Project management and ''' Organisational Structure and Culture

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Project management and ... Organisational
Structure and Culture
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Structure and Culture

• Structure
• a product of internal and external forces and
  history
• exerts influence over the formal processes
• Culture
• the social or normative glue that holds and
  organisation together
• when IT conflicts with an organisations
  culture, the implementation will be resisted in
  one of two ways either the system will be
  rejected or modified so that it matches existing
  culture
• Cooper (1994) The Inertial Impact of Culture on
  IT Implementation Information and Management

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Culture
(Zeus) Autocratic power culture
(Apollo) Bureaucratic role culture
(Dionysus) Anarchic individualistic culture
(Athena) Matrix task-based culture
Charles Handy The Gods of Management, Souvenir
Press
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Zeus Culture

• (power culture)
• everyone looks to people with power
• Not always formal power-holders
• Obtain and demonstrate sponsorship

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Apollo Culture

• (role culture)
• formal and centralised
• But frequently, informal networks to get around
  slow processes
• Understand formal processes
• Use informal networks
• Ensure formal processes are covered
• after the event, if necessary

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Athena Culture

• (matrix or task based culture)
• Tasks devolved to lowest practical level
• Teamwork based
• Resist (user) attempts to get involved where it
  is not necessary
• Danger of time wasted on unnecessary debate
• But do not alienate users / customers!

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Dionysos Culture

• (anarchic, individualistic culture)
• Everyone has a distinct voice in the running of
  the organisation
• Everyone believes their opinion is as good as
  anyone elses
• Explain why you need formal processes (when you
  really do need them)
• Stress your experience as a fellow professional
• Spell out the dangers of reversing a decision
  once agreed

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Structure
Support staff
Techno- structure
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Mintzberg
Mintzberg, H and Quinn, J. The Strategy Process
Prentice Hall 1998

• 6 basic parts of the organisation

Support staff
Techno- structure
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Structure

• Mintzberg
• 6 types of organisation
• 1. the Entrepreneurial Organisation
• small middle line section
• no need for support or technostructure

Strategic Apex
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Structure

• 2. The Machine Organisation
• requires formalised administration
• concentrated hierarchical processes
• most effective in stable / simple environments

Techno- structure
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Structure

• 3. The Professional Organisation
• relies on standardisation of skills, not
  processes
• most training already done outside organisation
• large support staff for highly paid professionals

Operating core
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Structure

• 4. The Diversified Organisation
• a set of semi-independent entities - often
  divisions with very different products
• uses performance control systems, small
  technostructure
• divisions tend to respond as machine
  organisations

Middle line
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Structure

• 5 the Innovative Organisation
• organisations requiring high skill levels, fast
  responses
• staff frequently deployed in self-managing task
  forces for different projects

Operating core
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Structure

• 6. The Missionary Organisation
• dominated by its ideology, members all pull
  together
• best in simple environments - specialist staff
  would develop differentiations

Ideology
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End of Lecture