Organisational Issues

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Organisational Issues
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Organisational Structure and Function

• Organisational Structure
• How structure impacts on function
• The nature of organisational intervention
• The nature of managerial activity

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What is an organisation
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Organisational Models of Structure (basics)

• Organisational Charts
• Division of Labour
• Span of control
• Job specialisation
• Horizontal differentiation
• Vertical differentiation
• Who makes decisions

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Information Flow in Organisations

• Managerial flow (vertical)
• Functional flow (horizontal)

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Theories of Organisations

• Bureaucracies
• Human Relations Theories
• Contingency Theories
• Organisational Dynamics models
• Organisational Culture

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Bureaucracies

• A question of degree
• Depends on nature of activity

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Human Relations Theories

• Mechanistic vs. Organic
• Theories X,Y and Z
• Argyris - Development model
• Likerts model Systems 1-4

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Contingency Theories

• By Technology (Woodward 1965)
• Technical systems theory
• Sociotechnical systems theory

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Organisational Culture

• Shared attitudes, values, beliefs and practices
• The question of safety culture

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A critique of these models

• Not comprehensive
• Not falsifiable
• Post- hoc and descriptive
• Have roots in odd places, mainly sociology
• We are interested in doing things not describing
  them
• Useful as attitude change tools, not as
  prescriptions for action
• Remember this when you do the reading

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The impact of structure on function

• or the impact of function on structure?
• Manufacturing cars
• Handling safety critical processes
• Designing software
• Flying aircraft

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Some issues

• Creativity versus control
• Uses and abuses of procedures and standards
• Flat vs tall organisational structures
• The importance of communication
• The overriding importance of culture

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Organisational Development

• Theories of little use in planning
• Eight stages
• Acceptance
• Goal definition
• Data gathering
• Data Analysis
• Evaluation
• Intervention
• Monitoring
• Iteration
• Need a wide range of professional skills

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The nature of management

• Peters principle
• Operational Management
• Tactical Management
• Strategic management
• Small vs large organisations

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What it takes to be a good manager

• People - a balanced view
• Deal with uncertainty
• Make decision with incomplete information
• Plan effectively

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Case studies

• Challenger
• London Ambulance Service