Functions of

Management

ORGANIZING TECHNICAL
ACTIVITIES
The engineer manager needs to acquire
various skills in management, including those
for organizing technical activities. In this
highly competitive environment, the unskilled
manager will not be able to bring his unit, or
his company, as the case may be, to success.
ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
The opportunities offered by skillful
organizing are too important for the
engineer manager to ignore. This lesson
is intended to provide the engineer
manager with some background and
insights in organizing. ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
ORGANIZING
ORGANIZING is a management function
which refers to the “structuring of
resources and activities to accomplish
objectives in an efficient and effective
manner.”
Structure - arrangement or relationship of
positions within an organization; the result
of the organizing process.
ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
 ORGANIZING
PURPOSE OF THE STRUCTURE
• it defines the relationships between tasks and authority for
individuals and departments.
• it defines formal reporting relationships, the number of levels
in the hierarchy of the organization, and the span of control.
• it defines the groupings of individuals into departments and
departments into organization.
• it defines the system to effect coordination of effort in both
authority and tasks directions.
ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
1. Division of labor — determining the scope of work and how it is
combined in a job.
2. Delegation of authority — the process of assigning various degrees of
decision-making authority to subordinates.
3. Departmentation — the grouping of related jobs, activities, or
processes into major organizational subunits.
4. Span of control — the number of people who report directly to a
given manager.
5. Coordination — the linking of activities in the organization that serves
to achieve a common goal or objective.
ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
 ORGANIZING
FORMAL ORGANIZATION
FORMAL ORGANIZATION is “the structure that details lines of
responsibilities, authority, and position.”
The formal structure is described by management through:
1. organization chart - a diagram of the organization’s official positions
and formal lines of authority.
2. organizational manual - provides written descriptions of authority
relationships, details the functions of major organizational units,
and describes job procedures.
3. policy manuals - describes personnel activities and company
policies. ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
 ORGANIZING
INFORMAL GROUPS

INFORMAL GROUPS - members of an organization

spontaneously form a group with friendship as a principal
reason for belonging; it is not a part of the formal organization
and it does not have a formal performance purpose.

Informal groups are oftentimes very useful in the

accomplishment of major tasks, especially if these tasks conform
with the expectations of the members of the informal group.
ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
 ORGANIZING
INFORMAL GROUPS
Friendship
Concern for environment
or same likes Common interest

Share ideas, opinions or feelings Proximity

Form
Unions, cultural societies, Informal
fraternities Need satisfaction
group
Unions, cultural societies, Join
fraternities Collective power

Consumer society, sports club Group Goals

ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
ORGANIZING
TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES

1. Functional organization — this is a form of departmentalization

in which everyone engaged in one functional activity, such as
engineering or marketing, is grouped into one unit.
2. Product or market organization — this refers to the organization
of a company by divisions that brings together all those involved
with a certain type of product or customer.
3. Matrix organization — an organizational structure in which each
employee reports to both afunctional or division manager and
to a project or group manager.
ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
TYPICAL FUNCTIONAL ORGANIZATION CHART OF A
CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

PRESIDENT

VICE PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT

MARKETING CONSTRUCTION FINANCE HUMAN RESOURCES

ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES

TYPICAL PRODUCT/MARKET ORGANIZATION CHART OF A
CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

PRESIDENT

VICE PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT

MARKETING CONSTRUCTION FINANCE

MARKETING MARKETING MARKETING

CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION

FINANCE FINANCE FINANCE

FINANCE FINANCE FINANCE

TYPICAL MATRIX ORGANIZATION CHART OF A CONSTRUCTION
COMPANY

PRESIDENT

VICE PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT

FINANCE CONSTRUCTION HUMAN RESOURCES

CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT MANAGER PURCHASING MANAGER MARKETING
MANAGER

PROJECT X MANAGER ENGINEER PURCHASING SPECIALIST CONSTRUCTION

PROJECT X MANAGER ENGINEER PURCHASING SPECIALIST FINANCE

PROJECT Z MANAGER ENGINEER PURCHASING SPECIALIST FINANCE

 ORGANIZING
TYPES OF AUTHORITY
1. Line authority — a manager’s right to tell subordinates what to do and
then see that they do it.
Line departments perform tasks that reflect the organization's primary
goal and mission. In a construction firm, the department that negotiates
and secures con-tracts for the firm is a line department.
2. Staff authority —a staff specialist's right to give advice to a superior.
a) Personal staff — those individuals assigned to a specific manager to
provide needed staff services.
b) Specialized staff — those individuals providing needed staff services
for the whole organization.
ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
 ORGANIZING
TYPES OF AUTHORITY

3. Functional authority — a specialist's right to oversee

lower level personnel involved in that specialty, regardless of
where the personnel are in the organization.
Functional authority is one given to a person or a work
group to make decisions related to their expertise even if
these decisions concern other departments. This authority is
given to most budget officers of organizations, as well as
other officers.
ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
 ORGANIZING
PURPOSE OF COMMITTEES
Committee is a formal group of persons formed for a specific
purpose.
1. Ad hoc committee — one created for a short-term purpose and
have a limited life. An example is the committee created to
manage the anniversary festivities of a certain firm.
2. Standing committee — it is a relatively permanent committee
that deals with issues on an ongoing basis. An example is the
grievance committee set up to handle initially complaints from
employees of the organization.
ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES