1. Key Challenges Faced by Organizations Today
Managing in a global environment
Designing and restructuring organizations
TQM – improving quality, empowerment, and competitiveness
Reducing complexity, increasing speed, and reacting to environmental changes
Ethical and moral management of organizational members

2. OT Concepts
Theory – an explanation of some phenomenon in real life that consists of principles that state relationships observed in association with that phenomenon
Descriptive Theory – describes why and how something happens
Prescriptive (Normative) Theory – suggests how things should be or what can be done about conditions identified by a descriptive theory
Organization Theory (OT) – a set of related concepts, principles, and hypotheses about organizations that is used to explain components of organizations and how they relate to each other

3. OT Concepts
Systems Theory – a way to model organizations by focusing on the structure and relationships or interdependence among parts of the organization
Holism – a system should be considered as a function whole (changes in any one part of the system are likely to have an impact throughout the system)
Synergism – the interactive effects of the parts of a system working together ( the sum is greater than the individual parts)

4. Closed System vs. Open System
Closed System – self-perpetuating and receives no outside energy or resources
Entropy – when a closed system runs out of energy; a state of collapse
Open System – interacts with its external environment; can experience negative entropy by importing energy through physical, human, and financial resources

5. OT Concepts
Strategic Systems Approach to organization theory states that managers should consider contextual or contingency factors when they determine the strategies for managing the organization.
Some contingency factors are organizational goals, environment, technology, size, and cultural effects of managerial choices
Contingency – one thing depends on something else
Contingency Approach – no one best way for all organizations to structure and organize
The best fitting structure depends on the context that the organization faces.

6. Managing the Environment
Managers should formulate strategies so as to maximize the organization’s fit with the environment.
Three Associated Tasks:
Knowing the Environment
Adapting or Responding to the Environment
Changing the Environment

7. Boundary Permeability, Resilience, & Maintenance
Permeability: the extent to which the organization facilitates the inward and outward flow of information
Resilience: the degree to which boundary-spanning units respond to changes in the mission and goals of the organization, as well as changes in the environment
Maintenance: keeping the boundary-spanning units focused on the organization’s mission and goals

8. Uncertainty can come from 3 aspects of the Environment
Complexity: involves the number of sectors or elements of the environment relevant to the organization
Change: an organization has limited capacity to monitor the environment. Increasing levels of change and complexity cause uncertainty. Turbulence refers to fluctuations in environmental conditions
Munificence: abundant resources in the environment. When resources become more scarce, they create uncertainty for an organization

9. The Environment is the Source of Opportunities and Threats
Organizations learn about these through:
Boundary Spanning: activities and/or functions that require members of the organization to spend time interacting with individuals and organizations outside the boundaries of their own organizations
Environmental Scanning: a type of boundary spanning, which includes the collecting and processing of information, and assessing and projecting change in various environmental sectors.

10. OT Concepts
Organization Structure – an organization’s framework as expressed by its degree of complexity, formalization, and centralization
Complexity – the amount of differentiation in an organization
Formalization – the degree to which an organization relies on rules and procedures to direct the behaviors of employees
Centralization – the concentration of decision-making authority to lower levels in upper management
Decentralization – the handing down of decision-making authority to lower levels in an organization
Organization Design – the development or changing of an organization’s structure

11. The Organization & Its Environment
General Environment
Global, Political, Social, Technological, & Economic
Specific Environment
The Organization, Suppliers, Customers, Competitors, Government, Public Pressure Groups

12. OT Concepts
Unity of command – the principle that a subordinate should have one and only one superior to whom he/she is directly responsible
Authority – the rights inherent in a managerial position to give orders and expect them to be obeyed
Responsibility – an obligation to perform assigned activities
Chain of command – the flow of authority from the top to the bottom of an organization
Line Authority – the authority that entitles a manager to direct the work of subordinates
Staff Authority – authority given to individuals who support, assist, and advise others who have line authority
Acceptance theory of authority – the theory that authority comes from the willingness of subordinates to accept it
Power – the capacity to influence decisions
Span of control – the number of subordinates a manager can supervise effectively and efficiently
Empowerment – a managerial approach in which employees are given substantial authority and say to make decisions on their own

13. Differentiation & Integration: Key Elements of Structure
All organizations must split their works into tasks—the division of labor into tasks is called differentiation.
Organizations must split up work but they then must integrate or coordinate it. Integration involves the various means to pull together highly differentiated tasks into cohesive output.

14. Three Types of Differentiation
Horizontal differentiation: Division of work into tasks and sub-tasks at the same organizational level.
Vertical differentiation: Division of work by level of authority, hierarchy, or chain of command.
Spatial differentiation: Geographical location of different organizational activities.
The level of complexity is largely determined by the amount of the three types of differentiation that exists.

15. Integration
Integration or coordination is the prime responsibility of managers.
Several integrating structures are available:
Formalization: rules, policies, and procedures
Centralization: decision making can be vested in top management or decentralized with decision making authority vested in the lower level employees
Spans of control: number of immediate subordinate positions that a supervisor position controls or coordinates
Standardization: integration by setting consistent input, process, and output requirements.

16. Non-Structural Means for Integration
Other mechanisms that are important in integration
Liaison roles: Horizontal linking positions that link two units or departments at the same level of the organization
Teams: Organizing employees and managers into work and inter-unit groups in order to enhance, communications, coordination, and control
Culture: Informal and unwritten rules, norms, and values that are commonly shared by organizational members
Information Systems: Aid integration by how they structure the system that gathers, processes, analyzes, and distributes information

17. Characteristics of Effective Structures
Efficiency
Innovation
Flexibility and Adaptiveness
Facilitation of Individual Performance & Development
Facilitate Coordination and Communication
Facilitate Strategy Formulation and Implementation

18. Types of Organizational Designs
Simple structure – an organizational design that is low in complexity and formalization but high in centralization
Functional structure – an organizational design that groups similar or related occupational specialties together
Divisional structure – an organization structure made up of autonomous self-contained units
Team-based structure – an organization structure made up of work groups or teams that perform that organization’s work

19. Functional Designs
People are grouped on the basis of functions they perform or equipment they use.
Strengths
Like-skilled or knowledged workers can develop refined expertise and skills leading to economies of scale.
Communication is facilitated because workers are likely to have a similar language or jargon.
Employees gain functional expertise and have a clear career path.
Difficulties
Difficulty in coordinating across functional lines
May produce a functional view of the organization.
Coordination may be pushed up the hierarchy, wasting top managerial resources.
Likely to inhibit innovations that require an integrative, cross-functional view.

20. Output Groups Products, Markets, & Geography
Strengths
Focus attention and effort on the specific requirements
Good match for non-routine, high interdependence technologies.
Relieve the need for centralized coordination.
Well-suited for uncertain environments.
Easier to identify and track responsibility.
Weaknesses
Can create product, market, or geographical biases.
May reduce economies of scale.
May reduce the company’s ability to share information and resources across divisions.

21. Matrix Structures: Combining Function & Output
Description
Joint existence of functional groups and output groups that overlap.
Functional resources are allocated among the products, projects, or programs on the basis of need.
Advantage
Allows the proper technical advice, expertise, and other functional resources to be present at the proper location and at the desired time.
Problems
A portion of the workforce has two different bosses.
Because of the competing functional and product, project, or program dimensions of the matrix, potential conflict is inherent in the design.
The matrix design may have difficulty in responding to a fast-changing environment.

22. Hybrid Organization: Two or more structures in one company
Strengths
Can achieve adaptability and coordination product divisions & efficiency in centralized functional departments
Better alignment between corporate and division-level goals.
Achieves coordination both within and between product lines.
Weaknesses
Potential for excessive administrative overhead.
Potential for conflict between division and corporate departments.

23. Organizations for the 21st Century: Evolving Designs
Three related sets of changes are driving the interest in new forms:
Inexpensive, fast, and pervasive computer and communication technologies.
Task technology has been changed.
The move towards a more global marketplace especially based on technology.

24. Contemporary Perspectives
Organizational Economics – Based on Transaction Cost Economics and Agency Theory.
Transaction Cost Economics - Organization is viewed as a series of transactions internally & externally. Uncertainty brings about transaction costs (fees). Transaction costs indicate the inefficiency in a transaction. Organization seeks lowest possible transaction costs.
Agency Theory – The primary interests of owners (principals) & workers (agents) are different. Principals seek to maximize investments by most efficient use of organization. Agents seek to minimize their efforts and maximize their pay rate.
Institutional Theory – Emphasizes the similarities among organizations. Managers tend to imitate past practices of other successful organizations.
Population Ecology – Organizations are ineffective in their effort to control environmental uncertainty. The environment selects those organizations that will survive in the long run.

25. 3 Approaches to Examining Organizations
Rational System – Organizations are collectivities oriented to the pursuit of relatively specific goals & exhibiting relatively highly formalized social structures
Natural System – Organizations are collectivities whose participants are pursuing multiple interests, both disparate and common, but recognize the value of perpetuating the organization as an important resource. The informal structure of relations that develops among participants provides a more informative and accurate guide to understanding organizational behavior than the formal.
Open System – Organizations are systems of interdependent activities linking shifting coalitions of participants; the systems are embedded in – dependent on continuing exchanges with and constituted by – the environments in which they operate.