CHAPTER – 4 ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
CHAPTER – 4
ORGANIZING TECHNICAL
ACTIVITIES
REASONS FOR ORGANIZING
Organizing is undertaken to facilitate
the implementation of plans
In effective organizing, steps are
undertaken to breakdown the
total job into more manageable
man-size jobs
REASONS FOR ORGANIZING
Organizing is undertaken to facilitate
the implementation of plans
These will help facilitate the
assignment of authority,
responsibility, and accountability
for certain functions and tasks
ORGANIZING DEFINED
Organizing is a management function
which refers to “the structuring of
resources and activities to
accomplish objectives in an
efficient and effective manner”
ORGANIZING DEFINED
Structure is the arrangement or
relationship of positions within an
organization
The result of organizing process is
the structure
THE PURPOSE OF THE
STRUCTURE They are the following:
It defines the relationships between tasks and authority for individuals and departments
It defines formal reporting relationships, the number of levels in the hierarchy of the organization, and the span of control
THE PURPOSE OF THE
STRUCTURE They are the following:
It defines the groupings of individuals into departments and departments into organization
It defines the system to effect coordination of effort in both vertical (authority) and horizontal (tasks) directions
When structuring an organization, the engineer manager may be concerned with the following:
Division of labor – determining the scope of work and how it is combined in a job
Delegation of authority – the process of assigning various degrees of decision-making authority to subordinates
When structuring an organization, the engineer manager may be concerned with the following:
Departmentation – the grouping of related jobs, activities, or processes into major organizational sub-units
Span of control – the number of people who report directly to a given manager
When structuring an organization, the engineer manager may be concerned with the following:
Coordination – the linking of activities in the organization that serves to achieve a common goal or objective
THE FORMAL ORGANIZATION
The formal organization is “the structure that details lines of responsibilities, authority, and position”
THE FORMAL ORGANIZATION
The formal structure is described by management through:
Organizational Chart – is a diagram of the organization’s official positions and formal lines of authority
THE FORMAL ORGANIZATION
The formal structure is described by management through:
The organizational manual – provides written descriptions of authority relationships, details the functions of major organizational units, and describes job procedures
THE FORMAL ORGANIZATION
The formal structure is described by management through:
The policy manual – describes personnel activities and company policies
INFORMAL GROUPS
Informal group – are instances when members of an organization spontaneously form a group with friendship as a principal reason for belonging
INFORMAL GROUPS
Oftentimes very useful in the accomplishment of major tasks, especially if these tasks conform with the expectations of the members of the informal group
INFORMAL GROUPS
Reasons or factors for joining or forming a group:
Friendship
Common Interest – like concern for environment or love of classical music
Proximity – which gives people the chance to share ideas, opinions, and feelings
INFORMAL GROUPS
Reasons or factors for joining or forming a group:
Need Satisfaction – which are derived from unions, cultural societies, fraternities, etc.
Collective Power – which are derived from unions, fraternities, etc.
INFORMAL GROUPS
Reasons or factors for joining or forming a group:
Group Goals – which attract individuals like: consumer society, sports club, etc.
TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURES
Classification of Organizations:
Functional Organization
Product or Market Organization
Matrix Organization
FUNCTIONAL GROUP
Functional organization structures are very effective in a smaller firms, especially “single-business firms where key activities revolve around well-defined skills and areas of specialization”.
FUNCTIONAL GROUP
Advantages:
The grouping of employees who perform a common task permit economies of scale and efficient resource use
Since the chain of command converges at the top of the organization, decision-making is centralized, providing a unified direction from the top
FUNCTIONAL GROUP
Advantages:
Communication and coordination among employees within each department are excellent
The structure promotes high-quality technical problem-solving
The organization is provided with in depth skill specialization and development
FUNCTIONAL GROUP
Advantages:
Employees are provided with career progress within functional departments
Disadvantages:
Communication and
coordination between the
departments are often poor
Decisions involving more than
one department pile up at the
top management level and are
often delayed
Disadvantages:
Work specialization and division
of labor, which are stressed in a
functional organization, produce
routine, non-motivating
employee tasks
It is difficult to identify which
section or group is responsible
for certain problems
Disadvantages:
There is limited view of
organizational goals by
employees
There is limited general
management training for
employees
A typical functional organization
chart of a construction company
PRESIDENT
Vice
President
Marketing
Vice
President
Construction
Vice
President
Finance
Vice President Human
Resources
PRODUCT OR MARKET
ORGANIZATION
The product or market organization,
with its feature of operating by
divisions, is “appropriate for a
large corporation with many
product lines in several related
industries”.
Advantages:
The organization is flexible and responsive to change
The organization provides a high concern for customer’s needs
The organization provides excellent coordination across functional departments
Advantages:
There is easy pinpointing of responsibility for product problems
There is emphasis on overall product and division goals
The opportunity for the development of general management skills is provided
Disadvantages:
There is a high possibility of
duplication of resources across
divisions
There is less technical depth
and specialization in divisions
There is poor coordination
across divisions
Disadvantages:
There is less top management
control
There is competition for
corporate resources
A typical product or market organization
for a construction company
PRESIDENT
Marketing
Construction
Finance
Human Resources
Marketing
Construction
Finance
Human Resources
Marketing
Construction
Finance
Human Resources
Vice President Government Accounts
Vice President Industrial Accounts
Vice President Residential Accounts
MATRIX ORGANIZATION
According to Thompsom and
Strickland, “is a structure with two
(or more) channels of command,
two lines of budget authority, and
two sources of performance and
reward”
MATRIX ORGANIZATION
According to Higgins, “the matrix
structure was designed to keep
employees in a central pool and to
allocate them to various projects
in the firm according to the length
of time they were needed”
Advantages:
There is more efficient use of resources than the divisional structure
There is flexibility and adaptability to changing environment
The development of both general and functional management skills are present
Advantages:
There is interdisciplinary cooperation and any expertise is available to all divisions
There are enlarged tasks for employees which motivate them better
Disadvantages:
There is frustration and confusion from dual chain of command
There is high conflict between divisional and functional interests
There are many meetings and more discussion than action
Disadvantages:
There is a need for human relations training for key employees and managers
There is a tendency for power dominance by one side of the matrix
TYPES OF AUTHORITY
Line Authority
Performs tasks that reflects the
organization’s primary goal and
mission
In construction firm, it negotiates
and secures contracts for the firm
Staff Authority
Includes all those that provide specialized skills in support of line departments
example:
» those perform strategic planning
» labor relations
» research
» accounting
» personnel
Staff Authority
Classification:
» Personal Staff
» Specialized Staff
Functional Authority
Given to a person or a work
group to make decisions related
to their expertise even if these
decisions concern other
department
Given to budget officers of the
organizations
THE PURPOSE OF COMMITTEES
A committee is a formal group of persons formed for a specific purpose
Classification:
Ad hoc Committee
Standing Committee
THE PURPOSE OF COMMITTEES
Committees may not work properly, however, if they are not correctly managed.
Delaney suggests that “it might be useful to set up procedures to make the committee a more effective tool to accomplish our goals”