CHAPTER – 4

ORGANIZING TECHNICAL

ACTIVITIES

REASONS FOR ORGANIZING

Organizing is undertaken to facilitate

the implementation of plans

In effective organizing, steps are

undertaken to breakdown the

total job into more manageable

man-size jobs

REASONS FOR ORGANIZING

Organizing is undertaken to facilitate

the implementation of plans

These will help facilitate the

assignment of authority,

responsibility, and accountability

for certain functions and tasks

ORGANIZING DEFINED

Organizing is a management function

which refers to “the structuring of

resources and activities to

accomplish objectives in an

efficient and effective manner”

ORGANIZING DEFINED

Structure is the arrangement or

relationship of positions within an

organization

The result of organizing process is

the structure

THE PURPOSE OF THE

STRUCTURE They are the following:

It defines the relationships between tasks and authority for individuals and departments

It defines formal reporting relationships, the number of levels in the hierarchy of the organization, and the span of control

THE PURPOSE OF THE

STRUCTURE They are the following:

It defines the groupings of individuals into departments and departments into organization

It defines the system to effect coordination of effort in both vertical (authority) and horizontal (tasks) directions

When structuring an organization, the engineer manager may be concerned with the following:

Division of labor – determining the scope of work and how it is combined in a job

Delegation of authority – the process of assigning various degrees of decision-making authority to subordinates

When structuring an organization, the engineer manager may be concerned with the following:

Departmentation – the grouping of related jobs, activities, or processes into major organizational sub-units

Span of control – the number of people who report directly to a given manager

When structuring an organization, the engineer manager may be concerned with the following:

Coordination – the linking of activities in the organization that serves to achieve a common goal or objective

THE FORMAL ORGANIZATION

The formal organization is “the structure that details lines of responsibilities, authority, and position”

THE FORMAL ORGANIZATION

The formal structure is described by management through:

Organizational Chart – is a diagram of the organization’s official positions and formal lines of authority

THE FORMAL ORGANIZATION

The formal structure is described by management through:

The organizational manual – provides written descriptions of authority relationships, details the functions of major organizational units, and describes job procedures

THE FORMAL ORGANIZATION

The formal structure is described by management through:

The policy manual – describes personnel activities and company policies

INFORMAL GROUPS

Informal group – are instances when members of an organization spontaneously form a group with friendship as a principal reason for belonging

INFORMAL GROUPS

Oftentimes very useful in the accomplishment of major tasks, especially if these tasks conform with the expectations of the members of the informal group

INFORMAL GROUPS

Reasons or factors for joining or forming a group:

Friendship

Common Interest – like concern for environment or love of classical music

Proximity – which gives people the chance to share ideas, opinions, and feelings

INFORMAL GROUPS

Reasons or factors for joining or forming a group:

Need Satisfaction – which are derived from unions, cultural societies, fraternities, etc.

Collective Power – which are derived from unions, fraternities, etc.

INFORMAL GROUPS

Reasons or factors for joining or forming a group:

Group Goals – which attract individuals like: consumer society, sports club, etc.

TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL

STRUCTURES

Classification of Organizations:

Functional Organization

Product or Market Organization

Matrix Organization

FUNCTIONAL GROUP

Functional organization structures are very effective in a smaller firms, especially “single-business firms where key activities revolve around well-defined skills and areas of specialization”.

FUNCTIONAL GROUP

Advantages:

The grouping of employees who perform a common task permit economies of scale and efficient resource use

Since the chain of command converges at the top of the organization, decision-making is centralized, providing a unified direction from the top

FUNCTIONAL GROUP

Advantages:

Communication and coordination among employees within each department are excellent

The structure promotes high-quality technical problem-solving

The organization is provided with in depth skill specialization and development

FUNCTIONAL GROUP

Advantages:

Employees are provided with career progress within functional departments

Disadvantages:

Communication and

coordination between the

departments are often poor

Decisions involving more than

one department pile up at the

top management level and are

often delayed

Disadvantages:

Work specialization and division

of labor, which are stressed in a

functional organization, produce

routine, non-motivating

employee tasks

It is difficult to identify which

section or group is responsible

for certain problems

Disadvantages:

There is limited view of

organizational goals by

employees

There is limited general

management training for

employees

A typical functional organization

chart of a construction company

PRESIDENT

Vice

President

Marketing

Vice

President

Construction

Vice

President

Finance

Vice President Human

Resources

PRODUCT OR MARKET

ORGANIZATION

The product or market organization,

with its feature of operating by

divisions, is “appropriate for a

large corporation with many

product lines in several related

industries”.

Advantages:

The organization is flexible and responsive to change

The organization provides a high concern for customer’s needs

The organization provides excellent coordination across functional departments

Advantages:

There is easy pinpointing of responsibility for product problems

There is emphasis on overall product and division goals

The opportunity for the development of general management skills is provided

Disadvantages:

There is a high possibility of

duplication of resources across

divisions

There is less technical depth

and specialization in divisions

There is poor coordination

across divisions

Disadvantages:

There is less top management

control

There is competition for

corporate resources

A typical product or market organization

for a construction company

PRESIDENT

Marketing

Construction

Finance

Human Resources

Marketing

Construction

Finance

Human Resources

Marketing

Construction

Finance

Human Resources

Vice President Government Accounts

Vice President Industrial Accounts

Vice President Residential Accounts

MATRIX ORGANIZATION

According to Thompsom and

Strickland, “is a structure with two

(or more) channels of command,

two lines of budget authority, and

two sources of performance and

reward”

MATRIX ORGANIZATION

According to Higgins, “the matrix

structure was designed to keep

employees in a central pool and to

allocate them to various projects

in the firm according to the length

of time they were needed”

Advantages:

There is more efficient use of resources than the divisional structure

There is flexibility and adaptability to changing environment

The development of both general and functional management skills are present

Advantages:

There is interdisciplinary cooperation and any expertise is available to all divisions

There are enlarged tasks for employees which motivate them better

Disadvantages:

There is frustration and confusion from dual chain of command

There is high conflict between divisional and functional interests

There are many meetings and more discussion than action

Disadvantages:

There is a need for human relations training for key employees and managers

There is a tendency for power dominance by one side of the matrix

TYPES OF AUTHORITY

Line Authority

Performs tasks that reflects the

organization’s primary goal and

mission

In construction firm, it negotiates

and secures contracts for the firm

Staff Authority

Includes all those that provide specialized skills in support of line departments

example:

» those perform strategic planning

» labor relations

» research

» accounting

» personnel

Staff Authority

Classification:

» Personal Staff

» Specialized Staff

Functional Authority

Given to a person or a work

group to make decisions related

to their expertise even if these

decisions concern other

department

Given to budget officers of the

organizations

THE PURPOSE OF COMMITTEES

A committee is a formal group of persons formed for a specific purpose

Classification:

Ad hoc Committee

Standing Committee

THE PURPOSE OF COMMITTEES

Committees may not work properly, however, if they are not correctly managed.

Delaney suggests that “it might be useful to set up procedures to make the committee a more effective tool to accomplish our goals”