ORGANIZING                     FUNDAMENTALS OF ORGANIZING                     DESIGN OF ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE                     FORMS OF ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE                    AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY                     ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE 

FUNDAMENTALS OF ORGANIZING

Definitions 

Sheldon  

“ Organization is the process of so combining the work which individuals or groups have to perform with facilities necessary for its execution, that the duties so performed ,provide the best channels for efficient ,systematic ,positive and co-ordinate application of available effort” Chester I Bernard 

“ Organization is a system of co-operative activities of two or more persons”

Mc Ferland

“ an identifiable group of people contributing their efforts towards the attainment of goals” Louis A Allen

“ Organization is the process of identifying and grouping the work to be performed ,defining and delegating responsibility and authority ,and establishing relationship for the purpose of enabling people to work most effectively together in accomplishing objectives.”

Theo Haiman “ Organizing is the process of defining and grouping activities of the enterprise and establishing the authority relationship among them. In performing the organization function , the manager defines departmentalization and assign activities so that they can be most effectively executed.” Koontz and O’ Donnell“ Organization involves the grouping of activities necessary to accomplish goals and plans ,the assignment of these activities to appropriate departments and the provision of authority ,delegation and co-ordination.”

Northcott C.H

“ organization refers to arrangements by which tasks are assigned to men and women so that their individual efforts contribute effectively to some more or less clearly defined purpose for which they have been brought together.” 

G.E Milward

“ Organization is a process of dividing work into convenient tasks or duties , of grouping such duties in the firm of posts of delegating authority to each post and of appointing qualified staff to be responsible that the work is carried out as planned.”    

The term organization is used in four different senses 

                     an entity                    as a group of people                    as a structure                    as a process

Organization as an entity As an entity it is referred to as an enterprise as a whole like a company, partnership firm etc.

Organization is a collectivity of people for achieving common objectives.  William Scott “ Organization are collectivities of people that have been established for the pursuit of relatively specific objectives on a more or less on continuous basis”.

Features                     Identifiable aggregation of Human Beings                    Deliberate and Conscious action                    Purposive Creation                    Co-ordination of activities                    Structure                    Rationality

Organization as a Group of People 

It is referred to different groups created either formally or informally 

Features   An organization always refers to people . The organization is composed of people who interact among

themselves               The interactions are specified by some sort of structure, that is, who

will interact with whom                 The interactions are meant to achieve some sort of objectives.

Organization as a Structure When organization is used in the sense of structure it refers to the relationship among individuals and positions that they hold. There may be different ways in which these relationships are prescribed-Changes may be made in structure – In this sense organization is referred to as organization structure or structure of an organization.

Organization as Process

           The form of process of organizing through which organization structure is created.

                  When organization is used as a process ‘organizing’ is better fit.

When organization is used as a process it has the following features                  Departmentalization                    Linking Depts.                    Defining Authority and Responsibility

Prescribing authority relationships

Theories of Organizing 

* Classical*Neo classical*Modern

Classical TheoryClassical means something traditionally accepted or long established

 Classical writers have viewed an organization as a machine and human beings as different components of the machine.

 The classical organization theory has been developed around four major factors

 

Division of Labor Division of Labor implies that work must be divided to obtain clear cut specialization .This will improve the performance of individuals in the organization. The more a particular job is broken into component parts, the more specialized and expert will become the person performing the job. This will in turn in turn will make the whole organization more efficient. 

Scalar Chain and Functional Processes. Scalar and functional processes implies that there exists a chain of command exists throughout the whole organization. Someone exists at the top level of the organization and exercises authority to make all final decisions. It refers to the growth of chain of command, delegation of authority, unity of command and the obligation to report. It is called scalar process because it provides a scale or grading of duties according to the degree of authority and responsibility.. It creates superior –subordinate relationship within the organization .Functional process refers to the division of the organization into compatible units. Each functional unit will be different from others. For example marketing unit is different from the production unit. There are five basic components of the scalar and functional processes. DepartmentationCoordination by hierarchyUnity of CommandDelegation of AuthorityLine and Staff Relationship

Structure Structure is the framework of the formal relationships among various tasks ,activities and people in the organization Positions are important in classical theory- Positions are grouped in various ways – horizontally, vertically or both.-Each position is granted certain authority- Depending on the distribution of authority ,the organization structure may be centralized or decentralized  In the case of centralization authority is concentrated in the higher positions and in the case of decentralization ,relevant authority is delegated to the lowest position in the organization.

Span of Control Span of Control refers to the number of subordinates which can be effectively supervised by a supervisor- Span of Control should limited because any manager has a limited amount of knowledge and capacity- Effective span of Control is 4 –6 .

Neo Classical Theory. The neo classical theory emphasis on the task of complementing some of the definitions in classical theory. The postulates ( assumptions) of classical model are modified to suit to the needs of the human beings in the organization. Since the theory suggests only modifications in the basic postulates of classic theory it is referred to as neo classical theory

The propositions of the classical theory are 

     The organization is a social system

                The social environment of the job affects people and is also affected by them and not by management alone.

                   Informal organization also exists with in the formal organization and it affects and is affected by the formal organization.

                    Human being is not totally rational and his behavior can be predicted in terms of social and physiological factors.

Human being has diverse motivational pattern and tries to fulfill different types of needs.

        Often there is conflict between individual and organizational objectives which increases the importance of integration between individuals and organization.

    Communication is necessary as it carries information necessary for organizational functioning and conveys the feeling and sentiments of the people who work in the organization.

    Team-work is essential for co-operation among people. This is not achieved automatically but has to be achieved through behavioral approach.

The basic emphasis of neoclassical theory is on

* flat structure,* decentralization and * provision of informal organization.   

Modern Organization Theory There are two approaches in understanding modern organization theory                     Systems approach.                    Contingency approach 

System approach

considers an organization in its totality Each system has subsystems which are interrelated to constitute system as entity.- Since the organization is a system it contains various subsystems. Each subsystems is identified by certain objectives, processes, roles, structures and norms of conduct.- The subsystems are mutually dependent parts. These subsystems interact and through interactions create new patterns of behavior that are separate from but related to the pattern specified by the original system. –This is emerged behavior.  Since the variables are interdependent the true influence of altering one aspect of the system cannot be determined by varying it alone. When any subsystem fails to function its impact is felt on the whole system.

The sub system in an organization is identified by Carzo and Yanouyas are

Technical System It refers to the knowledge required for the performance of tasks including the techniques used in the transformation of inputs into outputs. The basic component of the technical system is a group of tasks or activities that can be performed by an individual. In performing the tasks the individual has to play a role involving decision making ,communication and other actions which relate him with other parts of the organization. Behaviour in the technical sub system is governed by rules ,procedures ,policies and other prescriptions.

Behaviour in the organization is not explained fully by the technical subsystem alone because there is a fundamental conflict between individual and the organization system resulting from the demand made by the system and the individual expectancies regarding the work he has to perform. Individual behaviour is modified by the existence of social subsystem

Social Subsystem Every organization has a social subsystem which is composed of individuals and groups and groups in interaction. When people are set to perform their tasks they develop some sort of informal relationships. They are not formal relationships.These informal organizations expect certain norms of behaviour from its members and individuals have expectations of physcological satisfaction ,they hope to desire from association with others on the job-This leads to modification of the group behaviour. 

Power Subsystem Every organization has a power subsystem. Power is one’s ability to influence others to achieve desired results. Power distribution in the organization is both formal and informal. Some people are more powerful .Power subsystem is important to transform decisions into actions in the organization. Power is acquired through formal positions, job importance, expertise, personal characteristics and coalition of individuals in the organization.  

 Managerial Subsystem Since organizations are deliberate and purposive creations, their management should lead towards the realization of their objectives. Management of a system involves two processes.-Operations and review and control-Operation refers to conversion of inputs into outputs. The inputs may be in the form of information, materials and energy. These inputs are allocated according to the plan. The distribution of input is affected by social subsystem and power sub system. Operation of a system requires some sort of review and control to ensure that it is going as planned.

The subsystems should be linked properly to ensure its smooth working .Successful working of the system requires two conditions.

 1)     enough connectedness among its various subsystem ,so that operation of a subsystem can activate another and contribution of all can contribute to the whole

2)     enough separation of the subsystems so that some specialization of functions is possible and equilibrium can be achieved in the systems a whole.

Various parts of the organization are interlinked by certain activities known as linking process. The linking process are communication, decision and balance.

Modern Organization Theory -Contingency Approach. Contingency approach is an extension of the systems approach. Contingency approach of organizational design suggests that structure of an organization should be tailor made, Search for a typical structure applicable to all organizations is futile. The basic implication of this approach is that there cannot be a particular model or organization structure which can be applied in all situations. An appropriate organization structure is one with appropriate internal state and process of organization contingent upon external environment and internal needs.

Factors affecting Organizational Structure.  1.     Environment2.     Strategy3.     Technology4.     Size5.     People

An organization has to work with in the framework of an environment and it continuously interacts with the environment. It is affected by the environment and also affect the environment .The environment influences the organization structure in this process. The environmental system concept regards the organization as a part of the environment at large .The environmental system like man or animals must either adjust to the environment or perish. The form and structure must be suitable to the environment and must be functional under the existing environmental conditions. Two characteristics of environment which are important for organization are environmental complexity and variability. These two factors taken together affect the design of organization structure in terms of being

Environment

  1.     monitor and process information about the environment.2.     increase organization ability to preplan.3.     increase its flexibility to adapt and 4.     decrease the level of performance required for continual viability.

Empirical studies have proved the effect of environment on organizational structure. Two systems of management suitable to the environment have been devised. These are the mechanistic system suitable for stable environment and organic system suitable for dynamic environment.

Strategy

Strategy is the course of action through which the organization relates itself with its environment so as to achieve its objectives. Choice of strategy is determined largely by the environment but other factors like organizational strengths and weaknesses and personal factors also affect this choice. There is a close relationship between organizational strategy and its structure. Organizational structure should be designed so as to suit the needs of strategy. Structure must be used to implement strategy. If there is no coordination between strategy and structure the outcome would be confusion, misdirection and splintered efforts in the organization. Research evidence also shows reveals relationship between structure and strategy. 

 Technology 

Technology is another factor affecting organization structure. Technology is one of the components of organizational environment. But it should be studied separately as technology directly affects the task structure Technology is a body of particular type of knowledge and relates to direct problem solving inventions. It consist of equipments ,machines or tools ,set of activities ,methods or processes and layouts, arrangements or patterns. Technology is one of the most important physical variables affecting the work -system

Technology has the following characteristics in relation to organization. 1.                 Technology is a major source of productivity increase.2.                 Various jobs in an organization being performed by individuals are determined by technology being used.3.                 Technology influences the social situation.4.                 Organizations become more secured by developing efficiency through the adoption of efficient technology.5.                 There is s time gap in employing new technologies both with in an organization and among organizations in the field.

Technology has an important influence on how the organization is designed. The structure of the organization and the division of its activities ,the net work of rules and roles ‘ relationship have to relate intrinsically to the task to be done. The technology employed limits the amount of discretion which subordinates can be given and hence influences the organization structure. Depending upon the type of production process, the ratio of managerial and non-managerial personnel is determined. Management content is more in continuous processes. But in unit production fewer managers supervise production than continuous process. Fewer managers supervise more operations in unit production than in continuous production. This means that manager’s span of control may be wider ,organization structure flat and more amount of freedom to the subordinates. Another element of technology affecting organization structure is work-flow.

 

Size of Organization Various research studies are available which indicate that size is an important factor in determining organization structure. Size of an organization system influences its coordination ,direction ,control and reporting system and hence the organization structure. When the organization is small interaction is confined to a relative small group, communication is simpler ,less information is required for decision making and there is less need for a formal structure. Size may be measured in terms of number of employees, scale of operations and size of investment etc. Research studies have failed to reveal the exact relationship between size and structure of an organization Broad conclusions could be drawn about the relationship between the size of the organization and structure. Certain structural factors like number of levels, number of divisions and number of job titles generally increase with the size of an organization. Degree of formalization also increases with the size of the organization.Conclusions regarding size and decentralization cannot be made without taking technology of the organization into consideration.

PeopleOrganization structure is the result of conscious actions on the part of the people who are engaged in the organization. The form of

organization structure is expected to reflect the thinking and way of working of its framers and participants The form of organization is a major source of satisfaction or dissatisfaction for the people.

Argyrols argues that traditional form of organizations is restrictive and fails to allow members to develop physiologically and encouraging natural behavior pattern. He requirement of different type of people differ considerably and these can better be met if suitable organization structure is designed. Structure is the personality effect of its framers. To arrive at appropriate structure ,the forces in people may be analyzed . Such analysis may be in two ways.                      People in superior capacity                    People in subordinate capacity.