Principles of Management

Relationship Between Organizational Structures and Cultures

Organizational Structure

Organizational Structure is the strategic manner by which organizations arrange (or rearrange) themselves. This is essentially important in determining how organizations plan on utilizing their resources, particularly their human resources. To do so efficiently, certain questions need to have precise answers such as the specific responsibilities of each individual within the organization, to whom exactly they report and most importantly the coordination process that is to be implemented to bring together all these people and processes simultaneously.

Bearing in mind that any framework followed needs to be consistent with the organizations main objectives, a formal channel defining the lines of authority from top to bottom (i.e.… Read the rest

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4 Phases of Hawthorne Experiment – Explained

At the beginning of the 20th century, companies were using scientific approaches to improve worker productivity. But that all began to change in 1924 with the start of the Hawthorne Studies, a 9-year research program at Western Electric Companies. The program, of which Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger played a major role, concluded that an organization’s undocumented social system was a powerful motivator of employee behavior. The Hawthorne Studies led to the development of the Human Relations Movement in business management. The experiment was about measuring the impact of different working conditions by the company itself (such as levels of lighting, payment systems, and hours of work) on the output of the employees.… Read the rest

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Johnson and Scholes Cultural Web Model of an Organization

The cultural web provides a way of auditing an organisation’s culture. It can also identify possible barriers within the existing culture to change. The web can also be used to describe the way an organisation should look after a transformation. This particular angle is of importance for this management project, because management felt that there was a clear difference between the current cultural web and the desired one within the organisation.

Culture is defined in many different ways. However, in most definitions elements like “basic assumptions and beliefs of an organisation or “the accepted way of working and behaving in an organisation” are included.… Read the rest

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The Impact of Bureaucratic Structure in Organizations

A  bureaucracy  is a form of organisation based on logic, order, and the legitimate use of formal authority. Bureaucracies are meant to be orderly, fair, and highly efficient. Max Weber, a German theorist, was the first person to introduce many of the concepts of bureaucracy. During the 18th and 19th century period many employees worked only for themselves and in a workplace environment that was primarily focused on getting the job done in whichever way possible unconcerned with efficiency. Weber’s idea was to use regulation by rules, policies, supervision, reward systems and other mechanisms to make sure that the behavior and standards of the employees are always met and making the contemporary workplace more organized.… Read the rest

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Scientific Management Theory

Scientific management is a process of improving the labor organization based on scientific achievements and excellence. It is important to mention that an American engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor was the first scientific engineer, who used and formalized scientific management and highlighted its four principles.   Scientific management is the labor organization based on modern scientific achievements and best practices, which were systematically introduced into the workplace. Scientific management allows combining technology and people in the labor process. In addition to the above-mentioned information, scientific management can be characterized as an approach within classical management theory that emphasizes the scientific study of work methods in order to improve worker efficiency.… Read the rest

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Organization Structure – Definition, Determinants, Importance and Types

An organization structure is a set of planned relationships between groups of related functions and between physical factors and personnel required for the performance of the functions. The organization structure is generally shown on the organisation chart. It shows authority and responsibility between various positions in the enterprises by showing who reports to whom. Organization structure lays down the pattern of communication and coordination in the enterprises.

Though organization structure is very important, it is not an end in itself. According to Peter F. Drucker, “Organisation is not an end itself, but a means to end of business performances and business results.… Read the rest

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