Page 90 - DMGT402_MANAGEMENT_PRACTICES_AND_ORGANIZATIONAL_BEHAVIOUR

Unit 4: Organising

members of the group and will help in avoiding duplication of efforts. For example, the Notes
work of an industrial concern may be divided into the following major functions –
production, financing, personnel, sales, purchase, etc.
3. Classification of Activities: The next step will be to classify activities according to
similarities and common purposes and functions and taking the human and material
resources into account. Then, closely related and similar activities are grouped into
divisions and departments and the departmental activities are further divided into sections.

4. Assignment of Duties: Here, specific job assignments are made to different subordinates
for ensuring a certainty of work performance. Each individual should be given a specific
job to do according to his ability and made responsible for that. He should also be given
the adequate authority to do the job assigned to him. In the words of Kimball and
Kimball, "Organisation embraces the duties of designating the departments and the
personnel that are to carry on the work, defining their functions and specifying the relations
that are to exist between department and individuals."
5. Delegation of Authority: Since so many individuals work in the same organisation, it is
the responsibility of management to lay down structure of relationship in the organisation.
Authority without responsibility is a dangerous thing and similarly responsibility without
authority is an empty vessel. Everybody should clearly know to whom he is accountable;
corresponding to the responsibility authority is delegated to the subordinates for enabling
them to show work performance. This will help in the smooth working of the enterprise
by facilitating delegation of responsibility and authority.

4.2 Organisational Design

Organisation design may be defined as a formal, guided process for integrating the people,
information and technology of an organisation. Organisation design involves the creation of
roles, processes, and formal reporting relationships in an organisation. One can distinguish
between two phases in an organisation design process: strategic grouping, which establishes the
overall structure of the organisation, (its main sub-units and their relationships), and operational
design, which defines the more detailed roles and processes.
It is used to match the form of the organisation as closely as possible to the purpose(s) the
organisation seeks to achieve. Through the design process, organisations act to improve the
probability that the collective efforts of members will be successful. Thus it may said to be a
process for improving the probability that an organisation will be successful.

4.2.1 Hierarchical Systems

Western organisations have been highly influenced by the command and control structure of
ancient military organisations, especially those of USA and by the turn of the century introduction
of Scientific Management. Most organisations today are designed as a bureaucracy in whom
authority and responsibility are arranged in a hierarchy. Within the hierarchy, the laws, policies,
and procedures are uniformly and impersonally applied to exert control over member
behaviours. Activity is organised within departments in which people perform specialized
functions such as manufacturing, sales, or accounting. People who perform similar tasks are
clustered together.
The same basic organisational form is assumed to be appropriate for any organisation, be it a
government, school, business, church, or fraternity. It is familiar, predictable, and rational. It is
what comes immediately to mind when we discover that ...we really have to get organised!

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