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Organization Structure and Design

The structure of an organization plays a pivotal role in how everyday tasks are handled, in how resources are allocated, in employee supervision and reporting, and in coordination amongst employees. It impacts employee behavior, demeanor, and psyche in ways that are still being studied by theorists today. Organizational structure may play a role in employee motivation and even productivity.

A primary factor in creating and managing a new business involves choosing the best organizational structure for it. Some types of business are better suited for a clear hierarchical structure, while others are more apt to work within a flatter organizational structure, with fewer or even no levels of authority. From time to time, a business may reorganize, as online shoe retailer Zappos did when moving from a hierarchy to a flatter "holacracy.” There were reportedly mixed results spurring from this major shift in business structure.

As the Zappos case and others reveal, business structure plays an integral role in organizational success. Thus, one should clearly define the initial organizational structure at the outset of starting a new business and monitor it through the business life cycle, tweaking it and shifting it as necessary.

References Reingold, J. (2016, March 4). How a Radical Shift Left Zappos Reeling. Retrieved February 07, 2017, from

http://fortune.com/zappos-tony-hsieh-holacracy/

https://lti.umuc.edu/contentadaptor/page/topic?keyword=Organization%20Structure%20and%20Design 8/23/17, 2F24 PM Page 1 of 2

Resources

" Structured for Success: How the Structure of Today’s Professional Organizations Are Changing (https://lti.umuc.edu/contentadaptor/topics/byid/44445837-9a07-4133-b7ab- ded42ce76f30)

" Creating an Organizational Structure (https://lti.umuc.edu/contentadaptor/topics/byid/cad5e0df-301e-4f69-96c7-c356c06d5aef)

" Organizational Structure (https://lti.umuc.edu/contentadaptor/topics/byid/70143dce-0f93- 46cc-b532-909f09b82386)

" Organizational Chart (https://lti.umuc.edu/contentadaptor/topics/byid/e70d9217-b347- 4739-8425-774c835045ce)

" Organizations and How They Grow (https://lti.umuc.edu/contentadaptor/topics/byid/08cd7be6-382d-4085-9963- 5a49605c38e1)

" A Flexible Organizational Structure as a Way of Knowledge Management in SMEs (https://lti.umuc.edu/contentadaptor/topics/byid/d2bad457-8f51-4336-9687-e3a6a97e53f7)

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