Introduction
The organization is a term that has existed since our ancestors, there are antecedents that support teamwork and promoted the division of labor since the human lived in society and therefore it has been one of the fundamental parts of the administration.
Throughout this article we will analyze the antecedents, techniques and principles of the organization and the effect produced by the coordination of efforts in this stage of the administrative process.
Lourdes Münch mentions that for years the human being has become aware that to obtain high efficiency, one must go on the path of order, organization and coordination of the resources that intervene in a social or particular group in this case referring to a business.
What is a company?
There are many definitions of this concept, for the purposes of this article elements are provided that together define what the company is.
- It is the set of material, human and economic elements that is responsible for satisfying the needs of society by producing goods or services. A set of activities that combines organized human efforts that interact with each other to achieve a common business objective. It is a system that materializes a idea through the study of the administrative process, to satisfy the demands of the client, through commercial activity. It has a reason to be established in the vision that works together with all its elements to achieve the vision of the company, relying on strategies, policies, manuals, techniques and tools, organized, coordinated and committed to the organization.
What is the organization?
The organization stage is responsible for designing hierarchical structures, which allows coordination between the elements involved such as material, economic, technological and human resources, in order to make timely and efficient decisions, since you establish responsibilities of people and departments to achieve the overall strategy of the company.
Background of the Organization
As we mentioned, the organization of work has been visible since man has lived in society: organization for hunting and organization to perform various trades or tasks in the community according to the same evolution of humanity.
During the time of the Industrial Revolution, the new feverish processes required organizing within them the direction, material, financial and human resources.
Classical School
The company is seen as a machine where its parts are pieces to be adjusted, the worker remains in it only to perform their physical work and receive remuneration in return.
Its premises are: Centralized decision-making, autocratic hierarchy (only the authority imposes), division of labor and specialization, permanent supervision and control over workers.
In general, it presents a totally mechanical approach to the company, however it represents the first attempts to study the company as a system composed of several parts, in this school two important authors are recognized:
Frederick Winslow Taylor (Taylorism)
To improve productivity, he proposes the extreme division of specialized jobs per worker.
Its premises are:
- Total separation of planning and production (the worker only produces, he should not give an opinion) Functional organization, that is, various commands indicate to the worker what to do, Rationalization of work that means assigning a unique and specific job to each worker to avoid losses of time to change location or apprenticeships (look for the best production with the lowest possible cost).
Currently we know that it has failed aspects such as not considering the worker at all from the psychological aspect, but it was employed by some companies such as Ford, which in 1913 was able to market cars created in series.
Henry Fayol (Fayolism)
The Fayolismo based on the previous study continued with the mechanical vision of the company, however, it began to formulate considerations to be followed by the management personnel of the company, that is why it has been considered the first “school of bosses”.
Its statements are:
- Division of labor for greater effectiveness Conceives the company composed of parts such as the administrative or managerial sector.It indicates the importance of a structure with hierarchies.The direction is responsible for functions such as planning, coordination and decision-making.Unit of command.
The school of human relations
The classic approach had the disagreement of many workers: they called on strikes and fell out with the bosses.
Elton Mayo
In the decade of the 20's, investigations began in Hawthore, a factory that offered better treatment to employees, it was observed that as they treated the worker with a more humane treatment, they responded better in terms of productivity.
Some of its conclusions are:
- The influence of the work group will be reflected in the attitudes and behavior of the workers. The performance of a worker does not depend on their ability or remuneration, but on a large part of the work environment, their integration into it, their consideration as a human being that is to say: psychosocial conditions and factors.
The Mayo case, for its part, considers the human side as well and leaves aside the technical-economic aspect of the company; However, he has made clear contributions to the organization of companies and their processes.
New contributions to the business organization
Considering what has been learned in previous schools and their results, there is currently no talk of a specific approach, however it is guided by the balance between the two: seeking the efficiency of the company without neglecting the human side of the employee.
Company Network
It corresponds to an open organization, where the relative independence of each department is maintained, but at the same time maintains communication and contact with their peers.
In other words, it allows functional autonomy, decentralization and interconnection of the parts of the company to achieve a common goal. It relies heavily on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
Clover Company
It is formed by the collaboration of three permanent parties to which it owes its name.
- Core of professional workers: corresponds to the managers and professionals who make up the core of the company and carry out the main work and organization activities. Flexible work: they are employees hired in many cases part-time. They perform tasks that help managers and professionals, in some cases the work is repetitive but must be considered and treated as part of the company Subcontracts: work or activities that the company requires to perform but is not possible or is not interested in doing it directly for which outsources the service to an external company.
The cloverleaf scheme is used in a large number of companies due to the reduction in costs involved in hiring personnel or services when required.
Smart organization
It is based on the learning capacity of all people. Through continuous learning it is possible for the organizational pyramid to work for a common goal, based on the inner work at each level of the pyramid and its subsequent interaction to feed back the pyramid vertically.
Principles of the Organization
Principle of division of labor
It indicates the strict division of each worker in an activity, in order to produce more and better, as indicated by the classical school.
Parity of authority and responsibility
The degree of responsibility must be equal to the degree of authority that is granted. Consider more aspects such as: legal, technical and moral. A good authority will be competitive from the psychological and moral aspect, that is, a leader.
Objective Principle
This principle establishes that all the activities of the workers must pursue the organizational goals and objectives and that the creation of a new department is only justifiable if it is on the way to the organizational goal.
Specialization
The activities of each employee must be well defined to avoid duplication or misunderstandings with the staff. Work will be more efficient if each job position is well defined.
Control unit
The command unit tells us that subordinates should not receive orders from more than one person and that they should only report to a single boss.
Diffusion
Each department must write down the responsibility, authority and obligations of each position and must be available to all members of the company.
Control span
It refers to the number of workers that can report to the same boss, Lindall Urwick determines that it is convenient for the number to be less than 6. To guarantee greater control and efficiency over their work.
Delegation principle
It shares the scoop that authority is delegated and responsibility is shared, this principle shows that the leader under this criterion allows collaborators to make decisions freely without losing sight of the fact that total responsibility falls on the head of the department.
Of coordination
It consists of balancing all functional areas in the company.
Continuity
The company must be constantly improved, that is, it must be constantly maintained and updated.
Organization Techniques
These techniques correspond to the tools that we have available to formalize the organization in a company.
- Organization Charts Manuals Flow Charts
Organization charts
Graphic representation of the components of the company through simple diagrams indicating their structure and hierarchies.
It can be done in 6 types according to its content:
- Linear or military Functional or Taylor functional line Staff Matrix By committees
Types of organization charts: Linear or military, Functional or Taylor, Lineo functional, Staff, Matrix, By committees
The purpose of the organization charts is to present a clear and fast way to interpret the organization of the company.
Manuals
Document that is written to present the organization of the company in an orderly, complete and systematic manner. As well as the procedures.
The manuals respond to specific, routine, or non-routine questions, an updated manual is useful for any area of the company.
Flowchart
It presents the process to be followed in the company through certain symbols. Flowcharts are highly visually supportive to facilitate decision making and solve a problem presented using standardized symbology.
Flowchart
Coordination
"Coordination is a process that consists of integrating the activities of independent departments in order to effectively pursue the goals of the organization" (Stoner, Freeman, & Gilbert, 1996)
It is understood as the synchronization of activities, organization, resources of the different areas of the company to achieve the desired end in the best possible way.
Coordination mechanisms
These mechanisms help to connect the structure of the organization.
Mintzberg collects six coordination mechanisms (Gil Estallo & Giner de la Fuente, 2007) that we will detail below.
Mutual adaptation
The most outstanding characteristics is that coordination occurs through informal communication, those who control the work are the same as those who perform it, it is flexible in the execution of tasks and mainly requires skill in people to have the ability to adapt to each other or where appropriate to develop this skill.
Direct supervision
The chain of command appears, where the premise is that some people command or control the actions of others through supervision and delimit responsibilities. Encourage formal communication.
It is suitable for traditionalist companies that place greater emphasis on the division of labor.
Standardization
Make a work schedule where informal communication is minimized, it is suitable for mature companies or of a considerable size.
This mechanism handles different types of Normalization
- Of work processes Development of knowledge for work Of expected results
Of work processes
It refers to the specialization, content scheduling of each task in each phase of production, and procedures to be followed. Task assignment.
Increase production and simplify direct supervision.
Of skills and knowledge
It takes into account the qualifying aspects that a worker who wishes to fill an available vacancy in the company must meet and programs them. Reduce direct supervision.
These data can be obtained before and / or during the time the worker comes into contact with the company.
It is appropriate to implement it in complex activities at the managerial and operational levels.
Of the work results
It schedules the expected returns at all managerial levels, allows coordination between levels, and direct supervision is minimal. Programming is a communication tool between levels.
This model is useful mainly for the media and the basics.
Ideological normalization
Program the beliefs, values and rituals that the organization shares.
The worker identifies with these beliefs, reduces the need to formalize communication channels.
It is useful mainly in managerial positions.
conclusion
The organization and coordination stage is vital to be able to execute the previously studied planning.
That is, the planning can be well detailed, but if the right personnel are not found, the expected results will most likely not be what was expected.
Organizational charts are supportive for companies and for the workers themselves, as they highlight the sections of control and the chain of command, essential for the proper functioning of the company.
On the other hand, there are functional control mechanisms according to the hierarchical place they occupy within the organization.
Thesis proposal
Creation of Smart Organizations in the refining and petrochemical area of PEMEX.
Bibliographic references
- (sf). Retrieved on September 24, 2013, from http://www.grandespymes.com.ar/(sf). Retrieved on September 23, 2013, from http://books.google.com.mx/books(sf). Retrieved on September 23, 2013, from http://books.google.com.mx/books(sf). Retrieved on September 23, 2013, from http://definicion.de/organizacion/(sf). Retrieved on September 24, 2013, from http://e-ducativa.catedu.es/(sf). Retrieved on September 24, 2013, from http://e-ducativa.catedu.es/(sf). Retrieved on September 24, 2013, from http://www.grandespymes.com.ar/(sf). Retrieved on September 24, 2013, from
