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organizing

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refers to identifying specific tasks needed to achieve goals, grouping them into jobs, and allocating authority, responsibility, and resources to allow the task to be accomplished

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Organizing addresses structural issues at three levels:

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individual, group and organizational

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jod design

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refers to the process of making management decisions concerning the assignment of tasks and positions, as well as the arrangement of reporting, communication, workflow, and authority relationships at the level of groups or workers in an organization.

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Organizational design

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aka organizational structure

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organizational culture

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the set of values, beliefs, attitudes and shared expectations that influence the way individuals and groups work together in an organization, and constitutes an organizational level influence on management effectivenesss

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human resource management

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formal staffing process that focuses on attracting, developing, and maintaining an effective workforce. These too constitute an organizational level influence on management effectiveness

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Three concepts to maximize efficiency and effectiveness

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principles of organazing (aka bureaucratic principles), mechanistic versus organic system, traditional versus contemporary approaches to organizational design

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principles of organizing (aka bureaucratic principles)

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identifies basic dimensions for organizing decisions that will impact the characteristics of the final organizational structure

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mechanistic vs. organic systems

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the degree of emphasis on classical bureaucratic principles, and impact the degree of rigidty or flexibility of the organizational structure

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traditional versus contemporary approaches to organizational design

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the variety of organizational structures that are most widely used by today's organization

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basic principles of organizing

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division of labor, hierarchy of authority, span of control, degree of centralization, departmentalization, coordination

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division of labor

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where work is separated into its components parts for completion by different individuals in different areas of the organization. Jobs are defined by this.

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hierarchy of authority

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comprises a chain of command, specifying who reports to whom, and normally emphasizing unity of command, or only one boss for each worker

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span of control (number of employees reporting to one manager)

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can result in many layers of management and a tall organizational structure, or large resulting in fewer layers of management and a flat organizational structure

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degree of centralization

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can be low(with important decisions made at lower levels in the organization, referred to as decentralization) or high (with such decisions made by top managers, referred to as centralization)

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departmentalization

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the approach used for grouping jobs into units within the larger organization, such as functional, divisional, matrix, team, or network approaches

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coordination

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the use of specific integrating mechanisms to pull together the efforts of diverse individuals and organizational units, and includes such mechanisms as rules and procedures, common superior, meetings, internal positions, integrating teams, organizational culture, and organization wide systems

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mechanistic or bureaucratic

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an organizational structure that is highly rigid; organizations are moving away from this.

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organic or adaptive

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an organizational structure that is highly flexible; organizations are moving towards this

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mechanistic organization

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organization that emphasizes the use of the chain of command in taller organizational structures, tend to be more centralized and are more likely to be associated with a functional or divisional structure

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organic organization

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de-emphasize the chain of command and tend to be more decentralized, empowering employees at lower levels with more flexible job descriptions in flatter organizational structures, and are more often associated with matrix, team, or network structures

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Three types of organization design

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functional structures, divisional structures, matrix structures

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functional structures

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the simplest form of organizational design, where employees with similar skills, who perform related tasks are grouped together into formal work units, such as purchasing, production, sales, and accounting

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divisional structures

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provides an intermediate level of complexity capable of handling greater variety through separate business units, focused on particular products, processes, geographic areas, or customers, such as the organization of American Express into divisions based on customer focus, including credit cards, travel service, financial services, and business services

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matrix structure (or matrix organizations)

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a combination of the functional and divisional structures which focus on project teams where team members report to two bosses: a functional manager and a project manager, such as an internet service company that organizes new product groups around both functional (e.g. engineering, marketing, accounting) and product lines (e.g. mapping, academic research, medical research, retail search)

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horizontal organization structures

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emphasize the importance of participation and empowerment over the traditional hierarchy of authority, as they attempt to use both technology and the capabilities of a highly trained and interpersonally skilled workforce to foster flexibility and innovation in the face of changing environmental demands

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types of horizontal organizations

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team structures, network structures, virtual organizations

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team structures

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use both permanent and temporary cross-functional and project teams to manage daily operations as well as solve problems or complete specific projects

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network structures (or boundary less organizations)

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take advantage of the latest advances in informational technology while building strategic alliances with other organizations in order to achieve common goals with a highly flexible structure

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virtual organization

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a subset of the network structure. Has few permanent employees and little formal structure, operating over the internet with a constantly shifting array of external alliances that are used as needed depending upon the demands placed upon the organization in any given place and time.

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job design

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the process of grouping goals and activities into sets of tasks that can be performed as jobs by individual workers. All of the following approaches are in use among contemporary organizations.

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job simplification

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(also known as specialization) breaks jobs down into a small number of very simple tasks that can be completed quickly and efficiently with minimum training. Associated problems include dissatisfaction, low motivation, poor performance, absenteeism, and turnover

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horizontal loading

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adding more tasks at the same level of complexity. Developed to reduce the problem associated with job simplification

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job rotation

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moves employees from one simplified job to another, providing the opportunity to perform a wider array of simple tasks

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job enlargement

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increases the number of different but simple tasks in a single job

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job characteristics model

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provides a conceptual framework for managers to use in designing or enriching jobs.

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five core job dimenstions

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skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback

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skill variety

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the degree to which the job involves different tasks and requires multiple skills

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task identity

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the degree to which the job involves the completion of a whole identifiable piece of work

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task significance

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the degree to which the task is seen as important and having impact on them

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autonomy

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the degree to which the worker has freedom and discretion to schedule, organize, and control the work

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feedback

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the degree to which actual job performance provides information to the worker about the quality of his or her performance

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components of organizational structure

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formal and informal

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formal components of the organizational structure

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clearly defined and consciously articulated to all organization members, typically in written form

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informal components of the organizational structure

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more loosely defined and vaguely articulated, often in nonverbal or symbolic ways through the reactions of coworkers

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Organizational culture

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the set of shared values, beliefs, assumptions, and expectations that influence employee work behavior in an organization

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organizational culture serves as an

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informal integrating mechanism. It influences how employees think, feel, perceive and act at work. It can thus substitute for formal integrating systems such as rules, procedures, policies or direct supervision

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organizational socialization

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the process by which new members of an organization learn the values, norms, and expected ways of working necessary to perform their jobs efficiently in that organization, and includes both formal orientation training and informal learning about company heroes, language and stories, or rites and ceremonies.

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human capital

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the the economic value of the skills, experience, and capabilities of the organization's workforce

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three aspects of staffing

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attracting qualified employees, developing qualified employees, maintaining a qualified workforce

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attracting qualified employees involves

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human resource planning and recruitment and selection

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developing qualified employees involves

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training and development and performance management

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maintaining a qualified workforce involves

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compensation, replacement decisions, and labor relations

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discrimination

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occurs when employment decisions are made based upon personal characteristics that are unrelated to job performance

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protected class

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specific categories of people who suffered widespread employment discrimination in the past, and are therefore accorded special legal protection now, including Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Native Americans, women, people with physical and mental disabilities, and people over age 40

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equal employment opportunity (EEO)

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the right to employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, or disability

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affirmative action

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legal requirements to actively recruit and give preference in employment to the protected classes of women and minority group members, in order to make up for the past effects of past discrimination

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sexual harassment

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a form of discrimination that occurs when unwelcomed sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature are involved in creating a hostile work environment, or are required for an employee to keep his or her job

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wrongful discharge

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a relatively new legal doctrine that applies under certain circumstances, and requires employers to have a job or performance related reason for terminating an employee

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recruitment

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the activities used by the organization to attract a pool of qualified candidates

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training and development

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an array of systems and procedures used to help employees develop the skills and behavior needed to perform their jobs well

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performance appraisal methods

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graphic rating scale, the behaviorally anchored rating scale, the ranking method, the critical incident method, outcome based methods, and 360 degree appraisal

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compensation

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includes monetary and nonmonetary rewards that employers provide to employees in exchange for their work.

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base compensation

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includes wages, salary, and incentives. Fairness and equity are maintained through job evaluation and wage and salary surveys

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fringe benefits

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nonmonetary forms of compensation provided to employees, and include various forms of protection program or programs designed to enrich employees' lives

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replacement decisions

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involve he management of voluntary separations (i.e. quitting or retirement), promotions and transfers, as well as involuntary separations (demotions, terminations, and layoffs)

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labor relations

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also known as industrial relations or labor-management relations. The process of dealing with unionized employees

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Among the management tools used in the organizing function, job design focuses more on differentiation, while organization design, organizational culture, and human resource management focus more on integration T/F

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True; The organizing function refers to a combination of two separate processes (1) identifying specific tasks needed to achieve goals, grouping them into jobs, and (2) allocating authority, responsibility, and resources to allow the tasks to be accomplished. The first process entails primarily differentiation (the creation of differences between organizational units; such as the division of labor), and is accomplished through job design. The second process entails integration (the use of specific integrating mechanisms to coordinate the efforts and outputs of the different individuals and units in the organization in order to ensure the achievement of overall results) through the processes of organizational culture, and effective implementation of human resource systems

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A manager with staff authority has the right to make decisions and give orders down the chain of command, and would be recognized as a direct contributor to the achievement of the organization's goals, while a manager with line authority would contribute only indirectly to the achievement of the organization's goals by providing recommendations, advice, and counsel to staff managers or others in the organization T/F

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False; The terms are reversed in this statement. It is line managers who are direct contributors with rights to make decisions and issue orders down the chain of command, while staff managers are indirect contributors who typically provide only recommendations or advice to others in the organization

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As an organizing principle, the term span of control focuses on the use of specific integrating mechanisms to pull together the efforts of diverse individuals and work units T/F

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False; The term span of control refers to the number of employees reporting to one manager, which may be a few (resulting in a tall organizational structure) or many (resulting in a flat organizational structure). It is the organizing principle of coordination that focuses on the use of specific integrating mechanisms to pull together the efforts of diverse individuals and work units, including such mechanisms as rules and procedures, common superior, meetings, teams, integrating roles, and organizational culture.

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while organizational theorists typically talk about mechanistic versus organic organization a real life organization can actually exist anywhere on a continuum from extremely mechanistic to extremely organic T/F

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True; The concept of mechanistic versus organic organizational structure is simply a set of terms used to summarize the degree of emphasis on classical bureaucratic principles or organizing in any given organizational structure, which can exist on a continuum from highly rigid (ie., mechanistic or bureaucratic) to highly flexible (i.e. organic and adaptive)

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The traditional type of organization design that violates the organizing principle of the unity of command by having some employees report to two different bosses is the matrix structure T/F

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True; Matrix structures (or organizations) are a combination of the functional and divisional structures which focus on project teams, where team members report to two bosses: a functional manager and a project manager

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Traditional approaches to organizational design are characterized by horizontal organizational structures T/F

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False; The traditional approaches to organizational design - the functional division and matrix structures that have been popular for years have historically focused on taller, more centralized vertical structures, (with the matrix as the initial departure from this approach). It is the contemporary approaches to organization design that are characterized by horizontal organizational structures, which emphasize the importance of participation and empowerment over traditional hierarchy of authority, as they attempt to use both technology and capabilities of a highly skilled workforce to foster flexibility and innovation. These contemporary approaches include the team, network, and virtual organizational designs.

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All approaches to job design focus primarily on job simplification T/F

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False; All approached to job design involve the division of labor, as well as a greater or lesser degree of task specialization. However, they do not all focus on job simplification. Job simplification is the oldest approach to job design that breaks jobs down into the smallest and least challenging components, often resulting in motivational and turnover problems among workers due to boredom and monotony. The other approaches to job design - job rotation, enlargement, enrichment, and work teams - were developed to overcome the problems inherent in job simplification. These approached place less emphasis on task specialization, and attempt to promote greater satisfaction through either horizontal or vertical loading

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Managers who wish to use the job characteristics model to redesign boring, unpopular jobs would need to begin by assessing the job's degree of skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback T/F

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True; According to the mode, these five core job dimensions will impact three critical psychological states, which in turn will impact the worker's motivation, satisfaction, performance, absenteeism, and turnover. The higher the core job dimensions, the more motivating the job will be for workers with high growth need strength. Thus, the manager's task will begin by assessing the core job dimensions, but must also entail a measurement of employee growth need strength before the full benefits of the model can be realized. If the employees have high growth need strength, the using the model's recommendations to increase the core job dimensions will likely improve the motivating potential of the job.

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Organizational culture is an example of a formal integrating mechanism in organizational structure T/F

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False; The structure of an organization includes both formal and informal components. Job design, organization design, and human resource management focus on formal components: aspects of the organization that are clearly defined, typically in written form, and consciously articulated to all organizational members through job descriptions, policy and procedure manuals, performance appraisal forms, and many other devices. Organizational culture is more of an informal system, which is not always clearly articulated and often influences employee behavior in a subconscious way. It influences how employees think, feel, perceive and act at work. It can thus substitute for formal integrating systems such as rules, procedures, policies, or direct supervision.

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All of the basic areas of human resource management are significantly affected by legal requirements T/F

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True; Within the United States, there is a significant amount of legal regulation of the staffing function. This regulation may differ at the federal and state levels, and it almost always differs significantly at the global level. Most US organizations try to develop policies and practices that will comply with the strictest federal and state standards so they can use the same human resource practice nationwide. These legal requirements impact human resource planning, recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, compensation, replacement decisions, labor relations and occupational safety and health

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Popular methods of human resource planning include the graphic rating scale, the behaviorally anchored rating scale, the ranking method, the critical incident method, and the outcome based method T/F

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False; These are popular methods of performance appraisal. Human resource planning involves forecasting current and future needs for employees with specific skills and abilities to meet the staffing requirements of the organization and it implements its strategic plan. It typically includes an assessment of the supply and demand for workers with specific skills both within the organization and in the external environment

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the term "unfair labor practice" is associated with the field of industrial relations T/F

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True; Labor relations (also called industrial relations, or labor-management relations) refers to the process of dealing with unionized employees. In business, the national labor relations board (NLRB) oversees labor relations in the United States with three functions (1) conducting unionization elections, (2) hearing complaints about unfair labor practices, (3) issuing injunctions against employers or unions who have been found in violation of the law. While the term "unfair labor practice" may be used in a variety of contexts, it is indeed strongly associated with the field of labor or industrial relations

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