Hello everyone, in the previous topic we were talking about Planning in Management. Today we are going to talk about Organizing, its process, principles and types.

WHAT IS ORGANIZING

INTRODUCTION

Organizing in management is the larger activity of managing. It is essentially process that creates structure, which is maintained. Organizing as a function of management involves division of work among people whose efforts must be co-ordinate to achieve specific objectives and to implement pre-determined strategies.

Organization is the foundation upon which the whole structure of management is built. It is the backbone of management. Organization refers to the process of organizing or to the structure that evolves out of this process and the activities which carried out with it.

Organization can be simple or complex. They have both micros as well as macro aspects.

Some of the leading definitions of the word “ORGANIZATION” are quoted below-

According to Louis Allen, “Organization is the process of identifying and grouping work to be performed, defining and delegating responsibility and authority and establishing relationships for the purpose of enabling people to work most effectively together in accomplishing objectives.”

According to Theo Haimann, “Organizing is the process of defining and grouping the activities of the enterprise and establishing the authority relationships among them. In performing the organizing function, the manager defines, departmentalizes and assigns activities so that they can be most effectively executed.”

According to McFarland, “Management is the process by which managers create, direct, maintain and operate purposive organizations through systematic, coordinated and cooperative human effort”.

According to Oliver Sheldon, “Organization is the process so combining the work which individuals or groups have to perform with the facilities necessary for its execution, that the duties so performed provide the best channels for the efficient, systematic, positive and coordinated application of the available effort”.

PROCESS OF ORGANIZATION

Organization is the process of establishing relationship among the members of the enterprise. The relationships are created in terms of authority and responsibility. To organize is to harmonies, coordinate or arrange in a logical and orderly manner.

Each member in the organization is assigned a specific responsibility or duty to perform and is granted the corresponding authority to perform his duty.

The managerial function of organizing consists in making a rational division of work into groups of activities and tying together the positions representing grouping of activities so as to achieve a rational, well coordinated and orderly structure for the accomplishment of work. The various steps involved in this process of organization are given below-

1. Determination of Objectives-

It is the first step in building up an organization. Organization is always related to certain objectives. Therefore, it is essential for the management to identify the objectives before starting any activity.

Organization structure is built on the basis of the objectives of the enterprise. That means, the structure of the organization can be determined by the management only after knowing the objectives to be accomplished through the organization.

This step helps the management not only in framing the organization structure but also in achieving the enterprise objectives with minimum constant efforts.

Determination of objectives will consist in deciding as to why the proposed organization is to be set up and, therefore, what will be the nature of the work to be accomplished through the organization.

2. Enumeration of Objectives-

If the members of the group are to pool their efforts effectively, there must be proper division of the major activities. The first step in organizing group effort is the division of the total job into essential activities.

Each job should be properly classified and grouped. This will enable the people to know what is expected of them as members of the group and will help in avoiding duplication of efforts.

For example, the work of an industrial concern may be divided into the following major functions –production, financing, personnel, sales, purchase, etc.

3. Classification of Activities-

The next step will be to classify activities according to similarities and common purposes and functions and taking the human and material resources into account.

Then, closely related and similar activities are grouped into divisions and departments and the departmental activities are further divided into sections.

4. Assignment of Duties-

In this step, specific job assignments are made to different subordinates for ensuring a certainty of work performance.

Each individual should be given a specific job to do according to their ability and made responsible for that. They should also be given the adequate authority to do the job assigned to them.

5. Delegation of Authority–

Since so many individuals work in the same organization, it is the responsibility of management to lay down structure of relationship in the organization.

Authority without responsibility is a dangerous thing and similarly responsibility without authority is an empty vessel.

Everybody should clearly know to whom they are accountable, corresponding to the responsibility authority is delegated to the subordinates for enabling them to show work performance.

This will help in the smooth working of the enterprise by facilitating delegation of responsibility and authority.

PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZATION

The principles that are mention below is always in the mind of manager while formulating an organizational structure.

1. Consideration of unity of objectives-

The objective of the undertaking influences the organization structure. There must be unity of objective so that all efforts can be concentrated on the set goals.

2. Specialization-

Effective organization must include specialization. Precise division of work facilitates specialization.

3. Co-ordination-

Organization involves division of work among people whose efforts must be co-ordinate to achieve common goals. Co-ordination is the orderly arrangement of group effort to provide unity of action in the pursuit of common purpose.

4. Clear unbroken line of Authority-

It points out the scalar principle or the chain of command. The line of authority flows from the highest executive to the lowest managerial level and the chain of command should not be broken.

5. Responsibility-

Authority should be equal to responsibility i.e., each manager should have enough authority to accomplish the task.

6. Efficiency-

The organization structure should enable the enterprise to attain objectives with the lowest possible cost.

7. Delegation-

Decisions should be made at the lowest competent level. Authority and responsibility should be delegated as far down in the organization as possible.

8. Unity of Command-

Each person should be accountable to a single superior. If an individual has to report to only one supervisor there is a sense of personal responsibility to one person for results.

9. Span of Management-

No superior at a higher level should have more than six immediate subordinates. The average human brain can effectively direct three to six brains.

10. Communication-

A good communication sub-system is essential for smooth flow of information and understanding and for effective business performance.

11. Flexibility-

The organization is expected to provide built in devices to facilitate growth and expansion without dislocation. It should not be rigid or inelastic.

FORMS OF ORGANIZATION

Organization requires the creation of structural relationship among different departments and the individuals working there for the accomplishment of desired goals. Organization structure is primarily concerned with the allocation of tasks and delegation of authority.

The establishment of formal relationships among the individuals working in the organization is very important to make clear the lines of authority in the organization and to coordinate the efforts of different individuals in an efficient manner.

According to the different practices of distributing authority and responsibility among the members of the enterprise, several types of organization structure have been evolved. They are-

1. Line Organization-

This is the simplest and the earliest form of organization. It is also known as “Military”, “traditional”, “Scalar” or “Hierarchical” form of organization. The line organization represents the structure in a direct vertical relationship through which authority flows.

Under this, the line of authority flows vertically downward from top to bottom throughout the organization. The quantum of authority is highest at the top and reduces at each successive level down the hierarchy.

All major decisions and orders are made by the executives at the top and are handed down to their immediate subordinates who in turn break up the orders into specific instructions for the purpose of their execution by another set of subordinates.

A direct relationship of authority and responsibility is thus established between the superior and subordinate. The superior exercises a direct authority over his subordinates who become entirely responsible for their performance to their commanding superior.

Thus, in the line organization, the line of authority consists of an uninterrupted series of authority steps and forms a hierarchical arrangement.

The line of authority not only becomes the avenue of command to operating personnel, but also provides the channel of communication, coordination and accountability in the organization.

2. Line and Staff Organization –

In line and staff organization, the line authority remains the same as it does in the line organization. Authority flows from top to bottom. The main difference is that specialists are attached to line managers to advise them on important matters.

These specialists stand ready with their specialty to serve line mangers as and when their services are called for, to collect information and to give help which will enable the line officials to carry out their activities better.

The staff officers do not have any power of command in the organization as they are employed to provide expert advice to the line officers. The combination of line organization with this expert staff constitutes the type of organization known as line and staff organization.

The ‘line’ maintains discipline and stability; the ‘staff’ provides expert information. The line gets out the production, the staffs carries on the research, planning, scheduling, establishing of standards and recording of performance.

 3. Functional Organization-

The difficulty of the line organization in securing suitable chief executive was overcome by F.W. Taylor who formulated the Functional type of organization.

As the name implies, the whole task of management and direction of subordinates should be divided according to the type of work involved.

As far as the workman was concerned, instead of coming in contact with the management at one point only, they have to receive their daily orders.

4. Committee Organization-

Committee organization as a method of managerial control has very little practical importance, because it is managed by a senior member of the committee only.

But the committee organizations are widely used for the purpose of discharging advisory functions of the management. Committees are usually relatively formal bodies with a definite structure. They have their own organization. To them are entrusted definite responsibility and authority.

Thus, Organization is very important in any workplace in order to minimize disruptions, arguments, and any misunderstandings among the employees. By having properly organized operations, we would be able to improve efficiency and thus maximize productivity.

So, that is all for today guys see you in our next blog. If you like our article please doesn’t forget to share with others.

Thank You,

Regards

Grooming Urban.

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