1.3: Misunderstandings or Disagreements from Organizational Structure
The structure a company uses to organize its leadership, areas of authority and responsibility, and decision-making processes can cause conflict and misunderstandings among employees within its organization.
For example, a lack of transparency about the formal processes employees follow or the hierarchy among individuals and departments can cause employees to have conflicting expectations about their goals, standards, or decision-making authority. The misunderstandings that arise when leaders fail to communicate clearly and with transparency can cause internal confusion and turmoil.
Read this text which explores different types of organizational structures.
The first section explores four key organizational descriptors:
- Centralization describes the role management and organizational leaders play in the decision-making process and the central infrastructure of the company or organization;
- Formalization describes whether the company has, and follows, formal policies and procedures (preferably in writing) to help employees respond to questions and situations in a consistent fashion;
- Hierarchy describes the arrangement employees follow with regard to decision-making authority, central roles and responsibilities; and
- Departmentalization describes the functional boundaries or divisional structures departments within the company follow to delineate their operations and production.
The second section of the reading explores three contemporary organizational models: matrix organizations, boundary-less organizations, and learning organizations.
- Centralization describes the role management and organizational leaders play in the decision-making process and the central infrastructure of the company or organization;