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Reframing Organizations , 4 th ed. Chapter 3. Getting Organized. Getting Organized. Structural Assumptions Origins of the Structural Perspective Structural Forms and Functions Basic Structural Tensions Vertical Coordination - Authority - Rules and Policies
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Chapter 3 Getting Organized
Getting Organized • Structural Assumptions • Origins of the Structural Perspective • Structural Forms and Functions • Basic Structural Tensions • Vertical Coordination - Authority - Rules and Policies - Planning and Control Systems • Lateral Coordination • McDonald’s and Harvard: A Structural Odd Couple • Structural Imperatives
Structural Assumptions • Achieve established goals and objectives • Increase efficiency and performance via specialization and division of labor • Appropriate forms of coordination and control • Organizations work best when rationality prevails • Structure must align with circumstances • Problems arise from structural deficiencies
Origins of the Structural Perspective • Frederick Taylor – Scientific Management • Efficiency, time and motion studies, etc. • Max Weber – Bureaucracy • Fixed division of labor • Hierarchy of offices • Performance rules • Separate personal and official property and rights • Personnel selected for technical qualifications • Employment as primary occupation
Structural Forms and Functions • Blueprint for expectations and exchanges among internal and external players • Design options are almost infinite • Design needs to fit circumstances
Basic Structural Tensions • Differentiation: dividing work, division of labor • Integration: coordinating efforts of different roles and units • Criteria for differentiation: function, time, product, customer, place, process • Suboptimization: units focus on local concerns, lose sight of big picture
Vertical coordination • Authority (the boss makes the decision) • Rules and policies • Planning and control systems • Performance control (focus on results) vs. action planning (focus on process)
Lateral Coordination • Meetings • Task Forces • Coordinating Roles • Matrix Structures • Networks • Strengths and Weaknesses of Lateral Strategies
McDonald’s and Harvard: A Structural Odd Couple • McDonald’s: clearer goals, more centralized, tighter performance controls • Harvard: diffuse goals, highly decentralized, high autonomy for professors • Why have two successful organizations developed such different structures?
Structural Imperatives • Size and Age • Core Process • Environment • Strategy and Goals • Information Technology • People: Nature of Workforce
Conclusion • Structural frame – understanding the social architecture of work • Structure is more than red tape and bureaucracy • Bad structure wastes resources, frustrates individuals, and undermines effectiveness • Good structure empowers individuals and units to work together and achieve goals • Differentiation and integration as the central structural challenge: how do we divide the work, and how do we coordinate once we divide? • Structure depends on situation • Simpler more stable simpler, more hierarchical and centralized structure • Changing, turbulent environments more complex, flexible structure