career goals with opportunities.
• Career plateau: Position unlikely to move to a higher level of responsibility.

Compensation and Benefits

• Organizations can develop and maintain a quality workforce by providing benefits and paying well.
• Employee compensation is how employees are paid for their service and expertise.

Types of Compensation

• Salary: Hourly or annual wage.
• Pay for performance: Based on individual performance and productivity.
• Bonus pay: One-time payments for meeting targets.
• Profit sharing: Distribution of organization profits.
• Stock options: Granting employee shares.

Fringe Benefits

• Additional non-wage or non-salary compensation.
• Examples include health, dental, vision, and life insurance.

Flexible benefits

• Programs where employees choose from a range of options.

Labour-Management Relations

• Many workplaces include the presence of labour unions.

Labour Unions

• A group of employees that organize to improve working conditions.
• Unions deal with employers on workers' behalf.

Labour Contracts

• Specify the rights and obligations of employees and management regarding work rules, seniority, hiring, grievances, and other conditions of employment.

Management's Difficulties for Unions

• Using lockouts, hiring strikebreakers, and seeking injunctions can create difficulties for unions.

Unions' Difficulties for Managers

• Unions can make things difficult for managers by striking, boycotting, and picketing.