Compare and contrast the structure and culture of the organization

LO1.1 Compare and contrast the structure and culture of the organization

Unit 12 of HND business management deals with Compare and contrast the structure and culture of the organization with the organizational behaviour aspects which are key for the success of any business organization. Organizational structure can be considered as the norms, rules or policies which govern the organizational operations. Within these parameters, the organization is supposed to operate and attain its objective set by the business stakeholders. Organizational culture can be considered as the attitude, value and behaviour of the employees working within the organization. These are largely attributed to the organizational environment. Both Organizational culture and structure have a high impact on organizational performance. Talking about the organizational structure, there are mainly two types of organizational structure which prevails generally within business organizations and are as under.

Hierarchical and flat organizational structure

Mainly there are two types of the organizational structure under which most of the business organizations prevail and these are flat structures and hierarchical structures.

Flat and Hierarchical Organizational Structures refer to the type of order a business or corporate’s managers, subordinates and staff are positioned for reporting, supervision and communication purposes. Organizational structure varies in each company.

However, the structure of a business is important in accomplishing corporate goals and objectives, achieving greater productivity levels and managing employee work needs. Some of the objectives that an organization structure fulfils include;

• To establish and delineate lines of communication between managers and subordinates, responsibilities, company policies and authority line.
• To determine the nature and extent of how leadership is scattered within the organization.
• To ensure effectiveness in work management and work ethics, productivity level and planning and coordination.
• To ensure smooth communication network.
• To bestow planning and controlling power.
• To ensure smooth functioning between departments and project teams.

Preference of Most Corporates

Companies usually adopt one of the two types of organizational structures – Hierarchical or Flat Structure. The type is determined by several factors, both external and internal including organization size, employees’ skill, number of staff, business goals, the technology used, stakeholders, shareholders etc.

Hierarchical Organization Structure – This is a tall structure that looks similar to a pyramid. It has several levels – the topmost level is meant for the CEO, MD or Chairman and descends down to its base level where the staffs with lower designation occupy the pyramid. In such organizations, every employee except at the top level is a subordinate to someone else in the organization. The hierarchical structure is usually adopted by large organizations.

Flat Organization Structure–It is also known as horizontal organization structure in which businesses have fewer or no levels of middle managers. There may be one or two layers between the top management and lower levels of employees. The structure is short and wide and is usually adopted by small scale businesses.