Essay On Organizational Structure

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Organizations are defined as a group of people which are structured and managed to accomplish things and reach collective goals. Regardless of the size of an organization, they have several common characteristics. These characteristics are a coordination of effort, a common objective or purpose, a division of labor, and a formal organizational structure. (Cassidy & Krietner, 2010) As long as there has been work to do, there has been an organizational structure to make sure that it gets done in the way that it was planned. Some organizations are small so that a simpler structure with face-to-face communication works best. In this type of organization a formal structure is not necessary. In larger organizations, decisions have to be made, so a structure is created to assign responsibilities and delegate tasks. In an organization of any size or complexity, employees' responsibilities are typically defined by their role and their reporting relationship. These definitions are assigned to positions in the organization rather than to specific individuals. (Fisher, 2000) Although the titles given to the positions, and the roles assigned to the people holding those titles may have changed over the years or been modified because of the type of organization, there are still essential roles that need to be filled in order to complete the work. In any type of organization which produces a product or service, there are architects and engineers that put the design or dream, developed by those who envision or invent, on paper as a map for managers to follow. It’s hard to believe that as early as the 1700’s, a book was written and published that designed some of the same organizational components that ha... ... middle of paper ... ...s. Boston: South-Western Cengage Learning. ISBN: 9780618862139 DuBrin, A.J. (2004) Applying psychology individual & organizational effectiveness (6th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN 0-13-097115-4 Fisher, K. (2000) Leading self-directed work teams: A guide to developing new team leadership skills. New York: McGraw-Hill ISBN 0-07-134924-3 Hammer, M. & Champy, J. (2001). Reengineering the corporation. New York:HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-06-055953-5 Linder, W. (1969). How industrial unionism was won: The great sit down strike against GM 1936-37. Retrieved from: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~rgibson/flintstrike.html Manis, J. (2005). An inquiry into the nature and causes of wealth of nations by Adam Smith. Retrieved from: http://www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/adam-smith/wealth-nations.pdf

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