Key Concepts of Organizational Design
Shelley Witt
MMPBL/550
May 9, 2011
William Gillis
Key Concepts of Organizational Design Organizational design is an important part of organizational theory. Organizational design changes with a company as its growth and goals are determined. Some important aspects that control organizational design are structure, strategy, and processes. Each individual organization needs to determine its own design based on its needs and mission. Every plan has its own advantages and disadvantages which are weighed carefully in making the corporate design decision.
Importance of Organizational Design Choices In order for an organization to remain effective throughout changes and growth it must continuously evaluate the organizations design. “Organizational design involves difficult choices about how to control—that is, coordinate organizational tasks and motivate the people who perform them—to maximize an organization’s ability to create value” (Jones,2004, p. 4). Organizational design involves the process of aligning the organizational structure with its mission. Organizational design looks at the complex relationships between workflow, tasks, authority, and responsibility. Organizational design makes sure they all support the organizations objectives. Companies with good organizational design tend to have effective communication, increased productivity, and substantial innovation. Companies with poor organizational design tend to have performance and productivity issues. An organizations design depends a great deal on its organizational structure.
Organizational Structures There are several types of organizational structure. According to (2011), organizational structure can be defined as “The framework within which an organization arranges its lines of authority and