Материал: Management-and-Organization-Behavior

technologies require numbers of workers than do either unit or continuousprocess technologies.

Woodward’s findings indicated that organizations characterized by the most complex (continuous-process) and the least complex (unit and small-batch) technologies tended to have more organic designs. Organizations exhibiting technologies in the middle range of complexity (large-batch and mass-production technologies) had more mechanistic designs. Most important, she found that the most successful organizations followed this pattern. Therefore, it is evident that technology is an important determinant of appropriate structure.

James Thompson

Several years after Woodward’s British studies, an American researcher, James D. Thompson divided technologies into three categories on the basis of years of observation in different organizations. He labeled technologies as long-linked, mediating or intensive.

Long-Linked Technology:

Thompson’s long-linked technology is characterized by a series of sequential tasks that must be performed in a specified order. The assembly line is an example of long-linked technology. This category closely parallels Woodward’s large-batch and mass-production technology.

Mediating Technology:

Is a process that brings together groups that need to be interdependent for the desired action to take place. For example, banking is a mediating technology; it facilitates the interaction between depositors and borrowers. Employment and other talent search agencies connect suppliers of specialized labor with buyers. This type of technology is intermediate in flexibility. It allows for some standardization but can also adjust its output in response to variations in the needs of the parties it seeks to link.

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Intensive Technology:

An intensive technology involves the application of specific skills, techniques or services in order to make a change in an input. This type of technology describes custom work and is consistent with Woodward’s unit production technology. The value of an intensive technology is its flexibility.

Environment and technology are not the only critical factors shaping organization design decision. The sheer size of an organization often plays a central role in organization design.

Size

The impact of the sheer size of an organization on its design has attracted a great deal of research attention. It seems obvious that organizations change as they get larger and that more complex designs become necessary. But the research results are not unanimous. This may be due in part to the fact that size has been measured in a variety of ways.

Review Questions

1.What are they emerging trends in corporate structure? Explain.

2.Explain the relationship between strategy and organization design.

3.Explain the role of culture in acceptable formal and informal organization.

4.Describe the impact of environment on organization design.

5.What are environmental variables that will have impact on organization design?

6.Distinguish between Mechanistic design and Organic design?

7.Explain the impact of Technology on organization design.

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Lesson - 13: Formal And Informal Organization

Objectives

After reading this lesson, you should be able to:

ӹӹUnderstand The Concepts Of Formal And Informal Organization;

ӹӹTo Appreciate The Existence Of Informal Organization In The Formal Organization; And

ӹӹKnow The Differences Between Formal And Informal Organization.

Lesson Outline

ӹӹFormal Organization.

ӹӹInformal Organization.

ӹӹDifferences Between Formal And Informal Organization.

ӹӹReview Questions

Formal organization, which refers to the structure of well-defined jobs, each bearing a definite measure of authority, responsibility and accountability, is not capable of accomplishing organizational objectives all alone. It needs the help of informal organization for this purpose. In other words, informal organization, which does not appear on the organization chart, supplements the formal organization in achieving organizational goals effectively and efficiently.

Formal Organization

Chester I Barnard defined formal organization as “a system of consciously coordinated activities or forces of two or more persons”. A formal organization is deliberately designed to achieve specific objectives. It refers to the structure of well defined jobs, each bearing a definite measure of authority, responsibility and accountability. The structure is consciously designed to enable the people of the organization to work

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together for accomplishing common objectives. Thus, formal organization is more or less an arbitrary structure to which the individual must adjust. It tells him to do certain things in a specified manner, to obey orders from designated individuals and to cooperate with others. Coordination also proceeds to a prescribed pattern in the formal organization structure.

The formal organization is built around four key pillars; namely,

i.Division of Labour,

ii.Scalar and Functional Processes,

iii.Structure, and

iv.Span of Control.

These may also be called principles of formal organization. Division of labour and specialization is the basic principle of formal organization. The whole work is divided into a number of small operations and each operation is performed by a different person so that there is maximum specialization. The scalar and functional processes imply the growth of the organization both vertically and horizontally. The structure of the organization refers to the overall arrangement in the organization which ensures proper balance between difference parts of the organization and secures the execution of all operations and the achievement of organizational objectives. The span of control refers to the number of subordinates directly reporting and accountable to one superior.

Formal organization is the official hierarchy as it appears on paper. It is the basis and official version of the organization. Formal organization possesses the following characteristics:

1.It is deliberately impersonal;

2.It is based on ideal relationships; and

3.It is based on the rabble hypothesis of the nature of man.

These characteristics have also been criticized by many authors. Firstly, as formal organization is deliberately impersonal, emotions and sentiments of individuals are ignored in determining the interactions, communication and accountability. But human beings cannot live without social relations and, that is why, they develop informal relations. Secondly, it is based on ideal relationships, human being are thought to be rational and economic beings. Further, it is assumed that there would be no unofficial channel of communication. But it is very difficult to find such

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