Week 6 - Traditional approaches: metaphors, principles and configurations

Question 1

Define organisational design

Answer 1

The degree of differentiation within the organisations structures and the integration of these areas based on external factors.

Question 2

Name the benefits of good org design

GICL

Answer 2

• Better achieve org goals
• Enhance innovation and implementation
• Be cost effective through integration
• Facilitate learning and learning organisations

Question 3

Describe the 4 facets of org structure

CFCC

Answer 3

Complexity - the degree of differentiation - horizontal, vertical, spatial

Formalisation - the degree to which jobs are standardised vs autonomy

Centralisation - the degree to which decisions are decided at the top of the organisation.

Co-ordination - integration of activities and aims of different units

Question 4

Describe the 3 stages of industrialisation (Burns)

Answer 4

• Smith - utilising machines to produce advantage = factories

• Bureaucratic orgs - complex series of production processes within the same plant, rise in ratio of admin to staff.

Modern orgs - production surpassed spontaneous domestic demand, consumption stimulated through advertising, styling etc. Dynamic / competitive.

Question 5

New organisational models are posited for Burns’ 3rd era of industrialisation. Discuss mechanistic systems (Burns)

Answer 5

Hierarchical control, vertical lines
Leadership at top
Individuals are told what is important, what to attend to and what is not part of their role.

Question 6

New organisational models are posited for Burns’ 3rd era of industrialisation. Discuss organismic systems (Burns)

Answer 6

Continual redefinition of roles to meet environment. Aspects:

Communication laterally as much as vertically
Definition of roles disappear,
Flexibility to meet goals required.

Question 7

Describe outcomes where the wrong type of organisational design is applied (Burns)

Answer 7

Ambiguous figure system; responsibility creeps up to superior.

Mechanistic jungle: more branches of the bureaucratic tree grow.

Committee system: jobs bigger than any one person force committees to proliferate

Question 8

(Sine, Mitsuhashi, Kirsch) suggest that mechanistic orgs in emerging, dynamic environments perform better by reducing ambiguity and encourage efficiency, learning and decision making. Discuss how this is achieved:

FSMA

Answer 8

Mechanistic orgs achieve this via:

Formalisation - strict roles
Specialisation - narrow roles
More management - reduce uncertainty, increase efficiency
Admin intensity - higher ratio of admin to staff

Question 9

Discuss Morgans (2006) use of the brain as a metaphor for learning orgs

Answer 9

Organisations can function like the brain:

Info processing entities

Complex learning systems

Distributed nature, capable of specialisation

Question 10

Morgan discusses 3 aspects of the brain as a metaphor for learning orgs, info processing, learning systems, principles of organisational design. Discuss info processing:

Answer 10

Simon says orgs display ‘bounded rationality’ because members limited info processing abilities:
o act on incomplete info
o can explore limited alternatives
o unable to attach values to outcomes

Question 11

Morgan discusses 3 aspects of the brain as a metaphor for learning orgs, info processing, learning systems, principles of organisational design. Discuss complex learning systems (morgan)

Answer 11

Follows Cybernetics: self regulating behaviour within norms to maintain steady states. Scan, detect, correct.

Single / double loop learning the difference between orgs & learning orgs.

Question 12

Morgan discusses 3 aspects of the brain as a metaphor for learning orgs, info processing, learning systems, principles of organisational design. Discuss organisational design:

SRDML

Answer 12

Morgan suggests a distributed nature encourages learning orgs:

systems think
redundancy
diversity
minimum specs
learn to learn