Organizational management assignment
woshinibaba
OTMT608.Session3.pptSession 3: Organizations as Machines: Mechanistic/Bureaucratic Perspective
OTMT 608: Theories & Models of Organization
Dr. Kevin S. Groves
CLASS PREVIEW
Organizational Structure Types
Discussion of classical/bureaucratic, & scientific management perspectives
Field work reports
- McDonald’s analysis
Wrap-up & announcements for Session 4
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE TYPES
- Functional
- Divisional
- Geographic
- Matrix
- Horizontal
- Virtual/Outsourcing
- Hybrid
FUNCTIONAL
Strengths
- Consolidation of Knowledge and Skills
- Allows Organizations to Accomplish Functional Goals
- Best With Few Products
Weaknesses
- Slow to Respond to Environmental Change
- Can Lead to Poor Coordination Among Departments
- Less Innovative
- Can Restrict View of Organizational Goals
DIVISIONAL STRENGTHS
- Suited to Fast Change in Unstable Environments
- Greater Customer Satisfaction Due to Clear Product Responsibility
- High Coordination among Different Organizational Functions
- Good Adaptability
- Good for Large Organizations with Several Products
- Decentralizes Decision Making
DIVISIONAL WEAKNESSES
- Leads to Poor Communication Across Product Lines
- Eliminates In-Depth Competence and Specialization
- Integration and Standardization Across Product Lines Difficult
GEOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE
MATRIX STRUCTURE
MATRIX STRENGTHS
- Good Coordination to Meet Multiple Demands from Customers
- Flexible Sharing of Human Resources Across Products
- Suited to Complex Decisions/Frequent Changes in Unstable Environments
- Provides for Both Functional and Product Skill Development
- Best for Medium Sized Organizations With Multiple Products
MATRIX WEAKNESSES
- Dual Authority Can Lead to Frustration and Confusion
- Requires Good Interpersonal Skills and Training
- Time Consuming/Meetings and Conflict Resolution
- Will Not Work With Vertical Relationships/Communication
- Great Effort to Balance Power
HORIZONTAL
HORIZONTAL STRENGTHS
- Promotes Flexibility and Rapid Response
- Directs Attention to the Value of the Customer
- Gives Employees Broader View of Organization’s Goals
- Promotes Teamwork/Collaboration
- Shared Responsibility and Decision Making for Employees
HORIZONTAL WEAKNESSES
- Determining Core Processes Difficult and Time Consuming
- Requires Change in Job Design, Management, Philosophy, Information/Rewards Systems
- Managerial Pushback in Giving up Power/Authority
- Requires Significant Training and Retraining
- Can Limit in-depth Skill Training
VIRTUAL STRENGTHS
- Enables All Sizes of Organizations to Obtain Talent/Resources
- Immediate Scale and Reach Without Significant Investment
- Allows for High Levels of Flexibility and Responsiveness
- Reduces Administrative Overhead Costs
VIRTUAL WEAKNESSES
- No Managerial Hands On Control
- Requires More Time to Manage Relationships/Conflict Resolution
- Emplloyees Can Feel Isolated
- Potential for Less Buy-in From Partners
- Fear of Employee Replacement can Weaken Loyalty and Corporate Culture
HYBRID
Bureaucratic (Classical)
- Focus: Design and management of the total organization
- Major contributors:
- Adam Smith (1776)
- Max Weber (1946)
- Henri Fayol (1949)
- Diagnostic question:
- To what degree is the formal organization structure bureaucratic (#5a)?
Mechanistic (Scientific Mgmt)
- Focus: Design and management of individual jobs
- Major contributors:
- Fredrick Taylor (1911)
- Frank Gilbreth (1911)
- Lilian Gilbreth (1911)
- Diagnostic question:
- To what degree is the task technology mechanistic (#3)?
MECHANISTIC & BUREAUCRATIC PERSPECTIVES
BUREAUCRATIC PERSPECTIVE: MAX WEBER
Max Weber 1864-1920
Weber’s experiences in organizations
- European employees were loyal to a single individual
rather than to the organization or its mission
- Resources used to realize individual desires rather than organizational goals
Primary beliefs
- Bureaucratic forms routinize the process of organizational administration just as machines routinize production
- Defined bureaucracy as:
- Form of organization that emphasizes precision, speed, regularity, reliability, & efficiency achieved through the creation of a fixed division of tasks, hierarchical supervision, & detailed rules and regulations
0
CHARACTERISTICS OF WEBERIAN BUREAUCRACY
Positions organized
in a Hierarchy of Authority
Employees subject to
Rules and Procedures
that will ensure reliable
predictable behavior
Personnel are selected
and promoted based
on Technical
Qualifications
Authority based on
official obligations of
job role
(Position Authority)
System of promotion
according to seniority,
achievement, or both
(Career Ladder)
Division of Labor
with clear definitions of
authority and responsibility
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CLASSICAL MANAGEMENT THEORY
Unity of command
Scalar chain
Span of control
Staff and line
Initiative
Division of work
Authority & responsibility
Centralization of authority
Discipline
Subordination of individual interests
Equity
Stability of tenure of personnel
Esprit de corps
BUREAUCRACY
Fixed activities
Division of labor
System of rules
Hierarchy
Authority based in role
Selection based on technical qualifications
Career ladder
PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZATION DESIGN
Describes degree to which
formal organization structure is bureaucratic.
DIAGNOSTIC CONCLUSION: ORGANIZATION DESIGN
5. How is the organization structured?
Bureaucratic
Non-bureaucratic
Functional Structure
- Rigid
- Top-down
- Completely centralized
Functional Structure
- Mgmt team
- Silo dpts.
- Mostly centralized
Matrix Structure
- Authority to functional & product heads
- Functional & product teams
Project-Based
- Self-managed teams
- Innovation
- Frequent b/t team learning
Network Structure
- Loosely coupled network
- Heavy subcontracting
- System of firms
Product Structure
- Some cross-dpt teams
- Loyalty to boss vs. team
PRINCIPLES OF TASK DESIGN
Scientific Management Principles
- Shift responsibility for design of work to manager
- Use scientific methods to ensure efficiency & precision
- Select best person for job
- Train for efficiency
- Monitor worker performance
Describes degree to which task technology is mechanistic.
GENESIS OF TAYLORISM AT BETHLEHEM STEEL
Haphazard status of work & organizations
- Industrial engineer obsessed with measurement
Frederick Taylor background
- The Principles of Scientific Management (1911)
- Defined scientific mgmt:
- The application of scientific principles to the study of work behavior in order to increase worker efficiency and productivity
Legacy
- Defended his scientific mgmt principles to US House of Reps and Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC)
- WWI breaks out; US Gov’t attention is diverted
- Gained reputation as “enemy of working man” by time of death in 1915
SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT
Contributions
Demonstrated the importance of compensation for performance
Initiated the careful study of tasks and jobs
Demonstrated the importance of personnel and their trainings
Did not appreciate social context of work and workers’ higher needs
Did not acknowledge variance among individuals
Tended to regard workers as uninformed and ignored their ideas
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DIAGNOSTIC CONCLUSION: TASK DESIGN
3. What kind of technology is used to accomplish tasks?
Mechanistic
Non-mechanistic
- Is there emphasis on unstructured and constantly evolving tasks/project duties?
- Does the goal-setting system allow employee input on how goals are achieved?
- Does work process allow for ample employee initiative & influence?
- Is there emphasis on discretion and decision-making at lower levels?
- Is there emphasis on designing jobs to be challenging and rewarding?
- What did you see at McDonald’s? Which tasks from the “checklist” in Morgan’s Images (p. 20) were evident?
- Which principles of organization design were evident at McDonald’s?
- Which principles of task design were evident at McDonald’s?
- Who did you see working at McDonald’s? Why do you suppose people are working at McDonald’s?
- Was there anything new at McDonald’s that you have never seen?
MECHANISTIC/BUREAUCRATIC PRINCIPLES AT MCDONALD’S
McDonald’s restaurant goals
Predictability and elimination of uncertainty
Highly effective mechanical system for organizing meal production
Close control over efficiency of labor
Application of scientific mgmt principles (Task Technology)
Sharp split between “brain” and “hands”
- Responsibility for the organization of work rests with managers and system designers at HQ; workers solely concerned with implementation of predefined tasks
Scientific methods used to define work activities
- All tasks are precisely defined (Checklist in Morgan’s Images)
Selection
- Employment of enthusiastic, young people (often students) seeking temporary work for basic $
Training
- Careful instruction on basic work activities (Hamburger U); programming of sales talk
Monitoring performance
- Store manager and outside evaluations, careful systems of evaluation, workers start with simple jobs and graduate to more difficult ones (career ladder)
M/B PRINCIPLES AT MCDONALD’S
Where on a 1-5 scale does McDonald’s exist for Task Design?
- Contingency Analysis: Task Technology (#3)
Where on a 1-5 scale does McDonald’s exist for Organization Design?
- Contingency Analysis: Formal Structure (#5a)
LINK TO CONTINGENCY ANALYSIS
WHEN “MACHINES” WORK WELL
- Straightforward, well-understood tasks
- Stable or controllable environment
- Continuous production of standardized products
- Precision
- Humans are compliant, predictable, & trainable
- Abundant supply of non-unionized labor
WHEN “MACHINES” DON’T WORK WELL
- Unpredictable tasks
- Changing environment
- Employees expect more than $ and routine job duties
- Need for creative, innovative outcomes
- Maximize employee strengths & potential
PRIMARY LIMITATIONS OF M/B PERSPECTIVE
Great difficulty in adapting to changing circumstances
Employee mindlessness and unquestioning of bureaucratic systems
Dehumanizing effects upon employees
Creation of functional ‘silos’ across organization
Individual or departmental interests take precedence over organization goals
Employee apathy, carelessness, and lack of pride
New problems or challenges can produce unethical behavior (“moral mazes”)
WRAP-UP & REMINDERS FOR SESSION 4
- Due today
- Field work report
- Reminders for Session 4
- Meet with team to discuss Team Case Analysis Presentation Assignment
- Complete Motivation Chart for the AdSense organization at Google
- Select Individual Project
