Contents
Learning Guide
Rationale
An organisation (or organization — see spelling differences) is a social arrangement which pursues collective goals, controls its own performance, and has a boundary separating it from its environment. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon. There are a variety of legal types of organizations, including: corporations, governments, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, armed forces, charities, not-for-profit corporations, partnerships, cooperatives, and universities. A hybrid organization is a body that operates in both the public sector and the private sector, simultaneously fulfilling public duties and developing commercial market activities. As a result the hybrid organization becomes a mixture of a government and a corporate organization.
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In the social sciences, organizations are the object of analysis for a number of disciplines, such as sociology, economics, political science, psychology, management, and organizational communication. The broader analysis of organizations is commonly referred to as organizational structure, organizational studies, organizational behavior, or organization analysis. A number of different perspectives exist, some of which are compatible:
- From a process-related perspective, an organization is viewed as an entity is being (re-)organized, and the focus is on the organization as a set of tasks or actions.
- From a functional perspective, the focus is on how entities like businesses or state authorities are used.
- From an institutional perspective, an organization is viewed as a purposeful structure within a social context.
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Organisation and management structures
Managers are people who steer an organisation towards meeting its' objectives. Management has been described as:
'the process of planning, organising, leading and controlling the efforts of organisation members and of using all
organisational resource to achieve stated organisational goals.' A manager's job is to maintain control over the way an
organisation does things, and at the same time to lead, inspire and direct the people under them.
In a company the shareholders will elect a board of directors to represent their interests. A Managing Director will be
appointed who has overall responsibility for running the company.
The managing director with help from other directors will appoint senior managers to run the company.
Read more . . .
Learning Outcomes
After completing the programme students should be able to:
1. Explain the key elements of organisational structure and design, recognise the factors which influence organisation design, describe alternative structures and design, and understand the difference between organic and mechanistic organisations.
2. Recognise the links between strategy and design, and understand the nature of organisation bureaucracy, formal and informal organisation, size and life cycle, and the impact of technology.
3. Understand the differing nature of organisation environments - both internal and external -be able to analyse the environment as it relates to their own organisation, recognise the range of influences and uncertainty within the environment.
4. Understand the nature and relevance of organisation theories, relate theories to organisational types, size and activities, compare and contrast different theories, understand the contingency approach to organisations.
5. Explain the concept and purpose of mission statements, define organisation goals and explain
differences in goals, understand how goals affect organisational performance, define and plan strategies to achieve organisational goals.
6. Understand the meaning and nature of comparative analysis, choose an appropriate framework for analysis and carry out a comparative analysis of organisations and management practices.
7. Understand the importance of organisational processes in achieving organisational effectiveness, and use appropriate techniques in planning, delegation, decision making and control in meeting organisation goals.
8. Explain the nature of organisational change and distinguish change from innovation, identify
and analyse the influences and pressures for change in organisations, identify relevant techniques in planning change, and understand how managers direct the change processes.
9. Explain the meaning and the main features of organisation development, recognise the importance of planned strategies rather than reactive strategies, understand the nature and importance of organisation culture.
10. Understand the importance of organisational social responsibility, explain the major perspectives on social responsibility, assess the relevance and benefits of corporate social responsibility, monitor social demands and explain the relevance of managerial ethics within social responsibility.
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Videos
Teaching and Learning Resources
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Fundamentals of Management
Lectures and Tutorials
Readings
Management in all business areas and organizational activities are the acts of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives efficiently and effectively. Management comprises planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization (a group of one or more people or entities) or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal. Resourcing encompasses the deployment and manipulation of human resources, financial resources, technological resources, and natural resources.
Because organizations can be viewed as systems, management can also be defined as human action, including design, to facilitate the production of useful outcomes from a system. This view opens the opportunity to 'manage' oneself, a pre-requisite to attempting to manage others.
Management can also refer to the person or people who perform the act(s) of management.
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SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieve that objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a convention at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.
A SWOT analysis must first start with defining a desired end state or objective. A SWOT analysis may be incorporated into the strategic planning model. Strategic Planning, has been the subject of much research.
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- Strengths: characteristics of the business or team that give it an advantage over others in the industry.
- Weaknesses: are characteristics that place the firm at a disadvantage relative to others.
- Opportunities: external chances to make greater sales or profits in the environment.
- Threats: external elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business.
Identification of SWOTs are essential because subsequent steps in the process of planning for achievement of the selected objective may be derived from the SWOTs.
First, the decision makers have to determine whether the objective is attainable, given the SWOTs. If the objective is NOT attainable a different objective must be selected and the process repeated.
The SWOT analysis is often used in academia to highlight and identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is particularly helpful in identifying areas for development
Activities
Issues in Business Ethics
Lectures and Tutorials
Readings
Business ethics (also known as Corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and business organizations as a whole. Applied ethics is a field of ethics that deals with ethical questions in many fields such as medical, technical, legal and business ethics.
Business ethics can be both a normative and a descriptive discipline. As a corporate practice and a career specialization, the field is primarily normative. In academia descriptive approaches are also taken. The range and quantity of business ethical issues reflects the degree to which business is perceived to be at odds with non-economic social values. Historically, interest in business ethics accelerated dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, both within major corporations and within academia. For example, today most major corporate websites lay emphasis on commitment to promoting non-economic social values under a variety of headings such as ethics codes and social responsibility charters. In some cases, corporations have redefined their core values in the light of business ethical considerations, for example, BP's "beyond petroleum" environmental tilt.
Organizational culture is an idea in the field of organizational studies and management which describes the psychology, attitudes, experiences, beliefs and values (personal and cultural values) of an organization. It has been defined as "the specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization."[1]
This definition continues to explain organizational values, also known as "beliefs and ideas about what kinds of goals members of an organization should pursue and ideas about the appropriate kinds or standards of behavior organisational members should use to achieve these goals. From organisational values develop organizational norms, guidelines, or expectations that prescribe appropriate kinds of behavior by employees in particular situations and control the behavior of organisational members towards one another."[1]
Activities
Image: Coca-Cola has become one of the most popular drinks in India. Copyright: Rosika Voermans, stock.xchng |
Theory of the Firm, Objectives and Frameworks
Lectures and Tutorials
Readings
The theory of the firm consists of a number of economic theories that describe the nature of the firm, company, or corporation, including its existence, behavior, structure, and relationship to the market.
The model shows institutions and market as a possible form of organization to coordinate economic transactions.
When the external transaction costs are higher than the internal transaction costs, the company will grow.
If the external transaction costs are lower than the internal transaction costs the company will be downsized
by outsourcing, for example.
Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. Various business analysis techniques can be used in strategic planning, including SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats ), PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social, and Technological), STEER analysis (Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic, Ecological, and Regulatory factors), and EPISTEL (Environment, Political, Informatic, Social, Technological, Economic and Legal).
Strategic planning is the formal consideration of an organization's future course. All strategic planning deals with at least one of three key questions:
- "What do we do?"
- "For whom do we do it?"
- "How do we excel?"
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In business strategic planning, some authors phrase the third question as "How can we beat or avoid competition?". (Bradford and Duncan, page 1). But this approach is more about defeating competitors than about excelling.
In many organizations, this is viewed as a process for determining where an organization is going over the next year or - more typically - 3 to 5 years (long term), although some extend their vision to 20 years.
In order to determine where it is going, the organization needs to know exactly where it stands, then determine where it wants to go and how it will get there. The resulting document is called the "strategic plan."
It is also true that strategic planning may be a tool for effectively plotting the direction of a company; however, strategic planning itself cannot foretell exactly how the market will evolve and what issues will surface in the coming days in order to plan your organizational strategy. Therefore, strategic innovation and tinkering with the 'strategic plan' have to be a cornerstone strategy for an organization to survive the turbulent business climate.
A corporate stakeholder is a party that can affect or be affected by the actions of the business as a whole. The stakeholder concept was first used in a 1963 internal memorandum at the Stanford Research institute. It defined stakeholders as "those groups without whose support the organization would cease to exist."[1] The theory was later developed and championed by R. Edward Freeman in the 1980s. Since then it has gained wide acceptance in business practice and in theorizing relating to strategic management, corporate governance, business purpose and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
The term has been broadened to include anyone who has an interest in a matter.
Activities
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| Images: Two different perceptions of what it means to be employed and self-employed - are office workers bored and oppressed, and gardeners enjoying managing their own time? Or is there much more to the advantages and disadvantages of each? Copyright: Leszek Kepa and Matthew Maaskant |
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| Image: Hospitals and schools are good examples of public sector organisations. But what business services does each provide, and what are the objectives of these? Copyright: Zarko Kecman and Carlos Gustavo Curado |
The lifelong fans of a club - what might be the likely characteristics of this group of stakeholders? © Stock.Xchng |
Image: Which group of stakeholders has a negative relationship with Lasers? Copyright: Sean Johnson |
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| Image: Who are the stakeholders when it comes to expanding airports? Try the Manchester Airport activity to find out. Copyright: Marcelo Silva |
Exercise: Clarence and Felix Objective - To set realistic and obtainable goals.
Questions
Organisational Structure and Design
Lectures and Tutorials
Organisational Structures and Types
Readings
An organizational structure is a description of the types of coordination used to organize the actions of individuals and departments that contribute to achieving a common aim. Many organizations have hierarchical structures, but not all.
Organizations are a variant of clustered entities. An organization can be structured in many different ways, depending on their objectives. The structure of an organization will determine the modes in which it operates and performs.
Organizational structure allows the expressed allocation of responsibilities for different functions and processes to different entities such as the branch, department, workgroup and individual. Individuals in an organizational structure are normally hired under time-limited work contracts or work orders, or under permanent employment contracts or program orders.
Corporate governance is the set of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions affecting the way a corporation (or company) is directed, administered or controlled. Corporate governance also includes the relationships among the many stakeholders involved and the goals for which the corporation is governed. The principal stakeholders are the shareholders, the board of directors, employees, customers, creditors, suppliers, and the community at large.
Corporate governance is a multi-faceted subject.[1] An important theme of corporate governance is to ensure the accountability of certain individuals in an organization through mechanisms that try to reduce or eliminate the principal-agent problem. A related but separate thread of discussions focuses on the impact of a corporate governance system in economic efficiency, with a strong emphasis on shareholders' welfare. There are yet other aspects to the corporate governance subject, such as the stakeholder view and the corporate governance models around the world (see section 9 below).
There has been renewed interest in the corporate governance practices of modern corporations since 2001, particularly due to the high-profile collapses of a number of large U.S. firms such as Enron Corporation and MCI Inc. (formerly WorldCom). In 2002, the U.S. federal government passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, intending to restore public confidence in corporate governance.
Activities
Image: McDonald's - one of the most famous franchises in the world. Copyright: Les Powell |
Image: A swimming pool. Copyright: Pat Herm |
Recommended Texts
Check the availability and buy your books from our Bookshop.
Business Today, 9/e
Author: Mescon/Bovee/Thill
Availability: Now!
Version: 1.3.1
ISBN: 0-13-080819-9
File size: 15.9Mb
Click on image
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Management
Fundamentals , 3e
Robert N. Lussier - Springfield College
ISBN-10: 0324226063 ISBN-13: 9780324226065
640 Pages Paperbound
© 2006 Published
Check the availability and buy your books from our Bookshop.
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The
Future of Business,
Inter@ctive Edition
Gitman, Lawrence J.
San Diego State University
McDaniel, Carl
University of Texas, Arlington
Check the availability and buy your books from our Bookshop. |
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Organization
21C
Someday All Organizations Will Lead This Way
Subir Chowdhury
0130603147 (Hardback) Dec 2002, 416 pages
Check the availability and buy your books from our Bookshop. |
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Contemporary
Business, 9th ed., Boone
and Kurtz, Dryden Press, l999.
ISBN: 0-03-022472-1
Click on image
Check the availability and buy your books from our Bookshop. |
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The
Future of Business
First Canadian Edition
Norm Althouse, University of Calgary
Shirley Rose, Mount Royal College
Laura Allan, Wilfred Laurier University
Lawrence J. Gitman, San Diego State University
Carl McDaniel, University of Texas
Published by Nelson, a division of Thomson Canada Limited
© 2004
Check the availability and buy your books from our Bookshop.
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Resources
Case Studies
Image: The Skipton Building Society - Skipton are among a decreasing
number of building societies dedicated to mutuality and run for the benefit
of their members.
Image: The City Ground. Reproduced by kind
permission of Nottingham Forest Football Club
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