Structuralist theory of management

At the end of the 1950s, the theory of human relations went into decline. Structuralist theory means a doubling of the theory of bureaucracy and a slight approach to the theory of human relations; represents a critical view of the formal organization.

Origins of structuralist theory

1. The opposition that arose between the traditional theory and the theory of human relations required a broader and more comprehensive position that integrated the aspects considered by one and omitted by the other and vice versa. The need to visualize “the organization as a large social unit and complex, where social groups interact ”that share some of the organization's objectives (such as the economic viability of the organization), but which may become incompatible with others (such as the way to distribute the organization's profits.) influence of structuralism in the social sciences and repercussions in the study of organizations. Structuralism had a strong influence on philosophy, psychology, anthropology, mathematics, etc. In administrative theory,structuralists focus on social organizations, varying between phenomenological and dialectical structuralism. The main representative of the dialectic is Karl Marx, who assures that the structure is made up of parts that, throughout the development of the whole, discover, differentiate and, in a dialectical way, gain autonomy over each other, maintaining the integration and totality without adding or reuniting between them, but rather through instructed reciprocity between them; and Max Weber, structure is a set that is constituted, organized and altered and its elements have a certain function under a certain relationship, which prevents the ideal type of structure from faithfully and fully portraying the diversity and variation of the phenomenon real New concept of structure. The concept of structure is very old.Realcito at the beginning of history conceived the "logos" as a structural unit that dominates the uninterrupted flow of becoming and makes it intelligible. Structure is the formal set of two or more elements and that remains unaltered either in the change or in the diversity of content, that is, the structure is maintained even with the interaction of one of its elements or relationships.

Structuralism is focused on the whole and the relationship of the parts in the constitution of the whole. The whole, the interdependence of the parts, and the fact that everything is greater than the simple sum of its parts are the basic characteristics of structuralism.

Structuralist theory is represented by great management figures: James D. Thompson, Amitai Etzioni, Peter Blau, Victor A. Thompson, Burton Clarke, and Jean Viet.

A society of organizations

For structuralists, modern, industrialized society is a society of organizations on which man depends to be born, grow, live and die.

These organizations differ and require certain personality characteristics from their participants. These characteristics allow the simultaneous participation of the person in several organizations, in which he plays various roles. Structuralism extends the study of interactions between social groups to that of interactions between social organizations.

The organizations went through a development process along four stages, which are:

1. Stage of nature. It is the initial stage, in which natural factors, that is, the elements of nature, constituted the sole basis of subsistence for humanity. Stage of work. From nature, a disturbing factor arises that initiates a true revolution in the development of humanity: work, this conditions the forms of organization of society. Capital stage. It is the third stage in which capital prevails over nature and work, becoming one of the basic factors of social life. Stage of the organization. Nature, labor, and capital submit to organization.

The dominance of the organization revealed its independent character in relation to nature, labor and capital, using them to achieve its objectives.

The organizations are not recent. They have existed since the pharaohs and emperors of ancient China, throughout history the church, the army and others developed forms of organizations.

Society has gone through several stages to achieve a high degree of industrialization, they are these:

1. The universalism of the Middle Ages; characterized by the predominance of the religious spirit Economic and social liberalism of the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, characterized by the softening of state influence and the development of capitalism Socialism, with the arrival of the twentieth century, forcing capitalism to address along the path of maximum possible development. The present, characterized by a society of organizations.

Each of these four stages reveals relevant political and philosophical characteristics. Etzioni envisions a revolution of the organization with new social forms emerging while the old ones modify their forms and alter their functions, acquiring new meanings.

The appearance of complex organizations in all aspects of human activity is not separated from other social changes: they form an integral and fundamental part of modern society.

The organizations

Organizations are the dominant form of institution in modern society: they are the manifestation of a highly specialized and dependent society characterized by a growing pattern of life.

Each organization is limited by scarce resources and for this reason cannot take advantage of all the opportunities that arise: point of origin of the problem when determining the best distribution of resources. Efficiency is obtained when an organization applies resources to the alternative that produces the best results.

Bureaucracies constitute a specific type of organization: the so-called formal organizations, these constitute a form of social grouping established deliberately or with the purpose of achieving a specific objective.

The formal organization allows to reduce the uncertainties that derive from human variability, take advantage of the benefits of specialization, facilitate the decision-making process and ensure the implementation of the decisions made. This scheme tries to regulate human behavior to achieve the objectives efficiently, this makes the formal organization the only one among the institutions of modern society worthy of special study.

Among the formal organizations are the so-called complex organizations. They are characterized by the high degree of complexity in the structure and processes due to the large size or the complicated nature of the operations. In this type of organization, the convergence of efforts between the component parts is more difficult due to the existence of innumerable variables that complicate the operation.

The formal organizations par excellence are bureaucracies. Fact for which the structuralist theory has as exponents, figures that began with the theory of bureaucracy.

The organizational man

The structuralist theory focuses on the organizational man, that is, the man who performs different functions or roles in various organizations. The characteristics that we will define below are not always required at the highest level within organizations but within compositions and combinations that vary according to the organization and the position held.

The organizational man reflects a cooperative and collectivist personality, which seems to be out of tune with some of the characteristics of the Protestant ethic (eminently individualist) defined by Mas Weber, Weber had related characteristics of acetic Protestantism with the spirit of modern capitalism, as is known, spirit of achievement, pursuit of prosperity, industry, sacrifice and punctuality, integrity and conformity; important virtues in the conduct of organizational man, who seeks through competition to obtain progress and wealth. As not all people allow themselves to be bent by conformism in organizations, conflicts arise that generate organizational change.

The modern man, that is, the organizational man, to be successful in all organizations needs to have the following personality characteristics:

1. flexibility, in the face of the constant changes that occur in modern life, axial as the diversity of the roles played in the various organizations tolerance to frustrations, to avoid the emotional exhaustion derived from the conflict between organizational needs and individual needs, whose mediation is does through rational methods ability to postpone rewards, and compensate for routine work within the organization to the detriment of personal preferences and vocations permanent desire for fulfillment, to ensure compliance and cooperation with the rules that control and ensure access to career positions within the organization, providing rewards and social and material sanctions.

Organizations are consequences of the need that people have to relate and get together with other people in order to achieve their objectives. Within the social organization people occupy certain roles. Role is the name given to a set of behaviors requested of a person. Role is the expectation of performance by the social group and the consequent internalization of the values ​​and norms that the group explicitly or implicitly prescribes to the individual. The role prescribed for the individual is reinforced by her own motivation to perform effectively.

Analysis of organizations

To study organizations, structuralists use a broader organizational analysis than any other classical theory and that of human relations, also based on the theory of axial bureaucracy, the analysis of organizations from the structuralist point of view is made from of a multiple approach that simultaneously takes into account the foundations of classical theory, the theory of human relations and the theory of bureaucracy.

That multiple approach used by structuralist theory involves:

1. Both the formal organization and the informal organization. Both salary and material rewards and social and symbolic rewards. All different types of organizations. Intraorganizational analysis and interorganizational analysis.

1. The multiple approach: formal and informal organization.

The classical theory focused on the formal organization and that of human relations on the informal one, the structuralists tried to study the relationship between both organizations: the formal and the informal one, within a multiple approach.

The structuralist theory focuses on the problem of the relations between the formal and the informal organization, tries to “find the balance between the rational and non-rational elements of human behavior constitutes the main point of life, society and modern thought; it constitutes the central problem of the theory of organizations.

This broad and balanced perspective that includes the formal and informal organization together motivates the development of a non-evaluative study and widens its field in order to include all the elements of the organization.

2. The multiple approach: material and social rewards.

Structuralists combine the studies of the classical school and of human relations. The meaning of salary and social rewards and everything that is included in the place symbols is important in the life of any organization.

3. The multiple approach: the different approaches of the organization.

For structuralists, organizations can be conceived according to two different conceptions: rational model and model of the natural system.

Rational model of the organization. See organization as a deliberate and rational means of achieving known goals. Organizational objectives are explicit and all aspects and components of the organization are deliberately selected based on their contribution to the objective, and organizational structures are deliberately cared for to achieve the highest efficiency, resources are adequate and arranged according to a plan Director, all actions are appropriate and initiated by plans and their results must coincide with the plans. Where the emphasis on planning and control comes from. Everything in the organization is subject to control and that is exercised in accordance with a master plan that relates the causes and effects in the most economical way.

Natural model of the organization. The organization is conceived as a set of interdependent parts that constitute the whole: each part contributes something and receives something from the whole, which, in turn, is interdependent with a larger environment. The basic objective is the survival of the system, the parts and modes are linked in interdependence, that is why they are determined through evolutionary processes. The model seeks to make everything balanced and functional, allowing dysfunctions to occur. Self-regulation is the fundamental mechanism that spontaneously governs the relationships between the parties and their activities, keeping the system balanced and stable against disturbances from the external environment.The natural system is open to environmental influences and cannot be treated as a complete certainty or controlled scheme.

4. The multiple approach: different levels of the organization.

Organizations are characterized by a hierarchy of authority, that is, by the differentiation of power.

Organizations are faced with a multiplicity of problems that are classified and categorized so that responsibility for their solution is attributed to different hierarchical levels of the organization.

Thus, organizations are divided into three organizational levels as presented below:

1. Institutional level: it is the highest organizational level made up of leaders or senior employees Management level: it is the intermediate level located between the institutional level and the technical level, taking care of the relationship and integration of two levels, the managerial level details the problems of attracting the necessary resources to place them within the various parts of the organization and of the distribution and placement of the products and services of the organization. Technical level is the lowest level of the organization. also called the operational level is the level at which tasks are executed, programs are developed and techniques are applied.

5. Multiple approach: the diversity of organizations.

The structuralist approach broadened the field of organization analysis in order to include different types of organizations in addition to factories: small, medium and large, public and private organizations, companies of the most diverse types.

6. Multiple approach: Interorganizational analysis.

All the administrative theories were concerned with phenomena that occur within the organization in addition to the internal analysis of organizations, the structuralists inaugurated the concern with interorganizational analysis. The analysis of interorganizational behavior became significant from the growing environmental complexity and interdependence. The relationship between the organization and its environment reveals the degree of dependence of the organization on external events.

The analysis of interorganizational relationships starts from the assumption that they organized it, it works on the basis of transactions with other organizations that promote interaction between organizations and cause a strong interdependence between them. Each organization interacts with its external environment and with the other organizations in it.

Typologies of organizations

No two organizations are the same. Organizations are different from each other and present enormous variability.

However, they present characteristics that allow them to be classified into classes or types. The classifications allow a comparative analysis of organizations through a common characteristic or a relevant variable.

Structuralists develop typologies of organizations to classify them according to certain distinctive characteristics.

1) Typology of etzioni

1. Division of work and attribution of power and responsibilities. In accordance with an intentional planning to intensify the relationship specific objectives. Power centers. They control the combined efforts of the organization and direct them towards its objectives. Personnel replacement. People can be resigned or replaced by other people for their tasks.

Organizations as social units with the specific purpose, their artificial units: they are planned deliberately structured; they constantly review their organizations and restructure according to their results.

Organizations impose a distribution of rewards and penalties to ensure compliance with their rules, regulations and orders. Reason for which the means of control exist. They can be classified into three categories: physical, material or symbolic control:

1. Physical control. It is the control that is based on the application of physical means or physical sanctions or threats. Material control. It is the control that is based on the application of material means and material rewards. Regulatory control. It is the control that is based on pure symbols or social values. It is the moral and ethical control par excellence and is based on conviction, faith in belief and ideology.

Each type of control causes a pattern of obedience based on the type without obeying the control. Thus, there are three types of interest or involvement of the organization's participants.

1. Aligning. The individual is not psychologically interested in participating: however, he is coerced and forced to remain in the organization. Calculator. The individual is interested in the extent to which his efforts have an immediate economic advantage or compensation. Moral. The individual attributes value to the mission of the organization and the work within it.

Etzioni classifies organizations based on the use and meaning of obedience, as follows:

1. Coercive organizations. Power is imposed by physical force or controls based on rewards and punishments. Participant involvement tends to be alienating in relation to the objectives of the organization. Utilitarian organizations. Power is based on the control of economic incentives. They use remuneration as the main basis of control Regulatory organizations. Power is based on consensus about the organization's goals and methods. They use moral control as the main influence on the participants, because they have a high "moral" involvement and motivation.

two). Blau and Scout typology

Organizations are embedded in communities and the relationships between members of the organization, on the one hand, and the public, clients, and external institutions, on the other, are important aspects that the previous typologies omitted.

Blau and Scott present a typology of organizations based on the main benefit that is who benefits from the organization.

There are four categories of participants that benefit from formal organization:

1. The members of the organization themselves The owners or shareholders of the organization The clients of the organization The general public

There are four basic types of organizations:

1. Mutual benefit associations. In which the main beneficiary are the members of the organization themselves. Organizations of commercial interest. In which the owners or shareholders are the main beneficiaries of the organization State organizations in which the beneficiary is the general public.

The Blau y Scout typology has the advantage of emphasizing the strength of power and influence of the beneficiary over organizations to the point of conditioning their organizational structure and objectives.

Organizational objectives

An organizational goal is a desired situation that the organization tries to achieve. It is an image that the organization intends for its future.

When your goal becomes a reality it is no longer a desired goal. Future situations, despite being images, have a real sociological force and influence the oppositions and relationships of people in organizational objectives are established by votes of shareholders or members of the assembly or even by the people who present to shareholders or who owns and directs the organization.

The efficiency of an organization is measured by the achievement of the proposed objectives. The organization can have two or more objectives simultaneously and legitimately.

Organizational objectives have several functions such as:

1. Representation of a future situation: indicates the orientation that the organization seeks to follow in this way, it establishes objectives as guidelines for the future activity of the organization.The objectives constitute a source of legitimacy that justifies the activities of the organization and, indeed, even its own existence. Objectives serve as standards by which members of an organization and outsiders can evaluate the success of the organization. Objectives serve as a unit of measure to benefit and compare the productivity of the organization. Goals are symbolic units or

Ideals that the organization aims to achieve and transform into reality. It refers to two organization models as follows:

1. Survival models. When the organization develops objectives that allow it to simply exist and maintain its continuity. Model of efficiency. When the organization develops objectives that allow it not only to exist, but also to function within the standards of increasing excellence and competitiveness.

Types of objectives:

1. of society: related to society in general, such as the production of production goods: related to the type of public that comes into contact with the organization. They are types of production defined according to the needs of the consumer.de systems: related to the way the organization works. It is about knowing how the system works, regardless of the products or services to which the organization is dedicated. Products: related to the characteristics of the goods produced. Derivatives: related to the uses that the organization makes of the power originated in the achievement of objectives. Organizations create power that is used to influence their own members and the environment.

Organizational environment

Organizations live in a human, social, political, economic world. They exist in a context called environment.

Organizations depend on other organizations to follow their path and achieve their goals. The interaction between the organization and the environment becomes fundamental for the understanding of structuralism.

Structuralists go beyond the borders of the organization to see what exists externally around it: the other organizations that make up society.

Interorganizational analysis is focused on the external relations between an organization and other organizations in the environment.

1. Interdependence of organizations with society.

No organization is autonomous or self-sufficient. Every organization depends on other organizations and on society in general to survive. And some of the consequences of that interdependence are: frequent changes in organizational objectives as changes occur in the external environment.

2. Organizational set.

The starting point for the study of interorganizational relationships is the concept of a set of roles developed by Merton to analyze paper relationships. The set of roles consists of roles and role relationships that the occupant of a status has in order to occupy it.

Organizational strategy

Alongside neoclassical authors, structuralists also develop concepts on organizational strategy, taking into account the emphasis on the environment and on the interdependence between organization and environment.

Strategy is conceived as the way in which an organization deals with its environment to achieve its objectives. To deal with its environment and achieve its objectives, each organization develops strategies.

Strategy is the deliberate way of maneuvering to manage your exchanges and relationships with the various interests affected by your actions, there are competition and cooperation strategies:

• Competition. It is a form of rivalry between two or more organizations against the mediation of a third group. Competition is a complex system of relationships and involves disputes for resources. Competition is a process by which the organization's choice of objective is controlled, in part, by the environment, from which the need for dispute originates due to rivalry for the same resources. Competition does not always involve direct interaction between rival parties. Adjustment or negotiation. It is a strategy that seeks negotiations for an agreement regarding the exchange of goods or services between two or more organizations. Even when expectations are stable, the organization cannot assume the continuity of relationships with suppliers, distributors, etc. The periodic adjustment of relationships occurs in union adjustments, in negotiations with suppliers or buyers, etc. Adjustment invades and softens the actual decision process. Catchment. It is a process to absorb new external elements in the leadership or decision-making scheme of an organization, as a resource to prevent external threats to its stability or existence. Cooptation is the acceptance of representatives of other organizations by the leadership group of an organization. Helps the integration of heterogeneous parts. Coalition. It refers to the combination of two or more organizations to achieve a common goal. It is an extreme form of environmental conditioning of the objectives of an organization. Two or more organizations act as one in relation to certain objectives, mainly when there is a need for more support or resources that are not possible for each organization in isolation.

Contrary to competition, the other three strategies are subtypes of the cooperative strategy. Cooperative strategies require direct interaction between environmental organizations.

Strategy is a function of organizational policy:

• Organizations are coalitions of various individuals and interest groups. There are long-lasting differences among coalition members in terms of values, beliefs, information, interest, and perceptions of reality. Most important decisions involve the allocation of scarce resources. Scarce resources and lasting differences give conflict a central role in organizational dynamics and make may the organization's most important resource. Goals and decisions emerge from transactions, negotiations and maneuvers in search of positions between the different stakeholders.

For structuralists, strategy is not the product of a single architect, but the result of the action of various agents and agent coalitions to achieve their own interests and agendas.

Organizational conflict

Conflicts are elements that generate changes and innovation in the organization.

Conflict means the existence of antagonistic and neighboring ideas, feelings or interests that can collide. Whenever one speaks of agreement, approval, coordination, resolution, unity, it must be remembered that these words presuppose the existence of their opposites.

Humans stand out among animals for the ability to mitigate conflict, even though they cannot always eliminate it. Society and civilization are viable thanks to the degree of congruence of objectives between people through mechanisms or rules that impose order and accommodation.

The sources of conflict were located in some real or supposed divergence of interests. There is a continuum that goes from a frontal collision of interests and complete incompatibility, at one extreme, to different but not incompatible interests.

Today cooperation and conflict are considered as two aspects of social activity, or, even more, two sides of the same coin. So much so that the resolution of a conflict is much more seen as a stage of the “conflict-cooperation” scheme than the end of a conflict. The administration must consider cooperation and conflict resolution, that is, create conditions in which the conflict can be controlled and directed towards useful and productive channels.

Possible responses from a group can be placed on a general scale, ranging from partial and total suppression methods to negotiation and problem-solving methods.

The structuralists do not agree that the conflict should be mitigated with an artificial suppression, but they consider that through the conflict the power of adjustment of the organization to the real situation can be evaluated and, axially, the harmony of the organization can be achieved.

There are types of situations within organizations that cause conflicts, and these are:

1) Conflict between the authority of the specialist and the administrative authority.

One of the typical conflict situations is the stress imposed on the organization by the use of knowledge and applying it is to ruin the hierarchy of the organization.

Etzioni suggests three types of organizations from the point of view of how knowledge is organized:

• Specialized organizations. In which knowledge is created and applied in the organization created especially for that purpose. Specialized organizations employ highly professionally trained specialists who are dedicated to the creation, dissemination and application of knowledge. Management is exercised by the technician while the administrative structure serves as staff. Conflicts in this type of organization occur when the relationship between the auxiliary body and specialization, and between hierarchy and administration are invested in that type of organization. Administrators attend secondary activities in relation to the objectives of the organization: they manage means for the main activity, which is carried out by specialists. The final decision rests in the hands of the specialists,while administrators advise non-specialized organizations. Like companies, in which knowledge is instrumental and secondary to the achievement of objectives. Management is exercised by the administrator, who identifies with the overall objectives, while the technical structure is secondary. They are privately owned and administered organizations and the main means are production and sale. The specialists are subordinate to the authority of the administrators, as they better tune the organization's objectives related to utility. While administrators form the hierarchy, specialists form the corps of assistants who apply knowledge. Service organizations. As companies specialized in consulting or advising, research and development centers,in which specialists receive tools and resources for their work, but are not employees of the organization and are not even subordinate to administrators. They are organizations that exercise little control over production since it is at the disposal of specialists. They receive resources, instruments and means from the organization to carry out their work; however, they are not even employees of the organization, nor are they under its control. The specialists feel that their time with administrative work is wasted, that it is despised in that type of organization.They are the organizations that exercise little control over production since it is at the disposal of specialists. They receive resources, instruments and means from the organization to carry out their work; however, they are not even employees of the organization, nor are they under its control. The specialists feel that their time with administrative work is wasted, that it is despised in that type of organization.They are the organizations that exercise little control over production since it is at the disposal of specialists. They receive resources, instruments and means from the organization to carry out their work; however, they are not even employees of the organization, nor are they under its control. The specialists feel that their time with administrative work is wasted, that it is despised in that type of organization.

2) Dilemmas of the organization according to Blau and Scout.

For them, there is a mutual relationship of dependence between conflict and change, since changes precipitate conflicts and conflicts generate innovations. Innovations used to solve problems generate new ones. The innovations in the organization or the improvement of the working conditions of the employees affect, interfere and harm other innovations and improvements already obtained and lead to a dialectical dynamic between the formal and the informal organization.

The dilemma represents a situation facing two irreconcilable interests.

Organizations are faced with dilemmas, that is, with choices between alternatives in which some objective will have to be sacrificed. Change and adjustment arise whenever new situations demand it, new problems arise, and new solutions must be created.

There are three basic dilemmas:

• Dilemma between coordination and free communication. To perform their functions, organizations require efficient coordination and effective solution of their administrative problems. Coordination is difficult when free communication between the parties involved is allowed. Free communication processes provide superior performance of individuals taken in isolation when solving problems.Dilemma between discipline and professional specialization. There is an opposition between the principles that govern bureaucratic conduct and those that govern professional conduct. The bureaucratic principles are related to the interest of the organization and professionals to the technical standards and codes of ethics of the profession. Professional authority is based on knowledge of technical specialization,while the authority of the bureaucrat is based on a legal contract, dilemma between the need for centralized planning and the need for individual initiative. Organizations face technological advancement through a creative effort to grow and survive. The fate of organizations depends on initiative and individual creativity.

These three dilemmas are manifestations of the larger dilemma between order and freedom. Such dilemmas are responsible for the development of organizations, in the process of solving old problems, new problems are created and the experience obtained in the decision will contribute to the search for solutions to new problems.

3). Conflicts between lines and staff.

The line-staff structure is characterized by confrontations between the line staff who have linear authority and the advisory staff who have staff authority. As they need to live with each other, in a mutual dependence these types of conflicts arise:

• Ambition and individualistic conduct of senior line officials. Offer of staff services to justify their existence. When promotion to higher positions of the advisor depends on the approval of line officials or vice versa.

Conflicts involve both positive and negative aspects, even though the negative and destructive possibilities of the conflict are visible. There is no better way to compromise the health of an organization than to promote internal conflict.

Satires against the organization

Structuralists analyze the organization from an imminently critical point of view. However, humorous books emerged, exposing satire, and the apparent absurdity of some aspects of organizations.

Despite not proposing solutions, these authors base their works on the flaws and inconsistencies in the apparently rational process.

Parkinson's Law: argues that the more time you have to perform a job, the longer it will take to do it. If the work is elastic in relation to the need of time for its execution, then the lack of a real task does not result in the lack of activity, much can be produced without apparent work, or little with the appearance of a lot of activity. She also states that a boss always wants to have more subordinates, as long as they are not her rivals.

Meter's principle: states "in a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to their level of incompetence." This principle has its color "every position tends to be filled by an incompetent employee to carry out their duties."

Thompson's administrative dramaturgy: defends the thesis that in organizations there is a strong imbalance between the right to decide and the power to carry out. Skill, specialization and competence are aspects that come into conflict with authority.

Machiavellianism in organizations: it takes up the principles that Machiavelli used in his book The Prince where he explains the art of government, "the end justifies the means", acting according to the particular interest regardless of the word or the agreements reached.

The work focuses on relativism to the moral, that is, its detachment from the moral. For Machiavelli, morality is contingent.

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The following video course (3 videos, 16 minutes), by Educatina, explains the contributions of some of the main representatives of the Structuralist School of Administration, Max Weber, Renate Maintz, Amitaí Etzioni, Chester Barnard and Ralph Darenhdorf