Organizational Structure and Culture
Introduction
The shared norms and values of an organization not only affect how the organization is perceived externally but also its performance and innovativeness. Organizational culture galvanizes everyone in the organization through common assumptions, shared norm and values. Different tasks are shared accordingly using different criteria. The organizational structure entails the task allocation, supervision and coordination, all which are aimed towards the realization of organizational goals. Organizational culture and structure are two concepts that intimate how the employees are organized around tasks in line with the norms of an organization to achieve excellence.
Organizational cultures
Different methods have been used to classify organizational cultures. Using the Deal and Kennedy classification, the models of culture is based in four different classes of organizations. The work-hard, play-hard culture describes an organization that is characterized by rapid reward and feedback and low risk. This type of organizational culture results in stress for the employees that stems from the quantity of work done rather than uncertainty. High-speed action is required and this leads high speed reaction as is experienced in software companies and restaurants. Unlike this, the process culture is characterized by slower feedback and reward, although the risk is also low. Additionally, this culture results in plodding work, lower stress more comfort and security compared to work-hard, play-hard culture.
This culture is more found in insurance companies and banks. The Tough-guy macho culture is unlike the process culture in that it entails a rapid reward and feedback system that unlike the other two has a high risk. As a result, there is a lot of stress emanating from the high risks involved in addition to the inherent potential for loses or gains of a reward. This culture is more common in police work, sports and among surgeons. The Bet-the-company culture is slow reward and feedback system which also has a high risk. Unlike the other three, the stress in this culture emanates from the lack of immediate knowledge of whether ones actions have paid off. It is commonly experienced in oil companies and aircraft manufacturers.
Organizational structures
Different organizational structures are used by organizations in the contemporary market. Functional structures operate primarily on their functionality. The grouping of people and activities under this structure is done solely on the basis of similarities in goals, resource utilization, expertise and work. This is very advantageous because such grouping results in a coherent group based on the similarities shared. However, the organization loses out on the benefits of diversity. On the other hand, divisional structures are based on hierarchal departments that report to the headquarters.
Departments can have their own functional structures, although this is dependent on the diversity in the environmental demands. Unlike the functional structures, divisional structures enjoy more diversity and from a departmental perspective, the grouping of people and activities is more diversified than functional structures. Each department or division reports to headquarters and may have its own functional structure but it will depend on the diversity of the environments demands (Daft, Murphy & Willmott 2010, P. 12-15).
Unlike the other two, matrix structures base their grouping of activities and people on the requirements of projects, thereby developing multi-functional teams. The concept behind these structures is matching expertise and resources with the technical requirements of a project and client needs. The movie the internship embodies the concept of matrix structures as resources were matched with expertise to accomplish tasks. The devil wears Prada utilizes the divisional structure as evidenced by different divisions.
The impact of organization’s structure and culture can business performance
Business performance entails the independent criteria of a business to assess the overall result of the business in relation to established goals and objectives. Organizational culture and structure have an undue influence on business performance. Well performing organizations ensure their organizational culture and structure are well oriented towards the established goals. Organizational structure ensures that the allocation of resources and expertise is done optimally towards optimizing business performance. On the other hand, the organizational culture ensure that the employees in the divisions and departments as organized by the structure used are well motivated, synchronized and galvanized towards the achievement of success. Failure on either of the two has a negative impact on business performance (Cunliffe 2008, P. 45).
Factors influencing individual behavior at work
Different factors influence individual behavior at work. One’s ability and skills greatly influence individual behavior at the workplace. Individuals perform well when their skills and abilities are matched with work requirements. Perception is the individual’s cognitive process from interpreting various stimuli in the environment in a meaningful way. This concept has been utilized by managers to enhance performance by creating enabling work environments. This is because people perform better when they perceive the environment positively (Iqbal, 2011, Pg. 15).
Perhaps the biggest influence on individual behavior at work is attitude. This is the tendency by an individual to respond in a certain way towards certain situations, objects or persons. The formation of attitude is influenced by other factors like family, peers, culture and the society among others. Employees who form a positive attitude towards their duties behave differently compared to those who form negative attitudes towards their jobs.
The effectiveness of different leadership styles
Different leadership styles are at the disposal of managers. They are effective to different degrees depending of their application. For instance, decision making is easier in the autocratic leadership because the leader does not refer to anyone (Baligh 2011, P. 52). However, the high degree of dependence means that the organization might grind to a halt in the absence of the leader. Additionally, the style can lead to alienation and de-motivation of the staff. Unlike this, democracy is effective in that the decisions made encompass different perspectives through persuasion and consultation. Unlike democratic and autocratic leadership styles, laissez-faire leadership style is effective when the members of the workforce are skilled and experienced enough to be trusted to do their job effectively by themselves. This leadership styles is the most effective when sufficient control on the subordinates is not required.
Approaches to management
There are different approaches to management that are at our disposal. The human behavior approach to management is based the study of human behavior. This ranges from personality dynamics in different individuals as they relate to culture. It require for managers to understand human behavior. This approach emphasizes the use of motivation in addition to good human relations to increase productivity. The limitation to this approach is that even though the managers are better placed to manage by understand human behavior, it is untenable to equate management with human behavior (Burtonshaw-Gunn, 2010, Pg. 78).
The social system approach to management sees an institution as a cultural system that consists of people working of cooperation. As such, this approach requires a manager to understand group dynamics. This puts emphasis on harmonizing the organization goals with the groups herein the organization. The limitation of this approach is that the application and boundaries of management are spread beyond what is truly the concept of the organization
Conclusion
It is very important for an organization to look after the people that help it in achieving its goals. For the aspect of culture and organization structure, the performance of any organization whether big or small will depend on these two aspects for success to be achieved. This is not to negate the influence of leadership styles and approaches to management.
References
Baligh, H. H. (2011). Organization structures: theory and design, analysis and prescription. New York, N.Y., Springer.
Burtonshaw-Gunn, S. A. (2010). Essential tools for management consulting: tools, models and approaches for clients and consultants. Chichester, West Sussex, Wiley.
Cunliffe, A. L. (2008). Organization theory. Los Angeles, SAGE.
Daft, R. L., Murphy, J., & Willmott, H. (2010). Organization theory and design. Andover, South-Western Cengage Learning.
Iqbal, T. (2011). The impact of leadership styles on organizational effectiveness: Analytical study of selected organizations in IT sector in Karachi. Munich, Grin Verlag.
