IB 2-4

Tasks 1-2

Week 1

Jones: Chapter 2 – Basic Challenges of Organizational Design
Differentiation
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differentiation = process by which an organization allocates people and resources to organizational tasks and establishes the task and authority relationships that allow the organization to achieve its goals à process of establishing and controlling the division of labor/the degree of specialization o necessary because of increased complexity with growth

Organizational roles
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organizational role = set of task-related behaviors required of a person by his or her position in an organization à identifiable tasks and responsibilities allow for accountability o organization structure is based on interlocking roles authority = power to hold people accountable for their actions and to make decisions concerning the use of organizational resources à results from differentiation into individual organizational roles control = ability to coordinate and motivate people to work in the organization’s interests

Subunits: Functions and Divisions
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function = subunit composed of a group of people, working together, who possess similar skills or use the same kind of knowledge, tools or techniques to perform their jobs à as organizations grow, they differentiate into 5 different kinds of functions: o support functions – facilitate control of relations with environment and stakeholders (purchasing, sales & marketing, public relations, legal affairs) o production functions – manage and improve efficiency of conversion process (production operations, production control, quality control) o maintenance functions – keep operations up (personnel, engineering, janitorial services) o adaptive functions – allow to adjust to changes in environment (R&D, marketing research, longrange planning) o managerial functions – facilitate control and