My Organization's Structure

1469 Words3 Pages

Which of the organizational structures does your organization operate under? My organization is mostly decentralized with a variable degree of specialization. However, my organization is large enough that the other elements of organizational structure can be observed as well. The term organizational structure is defined as: how job tasks are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated. There are six key elements concerning an organizations structure: work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, centralization and decentralization, and formalization (p. 231).
Work specialization is used to describe the degree to which activities in the organization are divided into separate jobs (p. 232). In my organization there is a variable degree of specialization. Cross training strategies have been implemented to maximize employee versatility and all personnel are required to be able to perform in at least three different work centers. However, specialists are utilized in research and development and engineering. These specialists oversee the implementation of new products and manufacturing processes.
Departmentalization is the basis by which jobs are grouped so common tasks can be coordinated (p. 233). The departments and their roles are clearly defined at my company: Marketing publishes and distributes brochures and advertisements describing our new products. The sales team demonstrates new products for the customers. Engineers, specialists, and technicians work in research and development, designing new prototypes. Prototypes are sent to the test lab to undergo rigorous testing. After the new design has been validated by the test lab, the blue prints and raw materials are sent to the machine shop so mass pr...

... middle of paper ...

...am leader, which encourages them to act as role models. This helps to reduce the cost of the employee recruitment, training, and dismissal process.
Praise is given to employees who perform well in the form of verbal praise, gift certificates, plaques, awards, salary increases, and honors dinners at banquet halls. Employees who are given positive reinforcement are more likely to assume ownership of their departments and this also decreases the need for direct managerial involvement. This carefully constructed system of accountability and praise helps to foster effective team functioning, decreasing the need for supervisors and increases a manager’s span of control.

Works Cited

Investopedia, (N.D.). Retrieved from: www.investopedia.com/terms/o/organizational-chart.asp
Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. (2014). Essentials of organizational behavior. Boston: Pearson.

Open Document