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Mg/561 Organizational Structure

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Date: January 18, 2013

To: MG 561 Class

From: Jessica Rushing

Subject: “Organizational Structure”

Introduction:

Organizational structure provides the framework of an organization determining how roles and responsibilities are delegated throughout the different levels of the organization. It has been defined by some as the looking glass through which coworkers see their organization and its surrounding environment while others have described structure as the backbone of the organization. In this memo, I will briefly discuss the importance of organizational structure, give examples of some major organizational structures, and provide factors influencing the choice of organizational structure.

Importance of Organizational …show more content…

For organizations which produce standardized goods and services, a functional service is beneficial. Within this structure, employees perform very specialized tasks (Naoum, 2001). For example, an engineering department would be staffed with only software engineers. Divisional structures, also known as product structures, groups each function into a division. Automobile industries typically use this divisional structure. Within this industry, divisions may include: SUVs, subcompact cars, and sedans. Although not discussed in detail in this memo, other organizational structures include: organizational circle, team, network, lattice, and virtual (“Organizational Structure”, 2013).

Factors influencing the choice of Organizational Structure

The following factors can affect the type of structure which an organization may use: strategy, characteristics, management, operation, and environment. Strategy is the most important factor influencing type of structure. According to Phillips and Gulley in their book Organizational Behavior: Tools for Success, higher performance will be achieved if structure and strategy are directly related). Organizational characteristics include the age and size of the organization. If the organization is small, there is less need for formal structure as communication

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