Organization: A Guide to Problems and Practice

Part I: Introduction

• Chapter 1: The Contribution of Organization
• Components of Structure
• Consequences of Structural Deficiencies
• Organizational Choices
• Structural Contingencies
• Limitations to the Contribution of Structure
• Plan of the Book
• Summary
• Suggested Further Reading

Part II: Organizational Choices

• Chapter 2: The Design of Jobs and Work Structures
• Basic Dimensions of Job Design
• Design of Jobs and Work Structures at Operative Level
• Contextual Factors
• Technology
• Management Control and Supervision
• The Overall Workflow System
• The Payment System
• Success and Failure in Job Redesign and Work Structuring
• Two Examples of Non-Operative Jobs
• First-Line Supervisors
• Professional Specialists
• Making a Decision about the Design of Jobs and Work Structures
• Summary
• Suggested Further Reading
• Chapter 3: The Shape of Organization—Tall or Flat?
• Hierarchy and Span of Control
• Arguments for and Against Tall and Flat Structures
• Spans of Control
• Deciding on Hierarchy and Spans of Control
• Summary
• Suggested Further Reading
• Appendix: The Lockheed Approach to Evaluating Span of Control
• Chapter 4: The Shape of Organization—Grouping Activities
• The Logic of Task Systems
• Alternative Models for Grouping Activities: Functional and Product
• Divisionalization
• Mixed Structures
• A Method to Assist Decisions on the Grouping of Activities
• Summary
• Suggested Further Reading
• Chapter 5: Integration
• Why is Integration a Problem?
• Some Common Integration Problems
• Scanning and Planning
• Innovation and Change
• Production Management Teams
• Integration of Professional Services
• Integration and Performance
• Warnings of Inadequate Integration
• Integration and Performance
• The Choice of Integrative Mechanism
• Teambuilding, an Aid to Integration
• Summary
• Suggested Further Reading
• Chapter 6: Control
• Control in Organizations
• Management Control
• The Multidimensional Nature of Management Control
• Design Choices in Control
• Centralization or Delegation?
• Centralization, Delegation and Contingencies
• Formalization or Informality?
• The Degree of Supervisory Emphasis
• Strategies of Control Compared
• Accounting Controls, Organizational Controls and Relevant Contingencies
• Summary
• Suggested Further Reading
• Chapter 7: Reward Policies
• Criteria Applied to Rewards
• Managerial Criteria
• Employees' Criteria
• Matching Motivation with Contingent Requirements
• The Choice of Financial Reward Systems
• The Importance of Pay
• Methods of Payment
• Considerations in the Choice of a Payment System
• Summary
• Suggested Further Reading

Part III: Organizational Change

• Chapter 8: Organization, Performance and Change
• The Problem of Defining ‘Good Performance’
• Criteria for Organizational Design
• Organization and Performance
• The Search for Universals
• Considerations of Contingency
• The Task Contingency Approach: Relevance of Environment, Diversity, Size, Technology and Personnel
• Limitations of the Task Contingency Approach
• The Political Contingency Approach: Relevance of Managerial Preferences, Market Conditions and Political Context
• Considerations of Consistency
• Implications for Organizational Change
• Summary
• Suggested Further Reading
• Chapter 9: New Technology and Organization
• The Strategic Purposes of New Technology
• Reduction in Operating Costs
• Increased Flexibility
• Improvement in Quality of the Product or Service
• Increased Control and Integration
• Relevance to Employment and Job Design
• Relevance to Integration and Control
• Relevance to the Role and Structure of Management
• Technology and the Future of Organization
• Summary
• Suggested Further Reading
• Chapter 10: Undertaking Reorganization
• Pressures and Stimuli for Reorganization
• Environment
• Diversification
• Growth
• Technology
• Personnel
• Identifying a Need to Reorganize
• Warning Signs of a Structural Problem
• Specific Questions to Ask
• Problems of Implementing Reorganization
• Method of Implementation
• Time Required
• Use of Third Parties
• A Summary of General Considerations in Implementing Reorganization
• Suggested Further Reading