Task Interdependence:

1
Task Interdependence Thompsons three types of
technology

• Mediating
• Pooled interdependence
• Long-linked
• Sequential interdependence
• Intensive
• Reciprocal interdependence

2
Thompsons Classification of Interdependence and
Management Implications
Form of Interdependence Demands on Horizontal Communications, Decision Making Type of Coordination Required Priority for Locating Units Close Together
Pooled (bank) Low communication Standardization, rules, procedures Divisional Structure Low
Sequential (assembly line) Medium communication Plans, schedules, feedback Task Forces Medium
Reciprocal (hospital) High communication Mutual adjustment, cross-departmental meetings, teamwork Horizontal Structure High
Client
Client
Client
3
Routine and Nonroutine Tasks and Organizational
Design
Structural characteristic
Nature of technology Routine tasks Nonroutine
tasks Standardization High Low Mutual
adjustment Low High Specialization
Individual Joint Formalization
High Low Hierarchy of authority
Tall Flat Decision-making authority
Centralized Decentralized Overall structure
Mechanistic Organic
4
Technical Complexity Woodwards Theory
Some kinds of technology are more complex and
difficult to control than others because some
are more difficult to program than
others. Technology is said to be programmed
when procedures can be specified in advance
to make tasks standardized and predictable.
5
Technical Complexity and Organization Structure
T
echnical Complexity
Low
High
Structural
Small-Batch and Unit

Mass Production

Continuous-Process

Characteristics
Technology
Technology
Technology
Levels in the hierarchy
3
4
6
Span of control of CEO
4
7
10
Span of control of first-

23
48
15
line supervisor
1 to 23
1 to 16
1 to 8
Ratio of managers to

nonmanagers
Approximate shape of

organization
Relatively flat, with

Relatively tall, with

V
ery tall, with very

narrow span of control
wide span of control
narrow span of control
Type of structure
Organic
Mechanistic
Organic
Cost of operation
High
Medium
Low
6
Process Choice at a Bakery
7
Advanced Manufacturing Technology
Computer-aided design Computer-aided materials
management Just-in-time inventory
systems Computer-integrated manufacturing
8
Relationship of Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
Technology to Traditional Technologies
Flexible Manufacturing
NEW CHOICES
Customized
PRODUCT FLEXIBILITY
TRADITIONAL

CHOICES
Standardized
BATCH SIZE
Small
Unlimited
Source Based on Jack Meredith, The Strategic
Advantages of New Manufacturing Technologies For
Small Firms. Strategic Management Journal 8
(1987) 249-58 Paul Adler, Managing Flexible
Automation, California Management Review (Spring
1988) 34-56 and Otis Port, Custom-made Direct
from the Plant. Business Week/21st Century
Capitalism, 18 November 1994, 158-59.
9
Differences Between Manufacturing and Service
Technologies
Sources Based on F. F. Reichheld and W. E.
Sasser, Jr., Zero Defections Quality Comes to
Services, Harvard Business Review 68
(September-October 1990) 105-11 and David E.
Bowen, Caren Siehl, and Benjamin Schneider, A
Framework for Analyzing Customer Service
Orientations in Manufacturing, Academy of
Management Review 14 (1989) 75-95.