Designing Organizational Structure
What is organizing?
The process by which managers establish the structure of working relationships among employees to allow them to achieve an organization’s goals efficiently and effectively.
The result of the job design process is a _____ among employees.
division of labor
After allocating tasks to jobs, managers must decide how to group these jobs to align with the organization’s _____, _____, _____, and _____. Typically, they start by forming departments and then design a functional structure to optimize resource use.
1. environment
2. strategy
3. technology
4. human resources
Line manager or staff manager?
1. Jamie oversees the day-to-day operations of a retail store, including supervising sales associates and managing inventory.
2. Alex is responsible for creating and implementing the company’s marketing strategy but does not directly supervise any employees involved in sales or operations.
1. Line manager
2. Staff manager
The second principal issue in organizational design is to _____, _____, and _____ an organization’s culture.
1. create
2. develop
3. maintain
The challenge facing all companies is to design a structure and a culture that (1) _____ managers and employees to work hard and to develop supportive job behaviors and attitudes and (2) _____ the actions of employees, groups, functions, and divisions to ensure they work together efficiently and effectively.
(1) motivate (2) coordinate
True or false?
Job enrichment: Expanding the variety of tasks in a job by adjusting the division of labor.
Job enlargement: Giving workers more responsibility and control over their job.
False
Name 3 functional structure of Home Depot.
1. Executive vice president and CFO
2. Executive vice president merchandising
3. Executive vice president supply chain and product development
4. Executive vice president outside sales and services
5. Executive vice president human resources
6. Executive vice president general counsel and corporate secretary
7. Executive vice president chief information officer
How many levels are there in a tall organizational hierarchy and in a flat organizational hierarchy?
7 and 3
Name the sources of an organization's culture.
1. Characteristics of organizational members
2. Organizational ethics
3. Organizational structure
4. The employment relationship
Factors Affecting Organizational Structure
1. Organizational environment
2. Technology
3. Strategy
4. Human Resources
What are the five job characteristics?
Skill variety, Task identity, Task significance, Autonomy, Feedback
What are the three forms of divisional structure?
1. The type of good or service
2. The area of the country or world
3. The type of customer
Is it simple or complex?
A cross-functional team, including members from all functions, is formed to manage the product until its market launch.
More complex
True or false?
A company’s culture is shaped solely by its formal written rules and does not include informal norms or shared beliefs and attitudes among employees.
False
The statement is false because a company's culture is influenced by both formal written rules and informal norms.
The faster the ____ environment changes and the more uncertain it becomes, the harder it is for managers to access _____. In response, managers often choose more _____ structures and foster _____ cultures to speed up decision-making, improve communication, and more easily obtain _____.
1. external
2. scarce resources
3. flexible
4. entrepreneurial
5. resources
What is task significance in the workplace, and how does it impact a worker’s sense of meaning in their job? Provide an example.
Task significance refers to the degree to which a worker feels their job is meaningful due to its impact on people inside (e.g., coworkers) or outside (e.g., customers) the organization. For example, a teacher who sees their efforts reflected in well-educated, well-adjusted students experiences high task significance, while a dishwasher performing repetitive tasks may feel less significance in their role.
When might managers choose to adopt a global geographic structure over a global product structure, and what is the key difference between these two structures?
Managers are likely to adopt a global geographic structure when pursuing a multidomestic strategy, as it allows divisions to cater to varying customer needs by region. In contrast, a global product structure assigns responsibility for manufacturing and marketing decisions to product divisions rather than regional managers.
A task force is created with _____ manager from each relevant _____ or _____ to address a specific shared problem. Each member is responsible for _____ back to their department on the issues discussed and the proposed solutions.
1. one
2. function
3. division
4. reporting
True or false?
The organizational structure is a key source of cultural values, with tall and centralized structures fostering norms of caution and authority, while flat and decentralized structures promote creativity and risk-taking.
True
What three organizing choices do managers make that determine how an organization's structure works?
1. How to group tasks into individual jobs.
2. How to group jobs into functions and divisions.
3. How to allocate authority and coordinate functions and divisions.
What major strategic changes is IKEA implementing in response to evolving consumer behaviors and online shopping trends, and how do these changes impact job roles within the company?
IKEA is adapting to shifting consumer behaviors by expanding online shopping, experimenting with smaller urban store formats, and restructuring its workforce. The company is reducing back-office jobs while creating new roles in delivery, in-store services, and website design. Additionally, IKEA has acquired TaskRabbit to offer assembly services. These changes impact job roles by emphasizing specialized knowledge in smaller format stores and increasing behind-the-scenes efficiency for online operations.
How does a product team structure differ from a matrix structure in terms of reporting relationships and team composition?
A product team structure eliminates dual reporting relationships and the need for employees to have two bosses, unlike a matrix structure. Additionally, in a product team structure, functional employees are permanently assigned to a cross-functional team focused on bringing new or redesigned products to market.
How can managers enhance coordination between functions and divisions using liaison roles, and what are the benefits of this approach?
Managers can improve coordination by establishing liaison roles, where one manager from each function or division is assigned to coordinate with the other. These liaisons meet regularly or as needed, and their role includes transmitting information across the organization. Benefits of this approach include easing strains between functions through informal relationships and facilitating communication in large organizations where employees might not know others outside their immediate function.
How do organizational ethics influence an organization's culture, and what role do top managers play in this process?
Organizational ethics, which include moral values, beliefs, and rules about how members should interact with each other and external stakeholders, are crucial in shaping an organization’s culture. Top managers play a key role by deliberately embedding these ethical values into the culture, guiding how decisions are made and how situations are managed within the organization.