Thursday, 15 August 2013

Organisational Structures



Organisational Structure

A sole trader with no employees needs no organisational structure. Even if this sole owner were to take on just one worker or partner, a sense of formal organisation structure would become necessary. Who is to do what job? Who is responsible to whom and for which decisions? If a business expanded further  with more workers, including supervisory staff, different departments or divisions, then the need for a structure would be even greater. This would allow the division of tasks and responsibilities to be made clear to all. 

  Organizational structure: The internal  formal framework of a business that shows the way in which management is organised and linked together and how authority is passed through an organization.

Chain of command: This is the route through which authority is passed down an organization - from the chief executive and the board of directors.

Span of control: The number of subordinates reporting directly to a manager.

Level of hierarchy: A stage of the organisational structure at which the personnel on it have equal status and authority.




Hierarchical organisational structure        
A hierarchical (bureaucratic) organisational structure is an organisational structure where there are fewer and fewer people on each higher level.



Tall structure - narrow span of control


Flat structure - wide span of control


Factors influencing organizational structure:

  1. The size of the business and the number of employees
  2. The style of leadership and the culture of management
  3. Overhead costs - delayering will reduce management overheads
  4. Corporate objectives; e.g., overseas expansion will necessarily mean some decentralization as management control is delegated to other locations
  5. New technologies, especially IT can facilitate the flow of information making some roles of middle management less important



How different Two Monks carrying water and blind folded person building tower are?

As per the activity done in the class I could differentiate between Two Monks carrying water and blind folded person building tower on parameters. I am glad that, I also got help to add points.


Job Dimension
Two monks  carrying the water 
Blind folded person building the tower 
Skill Variety
Comparatively High.
·       In this activity different skills such as Team Work, Physical strength, Conflict resolution, etc. are required. Hence skill variety is more.
Comparatively Low.
·       In this activity only blocks need to be placed one above another depending on instructions.
·       Hence skills required for this tasks are comparatively less.
Task Identity
Comparatively Low.
·       This is because at end of task nothing new is created. Only water is transported from one place to another.
·       Also there are two persons doing a single task. Hence Task identity will be low.
Comparatively High.
·       It is high because at the end of task the person can see the whole tower that he has built.
·       Another point is that even though other persons are there to guide him, blind folded person would himself single handedly physically build the tower. Hence a complete new thing is created. Hence Task identity will be high
Autonomy factors 
Comparatively High.
·       The two monks can decide whichever way they want to bring water.
·       They can use method of bringing single bucket by two persons or two bucket each by two person.
Comparatively Low.
·       The blind folded person does not have any autonomy in deciding the methodology. He has to listen and obey whatever middle management i.e. his instructors say

Pyramid: Isn’t it similar to corporate strategies?


Pyramid: Isn’t it similar to corporate strategies?
We can correlate the activity of Pyramid can be considered in the long term perspective for the organisation as a Vision and Mission.
So we can divide various layers of the pyramid in terms of the corporate objectives contributing to the various goals. This in turn will cater to the long term perspective of Vision and Mission of the Organisation.
An example for a company can elaborate more in this aspect.

Importance of objectives
A business aim helps to direct, control and review the success of a business activity. In addition, for any aim to be successfully achieved, there has to be an appropriate strategy or plan of action to ensure that resources are correctly directed towards the final goal. This gives the Unity of Direction.
This strategy should be constantly reviewed to check whether the business is on target to achieve its objectives. The aims of an organisation and the strategies it adopts will often change over time. The most effective business objectives usually meet S.M.A.R.T. criteria.
Aims, Objectives, Plans and Strategies
Corporate aims are the long-term goals which a business hopes to achieve. The core of a business’s activity is expressed in its corporate aims and plans.
A typical corporate aim is: "To increase shareholder returns each year through business expansion".
Mission statement: A statement of the business's core aims, phrased in a way to motivate employees and to stimulate interest by outside groups.
Vision statement: A statement of what the organisation would like to achieve or accomplish in the long term.
The mission statements of some well-known companies



Vision and Mission of NITIE:
Vision
“To be a leader in the knowledge led productivity movement.”
Mission
“To nourish a learning environment conducive to foster innovations in productivity and business development.”
So, the vision and the mission gives a sense of purpose to the organisation to work towards a common goal and achieve them. By doing this the whole organisation is motivated to contribute for the greater good.