Organizational structure

An organizational structure defines how activities such as task allocation, coordination and supervision are directed towards the achievement of organizational aims. It can also be considered as the viewing glass or perspective through which individuals see their organization and its environment.

Organizational Structure of ASAM.

CONTENT : A - F , G - L , M - R , S - Z , See also , External links

Quotes

Quotes are arranged alphabetically by author

A - F

• Since the concentric organization chart has neither top nor bottom, the interpretations of the relationships existing within the organization are not dependent upon the position of the diagram which represents them. Any organization chart is designed to present certain facts about a given organization at given time. These facts or relationships do not depend on viewing the organization from any particular angle or any specific position, which is also the case for the concentric organization chart. However, with the traditional organization chart, the relationships which it intends to portray can be interpreted properly only when the chart is presented to the viewer in a certain position, that is, with the top at the top and the bottom at the bottom. Should this not be done, the organization should be upside down Should this not be done, the organization would be upside down, with relationships existing inversely to the facts of the organizational structure.
  • Edward Franz Leopold Brech (1965) Organisation, the framework of management, p. 438 (published earlier in: Journal of applied psychology. Vol 34. p. 377).

• The purposes of functional charts is

1. to get an overall picture of the existing organizational structure

2. discover organizational weaknesses such as:

a. confused lines of authority and responsibility

b. duplication of functions

c. inefficient allocation of personnel

d. too extended a span of control

e. lack of intermediate supervisory levels

3. discover organizational strengths which may be used in setting standards of good structure

4. provide a basis for planning

5. provide a basis for reorganization

• Civil Service Commission, Division of Training (1943) Guide To Municipal Functional Organization Charts. New York City, p. 10 ; Cited in: John J. Unterkofler (1954; p. 19).

• The first organization structure in the modern West was laid down in the canon law of the Catholic Church eight hundred years ago.
  • Peter F. Drucker, Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, New York: Harper & Row, 1973. p. 525

G - L

• You cannot run your business, or anything else, on a theory.

Two Organizational Structures

Every company has two organizational structures: The formal one is written on the charts; the other is the everyday relationship of the men and women in the organization.

Leadership

Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned.

Disease

The worst disease that can afflict business executives in their work is not, as popularly supposes, alcoholism; it;s egotism.

On Carling

The key element in good business management is emotional attitude.

• Harold S. Geneen, Managing, (1984), as cited in: Hospital Turnarounds: Lessons in Leadership, Beard Books, 1999, p. 100.

• There is no such thing as a good or bad organizational structure; there are only appropriate or inappropriate ones.
  • Harold Kerzner, Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling (1979), p. 93.

• The strategic use of information technology (I/T) is now and has been a fundamental issue for every business. In essence, I/T can alter the basic nature of an industry. The effective and efficient utilization of information technology requires the alignment of the I/T strategies with the business strategies, something that was not done successfully in the past with traditional approaches. New methods and approaches are now available. The strategic alignment framework applies the Strategic Alignment Model to reflect the view that business success depends on the linkage of business strategy, information technology strategy, organizational infrastructure and processes, and I/T infrastructure and processes... We [have looked] at why it may not be sufficient to work on any one of these areas in isolation or to only harmonize business strategy and information technology. One reason is that, often, too much attention is placed on technology, rather than business, management, and organizational issues. The objective is to build an organizational structure and set of business processes that reflect the interdependence of enterprise strategy and information technology capabilities. The attention paid to the linkage of information technology to the enterprise can significantly affect the competitiveness and efficiency of the business. The essential issue is how information technology can enable the achievement of competitive and strategic advantage for the enterprise.
  • Jerry N. Luftman, Paul R. Lewis, and Scott H. Oldach (1993) "Transforming the enterprise: The alignment of business and information technology strategies." IBM Systems Journal Vol 32 (1). p. 198 Abstract.

M - R

• Each individual possesses a conscience which to a greater or lesser degree serves to restrain the unimpeded flow of impulses destructive to others. But when he merges his person into an organizational structure, a new creature replaces autonomous man, unhindered by the limitations of individual morality, freed of humane inhibition, mindful only of the sanctions of authority.
  • Stanley Milgram, Obedience to Authority : An Experimental View (1974), p. 188.

• Many formal organizational structures arise as reflections of rationalized institutional rules. The elaboration of such rules in modern states and societies accounts in part for the expansion and increased complexity of formal organizational structures. Institutional rules function as myths which organizations incorporate, gaining legitimacy, resources, stability, and enhanced survival prospects. Organizations whose structures become isomorphic with the myths of the institutional environment-in contrast with those primarily structured by the demands of technical production and exchange-decrease internal coordination and control in order to maintain legitimacy. Structures are decoupled from each other and from ongoing activities. In place of coordination, inspection, and evaluation, a logic of confidence and good faith is employed.
  • John W. Meyer and Brian Rowan. "Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony." American journal of sociology (1977): 340-363.

• By organization Maturana refers to the relations between components that give a system its identity, that make it a member of a particular type. Thus, if the organization of a system changes, so does its identity. By structure Maturana means the actual components and relations between components that constitute a particular example of a type of system. The organization is realized through the structure, but it is the structure that can interact and change. So long as the structural changes maintain the organization, the system’s identity remains.
  • John Mingers, Self-Producing Systems: Implications and Applications of Autopoiesis. Contemporary Systems Thinking. New York: Plenum P, 1995.

S - Z

• I firmly believe that any organization, in order to survive and achieve success, must have a sound set of beliefs on which it premises all its policies and actions.
  Next I believe that the most important single factor in corporate success is faithful adherence to those beliefs.
  And, finally I believe if an organization is to meet the challenge of a changing world, it must be prepared to change everything about itself except those beliefs as it moves through corporate life.
  Basic philosophy, spirit and drive of an organization have far more to do with its relative achievements than do technological or economic resources, organizational structure, innovation and timing...
  • Thomas Watson, Jr. (1962) as cited in: Heather Clark, John Chandler, Jim Barry (1994) Organisation and Identities: : Text and Readings in Organizational Behaviour. p. 355.

• In the last few years, an information resources management concept has emerged as a focus of managing information activities. Although lacking a concise or universal definition, the IRM concept has become a framework for planning more responsive and coordinated information management organization structures throughout Government and the private sector. In brief, IRM is viewed as an integration of management responsibilities for the control of information-related activities and related processes. It includes the planning and management of information collection, use, and dissemination as well as management of information technology.
  • United States. General Accounting Office (1981) Department of Agriculture Needs Leadership in Managing Its Resources. p. 20.

See also

• Corporation
• Organization
• Organization chart
• Organizational theory