Topic 1: Definition of Organizing

  • organising

  • It is the process of grouping the necessary responsibilities and activities into workable units, determining the lines of authority, communication, developing patterns of coordinating and giving feedback.
  • By organizing we are attempting to answer the question: 
        How will the work be divided and accomplished? 
        
        To answer the question the manager must define, group and assign duties. There are  certain basic issues to consider. These include:

  • Setting up structure – structured aspects of the organization must be sure up which indicate the activities to be performed and lines of responsibility and authority.

  • Developing procedures and policies.
  • Determining organizational requirements and deciding how duties will be performed
Types of Organizations
1. Formal – Those organizations whose membership and activities are governed by certain specified rules and procedures which determine the degree of authority and behavior of each participating member e.g government ministries, non-profit making organization, business companies.
When designing the departmental organizational structure, the manager should plan for an ideal organization
2. Informal – These are social groups or “cliques” which develop within formal organizations in order to fulfill individual social needs e.g according to social interests like welfare society.
No formal organization will operate efficiently without an accompanying informal organization


Types of formal organization structures

1. Formal

Line Organizations

  • It is the oldest and simplest type of formal organization structure.
  • Pure line structure is straight forward and has direct chain of command pattern that emphasizes superior subordinate relationships

Functional Structures

  • Employees are grouped in departments by specialty with similar tasks being performed by the same group. Similar departments reporting to the same manager are grouped together 
  • Service integrated structure/product line 
  • All functions need to produce a product or services are grouped together, in self contained units. units are based on product, service, geographical location, or type of customer.

Hybrid Structure

  • As organization grows it typically organizes both self-contained units and functional units resulting into a hybrid structure

Matrix

  • Integrates both product and functional structures into one overlapping structure. Different managers are responsible for function and product

2. Informal

Organizational structure refers to how work is organized, where decisions are made and the authority and responsibility of workers. Structure is a map of communication and decision making paths.  Organization structure is an important tool through which managers can increase organization efficiency

  • It depicts the expression of responsibility relationships among people and jobs. The organizational structure is graphically portrayed by the organizational chart. This is a pattern to show how parts are put together to accomplish a particular purpose.
  • Individual positions are shown as rectangular boxes each representing a job. The chart shows: 
  • Areas of responsibility. 
  • To whom and for whom each person is accountable.
  • Major channels of formal communication. 
  • Interdepartmental relationships.