Organizational design
Organizational design deals with the design of structures (the organizational structure and process organization ) and systems (the information and incentive systems ) in organizations and establishes rules for the distribution of tasks and timing and sets up mechanisms that promote compliance with the rules. Organizational design plans a feasible division of tasks, coordinates the individual activities and brings together the results. One of the goals of organizational design is to enable effective and efficient implementation of extensive tasks on the basis of humane work design , which exceed the capacity of an individual person.
In the majority of cases, organizational design is not about developing a completely new organizational structure for a company (reorganization). Rather, the focus is on reorganization, ie adapting the existing organizational structure to changed requirements.
In addition, one should not think of organizational design as a point-in-time activity that is merely repeated at longer intervals. Rather, it has to be understood as a complex process, as the influencing factors and framework conditions change over time - more or less strongly - and thus organizational problems constantly arise that then require a solution.
Goal of the organizational design
In order for organizations or companies to be able to achieve their goals, they need an organizational structure that supports them or creates the conditions for them. The aim of the organizational design is essentially to create a system of rules (e.g. for the distribution of tasks or timing) that supports companies in achieving their goals ( effectiveness ) and uses as few resources as possible ( efficiency ). The question of the appropriate breakdown of an overall task into sub-tasks and their goal-oriented coordination forms the fundamental organizational problem. To do this, the organization must meet the criteria of effectiveness. In this context, one speaks of organizational effectiveness. The design of an organization is, without taking into account the various applications of organizational terms, the organization as a function (the creation of rules and structures), as an instrument (rules, structures, hierarchies) or as an institution (a system such as a company, a Authority, an association), not meaningful to implement.
Organizational effectiveness
Effectiveness relates to the fact that the right goals are pursued and achieved. A measure is therefore effective if it is basically suitable for achieving a defined goal ( doing the right things ). The most important goals of an organization can be described as securing a livelihood, increasing the company's value and maximizing profits . The strategic, structural, personal and cultural framework conditions in organizations influence the organizational effectiveness. Organizational design measures generally aim to increase the ratio of achieved goal to defined goal in the sense of a better degree of goal achievement.
Organizational efficiency
The efficiency indicates the effort required to achieve the goal . Working effectively means doing a task as well as possible. Working efficiently, on the other hand, means, in the sense of the economic principle, to carry out a task either with the least possible use of resources or with the greatest possible return (doing things right). Organizational measures are primarily aimed at resource efficiency, ie the optimal use of the available resources and process efficiency, ie flexible, error-free and fast handling of the processes for operational performance.
Framework conditions for organizational design
What all framework conditions of organizational design have in common is that they have no deterministic influence on structural decisions and that organizations can partially choose their framework conditions. Nonetheless, three groups of main characteristics or main characteristics are defined as the framework for organizational design:
- Organizational characteristics
- Technology features
- Environmental characteristics
Organizational characteristics
Characteristics of an organization play a decisive role in the structural regulations, such as B. Ownership, legal form, but also age and size of the organization and the service program . The age of an organization particularly influences the degree of formalization. The typical young organization is not very formalized. In an old organization, on the other hand, (hopefully!) The work content was standardized or formalized in order to increase performance. This process is known as organizational learning because e.g. For example, certain processes repeat themselves over time, internal communication problems can be identified more clearly and thus a formalization or standardization of work processes seems essential. Another important characteristic that has a significant influence on the structure is the size of the organization, which is measured in terms of the number of employees and / or turnover. It almost goes without saying that the number of hierarchical levels increases as the number of employees increases, but that a more extensive control system is also required.
Technology features
The technique and / or technology is used in two main places of an organization: factory (or in the productive area of industrial plants ) and office. In the past, factories and offices were viewed as clearly separated from each other. Production technology was used in the factory and information and communication technology in the office . With the explosive use of computers, information and communication technology has spread into the productive area of organizations. Production technology is an important structural factor for organizational design. It is obvious that building a ship poses a different organizational requirement than the production of computer chips. In business administration , manufacturing techniques are classified into different manufacturing types . The differentiation between individual production , series production and mass production depends on the number of products manufactured and the distinction between manual production and automated production represents the degree of automation . These differences in production technologies lead to certain structural peculiarities in organizations. For example, one-off production requires a high level of professional qualification from the individuals working in the operational core, close cooperation between superiors and their subordinates, personal contact with customers and the manufacture of non-standardizable products. In contrast, personal contact with individual customers is usually not required and production is standardized in order to minimize manufacturing costs.
Environmental characteristics
The environment of an organization has a structural significance. However, a demarcation between an organization and its environment is not always easy or possible, as the boundary can be very fluid. For example, one can think about whether the supplier, the seller or the small shareholder of a (large) organization with a single share belongs to an organization or to its environment. Appropriately, however, the environment of an organization is classified according to how diverse it is (environmental complexity), how quickly it changes (environmental dynamics) and how strong the power of the environment is over the organization (environmental dependency).
Environmental complexity
The complexity of an organization can be defined according to Robert Duncan, who uses the number and diversity of the areas outside the organization and factors to determine the complexity.
| Areas | Factors |
|---|---|
| Customer area | trade
Consumer |
| Supplier area | Suppliers of raw materials
Suppliers of capital goods Suppliers of externally manufactured parts Labor market |
| Competitive area | Competition in procurement
Competition in the sales area |
| Sociopolitical area | State control
Public opinion unions |
| Technological area | Consideration of new technological developments
Improvement and development of products through the application of new technologies |
The complexity of the environment has a direct influence on the organizational structure. In the case of high environmental complexity, decision-making power must be distributed and the organization decentralized. Above all, the strategic top of an organization has to give some of its power to managers within the middle line, but perhaps also to members of the operational core. However, this does not mean that a centralization of decision-making power is advisable for every lesser environmental complexity.
Environmental dynamics
The variability of the environment can be determined using the following characteristics:
- the frequency of changes in the relevant environmental factors
- the strength of these changes
- the regularity in the pattern of change.
In a stable environment without significant changes, it is possible to consider a bureaucratic structure type for the design of an organization and to standardize the various activities as far as possible. This can take the form of procedural instructions and job descriptions. In dynamic environmental conditions, a more flexible form of coordination, ie an organic structure, must be used to design the organization.
Environmental dependence
An organization's dependency is mainly determined by external control and cultural norms. When the environment exercises a strong control and many strict conditions for production, sales, marketing, etc., it confronts the organizations with a narrow scope of action. Organizations are also dependent on the resources or customers in their environment. Churches from believers, hospitals from patients, industrial plants from raw material prices and raw material suppliers. The acceptance of the unequal distribution of power in different countries can be mentioned as an example of the influence of the cultural dimension on organizational design. In countries like India, Turkey or Mexico, large parts of society accept an unequal distribution of power, which is reflected in a centralization of the organizational decision-making system and a tight hierarchical structure. The Scandinavian countries such as Denmark or Sweden can be mentioned as examples of the acceptance and success of a non-hierarchical structure for the design of an organization.
See also
- Organizational development
- Learning organization
- Organizational controlling
- Organizational psychology
Individual evidence
- ↑ Organizational design - Article in the Manager Wiki
- ^ Edwald Scherm, Gotthard Pietsch: Organization; Theory, design, change. Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2007. p. 128.
- ↑ R. Reichwald, K. Möslein: Organization: structures and design. In CG Hoyos, D. Frey: Industrial and organizational psychology - a textbook. Psychologie Verlags Union, Weinheim p. 29
- ↑ a b c Manfred Schulte-Zurhausen ; Organization. 5th edition. Verlag Franz Vahlen, Munich 2010.
- ↑ a b c d e G. Schanz: Organization design. 2nd Edition. Publisher Franz Vahlen, Munich 1994