Summary Organization Theory, H13-14
Organizational Structure (EBP670C05)
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
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Organisational Structure Summary Chapter 13 & 14 16.
Chapter 13
Organisational Culture: The culture of an organisation evolves over time and creates an understanding between members of the organisation and shows clearly how everyone is expected to behave. Norms are important in an organisational culture, because they define standards of behaviour accepted by everyone within an organisation. There are different culture types with key characteristics with different expectations of behaviour of the employees within an organisation. (Attached list 1) Normally organisations have one dominant culture which shows the main values of the organisation, but usually there are subcultures, which are evolved in parts of large organisations. A strong culture is given when the core values are widely accepted and practised within the organisation. The culture of an organisation must fit with other strategies, the environment etc. in order to be successful, for example if flexibility, individual performance etc. are desired, it is important that the culture does not obstruct these abilities. Once the desired culture is implemented, there are forces which can help to maintain this culture, for example the selection of new employees, the actions of top management, the socialisation methods and the use of appropriate rewards and punishment.
Attachments List 1. 1) individual initiative – the degree of responsibility, freedom and independence of individuals 2) risk tolerance – the degree employees are encouraged to be aggressive, innovative and risk- seeking 3) direction – the creation of clear objectives and performance expectations 4) integration – members are encouraged to operate in a coordinated manner 5) management support – managers provide communication, assistance and support to their subordinates 6) control – number of rules and regulations + supervision methods used to control employees 7) Identity – do members identify with the hall organisation, rather than only their department? 8) Reward system – reward allocations, based on performance or seniority, favouritism 9) conflict tolerance – the degree to which members are encouraged to air conflicts and criticism openly 10) communication patterns – the degree how communication is restricted to the formal hierarchy of authority
Chapter 14
While managers seek growth and often use it as a criterion to assess organizational effectiveness, the constant challenge to combat stagnation and decline is often overlooked. The fact that managers seek growth is because, more than ever, we associate growth with wellbeing and health. For a big part this association is correct: bigger organizations generally derive economies of scale, and the growth of an organization increases the likelihood of survival. This is mainly true because large organizations are rarely permitted to cease to exist, since public interests in these organizations are most of the time rather big. While these are all valid reasons, large organizations also have downsides. Growth is almost always consistent with the self- interest of top management in the organization. In other words, the drive for expansion is partly driven by executive egos, not by the aim for effectivity and efficiency.
There are a number of models which describe the various stages which firms pass through as they grow. The first one forms the basis for most subsequent theorizing in relation to growth. In this model the following phases are listed.
- Creativity
- Direction
- Delegation
- Coordination
- Collaboration
Next to this model, there are various others, but one of them stands out; Hanks’ growth model for high-tech organizations. In this model, the stages are: - Start-up stage - Expansion stage - Earl maturity stage - Maturity/diversification stage
Despite all the reasons for growth, organizational decline is becoming more and more present in today’s world. Organizational decline is a long-lasting and ongoing decrease in the overall activity of the organization.
There are a couple of reasons for organisational decline. A lot of organisations
decline, caused by environmental factors. Environmental factors are not the only causes
for organisational decline though; it is also greatly influenced by behavioural factors. These
factors are identified by researchers as: self-fulfilling prophecies, groupthink, management
perceptions, selective perception, the rigidity effect and framing. The decline process is not
the reverse of the growth pattern; size has an impact. The result of this is that the level of
structure is greater for a given level of size during decline, than for the same level of size
during growth.
Summary Organization Theory, H13-14
Vak: Organizational Structure (EBP670C05)
Universiteit: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
