business in canada (chapter 4)

- Good organizational structure and design help improve communication, increase productivity, and inspire innovation

broad organization examples:
1. Publicovernmental organizations that provide goods and services
without necessarily generating a profit.
2. Private/nongovernmental organizations, including voluntary organize-
tons, that offer goods or services without necessarily generating a profit
3. Private organizations that produce goods or services with the intent of
making a profit for the benefit of their owners or shareholders.

Defining features:
1. social
2. interact with their environment
3. goal-oriented
4. structure-based

1. work specialization (functional or social)
Functional: involves dividing work based on the specific functions or roles that need to be performed within an organization. Employees are grouped together based on their expertise and skills, and they perform tasks that are closely related to their specialized area. (mechanistic)
Social: involves dividing work based on social or interpersonal relationships.
This approach focuses on the interaction and collaboration among employees, with tasks assigned based on the strengths and preferences of the individuals involved. (organic)

2. decision-making source (centralized or decentralized)
Centralized: key decisions are made by a single central authority or a small group of individuals at the top of the organizational hierarchy. Lower-level employees have limited decision-making authority, and most significant choices are made at the top. (mechanistic)
Decentralized: decision-making authority is distributed across various levels and units of the organization. Lower-level employees and teams have the autonomy to make decisions within their areas of responsibility. (organic)

3. level of administration (tall or flat structures)
Tall: there are multiple layers of management and supervision between the top-level management and front-line employees. This structure is characterized by a clear chain of command, where decision-making authority flows through various levels. (mechanistic)
Flat: there are fewer levels of management, and the span of control is wider. This structure encourages open communication, decentralization, and more autonomy among employees. (organic)

4. formalization (formal or informal)
Formal: there are detailed rules, procedures, and policies that are clearly documented and communicated to employees. Roles and responsibilities are well-defined, and there is a strong emphasis on adhering to established protocols.
Informal: there is a greater degree of flexibility and autonomy. Employees may have more freedom to make decisions and collaborate without strict adherence to documented rules and procedures.

5. departmentation (divisional, customer, geographic, organic and mechanistic)
Divisional: the organization is divided into separate divisions or units, each responsible for a particular product, service, market, or geographic area. Each division operates relatively independently and has its own functional departments (e.g., marketing, finance) to support its specific needs.

Customer: involves structuring the organization around different customer groups or types. Each department focuses on the specific needs and preferences of particular customer segments.

Geographic: the organization is organized by geographical regions or locations. Each geographic unit manages its operations, sales, and customer relationships within a specific area.

Organic: emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and decentralized decision-making. Departments are created based on the specific needs of the organization's projects or teams, often emerging in an ad hoc manner.

Mechanistic: emphasizes a highly structured, centralized approach to organization. Departments are clearly defined, roles and responsibilities are strictly delineated, and decision-making authority is concentrated at the top.

1. strategy
2. organizational size
3. technology
4. environment (dynamic or static)
static: no new competitors, no new technologies, no government regulatory changes, etc. In such an
environment of certainty, the mechanistic structure would be quite suitable: it generates rules and methods of performance based on environmental needs and, once established, does not change.
dynamic: environment contains much uncertainty and undergoes much change. Clearly, an organic structure is much better suited, given its higher adaptiveness, to change.

(more on pg 105)

-is a type of organizational structure or business model that primarily operates through digital technology, remote work, and strategic partnerships.
- In a virtual organization, physical boundaries and traditional office spaces are less relevant, and the focus is on leveraging technology and collaborative networks to achieve its goals

key features:
- outsourcing
- network/ alliances
- shedding non-core functions

Organizations:
business organization, an entity formed for the purpose of carrying on commercial enterprise. Such an organization is predicated on systems of law governing contract and exchange, property rights, and incorporation.

Structure:
It provides a framework to divide and coordinate labor into specific tasks so
that the organization operates effectively; usually in-built into the structure is
a Performance Management System (PMS); organization structure is more
tangible than culture.
image- slide 13 (session 3)

job design, departmentation, delegation, span of control and chain of command
(known as Departmentation)

advantages:
- significant cost savings
- great alternative for entrepreneurs
- fast way to develop and market new products
- fast and flexible

disadvantage:
- losing control
- lack of employee loyality
- potential sacrifice of competitive learning opportunity

1. Organizational size
2. routineness of task and technology
3. Individual differences
4. environmental uncertainty