Structure in Fives: Designing Effective OrganizationsEvery organized human activity, from the making of pots to the placing of a man on the moon, gives rise to two fundamental and opposing requirements: the division of labor into various tasks to be performed, and the coordination of these tasks to accomplish the activity. The structure of an organization can be defined simply as the sum total of the ways in which its labor is divided into distinct tasks and then its coordination is achieved among these tasks. The elements of structure should be selected to achieve an internal consistency or harmony, as well as basic consistency with the organization's situation. This leads us to the conclusion that both the design parameters and the situational factors should be clustered to create what we call configurations. The central theme of this book is that a limited number of these configurations explain most of the tendencies that drive effective organizations to structure themselves as they do. In other words, the design of an effective organizationel structure - in fact, even the diagnosis of problems in many ineffective ones - seems to involve the consideration of only a few basic configurations. |
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action Adhocracy administrative analysts authority basic becomes behavior centralized Chapter clients common complex configurations control systems coordinating mechanism coordination corporations course deal decentralization decisions described design parameters devices direct supervision discussion Divisionalized Form divisions effect elaborate environment example executive expect fact factors Figure firms five flow forces formal functional grouping headquarters hierarchy highly horizontal important industry integrated interdependencies kind knowledge less levels liaison Machine Bureaucracy managers means mutual adjustment noted operating core organization organizational outputs performance planning positions problems production Professional Bureaucracy programs regulated relations remain requires responsibility result serve Simple Structure single situational skills social specialization specific staff standardization strategic apex structure tasks technical system technostructure tend tion turn types typically units vertical workers