Key Concepts of Organizational Design
Allison Battles University of Phoenix / MMPBL 550
November 1, 2010
Professor Frederick Janson
Key Concepts of Organizational Design Organizational design is an important aspect of organizational theory that designates many of the processes and the structure within an organization. It can shape the organization’s culture and help the organization to achieve its goals. Organizational design is also important to change management within the organization. The most important factor, though, is that it supports the company’s strategy for success. As many organizations are experiencing growth, the concepts of organizational design become more complex. The organizational designs and structures discussed here will simplify the terms in order for a clearer understanding of the concepts.
Importance of Organizational Design Choices Organizational design is vital to an organization’s success. Part of developing a strategy for a company to achieve its goals is to create a dynamic organizational design that fits the company’s purpose, culture, and processes. “To optimize effectiveness, the form of organization must be matched to the purpose it seeks to achieve” (Autry, 1996, para. 7). In the most basic terms, the organizational design should be aligned with the organization’s strategies-the goals, the objectives, and the mission-and support the desired outcome. It is important that the organizational design of a company work for, and not against, the organization. In order to create the optimal organizational design, the right design choices need to be selected. First, it is important to understand the concept of differentiation in relation to organizational design. Differentiation is how organizations designate the resources, people and tasks that will be required in alignment with the objectives of the