Week 3 Project

Organizational Structure

Organizations work hard to create the best internal structure to help them meet or exceed their goals. No organization can exist without people. Executives focus on results and generally should not be concerned with how the work is done, which leads to higher productivity as employees are free to make decisions at a local level. At the same time, managers generally want to implement some type of control system to measure and monitor employee behavior and performance. So, what are the options for arranging the control structure to provide control over employees and teams to achieve maximum results?

Centralized vs. Decentralized Structure There are two forms of structure: centralized (or hierarchical) and decentralized. There is no right or wrong approach to which structure an organization chooses.

Review each image to learn more.

Centralized Structure

Decentralized Structure

Today, we see a shift in structure as organizations are moving toward a decentralized structure in which employee empowerment is critical. An example of an organization that is decentralized is Valve Software. Valve is a highly successful computer gaming company that has no managers. In the employee handbook, even the CEO says he is not the boss. The employees are in charge of what is made, who is hired, and how things are done. Employees make all of the decisions and, in fact, are expected to participate in and contribute to the decision making. Decisions are made by employees because managers do not exist at Valve.

Additional Materials

From your course textbook Organization Theory and Design, read the following chapter:

Technology for Control, Social Business, and Big Data