CONTINGENCY factors affecting structural choice

There are several contingency factors that influence the decision namely:

1. Strategy and Structure

An organization’s structure should facilitate goal achievement. Because goals are an important part of the organization’s strategies, that’s why strategy and structure are closely linked.

2. Size and Structure

organization’s size affects its structure. More employees are mechanical enough to influence structure, whereas employees who are less likely to influence structure

3. Technology and Structure

Every organization uses some form of technology to convert its inputs into outputs. technology’s effect on structure. the firms its consistent pattern into three distinct technologies that had increasing levels of complexity and sophistication. The first category is unit production, described the production of items in units or small batches. The second category is mass production, described largebatch manufacturing. Finally, the third and most technically complex group, process production, included continuous process production.

4. Environmental Uncertainty and Structure

In stable and simple environments, mechanistic designs can be more effective. On the other hand, the greater the uncertainty, the more an organization needs the flexibility. manager need try to minimize environmental uncertainty by adjusting the organization’s structure.

In making structural decisions, managers have some common designs from which to choose. managers may choose one of the traditional organizational designs. These structures tend to be more mechanistic in nature.

1. Simple Structure

Most companies start as entrepreneurial ventures using a simple structure, an organizational design with little departmentalization, and the structure tends to become more specialized and formalized. Rules and regulations are introduced, work becomes specialized, departments are created, levels of management are added, and the organization becomes increasingly bureaucratic. At this point, managers might choose a functional structure or a divisional structure.

2. Functional Structure

A functional structureis an organizational design that groups similar or related occupational specialties together. You can think of this structure as functional departmentalization applied to the entire organization.

3. Divisional Structure

The divisional structureis an organizational structure made up of separate business units or divisions.

Many organizations are finding that traditional organizational designs often aren’t appropriate for today’s increasingly dynamic and complex environment. So managers are finding creative ways to structure and organize work. there are several structure and organze work

1. Team Structures

In this structure, employee empowerment is crucial because no line of managerial authority flows from top to bottom. Employee teams design and do work in the way they think is best, but the teams are also held responsible for all work performance results in their respective areas.

2. Matrix and Project Structures

The matrix structureassigns specialists from different functional departments to work on projects led by a project manager. Many organizations use a project structure, in which employees continuously work on projects.

3. The Boundaryless Organization

The Boundaryless Organization is The structural arrangement for getting work done that has developed around the massive collider

4. Telecommuting

a work arrangement in which employees work at home and are linked to the workplace by computer.

5. Compressed Workweeks, Flextime, and Job Sharing

As this example shows, organizations may sometimes find they need to restructure work using forms of flexible work arrangements. One approach is a compressed workweek, a workweek where employees work longer hours per day but fewer days per week. The most common arrangement is four 10-hour days (a 4 – 40 program). Another alternative is flextime (also known as flexible work hours), a scheduling system in which employees are required to work a specific number of hours a week but are free to vary those hours within certain limits. And he other is job sharing. the employees from the same immediate family can fill in for one another for any work shift without having to clear it first with their manager.