Introduction of Organizational Structure Essay
Organizational structure denotes the arrangement of tasks and people carrying out those tasks in an organization. It refers to how employees are arranged within the organization, how their functions are specifically distributed and how they carry out those functions. Managers are also part of the structures, which should show the role they play in how the employees carry out their functions. It showcases the relationship between the different bodies in the organization and focuses on how this relationship can meet the goals of the organization. Typically, an organizational structure is supposed to be an organized way in which people and jobs are stipulated and arranged within the organization. The organizational structure takes the shape of positions that are given to the people. The positions help in creating a system where the employees know who they are answerable. The traditional forms of organizational structures have adopted the hierarchical system of organization.
The functions of every individual are clearly outlined in the form of a hierarchy. The hierarchy starts with the person that holds the biggest position to one that has the lowest one. Usually, the organizational structure depends on many things. The size of the company, the goals and objectives it has, number of employees, the geography and revenue all contribute to the formation of organizational structures (Roberts, 1998). The type of business the organization is involved in will also determine its structure since it defines its markets and helps in the formation of its objectives. The ideology behind the concept is to create a system that is organized and facilitates efficiency in the workforce. Therefore, such factors need to be evaluated before the structure is drawn.
Management and organizational structures
Management is in charge of overseeing all the functions of the organization. It is included in the structures, especially in the traditional ones. The hierarchy starts with the management before it descends to the employees and inter-departmental responsibilities. The reason is that management forms the platform for organizational structures. The formation of most organizations has to start with the management as heads of all the departments. Through the management, the structure will take shape, and the roles will be defined clearly. Every structure must have a pillar, and management is the pillar in organizational structures. It provides a basis under which the roles and functions of the employees will be defined. The body is a big determinant on how the roles will be distributed to the different departments within the organization. Managers define the way these departments will relate in terms of their roles and responsibilities.
The maintenance of organizational structures is done by management. Management and organizational structures have a mutually beneficial relationship in the sense that they depend on each other. Management depends on the structures for definition of the responsibilities that the departments will have. In turn, organizational structures depend on the management of the company to maintain them. Managers exist as the leaders in these structures and are supposed to ensure that matters that relate to the organization are carried out well. In a centralized structure, for instance, management participates in structural maintenance through decision making and control over the responsibilities of the employees. The centralized structure is an example of how the traditional systems work. The managers in traditional structures are relied upon to ensure that the functions in the structures are followed to the latter. Such a system rigidly gives all the power to the managers, who are supposed to ensure that the structures are maintained and suit the needs of the organization. The traditional structures have placed management at the top of the hierarchy and the employees at the bottom. As a result, all the control is afforded to the managers who exercise it upon the employees. Through such power, the relationship is established between the structures and management. The two cannot function without each other. The maintenance of the structures put in place for an organization is important because it is made in a way that depicts the objectives of the organization. Therefore, without the structures, the organization may not be able to meet its targets. Lack of maintenance would lead to a dysfunction in the organizational structure.
Furthermore, the management acts as a unifying structure between the departments. Even though the responsibilities of departments are different, they often need to relate and consult with each other. In most organizational structures, the managers’ roles include that of forging and taking care of departmental relationships (Datt, 2007). They do so through proper communication setups and clear supervisory roles for the departments. Management is in charge of finding ways in which the departments will consult with each other. An organizational structure performs the basic function of stipulating duties and responsibilities. The management them unifies these responsibilities, thereby, forming a relationship with the structures. For example, bureaucratic structures have different levels of management and departments, all of which perform separate functions. However, all the levels need to work together for the good of the organization. The different levels in management facilitate this by ensuring that proper communication in all the levels in the structures is fostered. Through the communication, the departments can work together.
In the traditional forms of hierarchical structuring, management is the central point of focus and determinant of whether the structure will achieve the organization’s objectives. Management is the tool that ensures the goals of traditional structures are met, thus making it the most important part of the hierarchy. Traditional forms of structure consist of functional structures, Bureaucratic structures and centralized structures. The traditional forms of structuring are formal in nature and give management all the authority to decide on how the structures will function. Management organizes the tasks of the employees and determines how they will be controlled. In such a system, employees are not given the opportunity of doing other things except for their tasks. The management organizes everything.
In addition, management is responsible in coming up with the goals and objectives of the organizational and, therefore, come up with the organizational structures. Managers participate in making decisions and solving problems without involving the employees. In such a system, management is crucial and without it the whole structure can be rendered as useless. Additionally, management is important in traditional setups because it is responsible for the recruitment and placement of employees in their tasks. It also gives the ideas that it deems relevant to the organization and is a major body for consultation. The managers in such a system are also responsible for grouping, which is different from task formation. Grouping is important in traditional structuring because such structures are usually large (Distelzweig, 2013). There is, therefore, the need to group them in order to have an organized system. For example, managers decide that all issues that relate to marketing should be grouped into a marketing department. Because the grouping is essential for specialization and productivity, it makes managers important people in traditional structures.
Conclusion (opinion)
It is clear that managers play an important role in organizational structures and are almost as important as the structures themselves. However, business is a dynamic venture that is always changing, especially in the modern times. The structures ought to be flexible to accommodate the changing aspects of business. Employees are becoming more than a mere workforce. Organizations should not that they contribute to 80% of the performance of the organizations. New forms of business require that employees are placed in positions where they can make decisions and help in the distribution of tasks. Traditional centralized structures have placed the employees at the bottom of the hierarchy, where they are only expected to perform the tasks they are given and do nothing more. However, such a structure may be ineffective in the modern times businesses. Employees need to be motivated and given the chance to expand their decision-making and problem-solving skills. Since they are the ones that perform the tasks, they are better placed to make changes that will ensure the tasks are performed more effectively. Therefore, in my opinion, organizations should adopt decentralized structures that will ensure that power is distributed evenly in an organization. A perfect illustration of an organization that has a shared system of authority is Tesco PLC
Correspondingly, the structures should be open to emerging trends in the business world. Such trends include project-oriented tasks, the use of technology and reinforcement of team work. Such trends increase productivity and employee motivation, which are paramount for the success of the business entity.
References
Distelzweig, H. (2013, January 1). Reference for Business. Retrieved November 14, 2014, from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Ob-Or/Organizational-Structure.html
Datt, R. (2007). Krishna’s organizational structures and personnel management (2nd ed., Vol. 2).
Roberts, J. (1998). Multinational business service firms: The development of multinational organizational structures in the UK business services sector. Aldershot: Ashgate.
