One of the topics most studied over the last four decades passed by the literature on economics and business management, has been the Organization Structure, in its broadest sense, also called Organizational Structure, Management Structure and Organizational Structure of the Directorate.
organizational-structuresFor being a basic component of an organization's management system, and its relationship with different factors, starting with strategy, from the classic studies by Chandler (1962), and later by the author himself and his followers in the 1970s and the 80s of the last century.
Other studies and investigations have also marked times and approaches for Structures, such as those by Greiner (1972), Rumelt (1974), Miles and Show (1978), Milgrom and Roberts (1993), Whittington and Mayer (2000), Saloner, Shepard and Podolny (2001).
The Structure of the Organization, or structures, must be above all, of a social and collective nature, which is why it constitutes a means to achieve high levels of effectiveness of the organization's management system. Understanding and apprehending this idea is essential to establish your own organizational philosophy and general organizational principles.
To the same extent that new approaches, theories and principles have been developed, new technologies have been introduced, the demands and requirements on human capital have been raised, the structure no longer justifies the hierarchical, functional and work object division, or determines the rights and responsibilities, the interrelationships, or the means or the informative and technical assurance, but different structures concur or coincide in one.
Thus, we talk about the Organizational Structure (structure and functions) or also called functional because it responds to what is being done ?; the Production and / or Services Structure (organization and level of integration) or also called technological and organizational because it responds to how is it done? And where is it done ?; the Control Structure (control and coordination) or also a call from managers as it responds to who does it ?; the Social Structure (relationships, collaboration, participation, information, human capital) or also informative call, but today much more comprehensive; The latter is of great importance for the development of new organizational forms that privilege the company not only as an economic-productive unit but as a social organization, and is also part of the organization's structure of thought.
Technological changes, the changing external environment, the strategies that are adopted, or the characteristics of human capital, which are some of the main factors that influence and define the design of an organization, as will be analyzed later, have motivated in recent years two decades, that companies and organizations in general, redesign and renew their organizational structures with greater dynamism, discarding the static, aprocesual, eventual and ahistorical character that has often prevailed in the analysis and proposal of structures. In this way, it will be possible to respond more effectively to threats and / or take advantage of the multiple opportunities offered by the new institutional and sector framework.
A problem that has weighed and continues to weigh in the study, analysis and proposals for structure, and which has great practical importance, is that the double requirement of methodological rigor and practical relevance for the management of organizations is not met, not even yesterday nor today, as far as possible.
It is essential that the studies and proposals are increasingly real, in order to provide useful advice and / or ideas for all managers and workers, but this does not mean in any way detract from it, but on the contrary, incorporate the knowledge and the acquired skills, allowing analysis and proposals that take into account the evolution of the organization, as well as the characteristics of the strategic and organizational change processes of the last ten years, and the projection in the temporal and spatial context.
In our country, both for the company and for the budgeted activities, the topic, or rather, the issues related to the organizational structure, have total preponderance at present. More compact and functional structures are required. This can be one of the general principles valid for any organizational structure at any level and activity.
According to the Cuban standard, NC-3000: 2007, the Structure of the Organization is the "Disposition of responsibilities, authorities and relationships among staff." It also states that "it establishes a grouping pattern of people, of how they interact, link, and perform the functions, establish responsibilities and coordinate activities to achieve the mission and vision of the organization."
If, as indicated, it establishes from responsibilities and authority, to how people are grouped and all this is done based on the fulfillment of the mission and vision of the organization, it is a matter of taking into account both structural elements, technological as personal. You are in the presence of a complex problem, and as such must be dealt with.
The first thing that must be taken into account, as previously indicated, is the context of the organization, established in part by the organization's own practice, and which the practice itself may change.
Second, reductionist approaches should be set aside, and try to focus situations in their multiple interrelationships, seeing the whole but without detracting from it and without avoiding the analysis of each element or part.
The subject should be approached from different angles and dimensions, such as:
-Stages or steps to follow -General
Organizational
Principles -Factors to consider in the analysis and design of the Structure
-Factors of job design
-Types of Structure -Analysis
of Functions
In the section of the Factors to be considered in the analysis and design, the Design of the Job Position, which is usually treated separately, will be addressed as part of these and in a synthetic way. With this, it is not subtracted, but rather, the treatment and the need to design and redesign the workplace as part of the structures are privileged, especially when it comes to structures with new concepts.
II Stages and phases of design
It is usual to start the design of a new structure, or the analysis of the current one, without prior organization. This, without reaching the required changes, leads to disorganization and overlapping of tasks. This starts with the Functions, or the Job Template, or in the worst case, the Organization Chart itself, which synthesizes relationships, responsibilities and authority, starting from lines that connect certain squares, without even having clarity or precisely formulate the general organizational principles that will preside over the revision or design of the new structure.
Sometimes the analysis of the structure is done on the one hand, and that of the functions on the other, without at any time confronting each other.
The stages of the study and the design of the Structure are as follows:
• Determination of the objective and object of the analysis and proposal
• Grounding of the criteria for the evaluation of the Structure
• Description of the current Structure
• Analysis of the composition of the determining factors
• Evaluation of the proposals and alternatives
The elements of the phases that are exposed in the table below, must be undertaken as a whole and at the same time, even if there is a sequence in time.
The General Organizational Principles are that, principles that are based on the philosophy, concepts, definitions, adopted organizational norms, that preside over and influence and define each and every one of the elements to be analyzed, studied and / or proposed; it is a fundamental phase.
III General Organizational Principles
The design of structures has traditionally been based on two principles that have governed organizations and the organization of work for almost a century, since the establishment of the bureaucratic principles of organizations and the foundations of modern business in the late XIX century.
The first of the principles is related to the fragmentation of tasks and functions, which is reflected in the design of jobs and job content, and in the greater specialization of functions and occupations, which separates and separates management functions of execution tasks, which in the past required hardly trained personnel.
The second of the principles, that of simplifying the activity, leads to the establishment of smaller and smaller units of work, on an individual level and based on tasks, which made it difficult to "vertically integrate", the basis of classical structures. centralized, bureaucratic and mechanistic. This grew the structures vertically, from the operational levels to the upper executive level, increasingly distancing decisions from the source of the facts that required operational solutions as technically and technologically advanced.
In this way, the upper levels of management should concentrate and focus more and more on operational tasks, mainly their control, instead of concentrating on actions of the general policy of the system or global objectives, and until further development. of the strategy. And this would be the third principle to overcome, that of limiting control and supervision, an emblematic element of management methods and styles, and that it is essential, under new conditions and principles, to expand socially, which makes the participation of workers a real, concrete and effective fact of management.
Currently, it is based on the basic fact that the objectives must be elaborated in the organization, in the company, based on general policies, regulations and guidelines. This creates the need to establish more adequate structures to carry out the proposed own objectives, instead of taking or being guided by standard structures. The mechanistic model of organization, which prevailed for many decades, does not respond to new needs, and it is necessary to replace it gradually but irreversibly. For this it is important to take into account, among others:
• Avoid excessive specialization and fragmentation of jobs that leads to simplification.
Organizational work units must be composed that fulfill not only more functions in the appropriate cases, but that these functions group and encompass similar and / or complementary processes, for which it is necessary to (re) design jobs with rich work contents and / or or expanded, thinking not of the individual, nor individual competencies, but group, collective work. The fragmentation of functions and tasks leads to establishing and considering the component elements of tasks as main parts, and this principle of simplification leads in turn to duplication of tasks.
Grouping, and the necessary integration, which is more than grouping, begins by identifying comparative elements of tasks and functions, based on:
• Similarity of tasks and functions
• Similarity of processes and complementary processes
• Location in the structure
• Time scale
These elements can lead to the real redesign of jobs, with consequences for the Structure, or rather, for each of the aforementioned structures (organizational, production and / or services, control, social). For this it is important to consider the following questions:
How are workflow and structure related?
What are the communication needs between organizational work units and managers?
What are the information needs between functional areas and basic organizational units?
• Avoid the pyramid hierarchy of authority.
Authority must be established on the basis of broadening the social base of management, which must lead to the real, wide and effective participation of workers not only in the decision-making process, but in the decisions themselves, and bring decisions closer to the operational field. Flat structures eliminate traditional pyramid hierarchies, but they are established on new relationship principles, and should avoid the horizontal summation of the functions that vertical levels fulfilled.
If previously the hierarchy size, the control margins and the grouping of activities were privileged for simplification, now the organization and management of processes is privileged on the basis of advances in computing and telecommunications; a concept prevails, integration.
As part of the organization of the management structure, it is important to bear in mind that the principle of active participation and participatory management is established in our society on the basis of the relationship of leader-directed social equality, and not of relationships of hierarchies of class societies.
• Avoid excessive controls lacking the necessary dynamics.
Flattening and decentralization of structures is a requirement for dynamic, efficient, and effective structures, and must be completed or ensured by establishing agile and timely controls. But this is achieved if it is conceived as a management function that must be incorporated, integrated into the content of the jobs, to the extent that their responsibility increases.
• Avoid the vertical chain of excessive communication.
As management levels decrease, not only adequate controls, but vertical, horizontal and cross-sectional communication become more important, based on the information necessary to execute the management process. This is not limited to statistical information and modeling.
The application of these four principles, among others that an organization may consider, as part of its organizational philosophy, guarantees that in the case of companies, important units do not continue to be placed at the top, obligatorily identifying themselves with functional areas, above the operative ones, and consequently, that the controls are located in the operative areas and not outside these, since the controls must begin with the self-controls. This avoids designing workstations with simple and basic tasks, or the simplified functions themselves.
In addition, it is necessary to remember that:
• The Structure of the Organization is a complex system of structures, which are interrelated with each other, and are established based on general principles and the common general objectives of the system and the characteristics of the organization. Each one derives from the previous one, and all constitute the management structure. It is necessary to understand that "the structure" is actually the integration of structures: organizational, production and / or services, control and social.
These structures cannot be separated; the what of the Organizational Structure and how it is done and where it is made of the Production Structure, and this to whom it is made of the Control and Social. The what defines the way the management functions of the system are organized; general functions and specific functions, but it is linked with the structural arrangement. This structure establishes in part how it is done and where it is done, therefore, it supposes in turn a certain structure of production and / or services or the so-called technological structure.
The what of the functional structure or the organizational structure is of great importance, although it should not be overvalued to the detriment of the others, since it is based on an element that in traditional organizations was ignored or abstracted from it. This element is the collective, whose role must be enhanced in the structures of participatory management systems. It is the element that establishes the uniqueness of the management system at all levels; the agreement between authority and responsibility, and the conjugation of social, collective and individual interests.
• The elaboration of the Organization Structure must be, above all, a participatory process for all workers, in which decisions are made and materialized as a result of the collective analysis of the most important elements, starting with the establishment of the General Principles that They will govern the design of the Structure. This enables, and in turn, deepens the shared vision, an essential element of the social dimension of the organization, and for the establishment and development of the Social Structure.
• The Design of the Workstation is an integral part of the group of factors in the design of the Structure, but the Structure is not a summation or aggregation of jobs, It is not a matter of starting from the design of positions to arrive at the structure, but of consequently applying the same principles to the Design of Jobs and the Structure, since the Structure cannot be superior to the elements that enter into the Analysis of Positions; they influence each other.
• Avoid starting from the Organization Chart of the current structure, although the object and objective is to make adjustments, since the analysis process would lead mechanically to the same structure early, without deeply evaluating the interrelationships and consequences for all the elements of the Structure.
This does not mean that the current Structure is not taken into account, in the analysis of the General Organizational Principles that support it.
• To start designing or redesigning the Structure, it is essential that the Organization, entity or company have the Strategy and the Objectives, clear and measurable, and a characterization of the elements that are analyzed below.
• Companies are social systems, and as such are made up of elements that are active on a personal and social level, between which there must be coherence. It is necessary to consider the individual and social variables such as: aptitudes, capacities and knowledge, attitudes, personality and experience, as well as processes and social structures, relationships. If the purpose of the Structure is to establish a certain pattern of behavior, which is repeated on a regular basis, to the same extent that these individual and social variables have been taken into account, more effective performance will be achieved at the organizational level.
IV Factors to consider in the analysis and design
Below are the factors and elements that lead to decisions on the design of the Structure, which must be available from the second stage, and the first phase of establishing the General Organizational Principles.
They will be treated in four blocks according to colors, starting with the
Organization Design, following with the Factors to make decisions about the Structure, together with the components of the dimension, to
finish with the Design of the Workstation, to develop it more extensively.
4.1 Design factors of the organization
• Strategy
• Technology
• Environment
• Characteristics of managers
• Characteristics of Human Capital
4.1.1 Strategy
An organization, be it a company or any other entity, or a group of specialists, technicians, workers all, will be able to form clear ideas about the most convenient organizational structure, only if a strategy specific to the business organization has been previously developed, and whether internal and external problems, strengths and opportunities, and short, medium and long-term objectives have been defined.
Otherwise, the organization would not know its current state, and of course, it would also not be clear what the desired state is and if it is potentially achievable, because, first of all, it does not have a clear vision of how far ideas and budgets are shared. adopted.
The correct definition of the strategic objectives depends on the clarity of the analyzes in relation to the other factors, as well as the establishment of the priorities of the objectives, and the establishment of routes and procedures that allow them to be achieved. For the effective management of an Organization it is necessary to define the strategy and a clear vision of it by all workers, which in some way has always been a factor to consider. Today, it is not a factor, but the main component.
Today, the scope and quality in the elaboration of the strategy are different, since it does not correspond only to the production or the basic activity of the company, but to all the activities, spheres and processes within it. An important part of the strategy is precisely the global objectives referred to the other factors: Technology, Environment, Managers and Human Resources. Another difference is that what was an exception yesterday is now law, since the strategy marks the necessary adjustments and variations. This, of course, also refers to structure. That is why it is said that it must be changeable, when required.
As noted from the beginning, the relationship of the structure with the strategy is long-term, and most of the approaches and debates revolve around this relationship and whether the change in the strategy for the structure is decisive, according to research. and Chandler's model, or the subsequent development of convergence of both, but without giving enough importance to the specific environment and context of the organization
4.1.2 Technology
It refers to both the technology as a whole, the so-called “soft” and the “not soft”, that is, the procedures, methods and techniques that the company has or the knowledge and capabilities that its human capital has been acquiring, which allows innovate in the management and direction of the organization. Therefore, it ranges from the learning capacity of Human Capital, the possibility of carrying out new management methods, new organizational forms, that is, job designs and organizational structures, to physical technology and the possibility with the existing to establish organizational work units based on greater cooperation, grouping of positions, and broader or richer work content.If the existing technology has been conceived in times when mass production models, large series, a shift to small series or work orders predominated, it may not only have technological, technical and economic but also structural implications.
It is true that the greater the fragmentation of the process, or the specialization of work, the greater the complexity, but today's man is not the same as he was 50 years ago; consequently, there should not necessarily be greater centralization, and therefore the complexity on the part of the control would be less. Technology should serve to support establishing stricter control by processes or systems, greater individual and collective responsibility, fluid communication, and adequate working conditions, but also to facilitate work, which is a way to make it more effective. and effective.
4.1.3 Environment
This factor is extremely important, especially since the company is recognized and treated as an open system, in constant and permanent
interaction with the external environment; They are linked and influence each other, but with decisive consequences for the organization. In this sense, the company is obliged to seek greater perception, adaptability and response to changes that allow it to survive, as well as the ability to analyze future scenarios and prepare for long-term demands. The organization, the company, is responsible for analyzing, evaluating and evaluating the sources of human resources, technology, community and territory in case of having geographic aspirations, suppliers, the market, consumers, among others.
You must consider not only the external environment, but also the internal environment, and how the two interact.
In the services sector, this variable is where it has had the greatest influence, due to the diversity of demand for services and the variation in the disposition of clients, including market distribution, with direct consequences for changes in structures. In cases of relatively homogeneous services and little differentiated activities up to completely revolutionary designs, totally flat, flexible, integrating, autonomous, when the client plays a very active role, the environment has influenced when defining designs to overcome traditional approaches.
4.1.4 Characteristics of managers and human capital
It is obvious, although in practice it does not always turn out that way, if man is the only active and determining component of the processes, of achieving the highest productivity of work, use of resources, results and company development., it is also for the design of the Organizational Structure and its best functioning. Of course, this implies breaking with the principle and the conception that the organizational structure must be created around functions and not individuals. It is a matter of considering in the structure, and as part of the strategy, as fundamental and extremely important elements the managers available and the human capital available, of course, without fatalities, since as part of the design it is contemplated Training, which is more than an instructional process,of training and improvement.
In relation to this factor, it is important to clarify the role of Training. Today, and after more than four decades, McGehee and Thayer's (1961) model of needs continues based on the categorization of three levels of analysis: organization, position and person; later it is reconceptualized by Goldstein (1986, 1993), who privileges the organizational analysis, the analysis of the needs of the position and the analysis of the person (knowledge, abilities, aptitudes).
The work both with cadres and managers and with all workers, according to the approach and philosophy of the social and collective nature of the Structure, is part of the Integrated Human Capital Management System; system that contains procedures and techniques that help to capture, select and improve the quality of human capital itself.
In practice, organic and systemic models have been verified many times in practice, which require both capable and transformative cadres and managers with the capacity to motivate workers, as well as truly motivated and interested workers. These are important aspects to discuss and analyze from the first work sessions, to determine where the organization is.
If it is verified that there is no open communication, that there are organizational climate problems, that there is no shared vision, one is in the presence of problems that cannot establish a climate of trust necessary to design or redesign a new Organization Structure that go beyond the Organization Chart.
Some of the necessary questions might be:
• Does the Organization have established or not ways and means to satisfy the needs of workers, the needs of being and having, at a personal and collective level, or for the actual performance of the work activity?
• Are collective goals set by the workers and to what degree do they coincide with the goals achieved at the collective level and at the organization level?
• Does the stimulation system help the motivation of individuals?
• To what extent do workers really know each other, and to what extent do managers and managers really identify with workers to speak of a shared vision?
• Do workers know each other about their values, aspirations, and needs?
• What degree of communication exists between the different levels of management?
It is not enough that managers and workers of all categories have technical knowledge, capacities and skills, if specific knowledge about personnel, their attitudes, values and needs is omitted or not considered as part of the socio-psychological analyzes.
It requires great sensitivity in dealing, in daily behavior, in the dissemination of knowledge, in the transmission of experiences, in establishing a climate of trust and respect. Only in this way can the elements related to human capital be formulated in the mission and vision, and put into practice, which will determine the operation of any type of structure that is projected.
4.2 Dimension factors
In the analysis of the complex relationships established between the four key attributes or variables, namely, Division of Labor-Departmentalization-Authority Controls, which will be analyzed later, the factors of Complexity, Formalization and Centralization influence and define as a whole and to each one of them. Of course, these factors are taken into account from the beginning, from the formulation of the General Organizational Principles, and their presence at different times and phases is evident, from the Analysis and Design of Positions, through the Functions and Template Charges, up to
Training.
If it was previously decided, as part of the organizational philosophy and the General Organizational Principles, for example, the design and establishment of a decentralized structure, it should be known that this in fact means a greater delegation of authority, but also a greater scope of positions. of work, greater individual and collective responsibility (essential condition to carry it out), also a lesser division of labor; therefore, all this implies less vertical complexity, and less formalization or degree of dependency. It also has consequences for rules and procedures. In other words, the analyzes are necessarily multidimensional.
According to Robbins (1994), these three components constitute the organizational structure, which are characterized in the following table:
Horizontal
Degree of separation between organizational units. The more different positions or occupations, the more complex the organization on the horizontal plane.
Vertical
COMPLEXITY Reflects the depth of the organization's hierarchy. The more levels between senior management and the level or operating units, the more complex the organization.
Space
Degree of dispersion of the location of the physical facilities and personnel of the organization.
FORMALISM Degree of standardization of work in the organization. The more formal the less degree of freedom for decisions on how or when it is done.
CENTRALIZATION Degree to which decision-making is concentrated at a single point or level in the organization.
Complexity
It is the direct result of the Division of Labor given by the number of job types, and the number of different departments, as well as different levels of authority. The number of different units horizontally, and the number of levels vertically, establishes the complexity of the structure.
• A greater specialization of work; increased complexity.
• A greater delegation of authority; greater depth of hierarchy, greater complexity.
• A greater use of the organizational units by territories, products and clients; increased complexity.
• A broader limited scope of control; increased complexity.
These elements or decisions should not be analyzed separately, but in interrelation with the other components. Otherwise, the decision not to delegate can be made, for example, but this has to do with the hierarchical chain, that is, the decisions on the number of posts and the number of levels. The limited scope of control is related to the positions, the number of these and the complexity of the tasks performed in them. So the decision is directly related to the design of the position.
Formalization
It establishes the degree of dependency of the company regarding the rules and procedures that determine the actions. It may be the result of high specialization, or high delegation of authority, the profuse use of functional departments and the wide scope of control, but also of established regulations.
• High specialization, and regulations develop detailed written procedures.
• The high delegation of authority creates needs to control, therefore it establishes detailed guidelines for decision making.
• Functional departments establish written documents to control.
• The wide scope of control makes it possible to supervise many subordinates, but requires written reports to keep abreast.
Centralization
Locate the decision-making authority in the organization's hierarchy. It establishes how it is delegated between positions, and what is delegated. It is the degree to which authority is retained at higher levels, therefore it is relative. In a decentralized structure, there may be, relative to the upper level, greater centralization at the lower levels, thus creating contradictions. This must not happen, and decentralization must be consistent with all levels and in the relationships between them.
• A greater specialization of work; greater centralization to set procedures.
• To a lesser delegation of authority; greater centralization, since there is a greater scope of control.
• A greater departmentalization; greater centralization to coordinate activities.
• A broader scope of control; greater centralization, because there are more subordinates.
4.3 Factors for making decisions about the Structure
Division of labour
The number of interfaces of the system, in this case of the organizational structure establishes the relative specialization, so it is necessary to decide what degree of integration there is, there will be in the organization, or it can be established. This can be high or low, but it must be based on the technical and economic advantages of the specialization that the organization can establish. If the jobs are designed on the basis of a reduced number of tasks, obviously the Division of Labor will be large, therefore, integration or grouping will be much more difficult, and their external control more complicated. In the structure, this is reflected by a greater number of posts and positions, in a more complicated network of relationships, fundamentally vertical, since it requires more interventions from higher levels,contrary to decentralized structures and participatory management methods.
Departmentalization
If the Division of Labor and the characteristics of the jobs lead to a certain functional structure and how activities are assigned, the departmentalization helps to divide the work of each level of management into linear and support functional areas, units or bodies, which in coordination participate in joint actions. Therefore, the decisions made on the degree of Division of Labor and the establishment of certain types of departmentalization are inseparable, and constitute central problems in the creation of any type of organizational structure; with incidents in each of the structures.
The departmentalization implies the establishment either of divisions, directions, departments, sections, units, factories, workshops, etc. or other denominations that denote and determine in fact that the Structure itself is functional, territorial, by customers, by products, by processes, or by projects. It sets out how the organization structure is divided, and how jobs are combined within these divisions and at each level of management. It also establishes the coordination relationships between the subdivisions. The main forms of departmentalization are:
• Functional
It is based on the specialization of the activities, and the areas, units or subdivisions are grouped from one to several functions (Eg: Marketing, Finance, Human Resources).
• Territorial
The structuring is established on the basis of a geographic area or different territories, where the action of the system is exercised.
• By products and by customers
Both types are similar in that they are structured on the basis of either the products, their sale or the interests and characteristics of the clients.
• By project
Temporary specific structures are established, which may exist in parallel to the permanent structures, and constitute the base or support to carry out a specific project within the organization, which will have a certain autonomy.
• By processes
The operating characteristics of the managed system are taken into account, focusing on the main processes, whether of a productive or service nature.
• Matrix
It is structured by combining functional form and project. It is not a parallel structure, but an overlapping one, which works at the same time as the functional one.
Authority (delegation)
It must establish how the descending authority will be distributed, seeing it in the simplest way and in relation to vertical relationships and traditional principles, which must be enriched and developed with the principles of participatory leadership. In terms of delegation of authority, decentralization is the tendency to delegate authority in an organized structure, or the delegation of authority always implies a certain decentralization. Therefore, while centralization increases authority and less is delegated, in decentralization, the delegation of authority must be greater or total.
Centralization in relation to the environment implies concentration by geographic area or territory. In relation to the departmental division, it implies the concentration of specialized activities, and the integration of specialized activities. And as an aspect of management, it implies a restriction on the delegation of decision-making. It also depends on the type of activity, and on existing production models, which is why the number of levels of authority is lower in productions per unit than in mass or in-process productions, because it requires daily decisions and immediate application. Traditionally it was interpreted that the more standardized the system, the more hierarchical levels and greater intermediate specialization there should be. With the development of systemic models and regulations,and under decentralization approaches, this does not necessarily have to be the case, leading to the development of autonomous and semi-autonomous groups and work teams, or basic organizational units with relative autonomy.
For this reason, the structures in case of unit productions and those of process are smaller, while mass productions require them more extensive, but this in turn indicates the separation of production lines from specialized functional departments. In mass production, the number of workers to be controlled is greater, the jobs are individual and the division of labor is greater. A powerful reason for decentralization in the allocation of responsibility is the need to reduce costs per organizational unit at the grassroots level.
Controls
Controls in both centralized and decentralized structures determine efficiency. But the efficiency of the controls is not determined by the excess of controls, but by the specificity and the strictness of the controls. In decentralized structures, the rigor comes from the fact that control must be incorporated in and from the jobs, as part of the content and scope of the job. Only if the participation of each and every one of the workers is achieved directly in the use of the means and materials, in the fulfillment of each established objective, in the adjustments, can preventive and efficient controls be established. For that, simple and verifiable, but rigorous specifications are needed; and that they are complemented by controls, by higher levels, at critical points,of critical factors.
V Design factors of the Workstation
This group of factors must be considered and prioritized, as part of the factors that influence and determine the decisions to design the Structure; but its importance goes beyond design, because it is the factor that guarantees the functioning of the proposed Structure. Neither the design of the Job Post can be superior to the General Organizational Principles proposed by the organization, nor can the Structure of the Organization function without the design or redesign of the job posts.
Without repeating the general principles, which are also valid for the design of jobs, it is necessary to specify and deepen some of the aspects, such as:
1. It must be developed in interrelation with the strategy and objectives of the Organization, bearing in mind the strengths and weaknesses.
2. Whatever the position, it should always be designed in such a way that it takes into account the relationship between specialization and satisfaction.
3. The designed posts must be characterized by cooperation and integration of functions, avoiding excessive division, fragmentation, since this conspires with the achievement of flatter structures.
It is important to attend to the content of work and specialization with a new and broader approach, based on enrichment, expansion of tasks, and integration of functions.
High motivation, high-quality performance, high responsibility for results, which are the effects and consequences of high satisfaction, are achieved by designing new dimensions and incorporating them into those already known in the positions and assigning new roles to workers, both direct as indirect.
4. For any position it is necessary to take care of their basic dimensions, such as:
• Variety of skills (number and diversity of skills required)
• Variety of the task (to what extent an organizational unit completes a work unit, phase or stage of the process, or complete processes)
• Importance or role of the task (impact that has within the whole of the position or task or the organization)
• Autonomy (degree of independence to plan and carry out the work, self-direction and self-control) and together with this the effective participation of the worker in the planning and control of the activities of the organization.
• Feedback (amount of information that people receive and that indicates how effective efforts are in obtaining results)
Organizational change must be based on a modification in the principles that traditionally govern the content of work so that the design of the positions must allow for more efficient management, for example: the achievement of total quality, a more cohesive work team, etc. Therefore, in addition to the above principles, the following aspects will be considered when (re) designing the jobs:
a) Increase the role of the worker, and mainly the operator, as regulator of the work situation, as responsible for carrying out the work activity.
Rigid and detailed specifications, along with narrow training, make it difficult to adapt to changing conditions. In order for the worker to have a wide repertoire of responses to specific situations, it is necessary to give him, in addition to general training, a complementary preparation, required by the organization, which must be gradual and continuous, necessary to develop teamwork. collectively (if necessary, to cover an absence, assume minor repairs, control quality, know what to do when faced with a change in product specifications, variations in raw material, etc.)
b) Achieve a higher level of responsibility in the individual, increasing their role and contribution in the group, and the group, increasing their responsibility in the structure of the Organization.
It is necessary to achieve a greater commitment of the worker with his functions, which implies introducing in the contents of the jobs characteristics that promote it, such as: planning, self-control, self-regulation and participation in the improvement of processes (its quality, rationality, conditions, etc.). In this way the capacities for innovation, creativity, etc. they can be used more fully.
c) The (re) structuring of jobs (and their content) should be a means, not only to improve efficiency but also worker motivation and high-quality job performance. Each individual has been shown to have certain essential needs, including the need for self-actualization, which amounts to the person's desire to be able to display their own abilities. It becomes evident that seeking responsibility, creativity, self-control, integration of the individual in the group, greater delegation of authority and the opportunity to carry out a more demanding and stimulating job, favorably affects the increase in worker motivation for the work they do..
d) The specific content of work activity constitutes the core of the factors that act on job satisfaction.
Varied and interesting, independent and responsible work is the essential factor to achieve job satisfaction, together with the environment that surrounds it: interpersonal relationships, management method and styles, degree of training and qualification level of the workforce. work, with which it is complemented.
e) To combine economic-productive factors with those of a human-social nature.
To the objective of increasing productivity through greater rationality in the organization of work, production and management, and greater efficiency, there is added the increasingly pressing need to combine it with the professional and personal demands of individuals, and the conditions created by the Organization that allow the development of the social and collective nature of work. An essential part of this is that the worker is seen as a human being and not as an appendix to the machine or a simple sum of knowledge and skills, which should not only enrich his work but also his own life.
Consequently, ideas regarding the improvement of work content should pursue both economic and productive as well as individual social and personal objectives. Among the economic ones are the increase in production, work productivity, improve the quality and use of raw materials and materials, better use of equipment, reduction of absenteeism and fluctuation, greater operational flexibility and decrease in supervision costs.
Among the social, the variety and interest in work, participation in decision-making, help and collaboration among workers, a satisfactory relationship between the quality of life of work and external social life, as well as prospects for development and promotional.
In job design, it is not necessary to emphasize only the technical aspects but to give it a multidimensional approach, also analyzing and considering the individual, their characteristics and actual and possible performance, considering the elements related to job analysis. The new organizational forms that accompany flat structures are based on rich work content, integrated functions, roles that allow the individual to apply the initiatives. Therefore, the analysis of the individual cannot be avoided.
An outline of the analysis and (re) design of the jobs and the elements to take into account is as follows:
The Perceived Content of the Position must be part of the analysis of positions that is carried out.
5.1 Analysis of the Job Position
The analysis of positions constitutes an element of great importance in the (re) design of positions because it allows to gather the denominations, the contents and the requirements of the positions. This is necessary to compare the contents and requirements with the existing problems in the Company such as flows (productive, informative and integrated economic), quality, material consumption, etc. and to be able to determine the possible changes in said contents and requirements.
This procedure consists of:
1. Identification of the job.
2. Analysis of the job.
The identification of jobs consists of knowing how many jobs exist in an organization and what they are called. This will depend on the different tasks to be carried out and the workload of each one of them in the organization.
How to achieve this?
• Inventory all the tasks to be performed.
• Distribute all the tasks according to their affinity, their volume or workload in a logical way (the workload of a task can be carried out using the different methods that exist)
• Have an updated organization chart, so by consultation with it the number of jobs will be known.
• Name of the job.
The analysis of the job consists of determining through rigorous study the elements or characteristics inherent to each position, being these:
Requirements and Responsibilities.
• Job Content (What does it do? How does it do it? What does it do it for?).
• Working conditions.
The work content should reflect:
• WHAT DOES IT DO ?: This section must specify all the daily, periodic and occasional tasks that the person who occupies the position has to carry out. Allusion should be made to the mental (attention, concentration, etc.), physical (manipulation of objects, etc.), and sensory (visual, auditory, etc.) aspects.
• HOW DOES IT DO IT ?: Specification of the techniques, equipment, tools and instruments that need to be used to carry out the assigned tasks.
• WHAT IS IT FOR ?: The basic purpose of the position and each of the tasks that constitute it must be clear, so that the role it plays within the work process can be observed.
The working conditions must include the difficulties and dangerousness of the position, answering the questions of "WHERE" and "WHEN" the work is carried out.
By specifying and identifying the risks, the possibilities of work accidents are detected, if we work with products that can be harmful, dirt and pestilence, impurity and toxicity of the air or others.
5.1.1 Stages of the job analysis process
Preparatory stage
The first step of the preparatory activity is to establish the general and specific objectives of the job analysis process as well as each of its stages. This strategy will be established taking into account the determination of the positions that will be the object of the analysis and the creation of the commissions that will be created to carry out said work. The participation of the executors of the position themselves is an essential condition both in the design and more strongly in the redesign, since “the fact that the members of the organization have self-designed their work or position, places them in favorable conditions to carry out their work and to continue researching systematically on how to do better. "
Identification of the job
This stage consists of compiling and studying general information about the organization, with the aim of placing each job in the organizational context. Depending on the functions and workload, the positions that need to be analyzed will be determined. For this purpose, specialists should study the entity, its characteristics, objectives, services or products it offers in order to appropriate a general overview of it through reports from the organization itself, from other entities and of an official nature that exist regarding to the work that is done in that place.
The steps to follow at this stage will be:
• Specify the number and type of positions to be analyzed.
• Confirm if the job to be analyzed exists or is newly created.
• Determine where the post is located or where it is planned to locate it, even spatially. For this you can start by reviewing the organization chart or the diagram of the production or service process, since they are fundamental instruments to understand the functional relationship that exists between the jobs as well as the purpose of their tasks. If the diagram or organization chart is incomplete, it will be necessary to complete them with other sources of information: job qualifiers, descriptions of existing positions, regulations, recruitment criteria or others.
• Verify the correspondence or not between the objectives and the raison d'être of the job examined in relation to the mission and strategy of the organization.
In large organizations, where many of the same jobs exist, spread across different sites, it will not be practical or necessary to analyze each one to gain insight into the content of the work they do. In this case, it is recommended to make a sampling of the jobs that will be analyzed and that is representative of the total.
Selection of methods and sources of information
In this stage the techniques or methods to be used for the collection of information will be defined, which will be chosen, designed and adapted depending on the characteristics of the job and the company as well as the objectives of the analysis. Likewise, those workers who will constitute sources of information will be chosen.
These techniques or methods must guarantee information on the functions, responsibilities, conditions and working relationships of the position as well as the qualifications and requirements required to perform it.
The most frequently used methods are:
• Direct observation
• Document review
• Questionnaires
• Interview
• Description by the worker himself
• Committee of evaluators
No single technique guarantees obtaining all the information needed to study a position. For this reason, the combination of methods is recommended to enable comparison between results and to increase reliability in obtaining information.
A careful design of the methods for collecting information must necessarily imply the use of an easy-to-understand language by the workers that serve as a source of information.
Once the methods have been defined, the workers who will serve as the information source will be selected. This selection must be made taking into account the years of work experience, the knowledge and performance of the workers as well as the responsibility and motivation towards this task. These elements will contribute to a wide and reliable collection of information.
They may serve as a source of information:
• Worker currently holding the job
• Workers with experience in the job
• Subordinates
• Direct superiors
• Employees of the same level
• Personnel from other departments or entities that have a working relationship with the job studied.
Information gathering
The objective of this stage is to create an information base that is as accurate as possible of the job being studied. To achieve this end, it is necessary to prepare a guide or analysis indicators that contain questions related to the mission, content and conditions of execution of the job together with the requirements that are required to fill it. These questions must be carefully selected and adapted to the current characteristics of the company.
Consequently, to execute this stage, the collection of information will be divided into two sections:
A) Description of the job and the conditions of execution.
Example:
CONTENT: JOB POSITION X
This description will answer the following questions about the job:
• How is the job called?
• Where are you?
• What is done in the position, why and for what?
• When?
• How and with what do you work in the position?
The aspects to take into account and which answer the above questions are presented below:
General data:
• Name of the job
• Job category
• Situation within the organization, area, department or section (location)
• Direct hierarchical dependency (hierarchy): who is subordinated and who is subordinated
• Salary
• Contacts
• Others
Conditions of the workplace and the environment
• Work area: characteristics (measurements of the premises and the workplace, distances to be reached, etc.)
• Environmental risk factors (temperature, noise, vibrations, lighting in the premises and in the position, color, glare, dust, dirt, chemical substances, possibility of work accidents, etc.)
• Organizational conditions (work in a fixed or changing position, working time, pause regime, organization of the work shift, etc.)
• Social conditions (isolated or collective work, collective structure, possibilities and forms of cooperation and communication, nature of relations between colleagues and with the superior, etc.)
• Abnormal conditions (for the analysis of this point it is recommended to use the «Methodology for the determination of abnormal working conditions» in the annex of Instruction 177 of April / 1976 and Resolution 8 of 162/1976 prepared for this purpose).
Activity characterization
• Mission or purpose of the job.
• Description of the usual, periodic and eventual tasks: their succession, characterization, proportion and relationship between them.
• Time dedicated to each of the tasks.
• Responsibility related to the product and / or the activity itself.
• Equipment, resources and means used necessary to carry out the work. It is convenient to remember the associated concepts that are:
Minimum indivisible unit of work
An identifiable activity made up of a set of elements
Set of tasks that form sub-units, Units, modules up to the process level
Composite unit that fulfills one or more functions
Set of Posts more or less similar
B) Requirements required for satisfactory performance in the job.
This section refers to the requirements or demands demanded by a certain job in its occupant, establishing the qualities by which one subject is distinguished from another. You will answer the following question: What skills, knowledge and abilities are necessary to perform properly in the workplace?
More specifically, this question can be answered by analyzing the following elements:
• Personal data: age, sex, marital status, address, etc.
• Physical requirements related to health status, impediments that invalidate him for the performance of the position, reflexes or others that are considered necessary.
• Skills understood as abilities of the individual that, through practice, have reached a certain level of development.
• Requirements for instruction and knowledge, be it professional training, specialty, courses received…
• Professional requirements: amount and type of experience required, in which organizations and jobs specifying the functions performed.
• Psychological requirements that can be separated into three areas for greater understanding:
Cognitive area which includes processes such as: intelligence, attention, concentration, memory, thought, language, perception, understanding and others that must be brought into play in the workplace.
Affective and behavioral area whose study gathers characteristics, such as level of motivations, interests, level of anxiety, emotional stability, flexibility, rigidity, introversion-extraversion, level of stress tolerance, perseverance, dynamism, etc.
It should be noted that these elements or requirements may be classified as necessary and desirable according to the degree to which they are required to occupy the position.
5.2 Design of the Workstation
The steps to take in the design of the jobs are:
• Analysis of the organizational status and deficiencies
• Communication and information problems • Content design
• Interrelationships between jobs
a) Analysis of the organizational status and deficiencies
The initial works must detect the organizational and other insufficiencies existing in the company. They may refer, for example, to the fact that quality is not completely guaranteed in the production or service process or that there are productivity reserves given by an incorrect production flow that can be amended with a few changes.
An obligatory step in the analysis of organizational deficiencies is the analysis of the organization of production, in the case of productive companies, and of the flow of production and work, to find an ideal flow. An ideal flow will become real as long as you work previously in favor of:
• Guarantee supplies of raw materials, materials and energy, as well as for products and the acquisition of equipment and spare parts.
• Guarantee the necessary training to organize, direct, operate and maintain it.
• Guarantee the use of the working day and a correct time structure
Generally, when speaking of an ideal flow, one thinks of the renovation of all or a large part of the organization's equipment and facilities, but a flow of this type does not always have to entail greater investments, since even without this it can be achieved:
• The combination of activities that shorten the production cycle
• The elimination of bottlenecks and widening points in the flow
• The spatial relocation of jobs
• The achievement of an adequate correspondence between the degree of mechanization or automation of the equipment and of these with the manipulation of materials
• The general maintenance of the installation
• The modifications in the buildings in the search to reduce the route of the work object
• The technological innovation of equipment and machinery
• Others
These elements sometimes require only microinvestments, the execution of which can lead to achieving an ideal flow.
In this context, it is unavoidable that the analysis of the current flow and the ideal conception are carried out by the company personnel and that they are validated by the entire organization, hence it is the responsibility of the management to expand and deepen the forms of incorporation of the workers. to the management, so that they can fully deploy their acquired and required capacities according to the needs of the Organization, and enhance their creative and innovative activity.
In the social and organizational order, the fact that the members of the organization themselves participate in the self-design of their work or position, places them in favorable conditions to carry out their work better and to continue systematically investigating how to do it better, that is, to redesign flow and posts continuously.
The redesign of the work flow and positions must be accompanied by the analysis and probable redesign of the structure and management methods, which respond to the requirements of the organization of the processes and systems. To the technological and labor changes must be joined the corresponding economic and organizational changes. It is a matter of moving from traditional administrative methods to socio-economic management methods on the basis of essential broad social control that prevents change from taking place anarchistically, or making exclusive subordinations in the Structure.
In all cases, the organizational analysis serves as a precedent for the establishment and analysis of the problems to be solved with the new design of the jobs.
b) Delimitation of communication and information problems
Inadequate communication and information can cause negative consequences for the Organization, such as:
• Delays in results
• Duplication in results
• Demotivation
• Disorientation
• Lack of employee-company identification
• Lack of integration in the collectives
• Lack of coordination
• Poor work relationships
• Rumors proliferation
• Performance decrease
The comparative advantage is not only achieved by the levels achieved in the organization, the technology, the training of the workers, but, above all, by the ability to articulate, through communication and information, each of the subsystems that, taken together, they shape what the Organization is understood as a system.
The relationship between subsystems is not mechanical, but is built by people in the organization. It is not the summation, nor the coordinations that must be established between the functional areas, which also occur with the organizational approach.
The distinction of the systemic approach, also for the Structure, and especially beginning with it, is given in the interrelationships that are established, that derive and develop from the transfunctionality, which implies exceeding the limits of each functional area, since that system is more than function. Until this functional interrelation is reached, one cannot speak of systems.
This is influenced, from the environment, through the prevailing philosophy, and the theoretical-conceptual preparation of the workers, to the real need to overcome the state of affairs, among you, the technical and organizational bases, the social relations that are they give between the different actors in the organization and the exercise of power that this entails, complemented all this with the parameters of understanding, thought and values that form the organizational environment. And for all this, communication and information play a fundamental role.
In general terms, one of the principles of job design is that communication must flow freely and in all directions: vertical (ascending or descending) and horizontal, and transversal.
Bottom-up communication is generally for decision making, requiring superior sanction. In this, the most important thing is speed and that the filtering of the intermediate controls is minimal.
Top-down communication is generally for the coordination of actions, guidelines, directives, and process control. All information (in quantity and type) that they require for their work must be transmitted to subordinates.
Horizontal communication is purely coordination between areas and organizational units. In organizational models with a participatory approach where teams work, horizontal communication is essential, since it allows eliminating the absolute and hierarchical separation of the roles existing in traditional models.
For communication success, the technical, coordination and motivational information must be combined and used appropriately.
• Technical information (what, how and when to do) Includes goals, expectations and the achievement of objectives. It establishes procedures and allows, through feedback, to evaluate part of the performance.
• Coordination information (who works and what they do in relation to others) Establishes the interdependence of the parties and, in a system like the company, the need for coordination is greater the more it works as a system.
• Motivating information (who says it and what does it say) To do the above, the information must be prepared in the form and terms of motivating messages.
Interpersonal communication is essential to achieve this.
The application of Information Technology to the Communication and Information system is highly supportive for the improvement of business management, but it is not enough, so it should not replace direct communication between managers and subordinates. It is usual to consider that due to the fact that there is a high density of PCs, or that the Organization is computerized and networked, that communication problems have already been solved, which constitutes a distorted and simplistic approach to the matter. Perhaps the most notorious fact is that confidence is not gained in this way, and that there may even be greater problems, as reported by research carried out; This is an essential element to carry out new type of structures.
Receiving guidance, sufficient information, being listened to and belonging to a group, group or team, in which there is recognition and a climate of trust, which gives frank, transparent and open communication, is essential for the person to feel motivated, a requirement indispensable for the proper functioning of any entity.
c) Content design. Solution variants
As it has been seen, and it has been verified over and over again in practice, the consequences of excessive simplification and fragmentation of the workplace, result in bureaucratic structures, with inflated staff, lack of dynamism and agility in decisions, lack of motivation, lack of effective controls in previous positions that guarantee total quality; in a word, little or no effective structures. What it is about is precisely achieving an investment of this trend.
For the correct organization and elaboration of the work contents you must:
• Determine the objectives to be achieved (so that the contents have all the necessary elements and the objectives are reached within established deadlines and with the available resources)
• Find the most efficient relationships between all the components of the activity
• Containing planning and control elements (measurement and evaluation to be able to direct and regulate actions to a greater extent than before)
By modifying the content of work under the principles stated, we can distinguish two variants: the so-called extension of tasks or horizontal change and the enrichment of tasks or vertical change.
d) Interrelationships between jobs
Whatever the organizational changes, whether with a vertical or horizontal approach, the object and objective of change should not be "the task" of the worker in isolation; that is, analyzing only as an individual job, but this must be closely linked to the transformations that must be carried out in the broadest sense throughout the organization of the labor system, especially if the objective is to design a Structure with a systemic approach.
The aspects most closely related to the content of work, at the time of their assessment are those related to:
• The way in which production and / or services are organized: Since to the extent that there is a correspondence between the characteristics of the type of production and the technology used, with the form of organization of the workforce that is established, it will allow the development of the principles outlined above. Likewise, the way in which production planning and control is organized, the maintenance of facilities and equipment, and quality assurance will directly affect the achievement of the proposed objectives.
It is necessary that both the Structure and the management functions, as well as its methods and styles, promote the materialization of the adopted principles and the proposed objectives. This means that the enrichment and / or expansion of the work content, or the establishment of new, modular and highly flexible basic organizational units, must go hand in hand with a clear definition of objectives and functions for each area, process and / or system, a process of decentralization of decisions, the development of participatory management methods, and increased responsibilities, and a truly motivating incentive structure.
• Job training and promotion opportunities: The objectives of any of the ways that lead to a change in the content of work are difficult to achieve, and to maintain, if they are not linked to a continuous and permanent increase in knowledge and skills, through the implementation of an adequate training and improvement policy for workers, through different channels.
• Forms of cooperation: Undoubtedly, the most conducive means for the development of new ideas in the content of work is achieved with the joint introduction of collective forms of work organization, where collaboration and mutual aid are much more likely to develop., the collective participation in decisions and the establishment of common purposes and the common interest in the final results of the work carried out in the collective, and in the performance of the Organization
There are no formulas or "models" of organization of universal validity. Therefore, any modification to the content of work that is applied must be preceded by an in-depth analysis of the characteristics and possibilities of both the Organization and the specific activity that is being studied, and establish realistic objectives to progress gradually and continuous.
VI Types of Structure
Basically, two types of Organization Structures are identified, which in turn names the type of organizations to which they respond: Bureaucratic, vertical, centralized, also called mechanistic, and Organic, horizontal, decentralized. All the others that can be identified are derivations, although in recent years, based on systemic approaches, proposals have been developed that break with both, and are system and network structures.
One-way communication Broad communication Communication between levels and organizational units in real time
Description of the structures, and the advantages and disadvantages recognized by each type of structure, seen in its historical development:
• Linear or military
structure • Structure by functions of the company.
• Territorial or geographical structure.
• Customer structure.
• Structure by process or by teams.
• Product structure.
• Mixed
structure • Matrix structure.
a) Linear or Military Structure
It is the simplest and oldest type of management structure, in which the main leader assumes all management functions.
Advantage:
• Simple and easy to understand
• Maintains maximum control unit
Disadvantages:
• The current complexity of the management functions means that it is used only at lower levels of management
b) Structure by Functions
Maximizes the departmentalization by functions of an organization. It deals with the grouping of activities according to the similarity of the functions that are normally carried out within an organizational area.
Functional departmentalization continues to be the most widely used criterion for organizing activities and exists in almost all activities and in almost all organizations, and companies, at some level of their organizational structure.
The basic functions of any company are: production, commercial, finance, human capital, among others. The functions of commercial, production and finance are so widely recognized and so well understood that they form the basis not only of the departmental organization of grassroots business organizations, but also determine the departmentalization of the highest level of the Structure of the organization.
• Logical reflection of the functions.
• Maintains the power and prestige of the main functional areas.
• Follows the principle of specialization in role development
• Simplifies training
• Provides strict means of control in senior management.
Disadvantages:
• It downplays the entity's global objectives.
• Exaggerates specialization and reduces the views of key personnel.
• Reduces coordination between functions.
• The responsibility for profits is focused on top management
• Slow adaptation to changes in the environment.
• Limit the integration of functions at the operational level
c) Territorial Structure
It is used primarily in large organizations. Territorial or geographic departmentalization is often used in sales and production functions, but never in finance.
It is quite common in companies that operate in wide geographic areas. In this case it may be important that the activities in a certain area or territory are grouped and an administrator is assigned for their attention.
It is especially attractive for large companies whose activities are physically or geographically scattered throughout the national territory.
Advantage:
• It places responsibility at a lower level, which implies a certain degree of decentralization.
• It is projected towards markets and local problems.
• Improves coordination in a region.
• Take advantage of the economies of local operations
• Better personal communication with local interests.
• Provides a training ground for managers or general managers.
Disadvantages:
• Requires more people with general manager skills.
• It tends to hinder economic activity centrally and may require services such as personnel or purchases at the regional level.
• Increases the problem of control of senior management.
d) Structure by Clients or by products
This form of grouping of activities reflects a special interest of the Organization for the client, to satisfy their needs.
In the product structure, the departmentalization is carried out in attention to the different products that are manufactured or services that are provided. The grouping of activities based on the product has been developed as an evolutionary process in large companies that manufacture a wide variety of products, gaining great importance in them.
Advantage:
• Stimulates concentration on customer needs.
• Put your attention and effort on the production line.
• It allows the growth and diversity of productions and services.
• It improves the coordination of functional activities.
• Places responsibility for profits at the division level.
• Gives the client the impression that they have a comprehensive provider.
• Develops skills in the customer area.
• The responsibility for profits is focused on senior management
Disadvantages:
• Difficult coordination of operations between consumer demands.
• Requires managers and employees who are experts in customer problems.
• Customer groups are not always clearly defined.
e) Structure by Process
In this type of structure, the departmentalization is carried out keeping in mind the different processes that are carried out and / or the equipment that is available.
Advantage:
• Use of specialized technologies.
• Use of UOB groups, group work, or in an integral team.
• Extensive work and training content.
• High motivation for the task
Disadvantages:
• Complex coordination of departments.
g) Mixed Structure
It is the type of structure most used in companies. It combines some of the types of structures described above (functional, by product, by process, territorial, etc.).
h) Matrix Structure.
It is a combination of the functional structure with the structure by product or project, but it is not a parallel structure, but an overlapping one. It is widely used in construction activities, research. In it, the groups are made depending on the needs of the projects in execution, whose main factors are time and resource control.
Advantage:
• Great flexibility in grouping staff.
• Maximum use of staff specialization.
• Oriented towards final results.
• Professional identification is maintained.
• Accurately determine responsibility for product times, resources, and profits.
Disadvantages:
• There is conflict in the central authority of the organization.
• It requires great coordination between functional support areas and project activities.
• There is the possibility of a lack of unity of command.
• Requires an effective administrator in human relations.
• Requires a high level of communications and dialogue in the collective that consume time.
Rules to make the operation of the matrix structure effective
• Define the objectives of the project or task.
• Clarify the roles, authority, and responsibilities of managers and team members.
• Ensure that authority is based on knowledge and information, rather than rank.
• Balance the power of functional and project managers.
• Select an expert manager with great leadership skills for the project.
• Undertake the development of organization and teamwork.
• Put in place appropriate cost, time, and quality controls that promptly indicate deviations from standards.
• Fairly reward project managers and team members.
Bibliography
- Alhama, BR, Alonso, AF, and Martínez, NT (2006): Social Dimension of the Company. Essence of New Organizational Forms. Havana, Editorial Ciencias Sociales. Chandler, AD (1962), Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the American Industrial Enterprise, Cambridge, MIT Press. Authors' Collective (2004): New Organizational Forms, IEIT, Havana.
Galan, JI and Suarez, I. (1997): Strategy and organizational structure: The Spanish case ”, European Journal of Business Management and Economics, vol. 6, no. 2.García-Cestona, MA and Ortiz-Angel, P. (2002): "The importance of human resources in organizational changes", Notebooks of Economy and Company Management, vol. 12.Pttigrew, A.; Woodman, RW and Cameron, KM (2001): "Studying organizational change and development: Challenges for future research", Academy of Management Journal, vol. 44, no. 4. Rafael Alhama Belamaric Cuba.
To continue advancing your learning, we recommend the following video-lesson, by the teacher Lirios Alos Simo, in which important concepts about the structure of organizations and the parameters of organizational design are synthesized. (3 videos, 40 minutes)
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