The four factors of efficent organizing
Division of Work/ Specialization of Labor
Span Control
Centralization Vs. Decentralization
Unity of Command
Definition of Organization
A process through which the resources of the organization are used to accomplish objectives efficiently
Division of work/ Specialization of Labor
- Doing one job but doing it very well, makes one the expert at it
- Limited variety of workers
- Boredom can set it since no one else knows the job as well and thus cannot substitute; and the total mission is not understood as one is so focused
Span Control
- Downward - refers to the number of people that one directly supervises
- The strategic, higher level, has smaller spans do to other duties
- Lower levels have larger spans
What does span size depend on?
- Supervisor’s knowledge and experience
- Worker’s knowledge and experience
- Space / logistics / USE of technology
- Type of work - repetitive or changing
What is the span size of Supervisor’s knowledge and experience
How many people are under them?
Span size is more
What is the span size of Worker’s knowledge and experience
When lower span size is lower, entry level jobs, learning
What is the span size of Space / logistics / USE of technology
Assists people, teaches more people, so span size is bigger
What is the span size Type of work - repetitive or changing
Repetitive is larger
Changing is smaller to make sure everybody get it
Centralization
- Control and decision making are at the TOP - small span size
- Weber says data has to go through many layers, data governance, small layers, small control = small span . Weber wants to watch everyone
- On your own
Decentralization
- Control and decision making are DELEGATED - big span size
- Spread the work around, group work, many people have access to data
- People have more freedom
What structure is best depends on what for Centralization and Decentralization?
- Employee Characteristics
- Organization size
- Management Philosophy
- USE of information technology
Employee characteristics -
If they are skilled and experienced then decentralization because they do not need supervised
Organization size -
If it is large then decentralized. Ex: DUQ divided into schools to be efficient
Management Philosophy -
If Conservatory then Centralization because there are no risks
If it is a risky organization then Decentralization
USE of information technology -
Decentralization to get to more people
Unity of Command
- Upward. The “idea” that each person reports to one person
- Relates to span control
- Doesn’t always work, but if it does then efficiency
