Organizational Behavior
Organizational Structure and
Human Resource Policies
Organization Design
? The process of assessing and selecting
the structure and formal system of
communication,division of labor (work
specialization),coordination,control,
authority,and responsibility to achieve an
organization’s goals.
Effective Organization
? Implements an organization’s strategy in a
manner which satisfies the needs of its
multiple stakeholders – customers,
shareholders,and employees.
? Must be aligned,fit” with the strategy,
situation,and objectives of stakeholders
Organizational Alignment,Fit”
? Strategy
? Structure – tasks,specialization,authority
? Systems – processes and procedures
? Staffing – people and competencies
? Skills – distinctive competencies
? Style – leadership and operating
? Shared Values – guiding principles
Organizational Structure
? How jobs tasks are formally divided,
grouped and coordinated
– Work specialization
– Departmentalization
– Chain and Unity of command
– Span of control
– Centralization versus decentralization
Work Specialization
? The degree to which tasks are subdivided
into separate jobs
– Efficient use of employee skills
– Increases employee skills through repetition
– Less downtime between jobs
– Allows use of specialized equipment
Departmentalization
? The basis by which jobs are grouped
together
– Function
– Product
– Geography
– Process
– Customer
Chain and Unity of Command
? The chain of command is the unbroken
line of authority that extends from the top
of the organization to the lowest level and
clarifies who reports to whom
? The unity of command states that
subordinate should have only one superior
to whom he or she is directly responsible
Span of Control
? The number of subordinates a manager
can efficiently and effectively direct
? Narrow span of control
– Additional layers of management
– Increased complexity of vertical
communication
– Tight supervision
– Discouragement of employee autonomy
Centralization
? The degree to which decision making is
concentrated at a single point in the
organization
Mechanistic Organizations
? Specialized separate parts
? Rigidly defined tasks
? Centralized authority and control
? Vertical communication
? Rigid departmentalization
? Clear chain of command
? Narrow span of control
Organic Organizations
? Employees contribute to common task
? Broadly defined tasks
? Decentralized authority and control
? Horizontal communication
? Cross-functional teams
? Cross-hierarchical teams
? Wide span of control
Coordinating Mechanisms
(Mintzberg)
? Mutual adjustment
? Direct supervision
? Standardization
– Work processes
– Work outputs
– Skills
Types of Designs
? Simple
? Functional
? Divisional
– Geography
– Product
– Customer or market segment
? Matrix
? Network
Functional
? Competitive issues stress functional
expertise,efficiency and quality
? Most effective in stable environments
? Promotes in-depth skill of employees
? Slow response to environmental changes
? Restricted view of overall goals
Divisional
? Most effective when environmental
uncertainty is moderate to high
? Competitive issues emphasize
coordinated action
? Increases accountability
? Loses economies of scale
? May lead to pursuit of divisional goals
Matrix
? Attempts to gain advantage of both
functional and divisional structures
? Enables the organization to meet multiple
demand from the environment
? Resources can be flexibly allocated
? Lack of jurisdictional clarity
? Conflicts in reporting relationships
Network
? Cross-functional teams
? Decision rights are pushed down as far as
possible
? Blurs boundaries between the organization
and its environment
? Extremely adaptable and fast in response
? Accountability can be poorly defined
Questions
? Does your structure enable your
competitive advantages in the market?
? Does your structure help the corporate
parent add value to the organization?
? Does your structure have too many levels?
? Does your structure facilitate change?
? Does your structure reflect the strengths
and weaknesses of your people?
Job Characteristics Model
? Identifies five job characteristics and their
relationship to personal and work
outcomes
– Skill variety – different activities
– Task identity – complete of whole job
– Task significance - impact
– Autonomy – freedom and discretion
– Feedback – direct information about
effectiveness
Work Space Design
? Trend is towards a flexible open space
design that accommodates group and
team activities
? Open space fosters social interaction and
informality of relationships
Work Design Options
? Job rotation – periodic shifting to different
tasks
? Job enlargement – horizontal expansion
? Job enrichment – vertical expansion
? Team based
Human Resource Management
? Managing people in organizations as
effectively as possible for the good of the
employees,the company and society.
– Managing changes
– Staffing the organization
– Training and appraising
– Compensating
– Improving the work environment
Stakeholders of HRM
? The organization
? Stockholders and investors
? Customers
? Employees
? Society
? Strategic partners
Job Analysis
? Developing a detailed description of the
tasks involved in a job,determining the
relationship of a given job to other jobs,
and ascertaining the knowledge,skills,
and abilities necessary for an employee to
perform the job successfully.
Job Analysis Methods
? Observations –watching directly or by
reviewing films
? Interviews with job incumbents
? Diaries – activities and times
? Questionnaires to job incumbents
Job Description versus Job
Specification
? Job description – a written statement of
what a jobholder does,how it is done,and
why it is done
? Job specification – a statement of the
minimum acceptable qualifications that an
employee must possess to perform a
given job successfully
Selection Devices
? Interviews – most frequently used
? Written tests – intelligence,aptitude,
ability,attitude or interest,integrity
? Performance-simulation tests – work
sampling or assessment centers
? References
Types of Training
? Basic literacy
? Technical skills
? Problem solving
? Interpersonal skills
Learning Methods
? Readings
? Lectures
? Participation
? Experiential Exercises
? Visual Aids
Compensation Plans
? Salary or hourly rate
? Piece rate pay
? Full and partial commission plans
? Gain sharing plans
? Profit sharing
Purposes of Performance
Evaluation
? Making general human decisions
? Identifying training and development
needs
? Validating selection and development
programs
? Providing performance feedback to
employees
? Supplying the basis for salary increases
Performance Review Meeting
? Schedule the meeting in advance
? Choose a private setting
? Set aside an adequate amount of time
? Prepare ahead for the meeting
? Ask the employee to come prepared
Performance Review Discussion
? Review the position responsibilities
? Review the goals for the performance
review
? Allow feedback from the employee
? Keep feedback constructive
? Focus on professional development
? Develop future goals and actions
360 Degree Feedback
? Top management
? Suppliers
? Customers or clients
? Peers
? Co-workers or team members
? Subordinates
? Immediate supervisor
Forced Rankings
? Evaluating an individual’s performance
relative to the performance of another
individual or others
– Group order ranking – quartiles
– Individual ranking – best to worst
– Paired comparisons – each employee with
every other employee
Improving Performance Evaluation
? Emphasize behaviors rather than traits
? Document performance behaviors in a
diary
? Use multiple evaluators to overcome rater
biases
? Evaluate selectively based on evaluator
competence
? Train evaluators to improve rater accuracy
? Provide employees with due process
Career Development - Organization
? Clearly communicate the organization’s
goals and future strategies
? Create growth opportunities
? Offer financial assistance
? Provide time for the employee to learn
Career Development - Individual
? Know yourself
? Manage your reputation
? Build and maintain contacts
? Keep current
? Document your achievements
? Keep your options open
Organizational Structure and
Human Resource Policies
Organization Design
? The process of assessing and selecting
the structure and formal system of
communication,division of labor (work
specialization),coordination,control,
authority,and responsibility to achieve an
organization’s goals.
Effective Organization
? Implements an organization’s strategy in a
manner which satisfies the needs of its
multiple stakeholders – customers,
shareholders,and employees.
? Must be aligned,fit” with the strategy,
situation,and objectives of stakeholders
Organizational Alignment,Fit”
? Strategy
? Structure – tasks,specialization,authority
? Systems – processes and procedures
? Staffing – people and competencies
? Skills – distinctive competencies
? Style – leadership and operating
? Shared Values – guiding principles
Organizational Structure
? How jobs tasks are formally divided,
grouped and coordinated
– Work specialization
– Departmentalization
– Chain and Unity of command
– Span of control
– Centralization versus decentralization
Work Specialization
? The degree to which tasks are subdivided
into separate jobs
– Efficient use of employee skills
– Increases employee skills through repetition
– Less downtime between jobs
– Allows use of specialized equipment
Departmentalization
? The basis by which jobs are grouped
together
– Function
– Product
– Geography
– Process
– Customer
Chain and Unity of Command
? The chain of command is the unbroken
line of authority that extends from the top
of the organization to the lowest level and
clarifies who reports to whom
? The unity of command states that
subordinate should have only one superior
to whom he or she is directly responsible
Span of Control
? The number of subordinates a manager
can efficiently and effectively direct
? Narrow span of control
– Additional layers of management
– Increased complexity of vertical
communication
– Tight supervision
– Discouragement of employee autonomy
Centralization
? The degree to which decision making is
concentrated at a single point in the
organization
Mechanistic Organizations
? Specialized separate parts
? Rigidly defined tasks
? Centralized authority and control
? Vertical communication
? Rigid departmentalization
? Clear chain of command
? Narrow span of control
Organic Organizations
? Employees contribute to common task
? Broadly defined tasks
? Decentralized authority and control
? Horizontal communication
? Cross-functional teams
? Cross-hierarchical teams
? Wide span of control
Coordinating Mechanisms
(Mintzberg)
? Mutual adjustment
? Direct supervision
? Standardization
– Work processes
– Work outputs
– Skills
Types of Designs
? Simple
? Functional
? Divisional
– Geography
– Product
– Customer or market segment
? Matrix
? Network
Functional
? Competitive issues stress functional
expertise,efficiency and quality
? Most effective in stable environments
? Promotes in-depth skill of employees
? Slow response to environmental changes
? Restricted view of overall goals
Divisional
? Most effective when environmental
uncertainty is moderate to high
? Competitive issues emphasize
coordinated action
? Increases accountability
? Loses economies of scale
? May lead to pursuit of divisional goals
Matrix
? Attempts to gain advantage of both
functional and divisional structures
? Enables the organization to meet multiple
demand from the environment
? Resources can be flexibly allocated
? Lack of jurisdictional clarity
? Conflicts in reporting relationships
Network
? Cross-functional teams
? Decision rights are pushed down as far as
possible
? Blurs boundaries between the organization
and its environment
? Extremely adaptable and fast in response
? Accountability can be poorly defined
Questions
? Does your structure enable your
competitive advantages in the market?
? Does your structure help the corporate
parent add value to the organization?
? Does your structure have too many levels?
? Does your structure facilitate change?
? Does your structure reflect the strengths
and weaknesses of your people?
Job Characteristics Model
? Identifies five job characteristics and their
relationship to personal and work
outcomes
– Skill variety – different activities
– Task identity – complete of whole job
– Task significance - impact
– Autonomy – freedom and discretion
– Feedback – direct information about
effectiveness
Work Space Design
? Trend is towards a flexible open space
design that accommodates group and
team activities
? Open space fosters social interaction and
informality of relationships
Work Design Options
? Job rotation – periodic shifting to different
tasks
? Job enlargement – horizontal expansion
? Job enrichment – vertical expansion
? Team based
Human Resource Management
? Managing people in organizations as
effectively as possible for the good of the
employees,the company and society.
– Managing changes
– Staffing the organization
– Training and appraising
– Compensating
– Improving the work environment
Stakeholders of HRM
? The organization
? Stockholders and investors
? Customers
? Employees
? Society
? Strategic partners
Job Analysis
? Developing a detailed description of the
tasks involved in a job,determining the
relationship of a given job to other jobs,
and ascertaining the knowledge,skills,
and abilities necessary for an employee to
perform the job successfully.
Job Analysis Methods
? Observations –watching directly or by
reviewing films
? Interviews with job incumbents
? Diaries – activities and times
? Questionnaires to job incumbents
Job Description versus Job
Specification
? Job description – a written statement of
what a jobholder does,how it is done,and
why it is done
? Job specification – a statement of the
minimum acceptable qualifications that an
employee must possess to perform a
given job successfully
Selection Devices
? Interviews – most frequently used
? Written tests – intelligence,aptitude,
ability,attitude or interest,integrity
? Performance-simulation tests – work
sampling or assessment centers
? References
Types of Training
? Basic literacy
? Technical skills
? Problem solving
? Interpersonal skills
Learning Methods
? Readings
? Lectures
? Participation
? Experiential Exercises
? Visual Aids
Compensation Plans
? Salary or hourly rate
? Piece rate pay
? Full and partial commission plans
? Gain sharing plans
? Profit sharing
Purposes of Performance
Evaluation
? Making general human decisions
? Identifying training and development
needs
? Validating selection and development
programs
? Providing performance feedback to
employees
? Supplying the basis for salary increases
Performance Review Meeting
? Schedule the meeting in advance
? Choose a private setting
? Set aside an adequate amount of time
? Prepare ahead for the meeting
? Ask the employee to come prepared
Performance Review Discussion
? Review the position responsibilities
? Review the goals for the performance
review
? Allow feedback from the employee
? Keep feedback constructive
? Focus on professional development
? Develop future goals and actions
360 Degree Feedback
? Top management
? Suppliers
? Customers or clients
? Peers
? Co-workers or team members
? Subordinates
? Immediate supervisor
Forced Rankings
? Evaluating an individual’s performance
relative to the performance of another
individual or others
– Group order ranking – quartiles
– Individual ranking – best to worst
– Paired comparisons – each employee with
every other employee
Improving Performance Evaluation
? Emphasize behaviors rather than traits
? Document performance behaviors in a
diary
? Use multiple evaluators to overcome rater
biases
? Evaluate selectively based on evaluator
competence
? Train evaluators to improve rater accuracy
? Provide employees with due process
Career Development - Organization
? Clearly communicate the organization’s
goals and future strategies
? Create growth opportunities
? Offer financial assistance
? Provide time for the employee to learn
Career Development - Individual
? Know yourself
? Manage your reputation
? Build and maintain contacts
? Keep current
? Document your achievements
? Keep your options open
