Read the text: Organizing

Organizing is an important managerial function that translates strategy into a systematic structure of authority relationships and task responsibilities. Contingency organization design has grown in popularity as environmental complexity has increased. An organization chart is a diagram of an organization’s official positions and formal lines of authority. They are helpful visual aids for organizers. Representing the organization’s structural skeleton, organization charts delineate vertical hierarchy and horizontal specialization.

The idea behind contingency design is to structure the organization to fit situational demands. Consequently, contingency advocates contend that there is no one best organizational setup for all situations. Diagnosing the degree of environmental uncertainty is an important first step in contingency design. Field studies have validated the assumption that organiza­tion structure should vary according to the situation. Burns and Stalker discovered that mechanistic (rigid) organizations are effective when the environment is relatively stable and that organic (flexible) organizations are best when unstable conditions prevail. Lawrence and Lorsch found that differentiation (division of labor) and integration (cooperation among specialists) increased in successful organizations as environmental complexity increased.

There are four basic departmentalization formats, each with its own combination of advantages and disadvantages. Functional departmentalization is the most common approach. Functional departments categorize jobs according to the activity performed. The other formats are product-service where a product (or service) is the unifying theme rather than a functional category of work; geographic location when geographic dispersion of resources or customers may dictate structural format to put administrators “closer to action”; and customer departmentalization which centers on various customer categories. In actual practice, these pure types of departmentalization usually are combined.

Design variables available to organizers are span of control (the number of people who report directly to a manager), decentralization, line and staff, and matrix. As organizers have come to realize that situational factors dictate how many people a manager can directly supervise, the notion of ideal span of control has become obsolete. Decentralization, the delegation of decision authority to lower-level managers, has been praised as being democratic and criticized for reducing top management’s control. Strategic business units foster a high degree of decentralization. Line and staff organization helps balance specialization and unity of command. Functional authority serves to make staff organization more organic by giving staff specialists temporary and limited line authority. Matrix organizations are highly organic because they combine vertical and horizontal lines of authority to achieve coordinated control over complex projects.

Delegation of authority, although generally resisted for a variety of reasons, is crucial to decentralization. Effective delegation permit managers to tackle higher-priority duties while helping train and develop lower-level managers. Although delegation varies in degree, it never means abdicating primary responsibility.

I. Reading Exercises:

Exercise 1. Read and memorize using a dictionary:

Exercise 2. Answer the questions:

1) Why is organizing an important managerial function?

2) What is the idea behind contingency design?

3) What did Burns and Stalker discover?

4) What are design variables available to organizers?

Exercise 3. Match the left part with the right:

Exercise 4. Open brackets choosing the right words:

As organizers have come to (deny/realize) that situational factors dictate how many people a manager can directly supervise, the notion of ideal span of control has (become/combined) obsolete.

THE SPEAKING MODULE

II. Speaking Exercises:

Exercise 1. Describe organization charts; contingency design, decentralization, matrix organization, line and staff organization using the suggested words as in example:

Exercise 2. Ask questions to the given answers:

1) Question: ___________________________________________ ?

Answer: Field studies have validated the assumption that organiza­tion structure should vary according to the situation.

2) Question: ___________________________________________ ?

Answer: Strategic business units foster a high degree of decentralization.

3) Question: ___________________________________________ ?

Answer: Diagnosing the degree of environmental uncertainty is an important first step in contingency design.

THE WRITING MODULE

III. Writing exercises:

Exercise 1. Complete the sentences with the suggested words: step, advocates, uncertainty,

fit, should

The idea behind contingency design is to structure the organization to _____ situational demands. Consequently, contingency ______ contend that there is no one best organizational setup for all situations. Diagnosing the degree of environmental ______ is an important first _____ in contingency design. Field studies have validated the assumption that organiza­tion structure _______ vary according to the situation.

Exercise 2. Compose a story on one of the topics (up to 100 words):

“ Organizing is an important managerial function”

“Basic departmentalization formats”

“ Design variables available to organizers”

Date: 2015-01-12; view: 907