Tran, Q., & Tian, Y. (2013). Organizational Structure: Influencing Factors and Impact on a Firm. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 3(2), 229-236.
Organizational structure is a concept that is important to the success of organizations as it relates to the formal distribution of functions and work roles as well as coordination of subsystems within an organization. According to Tran and Tian (2013), it relates to the aspect of inner order and relations among the parts of an organization and deals with the allocation of responsibilities and power. There are different ways in which an organization can structure the internal as well as the external environment to promote coherence. However, organizations need to consider flexibility in terms of structural architecture to address the factors that influence their operations in a dynamic environment.
In the article, Tran and Tian present study findings in which firms in Hanoi, Vietnam were studied to evaluate the factors that influence and impact organizational structure. Factors such as centralization, formalization, and control were investigated. Findings from the study indicate that decentralization of decision-making is one of the most important internal organization factors, which are instrumental in the establishment of interdependencies among people and activities to facilitate internal coordination. Based on the response of the firms studied, decentralization of decision-making was identified as the most important variable that influences and modifies the internal organizational structure and was rated 0.981 on a scale of 1-10 (Tran & Tian, 2013). The result is based on the tenets of contingency theory, which considers both the aspect of complexity and dynamism as the main factors that influence organization structures. In stable organizational environments, bureaucracy prevails while in dynamic environments flexibility and decentralization prevail to establish stable correlations between different components of the organization structure. The article summarizes the study with the idea that internal factors are significant modifiers of organizational structure and the decisions on the management of work, division of activities, and provision of direction amidst environmental forces exerted on the organization are important in the production of an effective organizational form.
The article presents an interesting finding that is relevant to the field of leadership, particularly as it draws special attention to the internal organizational aspect of decentralization of decision-making. Internal factors often relate to people, work roles, purpose, technology, and the structure of an organization. In the analysis of a formal organization, the article drives the main focus, which is on the people and the motivations, values as well as perceptions that relate to strategic and customer-oriented functions in the organization. Internal coherence is thus a concept that is relevant to both leadership and effective organizational functioning.
The main strength of the study is that it takes into account the aspect of group levels to understand the internal factors that affect the organizational structure. Taking levels of groups into account helps to bring out information from the participants based on the individual level of analysis. This also relates to the fact that leadership operates on different levels of an organization. The major weakness of the study lies in the use of structured interviews, which are usually narrowly focused and this may limit their utility for further exploring the internal effects that affect the organizational structure. This becomes a problem upon the consideration that the dynamic environments in which organizations function relate to a dynamic field of operations that may require a wider analysis of issues.
The article’s insight on the internal organizational structure and emphasis on decentralization of decision-making is significant in the criminal justice department, which is usually regulated by internal networks. The implication of this study is that it challenges the prevalent traditional command-and-control style of leadership found in the criminal justice. One of the key requirements in that regard for the effective functioning of the organizations and leadership is to ensure that each organizational unit responsible for a particular area of the organization's activities are factored into the decision-making process. The grouping that comes with decentralization harnesses experience of employees and synergies can be achieved when they participate in decision-making and that can help in strategic operations (Tran & Tian, 2013). In conclusion, the organization structure is useful in the achievement of organizational aims and flexibility is key in addressing dynamic factors that affect organizations. Leaders need to appreciate that flexibility functions to bringing onboard other organization members for effective and efficient organization and coordination.
References
Tran, Q., & Tian, Y. (2013). Organizational Structure: Influencing Factors and Impact on a Firm. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 3(2), 229-236.
