Organizational Structure

Organizational structure generally refers to how systems, people, and activities are positioned and arranged in organizations. Associated topics of organizational structure include division of labor, reporting structures, roles and responsibilities, perceived power dynamics, functional domains, and other structural related matters.

Like many organizational theories in higher education, notions about organizational structure at institutions of higher education have been derived from foundational philosophies in other disciplines and professional fields, such as sociology and business. Organizational structure in higher education is grounded in the scholarship that comprises theories and concepts about structural organizational theory. This domain of theoretical perspectives highlights the importance of organizational structure for the function and operations of business, corporations, and nonprofit institutions. Put another way, the premise of structural theory is that there is ...