Alejandro Paredes
Management for Organizations
Chapter 10
Building Management Skills
Think of an organization with which you are familiar or perhaps one in which you have worked, such as a store, restaurant, office, church, or school. Then answer the following questions. 1. Which contingencies are most important in explaining how the organization is organized? Do you think it is organized in the right way?
A large university will be used as an example of an organization. The environment is important in explaining why a university is usually operated under a formal structure. Historically, universities have served the purpose of providing higher education, with adequate faculty and support staff. The environment was not subject to a high level of uncertainty, and resources were readily available. Most universities adopted the same strategy, perhaps differentiating some programs, but most were comparable in services and courses offered.
Technology has emerged as a new standard, though computers are becoming increasingly prevalent in all aspects of teaching and administration. Human resources is less of a factor because the range is typically great, from professors, to custodial staff, to administrative staff.
This formal, functional structure may not be the most appropriate for universities that hope to succeed in the coming years. Students are requiring more from schools, funding is scarce, and many schools need to learn to do more with less. A more flexible structure, at least in some departments, may help universities respond to the changing academic environment. 2. Using the job characteristics model, how motivating do you think the job of a typical employee in this organization is?
Based upon the Job Characteristics Model, the job of a professor should be extremely motivating since skill variety, task significance, task identity, autonomy and