Arely Flores

Management theory 1

South Texas College

Dr. Diana Lucio

January 29, 2023

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There are two structures used in organizations, mechanistic and organic structures. A

mechanistic structure is one that is highly formalized and centralized through hierarchy and

where communication flows through specific channels. This type of organizational structure

gives its employees specific jobs roles. While very efficient and ideal for businesses such as

schools and hospitals, mechanistic structured organizations often lack employee motivation and

have a lack of autonomy. Another type of organizational structure is organic structures.

Companies that use organic structures are decentralized and allow for more employee autonomy

with higher levels of employee satisfaction. This type of structure is ideal for innovation and

entrepreneurship. Since organic structures are decentralized, decisions are made at a lower level

typically on a case by case basis. However, this type of structure is not as efficient as

mechanistic structure.

Take Kentucky fried chicken for example. KFC is a mechanistic organization with high

centralization and very specific channels for communication. At KFC, decisions are generally

made at the higher level and employees are not able to move with very much autonomy and they

have to follow specific guidelines and are expected to operate within their designated roles. We

have employees that get paid for their work in their designated positions. Above the employees,

are the shift managers/leaders that are the ones responsible for the shift they are currently

working on. All the employees and shift managers answer and are responsible to the Managing

Partners.The Managing Partner is responsible for his or her team doings and responds to the Area

Coach. The Area coach duties are to have the Managing Partners store doing all the things

correctly and efficiently. The Area coach responds to the director of KFC. The director follows

what Corporate needs. Illustrated in the chart below are the levels of hierarchy that KFC follows

to ensure that its company is operating as efficiently as possible.

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Corporate

Director

Area Coach

Managing
Partners

employees Shift managers

figure.1

Figure. 1 shows how Kfc is structured. Corporate is at the top, that is where all important

decisions are made. Then information and power flows down to the directors who are

responsible for overseeing several districts of kfc locations. Next are the area coaches which are

responsible for 7 to 10 locations and ensure that managing partners are following all procedures.

At the individual locations there are managing partners who oversee the store in its entirety.

They are responsible for making general decisions for the store such as ordering supplies for the

week. It is here that we also see shift managers which are responsible for their employees and
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ensuring the product is as it should before it reaches the customers hand. This organization is

highly structured and allows for little freedom and innovation. However, this type of structure is

incredibly efficient and allows for KFC’s product to be distributed at the highest level possible.

Unlike mechanistic structure, Organic structure allows for more flexibility and a

decentralized organization. This is ideal for organizations that value innovation and

entrepenurialship. This type of structure is also known as flat structure since decision making is

typically made at the lower levels and are often made on a case by case basis. This allows for

employees to have a better relationship with their company and give them a sense of autonomy

in their roles.

One company that is in the mainstream that uses an organic structure is Google. Google

is too large to follow such a rigid structure as mechanistic. Since the market that they are trying

to fill is constantly changing it is necessary for their employees to be able to communicate these

ideas at a moment's notice to resolve any issues that may arise as quickly as possible.
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figure

.2

In figure. 2, We see how Google structures just one division of their company.

Information flows down from the general manager to the team leads which are the software

director and strategic planning. From there, each department has the ability to work

independently of one another. This type of departmentalization is called functional

departmentalization because each different department is responsible for different tasks. With

Google being as large as it is, it needs many different departments operating with autonomy to

ensure that any issues that arise are swiftly dealt with.
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References

Organizational Structure | Principles of Management |. (n.d.). Course Hero. Retrieved

January 29, 2023, from

https://www.coursehero.com/study-guides/principlesmanagement/7-2-organizational-

structure/