ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR

Organisational Behaviour



Organisational Behaviour

Introduction

Organisations have organisational structures that show the relationship between the company's employees and the responsibilities of said employees. Each firm's organisational structure is different and depends on its specific needs. A large manufacturing firm with multiple factories is likely to have a different organisational structure than a financial services firm with only one office. However, there are some basic types of organisational structures, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.

Advantage and Disadvantage of Organisational Structures

Vertical Organisational Structure

A vertical organisational structure is based on the reporting chain from the head of the company down. It establishes the reporting relationships between people and their span of control. One disadvantage to this sort of structure is that it tends to be bureaucratic and does not foster communication between people at different levels (Pugh, 2008, 123-135). The advantages include faster decision-making and better coordination of the company's activities.

Horizontal Organisational Structure

A horizontal structure is a flatter organisational structure that groups together people based on their skills or functions. The organisational structure could group those who work in a specific department together, or the grouping could be based on those who work in a functional area such as finance or marketing. One advantage of this sort of flatter hierarchy is that it is easier for employees to communicate with each other and it facilitates learning. Disadvantages are that as the company grows, there may be a lack of integration across the different functions or departments (Gerwin, 2001, 3-38).

Matrix Organisational Structure

Businesses working on a specific project could also have a matrix organisational structure that sets up the relationship among the people working on the project. The matrix type of project management system involves putting together people from different functional areas, such as marketing and systems, to work together for the project time frame. One advantage of the matrix organisational structure is that people across different functional areas have a better understanding of their coworkers in other areas. A disadvantage is that employees are responsible to their project team as well as to their functional areas. This can create some conflict.

Informal Organisational Structure

Whatever an organisation's formal organisational structure, there is an informal organisational structure that develops. This informal structure, also known as the "company grapevine," influences how information flows within the company (Taylor, 2007, 3-287). One advantage of such a grapevine is that employees who interact outside the confines of the formal organisational structure often cooperate better, benefiting the organisation. A disadvantage is that rumours and gossip can spread through the grapevine.

Google Inc

Google Inc has a very different organisational structure than most companies have to deal with. It is made up of many different share holders and this makes it hard to keep the organisation in the levels of the company. It is hard to think of a company that has experienced more success in the past 10 years than Google. What started out as a student project by two Stanford graduates turned into one of the most recognizable companies of all ...