Organizational design is a formal and guided process that involves the integration of people, technology, and information in the organization. As a step by step process, the organizational design identifies the dysfunctional aspects of the procedures, structures as well as systems so as to realign them to fit within the organization goals. Therefore, organization design enables the organization to improve both its people and technical side towards the greater success. This paper discusses organizational technology and design through describing the way technology (as presented by Jones, 2010) enhances the organizational productivity. It also performs a comparison of the technology theories and models of Thompson, Perrow and Woodward. Further, the paper explains the concepts of task interdependence, task analyzability and variability and technical complexity as well as relate the ideas to the practices of: a drive-through coffee house, a large life insurance company, a video game production firm and a solar technology firm. Additionally, the paper identifies the organizations’ structural forms that one can come across in each of these companies by providing reasons to back the claims.
How technology (as defined by Jones, 2010) can increase organizational efficiency
Technology improves the organization's efficiency in many ways. Firstly, technology is important in improving the process of conversion from input to output within the organization's functions (Jones, 2010). Technology increases the overall efficiency of an organization by reducing the costs at every stage of the conversion processes while also improving the quality and service. The effectiveness of technology in the conversion occurs at every stage from the input to conversion and finally at the output stage.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
During the input stage, the skills, techniques, and procedures of technology, enables the organization to handle the environmental factors in a more efficient and satisfactory manner (Jones, 2010). For instance, the market changes may have an effect on the product prices in the industry by suppliers. Consequently, the organizations would need the technological skills to find the best price in the market. When converting inputs to outputs, technology ensures the best and efficient methods are used to transfer goods as well as services to the stakeholders outside the organization (Jones, 2010). For instance, technology offers improved methods of testing the quality of products, packaging and selling out the products to the target market. When the organization experiences an increased efficiency, they are able to meet the needs of the stakeholders while also performing the organization tasks in a manner that produces a good outcome for the organization and its internal stakeholders.
Compare and contrast the technology models and theories of Woodward, Perrow, and Thompson .
According to Geisler, and Heller, (2012), Woodward’s theory attempted to distinguish three types of core technology and associated processes of labor. They include small batch and unit production. Geisler and Heller (2012) explains that Woodward argues how technology produces a unit at a time as per the orders made of the products. As such, the technology is associated with a labor who works from the first to the last stage and is the least complex form of technology. The second is the large batch and mass production where technology produces several items of the same product at the same time for a homogenous mass market. This kind of technology is moderate and involves a more rigid division of labor. At this stage, the labor process involves a concept of division of labor. The third is the continuous process production Woodward’s argues that technology takes raw materials into a continuous transformative process that cannot be split into different operations. An example is a chemical industry that processes different chemical to make up a substance. This is the highest form of technical complexity. Woodward, therefore, correlates the technology in organizations with different management structures and draws a conclusion that technologies of mass productions often associated with centralized as well as bureaucratic forms of management while the small batch and continuous technology are best suited for decentralized management programs.
On the other end, James Thompson proposed a method for classifying technology for both service and manufacturing organizations. As such he had long-linked technologies which he suggests are most common with linear processes and are used in the manufacturing where raw materials are the starting point all the way to the finished product. The second is Mediated technology that serves to link the customers/ clients with the organization. An example is how banks join its borrowers and investors. The third type is intensive technology which involves majorly hardware like in the medical fields where technology is used to diagnose cancer in patients.
Charles Perrow came up with a model that can be applied to a wide variety of task and activities more than just the core technology as suggested by Woodward’s. Perrow adopted a two-dimensional classification of technology based on task variability and analyzability (McKelvey, 2012). Task variability is used to denote the extent to which labor processes involve non-variable procedures or a wide array of exclusions that all need to be controlled. Task analyzability on the other end denotes the extent to which formal processes are needed to handle the non-standardized exceptional events. McKelvey (2012) explains that the two dimension according to Perrow in typology yields four categories which include routine technologies, involves both standard and systematic procedures leading small variability but high analyzability; non-routine technology which is an exact opposite of the routine technology and involves no standardized routines or formal procedures. Therefore research and development are some of the examples. Craft technologies which include the use of standard procedures except where they may not work forcing the laborers to improvise. Carpentry is a good example of craft technology. The last is engineering technologies the range of problems to be solved have solutions that are formalized and predetermined. Examples include organizational financial accounting.
Explain the concepts of technical complexity, task variability and analyzability, and task interdependence .
Technical complexity refers to the degree to which the programming of the production process can take place so as to be monitored and made foreseeable (Liu, & Li, 2012). There exist low and high low technical complexity. High technical complexity involves situations where programming can be integrated in the processes of conversion and become entirely automated in advance (Liu, & Li, 2012). Low technical complexity on the other end involves cases where the process of conversion simply depends on the people and their skills as well as knowledge but not machines. Task variability refers to the number of exceptions to standard procedures, or the number of new situations an individual encounter while performing a particular task. Task analyzability on its part refers to the degree for which when one encounters exceptions in dealing with a task; other known exceptions exist that can be adopted in dealing with the particular task. Task interdependence, however, refers to the way in which various tasks within an organization are connected to each other, and all affect the organization's structure as well as technology.
Apply the above concepts to the operations of a large life insurance company, drive through coffee house, Video Game Production Company and solar technology company.
Large Life Insurance Company
The operations of Life Insurance Company would require the concept of task analyzability. Since the task of insurance company involves routine due to a low variation in the activities. The insurance officer has a known method for which they use to solve the problems at hand and as such routinely apply the concept of task analyzability. There is also a low task variability which makes it routine.
A Drive-Through Coffee House
Task analyzability with regard to the operations of a drive-through the coffee house applies when serving customers since there is low task variability with a formidable task analyzability. The concept of high technical complexity also applies in the coffee making. There is an advance programming of the conversion process which is fully automated, and customers come from a finished product which is identical to the rest of such products.
A Video Game Production Company
The case of a video game production involves high technical complexity in the making since the conversion process is programmed and fully automated for gamers to play. Secondly, the concept of tax analyzability and variability applies in the manufacturing of the games. The video games require programming that involves a high technical know-how and manipulations to produce.
A Solar Technology Company
Making solar technology is a highly analyzable concept. The process of making the collectors array and other collector materials as well as ensuring the output energy. The process further involves the concept of high technical complexity in the wattage. Every solar product has an output wattage. The wattage has to be programmed through all the solar products to ensure a particular set watt output is programmed for particular sets of solar.
Identify the type of organizational structure you would expect to find in each of these four types of organizations, and explain why
Large Life Insurance Company
A customer organizational arrangement properly runs a large life insurance company. It is because different clients have different needs and thus a customized support approach would be necessary to meet specific customer expectations. For example, the sales staff, marketing staff, and claim officers would exist as different departments in the organization.
Drive-through Coffee House
As a structure, a functional organizational model best suits the operations of a drive through the coffee house. Individual employees in the coffee shop can thus be grouped according to the functions they perform. In such a case, there can be the cashier who is in the accounting department and the service persons who ensure customers are served after payments. The functions here are separated by the expertise (Foss, & Knudsen, 2013).
Video Game Production Company
A video game company is best suited to be run by a functional organization structure. In this case, those in charge of marketing operate as a department, the engineers in charge of the production of the video games operate under their own department, the human resource, and the accountants as well on their separate departments. As such, functions are grouped in terms of similarity and made into a unit which operates under team leaders (Foss, & Knudsen, 2013).
Solar Technology Company
A matrix structure best runs the solar technology firm. Matrix structure adopts a highly divisional and fictional structure (Foss, & Knudsen, 2013). As such all engineers are made a part of a functional group but may also serve as a functional team towards developing new products for the solar company. The organization thus will have different departments that are structured based on the functions done by individuals while at the same time allowing the individuals to report both horizontally and vertically. This will make the employees responsible not only for their respective departments but also for the entire organization's goals and objectives.
References
Foss, N. J., & Knudsen, C. (2013). Towards a competence theory of the firm (Vol. 2). London: Routledge.
Geisler, E., & Heller, O. (2012). Management of medical technology: theory, practice and cases (Vol. 2). Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media.
Jones, G. R. (2010). Organizational theory, design, and change . Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
Liu, P., & Li, Z. (2012). Task complexity: A review and conceptualization framework. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics , 42 (6), 553-568.o
McKelvey, B. (2012). Organizational speciation. In C. C. Pinder, & L. F. Moore (Eds.), Middle Range Theory and the Study of Organizations (pp. 169-186). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.
