Organizational Behavior – Week #7 Lecture 1

Structural Characteristics of Organizations

Greetings Class!  I hope this note finds you well!  As we embark on our first lecture of the week, I want you to do some basic housekeeping with respect to your gradebook. Please review your gradebook and ensure you’ve received grades for all prior assignments (except those submitted less than 48 hours ago). Within Blackboard, there’s a possibility of an “escape” if you’ve been granted an extension on an assignment and the grade is posted at a later date. To mitigate any issues with your final grades in a couple of weeks, it’s paramount that you identify issues this week and send me a private note with the discrepancy for my review and amendment as appropriate. Now, let’s delve into structural characteristics!  My goal with this lecture is to explore various structural characteristics that might be worthy of incorporation into your final project :) Let’s start with the basic definition of structural characteristics as defined by Hitt, Miller, and Colella:Structural Characteristics – The tangible, physical properties that determine the basic shape and appearance of an organization’s hierarchy.Sounds simple enough but let’s explore some of the more common structural characteristics:

·        Height – This refers to the number of hierarchical levels in an organization, from the Chief Executive Officer to the lower-level associates.  When talking about height of an organization, you generally hear the terms “tall” and “flat” used. Tall organizations have additional layers of management while flat organizations are leaner and work to minimize management layers. Let’s take a brief look at the Federal government. Would you consider the government a tall or flat organization? Obviously, the government is a somewhat tall organization but should it be?  Are there ways to eliminate layers, gain efficiencies, and improve results? Regardless of your opinion here, the height of an organization should periodically be reviewed by leaders of an organization to ensure it’s the best match for achieving the stated goals and objectives of the organization.

·        Span of Control – This refers to the number of individuals a manager directly oversees. It’s generally thought that broad spans of control are a good thing if you have skilled associates with the proper motivation to excel. A broad span of control prevents a manager from micromanaging his or her employees.

·        Departmentalization – The grouping of human and other resources into units, typically based on functional areas or markets. There are four major types of departmentalization as noted below:

·        Functional – In this form, resources are grouped by functions. Exhibit 13-2 on page 414 of the text illustrates a functional organization. Note that each function flows up to a Vice President and those Vice Presidents are held accountable for the success of their respective organizations. Benefits of the functional form include specialized knowledge and economies of scale. The major disadvantage is the isolation from other functions which can oftentimes result in “stove pipe”, or narrow-focused, thinking. If your organization is structured this way, it’s important to make a concerted effort to reach out and mold relationships with others from other functions.

·        Divisional – For an organization that operates in different regions or produces a number of products, this form might work best. As can be seen from Exhibit 13-3 on page 415 of the text, the divisional form is grouped by product or service area divisions. Better and more efficient coordination and communication coupled with what the text calls “rapid response time” are often benefits of this structure.  The divisional form’s disadvantages include lack of coordination/collaboration across divisions and diseconomies of scale.

·        Hybrid – This form is just what the name implies…a mix of functional and divisional structures.

·        Network – In this form, the majority of functional work is outsourced to other organizations. The text identifies homebuilders as the prime example of a network organization. Most established homebuilders subcontract much of their work to experts within various fields such as plumbers, electricians, painters, and landscapers to name a few. What might be the advantages or disadvantages of such an organization? One obvious benefit of a network organization is the reduction in employee benefits costs. For instance, healthcare and retirement costs are not a concern because the subs are contracted help and are responsible for their own benefits. A disadvantage might be the lack of control with respect to timing of work. For instance, a builder might want the subcontractor to show up tomorrow to keep the project on schedule, however, the subcontractor chooses to prioritize another job with another general contractor.

This might be a good time to take a sneak peek at the lecture in Week 8. To keep your creative juices flowing, I provided an example organization and intervention.  Part of the intervention includes redefining the team across product lines.  This would in fact be considered a divisional structure.  Now, what about your organization?  Might your organization benefit from a different structure?  The takeaway here is to be sure to consider structural factors when finalizing your intervention(s).References

Hitt, M. A., Miller, C. C., & Colella, A. (2015). Organizational Behavior (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Organizational Behavior – Week #7 Lecture 2

Person-Organization Fit

The focus for our second lecture this week is on what the text calls Person-Organization Fit.  In simple terms, this concept answers the question, “Is the individual a good “fit” for an organization?”  

Goals for this lecture are to:  

·        give you a common backdrop to reflect on that question regardless of the person or the organization, and,

·        arm you with the know-how to evaluate your own personal situation. This lecture should get you thinking analytically about your choice of organization both in the present and the future.

Let’s first talk about values. Formally defined as “abstract ideals that relate to proper life goals and methods for reaching those goals”, values are in essence what’s important to you.  For instance, most folks place a certain value on things important in their lives. What’s most important to you…family, money, faith, staying physically fit, having fun, traveling the world?  Hopefully you get the point here – we all come from different walks of life and value things differently. I hinted at the start that this might have some interactive components so here we go.  Take a blank sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. Title the left column “Personal Values”. For the next 10-15 minutes or so, please list your personal values, what’s important to you. No value is too small to list. The idea here is to gather a comprehensive list. Don’t worry about the order of listing right now.  We’ll worry about that next.Okay, hopefully you now have a list of 10-15 items. The next step is to prioritize those values. As you work through this exercise, you’re likely to find there is overlap among the items. Don’t worry, that’s perfectly normal. What I recommend doing is “bucketing” the items in 4-5 major buckets.  Items that have significant overlap should go in the same bucket. Once you complete this step, you should have a prioritized list of your own personal values. The value at the top of the list is most important to you while the value listed at the bottom is the least important.  Now, on to the next step…At the top of the right-hand column, place the title “Organizational Values”. Take the next 10-15 minutes and list the values of your organization. Feel free to use company literature, vision/mission statements, website research, and your personal experiences to derive the information. Don’t worry if the company’s stated values and what you’ve experienced in the organization differ. What you’ve experienced is your reality and most important for this exercise.To review what you should have at this point – a single sheet of paper with prioritized personal values on the left side and organization values on the right side.  The next step is to compare the two.  Do your top 4-5 personal values match up or align with your organization’s values, or, are there huge disconnects between what you value and what your organization values?  If the answer is the former, you likely enjoy your work and feel right at home in your organization. If the answer is the latter, you likely experience displeasure at work and are often frustrated.  Let’s use an extreme example to illustrate:

Let’s take a twenty-year old male who works at Chick-fil-A, a fast food restaurant that specializes in all things chicken and whose founder is deeply religious and built the organization based on those religious principles. Chick-fil-A’s corporate purpose is, “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A.”  The young male lacks religious conviction and values partying and drinking alcohol with his friends at least 4-5 nights a week.  Does this sound like a good match of personal and organizational values? I think you get the point.

If your values are not aligned with that of your organization, you’re living in an unsustainable situation. At a minimum if you choose to stay in the situation, you’ll be a disgruntled employee which is not good for you and not good for the organization. Once you understand what your prioritized values are, I empower you to find that perfect person-organization fit and you’ll enjoy going to work every day!By the way, this technique is a great way to prepare for an interview. In most interviews, you’ll be asked why you want the job.  If you can passionately describe how your values are aligned with that of the organization and give a specific example, you’re well on your way to paving your future! Many of you are currently serving in the armed forces or are veterans. Let’s suppose a potential employer asks you why you want the job. You respond, “I personally value faith, family, and service to country. Through my research of your company, I found you take a deep interest in giving back to veterans of the armed forces. I want to be part of an organization that not only has exciting work but also values what’s important to me.”References

Hitt, M. A., Miller, C. C., & Colella, A. (2015). Organizational Behavior (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Our Giving Tradition. (2015). Retrieved January 30, 2015, from .