Organisational Structure & Its Characteristics- An Analysis

This report analyzes the meaning of organizational theory, classical and neoclassical approaches, and the forces that shape organizations. It discusses the theories of Henry Fayol, Frederick Taylor, Max Weber, Abraham Maslow, Elton Mayo, and Douglas McGregor. It also explores the importance of customer orientation, culture-excellence approach, Japanese approach, organizational learning, power-politics perspectives, modernist postmodernist approach, and technology in shaping organizations.

Organisational
Structure & Its
Characteristics- An
Analysis

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................1
Meaning of organisational theory...............................................................................................1
Analysis of Classical Approaches...............................................................................................1
Analysis of Neoclassical Approaches.........................................................................................3
Forces that shape the organisation..............................................................................................4
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Organisation refers to the business which is formed by certain number of individuals who
have common objectives so as to achieve those goals. It can be in any of the form which exist in
business world. Also, it is an important part of the economy as the growth depends on the
working of such organisations to a great extent. There are number of theories which can be
applied within the workplace for carrying the activities effectively. In this report, Google LLC
has been taken which is an American company that has business in many countries in the world.
It provides internet related services and products which are comprise of wide varieties. This
report describes the organizational theory by bifurcating into classical and neo-classical, their
evolution together with the assessment of forces which are responsible for shaping the
organisations and their structures in forthcoming years.
MAIN BODY
Meaning of organisational theory
Organisational theory focuses on the structure, relationship, environment and design that
exist within the workplace. It emphasise on the relationship of various functions and elements
with the help of which all the activities are carried. It also includes the behaviour of people
working in there. Organisational theory has been categorised into many categories but this report
consist the discussion about two approaches only, which are classical and neo-classical. These
theories have been transformed as per the current situations in order to make them suitable for
the entities.
Analysis of Classical Approaches
Classical approach of organisation theory emphasizes on the employees working at the
workplace. It is completely traditional in its origin which concentrates on the structure and
management of the organisation. In other words, it can said that the light is put on physical and
economic needs of the staff and other needs are not considered. The approaches related to
classical theory has been provided underneath:
Henry Fayol – Principles of Organisation
Principles of organisation was given by Henry Fayol who is recognised as the father of
modern management. These are applied to make changes in prevailing condition of the
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organisation to make it successful. These relevant for all the businesses irrespective of the
organisational framework or structure. The main focus is about sticking to the fundamental
principles which act as guidelines so as to make good decisions which ca be implemented in the
organisation. This approach has been evolved with the time which has given significance to the
employees which was not there in any other theories. It respects the rights of workforce which
helps in maintaining equality in organisation premises. Workforce gets authority and freedom to
carry their assigned functions and roles according to their tactics. Therefore, it can be said that
additional elements can be included for the purpose of implementing it within the organisation. It
is important to understand the employees in order to fulfil their goals and objectives. With the
use of this theory, Google can add some or all of the principles in the existing set of such
principles.
Frederick Taylor- Scientific Management
This organisation theory is based on scientific management who is called as the father of
scientific management. It is also known as Taylorism theory because of the surname of the
author. It is about the productivity and contribution of each personnel in the organisational goals
and objectives. The main aim is to protect the interest of employees by striking a balance
between their demands and expectations of the organisation. The possible changes which have
taken place in this are related to the technology. According to this theory, without using latest
technology, no business can survive in the fierce competition. In simpler terms, employees
should be given training to operate new technologies for achieving the goals and objectives in a
timely manner. The transformation that are being brought by technology can be managed with
the application of this theory. Google can apply scientific management for bringing a co-
ordination between the efforts of employees with the use of technology.
Max Weber- Bureaucracy
The theory of bureaucracy was given by Max Weber, German sociologist. This theory
highlights the importance and implementation of proper division of work by assigning the jobs to
every person. It is important for developing and maintaining a peaceful environment which is
possible when all the different units work in the same direction. Furthermore, it also provides the
division of powers into the categories of traditional, charismatic and bureaucratic. The changes
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that have taken place in theory are majorly about the costs related to the management and
controlling of whole activities. It has suggested the ways in which existing costs can be utilised
in an optimal way without any new applicants being appointed for the same.
Analysis of Neoclassical Approaches
Neoclassical theory has put light on the people responsible for the carrying the work in
the organisation along with the group work. The added elements in classical theory has produced
the neoclassical theory. It is a hybrid form of management and behaviour of people working in
the organisation. Some of the theories in this category as follows:
Maslow Theory of Motivation-
Abraham Maslow has founded this theory which comprise of different types of needs of
employees in order to feel them motivated for a long time. It has been put in a pyramid shaped
structure, the most demanded needs being at the lowest in that structure. The needs are
physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualisation. It has been evolved with the time
which included that equal importance should be given to the self-actualisation needs. There
should be absolute focus on the main goals and objectives of the entity but this does not mean
that needs of individuals which are included in self-actualisation needs should be avoided. The
personal needs are equally important as the professional recognition or any needs are. There
should be a balance in motivating the employees. Furthermore, it should be done on a continuous
basis. Hence, it can be said that there are different sort of needs which should be met by the
organisation which may be beyond the business objectives. With reference to Google, it can
assess the current needs of its workforce so that it can make policies to meet them.
The Human Relations School – Elton Mayo
This theory of organisation was developed in early 1920s during industrial revolution. It
comprise of different opinions of the team which are about making contribution in the supportive
team. In other word, every individual aspires to be on the team which is performing well within
the organisation. The logic behind this is that every personnel should be given importance and
proper guidance so as to become a member of the team which is performing in an effective way.
This theory has undergone the transformation by putting the prosperity of the workforce at the
top priority. Earlier, this theory was up to the extent of carrying the activities for the benefit of
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employees. Now the evolved theory has focused on improving the productivity of people
working in the organisation. In this context of Google, the management can use different ways of
motivation for the individuals working in the entity.
McGregor Contingency Theory-
This theory was penned by Douglas McGregor in 1960s. This theory is called Theory X
and Theory Y which is based on authoritarian and participative styles, respectively. These can be
applied within the workplace for obtaining better results. It helps in keeping a balance in the
systems of the organisation and the freedom of employees for attaining the goals and objectives.
In order to keep the work going on without any hurdle or issue, it is important to keep the
workforce motivated. It has evolved with the time which shows that globalisation has been
considered to making the changes by linking the theory with the social activities. This shows that
scope for this theory has increased. With reference to Google, the management can use any of
the two styles for the operations which are carried within the organisation.
Forces that shape the organisation
Customer oriented- Customers are the main stakeholder who can impact the activities to
a huge extent. It is important for the companies to assess the demands of the products or services
in the market as compared to the competitors. The increase or decrease in the value of a company
is majorly based on the responds given by the consumers towards the products of the
organisation. It consists four steps which starts from developing, manufacturing, marketing and
deliver the product to the final customer. Google can conduct surveys for understanding the
current demands so as to manufacture those goods only.
Culture-excellence approach- As per this approach, every organisational has their own
culture by following which the people work within the premises. There can be huge number of
employees from the diverse background which may create conflicts within the organisation.
With the use of culture-excellence approach, the management can understand the employees in a
better way for making them achieve their goals and objectives effectively. Furthermore, the HR
managers can formulate different strategies for bringing equality within the organisation and
among the employees. Google can use this approach for providing the high satisfaction to the
employees. It is important for the company to keep their staff motivated for the achieving the
goals and objectives for the company.
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The Japanese Approach-
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The Japanese Approach- This approach is specifically for the quality of the production
process. According to this approach, there should be good control on the quality on the products
being manufactured by the company. This helps in achieving the goals and objectives by
maintaining the quality standards. Under this, there are some functions which should be
exercised by the managers for carrying the changes within the organisation. Google is an
international company operating in many countries because of globalisation. Therefore, it
becomes imperative for it to incorporate measures of the control so that desired quality can
attained (Antonsen, 2017).
Organisational learning- This is the way through which the management comes to
know about the organisation and its efficiency. It helps in obtaining the knowledge which can be
improved with the time and requirement. Under this, the management should apply the existing
knowledge and tactics for filling the gap between the working conditions and innovation. There
are three actions such as conceive, act and reflect (Murphy, Willmott and Daft, 2017). Every
work starts with an idea which is then executed with the formulation of a plan. It is then followed
by a reflection. Google can learn about its mechanism in order to know the strengths and
weaknesses of the company. This is to improve them with appropriate concepts and theories.
Also, leadership styles can be implemented within the organisation for guiding the employees in
order to achieve their goals and objectives.
Power-politics perspectives- This is related to the division of the power within the
organisation. There are three layers in the hierarchy which should have powers for making
decisions which can be implemented within the company. On the other hand, politics is about the
behaviours of the people working in the entity. This can be positive as well as negative. The
management should always try to make efforts for bringing the positive organisational politics.
Google can create a favourable environment at the workplace in order to achieve the goals and
objectives without any hurdle. This can help it survive for a long time even in the fierce
competition. There should be a balance between the politics and power (Reynolds and Vince,
2017).
Modernist postmodernist- The word postmodernist is a phenomenon which emerged
during 1920s. This is about the socio-economic climate which exists in the organisation. This
approach takes into account the interest which is connected with the diversity and creativity.
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These form rules for the employees which should be followed by them. This is about the
managerial approaches which should be adopted by the people working in the organisation. It is
the developed version of postmodernist management. This takes into account the modern
approaches which should be implemented within the organisation. Hence, this is the new version
of the approach that can make the entities achieve the goals and objectives within time.
Importance of technology- Technology is am important part of the company which
includes emergence of new technology that can be used in the organisation. There should be
implementation of the latest technology in at the workplace. Furthermore, the management
should understand the needs of this aspect in order to reduce the losses or differences.
Furthermore, without appropriate technology, there are high chances that company can suffer
from losses (Bishop and Connors, 2018).
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been concluded that organisational theories are there which
have been developed by different kinds of authors from their experiences and experiments. There
are pros and cons of the same, which should be taken into account before the implementation of
one single theory. Along with this, the traditional approaches have been transformed with the
time and such changes should be taken into account. This removes the complexities in the entity
which increases the efficiencies and productivity of the workplace. Together with this,
employees should be effective enough to understand and carry the changes.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals:
Byrkjeflot, H., 2018. The Impact and Interpretation of Weber’s Bureaucratic Ideal Type in
Organisation Theory and Public Administration', Bureaucracy and Society in Transition
(Comparative Social Research, Volume 33).
Young, C. and Ghoshal, S., 2016. Organization theory and the multinational corporation.
Springer.
Alvesson, M., 2018. Organization theory and technocratic consciousness: Rationality, ideology
and quality of work (Vol. 8). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.
Wang, C., and et. Al., 2019. Effects of celebrity endorsement on firms’ competition: from
industrial organisation perspective. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja. 32(1).
pp.3224-3246.
Cornelis, T., and et. al., 2019, July. Organisation design seen through systematic design.
In Proceedings of the Design Society: International Conference on Engineering
Design (Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 1553-1562). Cambridge University Press.
Beckford, J., 2019. The Intelligent Organisation: Realising the value of information. Routledge.
Waldman, D.E. and Jensen, E.J., 2016. Industrial organization: theory and practice. Routledge.
Murphy, J., Willmott, H. and Daft, R., 2017. Organisation Theory and Design. Cengage.
Reynolds, M. and Vince, R., 2017. Organizing reflection: An introduction. In Organizing
reflection (pp. 15-28). Routledge.
Bishop, P. and Connors, C., 2018. Management, organisation, and ethics in the public sector.
Routledge.
Antonsen, S., 2017. Safety culture: theory, method and improvement. CRC Press.
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