Org Structure influence on Culture and Efficiency

Question 1

Mintzberg’s five forms

Answer 1

entrepreneurial, machine organization, professional, divisional, innovative or adhocracy

Question 2

Professional organization

Answer 2

• Used when a business is reliant on more than a few experts in their fields
  • Gives experts more autonomy to create and reach goals
  • Executive management sets long-term strategic goals but professional have more input into processes and procedures
  • Hierarchy is similar to a traditional structure in each department

Question 3

What is organizational culture?

Answer 3

o Culture provides people with a sense of organizational identity and generates in them a commitment to beliefs and values that are larger than themselves.
- Integrates members with a collective identity and helps the organization adapt to the external environment

Question 4

How is organizational structure and culture connected?

Answer 4

o How the organization is designed is also a reflection of its culture.
- corporate culture that reinforces the strategy and structural design that the organization needs to be effective within its environment.
o The correct relationship among cultural values, organizational strategy and structure, and the environment can enhance organizational performance.
o The way in which people and departments are arranged into a whole, and the degree of flexibility and autonomy people have, tells a lot about which cultural values are emphasized in the organization.

Question 5

How is organizational structure and efficiency connected?

Answer 5

o Organizational structure improves operational efficiency by providing clarity to employees at all levels of a company.
o Organizational structure provides guidance to all employees by laying out the official reporting relationships that govern the workflow of the company.
o An appropriate organizational structure allows departments to work well together and focus more time and energy on productive tasks
o Managers make decisions about structural form, including whether the organization will be designed primarily for learning and innovation (an organic approach) or to achieve efficiency (mechanistic approach)

Question 6

What are the two levels in which organizational culture exists?

Answer 6

1. On the surface level- how people dress, office layout, symbols, ceremonies, stories
2. On a level that cannot be seen- underlying values, assumptions, beliefs, and though processes that define the culture

Question 7

Aspects of Mintzberg’s five forms

Answer 7

• believes that based on the key parts of the organization, the prime coordinating mechanism, and the type of decentralization help determine which structure a business falls into
• Coordination involves tasks such as direct supervision, standardization of work processes, and standardization of skills
• The strategy a business adopts and the extent to which it practices the strategy affects the form it takes on