Organisational structure is basically a hierarchy or a setup of organisation’s operational and management structure. The organisation structure entails that how the activities or tasks will be distributed and managed within an organisation. The organisational structure also determines the flow of information within an organisation. The flow of information can be top to bottom, bottom to top or through the same level.
Any organisation can be setup in a variety of different ways depending on their aims and objectives. The structure of an organisation basically determines that in which way or in which mode an organisation will work to become productive.
The appropriate structure of an organisation is pivotal for productivity. A wrong organisational structure can affect the smooth flow of information and productivity big time. Furthermore, the structure of an organisation also determines that which employee is appointed which role and who will be involved in the decision making process.
The organisational structures are of the following types:
Pre Bureaucratic Organisational structure – It is a very informal but centralised structure which basically lacks the standardisation of tasks assigned. This kind of structure is obsolete now and if at all it is used, it is for very small scale organisations for doing very simple tasks.
Bureaucratic Organisational structure – It is still not a completely standardised structure but to some degree it is. This structure is implementable in relatively large scale organisations having a complex setup of operational units and employees.
Post Bureaucratic Structure – In the post bureaucratic organisational structure, the setup of the organisation is more determined on the organisational culture as compared to the organisational setup. Different theorists have different understanding of the post bureaucratic organisational model but the most definite thing in all is that it encourages participation and gives more power to individuals who otherwise feel much stressed working in groups.
Functional Structure – The functional structure is that setup where the organisation is structured according to the functions or different departments of an organisation. The task is allocated to different departments where it is accomplished within the department. This structure further determines the job role and ascertains that to whom a particular employee should report. The dilemma with the functional structure is that there is no communication among different functions or different departments which results in severe productivity issues. The decision-making process in such a structure can be very rigid and time consuming as well.
Divisional Structure – The divisional organisational structure breaks down the organisation in to several self contained decisions. Several different functions can operate within one divisional unit of the organisation. Divisional structure is suitable for large scale organisations and specially those who are structured in different geographical locations. The main advantage of this structure is that the communication among the divisions is very easy and effective.