Discussion Post: Organizational Structure
Textbook: "Management Theory and Practice" by Gerald A Cole.
Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words:
1) What type of organizational structure is used by your place of employment?
2) Do you believe this is the best approach, and what changes, if any, you would make to the current structure?
Read the assigned pages from Chapter 7, review the PowerPoint, and watch the videos before responding. You will be able to find the name of the structure of your organization in these resources.
When responding to this topic, use the names of the organizational structures from the Chapter 7 reading and the PowerPoint. Also, briefly explain why it fits into the selected structure.
• What Are the Most Common Organization Structures?
o Functional structures group together people using similar skills.
o Divisional structures group together people by products, customers, or locations.
o Matrix structures combine the functional and divisional structures.
o Team structures make extensive use of permanent and temporary teams.
o Network structures make extensive use of strategic alliances and outsourcing.
• Organization charts describe the formal reporting realtionships in organizations. The organization chart is not an organizational structure.
• Organization structure is formal arrangement of people, tasks, positions, and reporting relationships
• Organization chart is a diagram of positions-job titles, and reporting relationships-the hierarchy of authority, within a team or organization
• Division of labor - people and groups performing different jobs, ideally ones for which they are skilled
• Formal structure - the "official" structure, the way things are supposed to operate. The formal structure is not a structure in itself. One of the more common structures is a formal strubture.
• Organizations also have informal structures
o Informal structure - a "shadow" organization made up of unofficial but often critical working relationships between members. The informal structure exists within a fomal structure and is not a structure by itself.
o Informal structures have good points and bad points
o Social network analysis identifies the informal structure by discovering who employees communicate with and ask for help.
o Good points include employees assisting each other, providing emotional and social support, building friendships and helping the organization adapt to change.
o Bad points include eavesdropping, gossip, rumors, breeding resistance to change and providing distractions.
The response must include a reference list. One-inch margins, double-space, Using Times New Roman 12 pnt font and APA style of writing and citations.