Organizational Structure and

Management Style

Organization & Administration

Organizational Management
Basics of
 Organizations

 Organizational structure

 Organizational culture

 Bureaucracies and the search for

alternatives
 Leadership & Management
Organizations
 Two or more people working together
to achieve something (that often cannot
be accomplished alone)
 Shared
 vision?
 mission?
 values?
Organizational structure
 System of relations, governing activities
of employees, reliant upon one another
to meet common goals
 Embedded in position descriptions
 Pictured in position relationships shown
on organizational charts
 Revealed in distribution of authority and
communication channels
Organizational structure
 Since it is based upon relationships, it
changes, even when it looks fixed
 Varies from the simple to complex
 Can be formal or informal
 May be centralized or decentralized
 Marked by specialization and
coordination
Organizational Culture
 “…the system of norms, beliefs and
assumptions, and values that determine
how people in the organization act—
even when that action may be at odds
with written policies and formal
reporting relationships.”
 Edgar H. Schein
Organizational Culture
 Not a model for management but a theory
that explains workplace behavior
 Often operates unconsciously but guides
action and affects ability to change
 Exists alongside formal organizational
structure, can be at odds with it
 Learned responses of an organization in
adapting to an external environment and
integrating internally its experiences
Elements of Organizational Culture
 Symbols: décor, signs, clothing
 Language: use of terminology
 Standards of behavior: meetings
 Slogans: sayings
 Heroes: those who embody the culture
 Mythology: stories that are repeated
 Ceremonies: special events, celebrations
Levels of Organizational Culture
 Underlying assumptions
 Unspoken and unconscious but guide
action
 Espoused values
 Stated in mission, ethical codes, etc.
 Artifacts
 Visible evidence of assumptions in
behavior, rituals, myths, etc.
Bureaucracies
Distinguished by:
 Governing rules –often rigid

 Division of labor

 Chain of command

 Specializations
Bureaucratic Structure
 Pyramidal
 Top Level Management
 Middle Level Management
 Floor Supervisors
 Floor Workers
 Research indicates that restructuring usually
results in the elimination of middle
management positions
 Horizontal and vertical components
Vertical Structure
 Hierarchy
 Provides the conduit for authority to flow,
traditionally from top down (scalar
principle)
 Delegation entails assignment of authority
from super-ordinate to subordinate
 Units may be centralized or decentralized
 Unity of command means each employee
has a supervisor
Vertical Structure
 Span of control refers to number of staff
under one manager
 Positions:
 Line relationship: Position of authority over others
super-ordinate
l
subordinate)

 Staff relationship: Advisory or support

lateral -> position
Power and/or Authority
 Authority: right of supervisor to direct
subordinates; flows from chain of
command; vested in position, not
person
 Power: ability to influence the behavior
of others; may derive from:
management, ability to reward,
expertise, and/or respect
Horizontal Structure
 Departments with specialized
 Functions
 Territory
 Product
 Processes
 Customers
Structure: Coordination
 Mechanisms
 Hierarchy’s elements: order, positions, etc.
 Communication
 Supervision
 Standardization of work, products, skills
 Policies & procedures
 Committees
 Planning
Tools for Management
 Structure
 Organizational design
 Viewed today as means for competitive edge if
the design is well matched to needs
 All the elements of structure
 For example, position descriptions, distribution
of authority
 Use of specialization and coordination, etc.
Bureaucracy’s shortcomings
 What are they???
Bureaucracy’s shortcomings
 Fails to take environment into account
 Is less effective during change or
turbulence, requiring flexibility and
action
 Ignores interpersonal relationships and
their effects upon the workplace
 Has undesirable, unintended
consequences in control mechanisms
Structure as an Organic System
 Concept of Burns and Stalker
 Based upon biological model
 Traits
 Emphasizes horizontal communication
 Relies upon knowledge-based authority
 Encourages broader system view
 Has broader, flexible position definitions
 Refers to external, professional standards
Structure as an Organic System
 Other aspects:
 Promotes greater employee commitment
 Blurs formal and informal elements of an
organization
 Mostly works for small groups
Looking for Perspectives on
Organization, or Sense Making
 Bureaucracy: The Model that Stands
 Organizational Design Approaches:
 Classical or Scientific, parallel and support the
bureaucratic model
 Human Relations, modifies it to better respond to
people in the workplace
 Systems Theory, modifies it to respond to the role
of the environment (organizations function
interdependently like organisms)
 Participatory Management or shared leadership
Looking for Perspectives on
Organization, or Sense Making
 New models: Ideas come and go but
each may contribute to the
development of theory
 From the models, new ideas have been
incorporated into the bureaucratic
model and it continues to evolve
Currently Accepted or Popular
Methods to Modify Bureaucracy
 Committees  Matrix Structure
 Taskforces  Self-managing work
 Retreats teams
 Use of consultants  Quality circles
 Outsourcing  Re-structuring
Questions:
 Will bureaucracy endure as a form?
 Should bureaucracies persist?
 Will they evolve?
 Will they be replaced by revolutionary
new organizational forms or design?
Leadership and
Management styles
Think of a manager you worked for and
how s/he treated subordinates:
 Did s/he build team spirit?

 Did s/he monitor work closely?

 Did s/he punish mistakes?

 Did s/he permit you to share in goal

setting and decision-making?

Leadership & Management
 Think of some differences between…
Leadership Management
 Leadership and power
 Power is based on the subordinate’s perceptions of the
leader/manager (Mullins, 1996)
More a  Reward power: ability and resources to obtain rewards for those
leadership who comply, e.g. pay, promotion, recognition, privileges
trait  Coercive power: ability to punish or to bring about undesirable
outcomes, e.g. withholding pay rises & promotion, withdrawing
More a friendship, formal reprimands
management  Legitimate power: the right to exercise power because of leader’s
trait position in the organisation
 Referent power: subordinate’s identification with the leader
because of attractiveness, reputation, or charisma
 Expert power: competence, special knowledge or expertise in a
given area. Expert power is normally limited to narrow, well-
defined areas or specialties
What makes a leader?
 The qualities or traits approach (“Great person”)
 assumes that leaders are born, not made
 we select leaders, not nurture or train them
 common in popular thinking, but no evidence has been found to support
this
 each person’s list of leadership traits is different
 Functional approach
 Kretch et al (1962) identified 14 leadership functions
 Both the official leader and the group member who happens to come
up with the right function at the right time are leaders for that
moment
 The official leader is just a safety net, someone who is expected to
fill in the leadership functions when needed
What makes a leader?
 Styles of leadership approach
 Many possibilities
 Tannenbaum & Schmidt (1973) have a continuum
 some similarity with Theories X and Z discussed later
 Tells: leader identifies problem, chooses a decision, announces to
subordinates, no participation
 Sells: leader chooses a decision but attempts to persuade subordinates
to accept it
 Consults: leader identifies problem, listens to advice of subordinates,
chooses a decision
 Joins: leader defines problem and limits of decisions, group take
decision with leader as just a member
 Which approach is best depends on forces in the leader, the
subordinates and the situation
What makes a leader?
 Employee-centred vs. production-centred approach
 Blake and Mouton (1964), and Likert (1961), use a
two dimensional grid
Hi
Country club Team
management management
Concern
for
people
Impoverished Authority
management compliance
Lo

Lo Hi
Concern for production
Management:
Theory X and Theory Y
 Management styles: Douglas McGregor (1960)
polarised (caricatured?) managers’ attitudes
 Theory X:
 Average person has an inherent dislike of

work
 People must be coerced, controlled, directed,

threatened with punishment

 Average person prefers to be directed, and

wishes to avoid responsibility

 Theory X and Theory Y
 McGregor suggested:
 Theory Y
 Physical and mental effort is as natural as play or rest
 Man will exercise self-direction for objectives to which he is
committed
 Commitment to objectives is a function of reward
 Average person learns to accept and seek responsibility
 Imagination and creativity is widely distributed
 People’s potentials are only partially utilised
"When one treats people with benevolence, justice and righteousness,
and reposes confidence in them, the army will be united in mind
and all will be happy to serve their leaders.” Sun Tzu (circa 400 BC)
Theory Z
 Theory Z: WS Ouchi, 1980s
 Well managed companies in US and Japan had lifetime
employment, collective decision making, promotion from within,
non-specialised career paths
 Characterised as a “democratic” management style
Theory Y Theory X
Objective setting Autocratic
(Laissez Faire)

Your style might

be anywhere in
this continuum

Theory Z
Democratic
Final Thoughts...
 Do you believe leadership can pass around a group
depending on the function required? What if there is
an official leader?

 Think about a manager you have worked for. Was he

Theory X, Y or Z? How did that make you feel?

 What factors affect whether you adopt a Theory X, Y

or Z style of management?