Robbins & Judge

Organizational Behavior
14th Edition

Foundations
Foundations of
of
Organization
Organization Structure
Structure
Kelli J. Schutte
William Jewell College

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 Chapter
Chapter Learning
Learning Objectives
Objectives
 After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
– Identify the six elements of an organization’s structure.
– Identify the characteristics of a bureaucracy.
– Describe a matrix organization.
– Identify the characteristics of a virtual organization.
– Show why managers want to create boundaryless
organizations.
– Demonstrate how organizational structures differ, and
contrast mechanistic and organic structural models.
– Analyze the behavioral implications of different
organizational designs.
– Show how globalization affects organizational structure.

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 What
What Is
Is Organizational
Organizational Structure?
Structure?
 Organizational Structure
– How job tasks are formally divided, grouped, and
coordinated
– Key Elements:
1. Work specialization
2. Departmentalization
3. Chain of command
4. Span of control
5. Centralization and decentralization
6. Formalization

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 1.
1. Work
Work Specialization
Specialization
 The degree to which tasks in the organization are
subdivided into separate jobs
 Division of Labor
– Makes efficient use of employee skills
– Increases employee skills through repetition
– Less between-job downtime increases productivity
– Specialized training is more efficient
– Allows use of specialized equipment
 Can create greater economies and efficiencies – but not
always…

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 Work
Work Specialization
Specialization Economies
Economies and
and
Diseconomies
Diseconomies

 Specialization can reach a point of diminishing returns

 Then job enlargement gives greater efficiencies than
does specialization

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 2.
2. Departmentalization
Departmentalization
 The basis by which jobs are grouped together
 Grouping Activities by:
– Function
– Product
– Geography
– Process
– Customer

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 3.
3. Chain
Chain of
of Command
Command
 Authority
– The rights inherent in a managerial position to give orders
and to expect the orders to be obeyed
 Chain of Command
– The unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of
the organization to the lowest echelon and clarifies who
reports to whom
 Unity of Command
– A subordinate should have only one superior to whom he or
she is directly responsible

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4.
4. Span
Span of
of Control
Control

The number of subordinates a manager can efficiently and effectively direct

– Wider spans of management
increase organizational
efficiency
– Narrow span drawbacks:
• Expense of additional layers of
management
• Increased complexity of vertical
communication
• Encouragement of overly tight
supervision and discouragement
of employee autonomy

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 Contrasting
Contrasting Spans
Spans of
of Control
Control

E X H I B I T 15-3
E X H I B I T 15-3

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 5.
5. Centralization
Centralization and
and
Decentralization
Decentralization
Centralization
– The degree to which decision making is concentrated at a
single point in the organization.
 Decentralization
– The degree to which decision making is spread throughout
the organization.

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 6.
6. Formalization
Formalization
 The degree to which jobs within the organization are
standardized.
– High formalization
• Minimum worker discretion in how to get the job done
• Many rules and procedures to follow
– Low formalization
• Job behaviors are nonprogrammed
• Employees have maximum discretion

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 Common
Common Organization
Organization Designs:
Designs: Simple
Simple
Structure
Structure
Simple Structure
– A structure characterized by a low degree of
departmentalization, wide spans of control, authority
centralized in a single person, and little formalization

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 Common
Common Organizational
Organizational Designs:
Designs:
Bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
 Bureaucracy
– A structure of highly operating
routine tasks achieved through
specialization, very formalized
rules and regulations, tasks that
are grouped into functional
departments, centralized authority,
narrow spans of control, and
decision making that follows the
chain of command

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An
An Assessment
Assessment of
of Bureaucracies
Bureaucracies

Strengths Weaknesses
– Functional economies of – Subunit conflicts with
scale organizational goals
– Minimum duplication of – Obsessive concern with
personnel and equipment rules and regulations
– Enhanced communication – Lack of employee
– Centralized decision discretion to deal with
making problems

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Common
Common Organizational
Organizational Designs:
Designs:
Matrix
Matrix
 Matrix Structure
– A structure that creates dual lines of authority and combines
functional and product departmentalization
 Key Elements
– Gains the advantages of functional and product
departmentalization while avoiding their weaknesses
– Facilitates coordination of complex and interdependent
activities
– Breaks down unity-of-command concept

E X H I B I T 15-5
E X H I B I T 15-5

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 New
New Design
Design Options:
Options: Virtual
Virtual
Organization
Organization
– A small, core organization
that outsources its major
business functions
– Highly centralized with
little or no
departmentalization
• Provides maximum
flexibility while
concentrating on what
the organization does
best
• Reduced control over
key parts of the business
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 New
New Design
Design Options:
Options: Boundaryless
Boundaryless
Organization
Organization
– An organization that seeks to eliminate the chain of
command, have limitless spans of control, and replace
departments with empowered teams
– T-form Concepts
• Eliminate vertical (hierarchical) and horizontal (departmental)
internal boundaries
• Breakdown external barriers to customers and suppliers

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 Two
Two Extreme
Extreme Models
Models of
of Organizational
Organizational
Design
Design

E X H I B I T 15-7
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 Four
Four Reasons
Reasons Structures
Structures Differ
Differ
1. Strategy
– Innovation Strategy
• A strategy that emphasizes the introduction of major new
products and services
• Organic structure best
– Cost-minimization Strategy
• A strategy that emphasizes tight cost controls, avoidance of
unnecessary innovation or marketing expenses, and price
cutting
• Mechanistic model best
– Imitation Strategy
• A strategy that seeks to move into new products or new
markets only after their viability has already been proven
• Mixture of the two types of structure
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 Why
Why Structures
Structures Differ
Differ
2. Organizational Size
– As organizations grow, they become more mechanistic,
more specialized, with more rules and regulations
3. Technology
– How an organization transfers its inputs into outputs
• The more routine the activities, the more mechanistic the
structure with greater formalization
• Custom activities need an organic structure
4. Environment
– Institutions or forces outside the organization that
potentially affect the organization’s performance
– Three key dimensions: capacity, volatility, and complexity

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 Three-Dimensional
Three-Dimensional Environment
Environment
Model
Model
Volatility

Complexity Capacity

 Capacity
– The degree to which an environment can support growth
 Volatility
– The degree of instability in the environment
 Complexity
– The degree of heterogeneity and concentration among
environmental elements
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 Organizational
Organizational Designs
Designs and
and Employee
Employee
Behavior
Behavior
 Impossible to generalize due to individual differences in
the employees
 Research findings
– Work specialization contributes to higher employee
productivity, but it reduces job satisfaction.
– The benefits of specialization have decreased rapidly as
employees seek more intrinsically rewarding jobs.
– The effect of span of control on employee performance is
contingent upon individual differences and abilities, task
structures, and other organizational factors.
– Participative decision making in decentralized organizations
is positively related to job satisfaction.
 People seek and stay at organizations that match their
needs.
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 Global
Global Implications
Implications
 Culture and Organizational Structure
– Many countries follow the U.S. model
– U.S. management may be too individualistic
 Culture and Employee Structure Preferences
– Cultures with high-power distance may prefer mechanistic
structures
 Culture and the Boundaryless Organization
– May be a solution to regional differences in global firms
– Breaks down cultural barriers, especially in strategic alliances
– Telecommuting also blurs organizational boundaries

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 Summary
Summary and and Managerial
Managerial
Implications
Implications
Structure impacts both the attitudes and behaviors of
the people within it

Associated
with

 Impact of Technology
– Makes it easier to change structure to fit employee and
organizational needs
E X H I B I T 15-10
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 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the
United States of America.

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Publishing as Prentice Hall

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