Good Example Of Foundation Of Organizational Design Essay

Organizational design is the formal process that is developed and adopted by a business. It plays an important role in the operations of the organization as it aligns all activities with the vision, mission and targets set. Organizational designs are mainly categorized into traditional design, which is made up of the functional, simple and divisional structures and the modern or contemporary design which comprises of a number of designs such as boundary less organization, learning organization, team structure, project structure and matrix structure (Miner, 2002). Based on the type of business or organization, the organizational design model adopted affects all operations and is a great determinant of the level of profitability and viability.
The principle aims of any business it to generate income and remain profitable for long term viability and success. This therefore determines the organization design model design adopted. The traditional models which are more hierarchical apply in some organizations such as the military, but are not suitable for business in the modern world because of the dynamic business environment brought about by technological changes and growing customer needs. Models such as the functional and divisional structures hinders the employees from working together as a team because they are divided into departments which work independently and follow a set hierarchy of command (Rasche, 2007). This affects service delivery because customers have to visit different departments which could be hectic. On the other hand, the modern model such as the team structure and the boundary less organization encourages the employees to work together as a team and aligns them towards the same target.
Employees’ morale and overall performance if greatly dependent on the organizational design adopted at the company. All the major traditional designs are based on a hierarchical chain of command which does not allow the employees to make decisions. This affects their morale because they feel left out as the people who interact directly with the clients. On the other hand the boundary less, matrix and team structure modern models allows direct interaction and decision making by the employees leading to easy service delivery which in turn contribute to customer satisfaction. This ensures that the employees contribute directly to the success of the organization and leads to improved morale and motivation towards work.
As a result of growth and diversification of products and services, many organizations have developed network organizations to assist in service delivery and expand their market share. This affects productivity because the services are production is improved. However, it calls for proper management measures as it could negatively affect the morale and general employees’ production level. It creates a working environment similar to the two tier system which could lead to unnecessary competition among the employees which in turn affect profitability. To handle this, the organization’s management should work at developing teams and shuffle employees to ensure they work towards a similar purpose.
The best organizational design to work in is the modern model especially the team and matrix structure as well as the boundary less and learning organization. The models allow interaction at work through development of teams and employees learn from each other. The boundary less model leads to improvement of employees’ service delivery as they are able to learn operations in other departments which enable them serve the clients better. The modern model contributes to employees’ job satisfaction as opposed to the hierarchical traditional design.

References

Griffin, R & Moorhead, G. (2009). Organizational Behavior: Managing People and Organizations. Boston: Cengage Learning
Miner, J. (2002). Organizational Behavior: Foundations, Theories, and Analyses. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Rasche, A. (2007). The Paradoxical Foundation of Strategic Management. New York: Springer