Analysis Of The Organizational Structure And Culture Of The Road Living Scheme In An Essay.

1. Describe the structure of the organisation outlined below
2. Identify and explain the organisational culture 
3. Analyse how the structure of this organisation can impact on the culture of the organisation
4. Identify 2 potential changes this organisation could make to improve this provision

Organization structure

Different organizations adopt different organization Structure. The choice of an organization structure depends on the size and complexity of an organization, geographical considerations, and attitudes of top management or personnel geographical considerations among other factors. An organization structure is a system which defines the organization’s hierarchy. It defines the alignment of organizational activities such as supervision; coordination and allocation are aligned towards the realization of organization goals (Ginter, Duncan and Swayne, 2018). There are four organizational cultures namely divisional, functional, matrix and flatachry whose difference is based on the alignment of the identified organization goals. The structure adopted by an organization in some cases determines its organizational culture by acting as the framework for the implementation of organization culture (Lunenburg, 2012). An organizational culture may also determine the structure of an organization. This report seeks to find out the organizational structure of Road Living scheme, its culture, the impact of Culture on the organization's structure and possible changes to the organization.

Organizational cultures exist in multiple forms with the basic ones being flatachry, matrix structure, divisional structure and functional structure. Each of these structures presents the organization using it with both advantages and disadvantages (O'Neill, Beauvais and Scholl, 2016). I addition each of these may only work during specific situations, in the organization life cycle or for specific organizations.

Divisional organization structure

Under divisional organizational structure an organizations id divided into various divisions based on projects or products. These divisions fall under the same brand but operate as individual companies (Guadalupe, Li and Wulf, 2013). An organization may also own different companies each operating individually.

Functional organizational structure

Under the functional organizational structure, an organization is divided into various specialties. These may include departments such as sales, customer care, marketing department or finance department. It is also refered to as a bureaucratic organizational structure. Functional organization structure puts individuals in charge of a single function whose roles and expectations are clearly defined (Malhotra and Temponi, 2010).

Flatachry Organizational structure

This is a hybrid organizational structure mostly used by small or startup companies. It is made up of a combination of flat and functional organizational structure (Morton and Hu, 2008).

Matrix organizational Structure

Under a matrix organization structures there is the existence of multiple lines and bosses to whom employees report. For example employees may be required to report to the departmental manager and at the same time report to different project managers (Csaszar, 2013). This structure can be confusing at times.

An organizational structure can also be classified as either vertical or horizontal. Under a vertical organization structure, managers command and control the work of their employees (Wulf, 2012). There are multiple management levels which keep increasing as an organization grows. A horizontal organizational structure on the contrary has few or no management levels. Here employees are also increasingly involved in decision making processes. Horizontal organization structures put a lot of emphases on team work. The top position is usually occupied by the owner of the organization.

Based on this analysis, it can be concluded that the structure of “Road” is Flatachry, ie it contains elements of both horizontal and vertical organizations (Wulf, 2012). The main reasons for this conclusion are that the top position is occupied by Frank, the founder of the company and has fewer layers, a characteristic of the Horizontal organization. The organization also has fewer layers of command mostly comprising of the Manager and team leader. There is also an increased level of collaboration between the manager and people within the organization where employees are involved in the planning of weekly schedules. The manager also plays a delegative role but also gets directly involved in the running of the scheme on a daily basis. In addition, the manager also has the final say on all team decisions.

Divisional organization structure

The structure of an organization refers to the values, assumptions, beliefs defining an organization and which guides interactions within the organization. These values, assumptions and beliefs are what make an organization unique. The culture of an organization also determines how employees perceive and identify with their organization. The most used organization cultures according to Charles Handy are people, role, Power and Task (Cacciattolo, 2014).

Task Culture

Under task culture, teams in an organization are formed to address specific problems or complete specific projects. In this case, the task is the most important consideration in organizations with this type of culture (Machado and Carvalho, 2008). Teams are formed based on the commonality of interests between different members.

Power Culture

Power culture is found in organizations where power is centralized. It can be explained through a spider web with the spider sitting at the centre. From the centre comes another department which may keep widening. People closer to the centre tend to be more influential. Under power culture power remains in the hands of a few individuals who are authorized to make a decision on behalf of the organization (Jani?ijevi?, 2013).

Person culture

For an organization with this culture, individuals attach more importance to themselves than to their organization. Individuals prioritize their personal goals over organizational goals (Ellis, and Abbott, 2010). There is not attachment between an organization and its employees and their presence is merely because of the salary they receive.

Role Culture

Role culture is based on rules and a high level of control. An individual’s power is determined by the position which they occupy within the organization hierarchy(Jani?ijevi?, 2013). These are largely common for vertical organizations with a long chain of command.

Based on these explanations, task culture can be identified as the culture of the organization under analysis. The formation of teams is based on the desire to solve health problems and problems of homelessness among people who formerly served in the armed forces. Individual team members are equally supported to make to make their contributions. The manager and team leader posses more power than other members of the team. The success of task culture is based on collaboration and team work, the Manager works closely with employees to achieve the intended goals. In addition he delegates duties and responsibilities. For the scheme also, Group objectives are also prioritized over individual objectives.

The maturation and spread of an organization culture depend on the organization structure of an organization(Zheng, Yang and McLean,2010). The structure of this organization emphasizes the importance of collaboration between different levels of the organization. The involvement of the manager in direct running of the organization can set precedence for an organization culture where team work is highly valued and encouraged. As per the structure of the organization effective communication both from the top and from the bottom is one of the areas of focus by the manager. It can have a positive bearing on the culture of the organization by enabling open communications between the manager and employees (Zheng, Yang and McLean,2010). The effective delegation of roles and responsibilities will create a culture where employees understand their position as well as roles and responsibilities within the organization. By having a structure which gives employees specific duties and responsibilities, there is the likelihood of creating a culture where high productivity and organizational goals are prioritized over individual goals.

Functional organizational structure

Granting autonomy to employees

Granting autonomy to employees means capacitating them to make decisions on various aspects of their daily routine. It means giving them the freedom to choose the approach that they consider to be more appropriate or effective for the accomplishment of their duties (Gonzalez-Mulé., et al, 2016). According to the case study information, employees rely on their managers to know what needs to be done each week. In addition they also need to have their decisions approved by the manager before such can be implemented. Reliance on the manager to approve all decisions before approval can lead to future inefficiencies within the organization .Giving autonomy to employees will not only enable employees to become more responsible for their work but it will also make them more innovative as they seek out new ways of completing assigned duties.

Training

Training is one of the critical aspects of effective decision making. Inability to make effective decisions among the employees can be attributed to a lack of skills or the necessary experience. Through training, the competence of the employees can be enhanced hence making them more effective in decision making (Uma, 2013). It will therefore do away with the need for the manager to oversee all the operational processes or approve all decisions within the organization. While some employees doe well under close supervision, there are those who are likely to perform dismally when someone is walking over them closely. If all employees are sufficiently trained the manager will comfortably engage in other organizational activities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the adoption of a structure by an organization is based on several factors including the needs of the organization. The culture of the organization can either be vertical or horizontal. Vertical structures are more suitable for larger hierarchical organizations while horizontal structures are more suitable for smaller less complex organizations. The structure adopted by an organization can have an impact on its culture as well. Some of the organizations adopted by organizations include role, task, and power and person culture. For Road granting of Autonomy to the employees is one of the changes that can be enacted. Additionally, training can also be used to improve the competence of the company’s employees hence removing the over-reliance on the manager.

References 

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Cacciattolo, K., 2014. Understanding organisational cultures. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 10(10).

Guadalupe, M., Li, H. and Wulf, J., 2013. Who lives in the C-suite? Organizational structure and the division of labor in top management. Management Science, 60(4), pp.824-844.

Ginter, P.M., Duncan, W.J. and Swayne, L.E., 2018. The strategic management of health care organizations. John Wiley & Sons.

Ellis, P. and Abbott, J., 2010. Looking at different team cultures within renal units. Journal of Renal Nursing, 2(4), pp.196-199.

Gonzalez-Mulé, E., Courtright, S.H., DeGeest, D., Seong, J.Y. and Hong, D.S., 2016. Channeled autonomy: The joint effects of autonomy and feedback on team performance through organizational goal clarity. Journal of Management, 42(7), pp.2018-2033.

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Malhotra, R. and Temponi, C., 2010. Critical decisions for ERP integration: Small business issues. International Journal of Information Management, 30(1), pp.28-37.

Morton, N.A. and Hu, Q., 2008. Implications of the fit between organizational structure and ERP: A structural contingency theory perspective. International Journal of Information Management, 28(5), pp.391-402.

O'Neill, J.W., Beauvais, L.L. and Scholl, R.W., 2016. The use of organizational culture and structure to guide strategic behavior: An information processing perspective. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 2(2), p.816.

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