ABDM 3513 BUSINESS ORGANISATION & MANAGEMENT

TUTORIAL 7

Matching Questions

1. Determine if the statement describes a mechanistic or an organic organization.

(a) Mechanistic Organization

(b) Organic Organization

_a_1. Jobholders rely on rules

_b_2. Communication occurs through advice and information
_b_3. Commitment is to an organization's goals
_a_4. Employees relate to one another formally and impersonally
_b_5. Jobholders have broad, changing responsibilities

2. Match the technological configurations with the characteristics.

(a) Small batch
(b) Large batch
(c) Continual process

_b_1. Mechanic structure

_a_2. Low volume
_c_3. Machine oriented
_a_4. Customized services
_b_5. Mass production
_a__6. "Job shop"

Past Exam Question

a) Briefly explain the pros and cons of using functional structure as an organisation
structure. (8 marks)

Pros
- The pros of using functional structure is it encourages learning in between employees
which doing similar jobs
- Easy for the manager to monitor and evaluate the workers
- The employees feel secure in their work. They see that their work and efforts are not going
unnoticed. This sense of security helps them to achieve better results.
 Cons
- The work can be quite one dimensional. Some time later, the employees may be
monotonous or boring. The absence of new challenges can make the job in hand
unenthusiastic.
- The cons of using Functional structure is difficult for other departments to communicate
with each other
- have their own and different priority task to do and perspective in the own task
preoccupation with their own department will occur

b) Discuss the FOUR (4) important determinants of the types of organisational structure or
organising method managers select. (17 marks)

Organizational environment.
Since the organization’s survival depends on its capability to adapt to the uncertain changes
of the environment, the organizational structure needs to be flexible to ensure the
organization’s operation to be run smoothly at any time according to the hierarchy of
authority. For example, the organization within a stable environment is more likely to prefer a
centralized structure to focus on the commands under only a single authority. Inversely, the
rapid changes in the environment may lead to the decentralized structure being applied to
transfer the authority to others for flexible managements and wiser decisions.

Strategies.
The organization structure is formed to support the strategies as the suitable structure defines
one’s positions, authority, and even the tasks to be performed in order to implement the
strategies. For example, a flexible structure involving other groups’ participation is formed to
implement the differentiation strategies that make something in form of products or services
create different and unique values to the customers; whereas a more formal structure is used
for low-cost strategies to enable managers to provide more control over the employees’
actions aim for demand and market share.

Technologies.
The technologies also affect the organizational structure as the technologies are involving the
skills, knowledge, tools, equipment, computers, and machines used in the organization.
Technologies’ help in standardizing the programmed routine tasks forming the replacement to
perform does make the whole organizational structure to be more precise especially for
resources allocation and authority holds in corresponding to the position. Also, the task
varieties and task analyzability can be used to measure the technologies to be involved,
including the types of technologies, which are small-batch technology focusing on
customized products in a low volume that apply decentralization, large batch technology
focusing on automated machines to produce high volumes product that apply more formal
structure, and continuous process technologies focusing on running totally-mechanized
machine systems to be performed continuously that apply flexible structure instead.
Human resources.
The organizational structure also indicates the resources to be allocated, hence highly skilled
workers are more likely to be positioned in appropriate positions wisely in the organization
structure to maximize the productivities after receiving the corresponding resources. Also, the
organization structure is adjusted based on the operation involved, which may possibly be
someone’s jobs or projects require working in teams, so appropriate resources like personnel,
and money to implement the group projects or event together with the members’ skills and
techniques.
Discussion:

1. Would a flexible or a more formal structure be most appropriate for each of these
organizations: (a) a large department store (b) a Big Five accountancy firm (c) a
biotechnology company? Explain your reasoning.

A large department store is more suitable to be in a more formal structure due to the
operation performed are mostly the routine, programmed activities, which involving the
retail activities, which needs control or monitor over many unskilled employees. Their
jobs involving functional-level strategies aiming to fulfill the large demand and market
share by prioritizing the gaining of maximum profits is more likely to use the formal
structure.

For a Big Five accountancy firm, it would be most appropriate to apply a flexible
structure since it consists of many high skilled workers or professionals with high
productivities. The constant-change finance and account sector requiring their own use
of technical skills to be solved, hence flexible structure is used to allow autonomy.

Biotechnology company will more prefer to the usage of flexible structure. It is due to
the constant change of the industry in discovering the potential of any living organism to
be used for cure. Hence, it applies the flexible structure to keep pace on any newest
information to allow exchanging knowledges and crucial information among
professionals.

2. Apply the job characteristics model, discuss how a manager can enlarge or enriched a
subordinate’s job.

Enlarge a job
- assign more task to the subordinate
- allow subordinate to use more skills to complete task
- increase task identity
- increase job flexibility

Enrich a job
- Involved themselves from beginning till the end of the process. increase degree of
responsibility
- provide opportunity to subordinate to handle more responsibility
- increase responsiveness of subordinate to handle special situation
- given autonomy on task
3. How might a salesperson’s job or a secretary’s job be enlarged or enriched to make it
more motivating?

For a secretary, the manager can motivate the secretary by asking her not only to typing
while having a meeting. She also can help the managers to mail out the information,
arranging meetings for the managers. Since this can reduce the boredom of the jobs and
increase the skills while working (Job enlargement).

A salesperson’s job or a secretary job might be very boring. The manager should focus
in improving the variety of skills of them. For example, the manager could train the
salesperson’s in using database systems to record the sales of the months so that the
salesperson can evaluate the sales performance and he can find out the way to fix the
problems if the performance dropped. With this, when the salesperson performance has
increased, he will feel the works he done is meaningful.

4. When and under what conditions might managers change from a functional to (a)
product (b) geographic, or (c) market structure?

Under the customers are served by self-contained divisions that handle a specific type of
product or a service. Conditions might managers change from a functional to product
structure.

Managers might change from a functional to market structure when the organization has
its own regional or country or area with customers with differing needs is served by a
local self-contained division producing products that best meet those needs.

Managers might change from a functional to geographic structure when an

organizational managers group functions according to the type of customer buying the
product, in order to tailor an organization's products to each customer’s unique
demands.

(a) product
When a division has diversified products and services that is unique enough. They might
want to specialize the products or services into a new division.
(b) geographic
When a division has extended to a new region or a country that has different needs. A
centralized division location might difficult to serve customers with different needs.
Therefore, the divisions will be change according to the geographical location.
(c) market structure
When a division has diversity in markets. In order to fulfill the requirements of the
markets. The managers have to change the divisions according to the type of customers
buying the product based on each unique demands.
5. How do matrix structure and product team structure differ? Why is product team
structure more widely used?

Matrix structure is formed by combination of two or more different organizational

structures. Product team is formed by several small groups of members.

Product team is more widely used because it is less complex and easier to operate when
compared to matrix structure. Moreover, product team will also decrease the conflicting
because of the misinterpretations from the two-way communications. Other than that,
product team structure also could interact with their customer more closely and they can
quickly make adjustment on the products from the customer’s feedback.

However, product team structure would also has its drawback. The repetitive structure
of product team might makes the team less necessary and less appreciated as everyone
share the same skills. And the skills learning curve will face bottleneck because they do
not have much opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills. Matrix structure has
more growth opportunities.