Theoretical Concepts About Organizational Structure

        THEORETICAL CONCEPTS ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Theoretical Concepts about organizational structure are theories that may influence how an organization allocates resources and can help with plans for organizational success.

Theorists concentrated on organizational structure for the achievement of organizational goals, with focus on this input and output mediators and giving less or no attention to facilitating and constraining factors in the external environment. They dwelt on Human behavior only in a rudimentary manner, I will be analyzing them in regard to their contribution in the structure.

1. Scientific Management – F. W. Taylor

The Scientific Management is based on an idea of systematization with belief of the possibility to prescribe maximum output with minimum input of energy and resources. Taylor started with individual work processes with consequences that could be considered throughout the system.

He came up with four principles for scientific management:

1. Replace working with a simple habit and common sense and using the scientific method to determine the most efficient way to perform specific tasks
2. Matching workers to jobs based on their work capability and motivation
3. Monitor employee performance with specific instructions to ensire they use the most efficient ways of working
4. Allocate tasks between managers and workers to ensure managers time to plan and train allowing workers to perform their tasks efficiently.

Scientific Management isn’t practiced as much today as it is still used as a guideline for technical procedures in both the industrial and service sectors.

1. Administrative Management Theory – Henri Fayol

This is the process of managing information through people. This theory attempts to find a rational way to design an organization as a whole. It creates a formalized administrative structure, a clear division of labor and delegation of power and authority to administrators with relevance to their areas of responsibilities. Two key principles govern the administrative theory:

1. Coordination uses a hierarchical pyramid structure where all members in the organization are linked to each other with clarity in their hierarchy
2. Specialization uses the principle of departmentalization where related activities are grouped into one department to ensure effectiveness in the tasks carried out in the organization.

1. The Bureaucracy Model – Max Weber

Max Weber, referred to as the father of sociology utilizes a broader approach using the social and historical perspective to view the organizational structure. The bureaucracy model agrees that people should occupy positions in an organization because of their performances and not because of their social standing. It also makes use of the principle that allows authority to be effectively exercised by arranging positions hierarchically so that employees would know whom to report to and who reports to them.

1. Administrative Behavior – Herbert Simon

Administrative Behavior is the generic term used to describe the process by which people work within an organization. Herbert Simon was all about rational behavior in an organization by using the contributions of goal specificity, formalization to the process used in the administration of the organizations. He introduced two concepts in relation to the theory of administrative behavior.

Bounded Rationality: Simon points out here that most people are only partially rational in their behavior and irrational in other parts of their behavior