9-1 Organizational Design, Competences, and Technology Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

 Identify what technology is and how it relates to organizational effectiveness  Differentiate among three different kinds of technology that create different competences  Understand how each type of technology needs to be matched to a certain kind of organizational structure if an organization is to be effective 9-2

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Understand how technology affects organizational culture  Appreciate how advances in technology, and new techniques for managing technology, are helping increase organizational effectiveness 9-3

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Technology: The combination of skills, knowledge, abilities, techniques, materials, machines, computers, tools, and other equipment that people use to convert or change raw materials into valuable goods and services 9-4

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Technology exists at three levels  Individual level - The personal skills, knowledge, and competences that individuals possess  Functional or department level - The procedures and techniques that groups work out to perform their work and create value  Organizational level - The way an organization converts inputs into outputs 9-5

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Technology is present in all organizational activities:  Input: Allows each organizational function to handle relationships with outside stakeholders  Conversion: Transforms inputs into outputs  Output: Allows an organization to effectively dispose of finished goods and services to external stakeholders 9-6

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Programmed technology: A technology in which the procedures for converting inputs into outputs can be specified in advance  Tasks can be standardized and the work process can be made predictable 9-8

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Technical complexity: The extent to which a production process can be programmed so that it can be controlled and made predictable  High technical complexity - Exists when conversion processes can be programmed in advance and fully automated  Low technical complexity - Exists when conversion processes depend primarily on people and their skills and knowledge and not on machines 9-9

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Woodward identified 10 levels of technical complexity that are associated with three types of production technology:  Small-batch and unit technology  Large-batch and mass production technology  Continuous-process technology 9-10

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Technological imperative: The argument that technology determines structure  For small organizations the importance of technology as a predictor of structure may be more important than it is for large organizations 9-12

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Perrow’s two dimensions underlie the difference between routine and nonroutine or complex tasks and technologies:  Task variability: The number of exceptions— new or unexpected situations—that a person encounters while performing a task  Task analyzability: The degree to which search activity is needed to solve a problem 9-13

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Task interdependence: The manner in which different organizational tasks are related to one another affects an organization’s technology and structure  Three types of technology  Mediating  Long-linked  Intensive 9-16

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Mass production is based on:  Dedicated machines: Machines that can perform only one operation at a time, such as repeatedly cutting or drilling or stamping out a car body part  Fixed workers: Workers who perform standardized work procedures increase an organization’s control over the conversion process 9-18

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Mass production:  Attempts to reduce costs by protecting its conversion processes from the uncertainty of the environment  Makes an organization inflexible  Fixed automation is a combination of dedicated machines and fixed workers 9-19

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Advanced manufacturing technology: Technology which consists of innovations in materials and in knowledge that change the work process of traditional mass- production organizations 9-20

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Materials technology: Comprises machinery, other equipment, and computers  Organization actively seeks ways to increase its ability to integrate or coordinate the flow of resources between input, conversion, and output activities 9-23

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Computer-aided design (CAD): An advanced manufacturing technique that greatly simplifies the design process  Computers can be used to design and physically manufacture products 9-24

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Computer-aided materials management (CAMM): An advanced manufacturing technique that is used to manage the flow of raw materials and component parts into the conversation process  Develops master production schedules for manufacturing and controls inventory 9-25

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Just-in-time inventory (JIT) system: Requires inputs and components needed for production to be delivered to the conversion process just as they are needed  Input inventories can then be kept to a minimum  CAMM is necessary for JIT to work effectively  Increases task interdependence between stages in the production chain 9-26

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Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  Technology that allows the production of many kinds of components at little or no extra cost on the same machine  Each machine is able to perform a range of different operations  Machines in sequence able to vary operations so that a wide variety of different components can be produced 9-28

Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall  An advanced manufacturing technique that controls the changeover from one operation to another by means of commands given to the machines through computer software  Depends on computers programmed to:  Feed the machines with components  Assemble the product from components and move it from one machine to another  Unload the final product from the machine to the shipping area  Use of robots integral to CIM 9-29

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