Fri Apr 8 06:47:16 PDT 2016
Overarching: Organization: What is the structure of the organization?
Options:
Option 1: Hierarchical
Option 2: Matrixed
Option 3: Hub and spoke
Option 4: Networked
Option 5: Composite
Basis:
Organizations are generally structured as hierarchical, matrixed, hub and spoke, networked, or composite:
- Hierarchical: Hierarchical structures are quite
common. They are used to leverage increasing numbers of people with
decreasing power and influence, lower pay rates, increasing
specialization and specialized expertise, fewer privileges, and more
differentiated tasks at lower levels of the hierarchy, where they
perform more tactical and less strategic tasks. Dictatorships,
military groups, and many companies use hierarchy. Knowledge is
controlled and propaganda or similar cultural control mechanisms are
used to facilitate power and influence over large numbers of people.
- Matrixed: Matrix organizations typically involve sets of
leaders associated with different aspects of the functional
need. There may be financial leaders, functional leaders, project
leaders, line of business leaders, and so forth. Power is distributed
and strategy and tactics are shared across groups that form for
tasks. Matrix organizations without central leadership or strong
management communications tend to produce schizophrenic overall
behaviors as individuals are forced to serve multiple masters with
differing and often contradictory demands.
- Hub and spoke: Hub and spoke structures are somewhat more
rare and tend to be limited in size because of the critical role of
the central leader. The central leader tends to be charismatic in
nature for medium-sized organizations and may be a small business
owner for smaller organizations. Power and finance are centralized and
strategy and tactics are only shared as needed, typically all directed
toward fulfilling the vision of the leader.
- Networked: Networked organizations are structured with
sets of key participants who take on leadership roles in select areas
and many other participants who work independently but form a
consensus that moves the group forward. Knowledge is widely available
to anyone who wishes to seek it and strategy and tactics are developed
by consensus. Pay and responsibility tend to be based on performance
levels and infrastructure ownership. These organizations are often
called "organic" in the way they operate, but most of them in fact
have elite classes that communicate independently in cliques and use
the network to their advantage by limiting access to information or
selectively feeding information to the group as fits their
desires. Sometimes juntas form in these sorts of groups, and these
groups sometimes turn into hierarchies as size increases.
- Composite: Most governments, large organizations, and
businesses tend to be composites of these structures if viewed in
detail. These are "mixed structures". For example, the government of
the United States is a networked infrastructure at the topmost level
with many hierarchies, hub and spoke, and matrix management structures
at lower levels. The sharing of power is typically achieved by these
mixed structures and each powerful individual at any level of the
organization tends to build the structure that they are most familiar
with or that they think is most appropriate to their needs and
business function.
Copyright(c) Fred Cohen, 1988-2015 - All Rights Reserved
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