Organizing Chapter 11 Quiz

Study Notes

Chapter 11: Fundamentals of Organizing

Organizing is about efficiency, reducing stress and clutter, saving time and money and improving overall quality of life.
Organizing connects and integrates people and resources to work together to accomplish a goal.
The purpose of organizing is to create a division of labor and coordinate processes and results to achieve a common purpose.
Organization structure is the system of tasks, reporting relationships, and communication linkages.
Formal structure is the official structure of the organization.
An organization chart is a diagram showing reporting relationships and the formal arrangement of work positions.
It includes the division of work, supervisory relationships, communication channels, major subunits, and levels of management.
An example of an organization chart is shown in page 6, detailing roles like Managing Director, Secretary, Legal Advisor, General Manager, Finance & Admin Manager, HR/Recruitment Manager, Business Development Manager, Labor Representative, Flight Incharge, Public Relation Officer, Embassy Representative, Office Asst., Security Guards, Consular, Receptionist, and Document Controller.
Informal structures are unofficial relationships between organizational members.
Examples include "Shadow Org" relationships.
Social network analysis identifies informal structures and social relationships.
Advantages of formal structures include allowing people to make contacts for help, stimulating learning, and providing emotional support.
Potential disadvantages of informal structures include the presence of "in-and-out" groups, susceptibility to rumor, and the possibility of inaccurate information.
Traditional organization structures include Functional, Divisional, and Matrix.
Functional structures group people with similar skills and tasks.
Divisional structures group people based on products, geography, customer, or process.
Matrix structures combine functional and divisional structures to gain advantages and minimize disadvantages.
Potential advantages of Functional structures: Economy of scale, efficient use of resources, task assignments consistent with expertise and training, high-quality technical problem-solving, in-depth training, and clear career paths.
Potential disadvantages of Functional structures: Difficulties in pinpointing responsibilities, functional chimneys problem (sense of cooperation and common purpose breakdown, narrow view of performance objectives).
Advantages of Divisional structures include more flexibility in responding to environmental changes, improved coordination, clear points of responsibility, expertise focused on specific customers/products/regions, and greater ease in restructuring.
Disadvantages of Divisional structures include duplication of resources and efforts across divisions, competition and poor coordination across divisions, and emphasis on divisional goals at the expense of organizational goals.
Advantages of Matrix structures include better communication and cooperation, improved decision-making, increased flexibility in restructuring, better customer service, and better performance accountability.
Disadvantages of Matrix structures include two-boss system susceptibility to power struggles, potential task confusion and conflict, excessive time-consuming team meetings, team development ("groupitis"), and strong team loyalty vs. large organizational goals.
Horizontal organization structures include Team, Network, and Boundaryless structures.
Teams structures extensively employ permanent and temporary teams to solve problems and accomplish tasks.
Network structures have a central core of full-time employees surrounded by a network of outside contractors and strategic alliances supplying essential services. This frequently uses IT to link with outside networks.
Boundaryless organizations eliminate internal and external boundaries for greater efficiency.
Virtual organizations are a special form of boundaryless organization that operates in a shifting network of external strategic alliances using mobile IT solutions for seamless communication.
Organizational designs are a process to accomplish organizational goals, identifying problems and aligning systems and structures..
A good design matches structure, task, technology, environment, and people.
Mechanistic designs work in stable environments, while organic designs function in rapidly changing and uncertain environments.
Features of mechanistic designs: Predictable goals, centralized authority, many rules and procedures, narrow spans of control, specialized tasks, few teams, formal and impersonal means.
Features of organic designs: Adaptable goals, decentralized authority, few rules, wide spans of control, shared tasks, many teams, informal and personal.
Trends in organizational designs include fewer levels of management, shorter chains of command, less unity of command, wider spans of control, more delegation and empowerment, reduced staff use, decentralization with centralization.
Delegation is the process of entrusting work or responsibilities to others, assigning tasks and expectations to others, and granting authority to act, with accountability to return back with results.