Organizational Structure and Culture

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Organizational Structure and Culture Every company, no matter how big or small, definitely has an organizational structure and an organizational culture. O’Neill, Beauvais, and Scholl (2001) describe organizational structure as the way in which company activities are controlled and coordinated (p. 132). Organizational culture is the shared beliefs, behaviors, and how things are done in an organization (Robbins, Decenzo, & Coulter, 2013, p. 38). Organizational design happens when company executives and managers make wanted or necessary changes to the organizations structure (Robbins, Decenzo, & Coulter, 2013, p. 132). Executives and managers must constantly evaluate processes and the outcomes of those processes. How things are done in the organization depends on what elements of organizational design are adopted (Robbins, Decenzo, & Coulter, 2013, p. 132). There are six basic elements of design which include: • Work Specialization – Work Specialization is when responsibilities are divided in individual tasks (Robbins, Decenzo, & Coulter, 2013, p. 132). This element can be beneficial to companies that are task driven such as an assembly plant. High level skill tasks and low level skill tasks can be divided among employees who possess the required level of skill for the position (Robbins, Decenzo, & Coulter, 2013, p. 133). • Departmentalization – Departmentalization means that activities are grouped into departments. The five major forms of departmentalization are functional, product, customer, geographic, and process (Robbins, Decenzo, & Coulter, 2013, p. 134). No one form is better than the next. Only the organization can decide which one or combination of forms would best suit their needs. • Authority and Responsibility – Authority is the justifiable act of a manager or other leader giving orders and rightfully expecting that those orders will
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