CHAPTER 4 ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES

INTRODUCTIONThe engineer manager needs to acquire various skills in management, including those for organizing technical activities. In this highly competitive environment, the unskilled manager will not be able to bring his unit, or his company, as the case may be, to success.

The value of a superior organizational set-up has been proven dramatically during the Second World War when a smaller American naval force confronted the formidable Japanese navy at Midway. Military historians indicated that the Americans emerged victorious because of the superior organizational skills of their leaders.

INTRODUCTION

Even today, skills in organizing contribute largely to the accomplishment of the objectives of many organizations, whether they are private businesses or otherwise. The positive effects of business success becomes more pronounced when they come as a result of international operations. International businesses, however, cannot hope to make huge profits unless they are properly organized to implement their plans. INTRODUCTION

The opportunities offered by skillful organizing are too important for the engineer manager to ignore. This chapter is intended to provide him with some background and insights in organizing. INTRODUCTION

REASONS FOR ORGANIZINGOrganizing is undertaken to facilitate the implementation of plans. In effective organizing, steps are undertaken to breakdown the total job into more manageable man-size jobs. Doing these will make it possible to assign particular tasks to particular persons.

REASONS FOR ORGANIZINGIn turn, these will help facilitate the assignment of authority, responsibility and accountability of certain functions and tasks.

ORGANIZING DEFINEDOrganizing is a management function which refers to the structuring of resources and activities to accomplish objectives in an efficient and effective manner.The arrangement or relationship of positions within an organization is called the structure. The result of the organizing process is the structure.

THE PURPOSE OF THE STRUCTUREThe structure serves some very useful purposes. They are the following:1.It defines the relationships between tasks and authority for individuals and departments.

THE PURPOSE OF THE STRUCTURE2.It defines formal reporting relationships, the number of levels in the hierarchy of the organization and the span of control.

3.It defines the groupings of individuals into departments and departments into organization.

The Formal OrganizationAfter a plan is adapted, management will proceed to form an organization to carry out the activities indicated in the plan.The formal organization is the structure that details lines of responsibilities, authority and position. What is depicted in the organization chart is the formal organization.

The Formal OrganizationIt is the planned structure and it represents the deliberate attempt to establish patterned relationships among components that will meet the objectives effectively.

The Formal OrganizationThe formal structure is described by management through:

1.organization chart

2.organizational manual and

3.policy manuals.

The Formal OrganizationThe organization chart is a diagram of the organizations official positions and formal lines of authority.

The Formal OrganizationThe organizational manual provides written descriptions of authority relationships, details the functions of major organizational units and describes job procedures.The policy manual describes personnel activities and company policies.

Informal GroupsFormal organizations require the formation of formal groups which will be assigned to perform specific tasks aimed at achieving organizational objectives. The formal group is a part of the organization structure.

Informal GroupsThere are instances when members of an organization spontaneously form a group with friendship as a principal reason for belonging. This group is called an informal group. It is not part of the formal organization and it does not have a formal performance purpose.

Informal GroupsInformal groups are oftentimes very useful in the accomplishment of major tasks, especially if these tasks conform with the expectations of the members of the informal group.

Informal GroupsThe informal organization, useful as it is, is vulnerable to expediency, manipulation and opportunism, according to Valentine. Its low visibility, Valentine added, makes it difficult for management to detect these perversions and considerable harm can be done to the company.

Informal GroupsThe engineer manager is , therefore, warned that he must be on the lookout for the possible difficulties that the informal groups may do to the organization. It will be to his best interest if he could make the informal groups work for the organization.

TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES There are three types of organizations. They are the following:

1.Functional organizationthis is a form of departmentalization in which everyone engaged in one functional activity, such as engineering or marketing, is grouped into one unit.

TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES2.Product or market organizationthis refers to the organization of a company by divisions that brings together all those involved with a certain type of product or costumer.

Types of Organizational Structures3.Matrix organizationan organizational structure in which each employee reports to both a functional or division manager and to a project or group manager.

Functional OrganizationFunctional organization structures are very effective in smaller firms, especially single-business firms where key activities revolve around well-defined skills and areas of specialization.

Functional OrganizationFunctional organizations have certain advantages. They are the following:

1.The grouping of employees who perform a common task permit economies of scale and efficient resource use.

Functional Organization2. Since the chain of commandconverges at the top of theorganization, decision-making is centralized, providing a unified direction from the top.3.Communication and coordination among employees within each department are excellent.

Functional Organization4.The structure promotes high-quality technical problem-solving.

5.The organization is provided with in depth skill specialization and development.

Functional Organization6.Employees are provided with career progress within functional departments.

Functional OrganizationThe disadvantages of the functional organizational are the following:1.Communication and coordination between the departments areoften poor. 2.Decisions involving more than one department pile up at the top management level and are often delayed.

Functional Organization3.Work specialization and division of labor, which are stressed in a functional organization, produce routine, no motivating employee tasks.

4.It is difficult to identify which section or group is responsible for certain problems.

Functional Organization5.There is limited view of organizational goals byemployees.

6.There is limited general management training for employees.

Product or Market OrganizationThe Product or market organization, with its feature of operation by divisions, is appropriate for a large corporation with many product lines in several related industries.

Product or Market OrganizationThe advantages of a product or market organization are as follows:

1.The organization is flexible and responsive to change.

2.The organization provides a high concern for customers needs.

Product or Market Organization3.the organization provides excellent coordination across functional departments.

4.There is easy pinpointing of responsibility for product problems.

Product or Market Organization5.There is emphasis on overall product and division goals.

6.The opportunity for the development of general management skills is provided.

Product or Market OrganizationThe disadvantages of the product or market organization are as follows:

1.There is a high possibility of duplication of resources across divisions.

2.There is less technical depth and specialization in divisions.

Product or Market Organization3.There is poor coordination across divisions.4.There is less top management control.

5.There is competition for corporate resources.

Matrix OrganizationMatrix organization, according to Thompson and Strickland, is a structure with two (or more) channels of command, two lines of budget authority, and two sources of performance and reward. Higgins declared that the matrix structure was designed to keep employees in a central pool an to allocate them to various projects in the firm according to the length of time they were needed.

Matrix OrganizationThe matrix organization is afforded with the following advantages:

1.There is more efficient use of resources than the divisional structure.

2.There is flexibility and adaptability to changing environment.

Matrix Organization3.The development of both general and functional management skills are present.

4.There is interdisciplinary cooperation and any expertise is available to all divisions.

5.There are enlarged tasks for employees which motivate them better.

Matrix OrganizationThe matrix organization has some disadvantages, however. They are the following:

1.There is frustration and confusion from dual chain of command.

Matrix Organization2.There is high conflict between divisional and functional interests.

3.There are many meetings and more discussion than action.

Matrix Organization4.There is a need for human relations training for key employees and managers.

5.There is a tendency for power dominance by one side of the matrix.

Types of AuthorityThe delegation of authority is a requisite for effective organizing. It consists of three types. They are as follows:

1.Line authoritya managers right to tell subordinates what to do and then see that they do it.

Types of Authority2.Staff authoritya staffs specialists right to give advice to a superior.

3.Functional Authoritya specialists right to oversee lower levelpersonnel involved in that specialty, regardless of where the personnel are in the organization.

Types of AuthorityLine departments perform tasks that reflect the organizations primary goal and mission. In a construction firm, the department that negotiates and secures contracts for the firm is a line department. The construction division is also a line function.

Types of AuthorityStaff departments include those that provide specialized skills in support of line departments. Examples of staff departments include those which perform strategic planning, labor relations, research, accounting and personnel.

Types of AuthorityStaff officers may be classified into the following:1.Personal staffthose individuals assigned to a specific manager to provide needed staff services.

Types of Authority2.Specialized staffthose individuals providing needed staff services for the whole organization.

Types of AuthorityFunctional authority is one given to a person or a work group to make decisions related to their expertise even if these decisions concern other departments. This authority is given to most budget officers of organizations, as well as other officers.

The Purpose of CommitteesWhen certain formal groups are deemed inappropriate to meet expectations, committees are ofetntimes harnessed to achieve organizational goals. Many organizations, large or small, make use of committees.

The Purpose of CommitteesA committee is a formal group of persons formed for a specific purpose. For instance, the product planning committee, as described by Millevo, is often staffed by top executives from marketing, production, research, engineering and finance, who work part-time to evaluate and approve product ideas.

The Purpose of CommitteesCommittees are very useful most especially to engineering and manufacturing firms. When a certain concern, like product development, is under consideration, a committee is usually formed to provide the necessary line-up of expertise needed to achieve certain objectives.

The Purpose of CommitteesCommittees may be classified as follows:

1.Ad hoc committeeone created for a short-term purpose and have a limited life. An example is the committee created to manage the anniversary festivities of a certain firm.

The Purpose of Committees2.Standing committeeit is a relatively permanent committee that deals with issues on an ongoing basis. An example is the grievance committee set up to handle initially complaints from employees of the organization.

The Purpose of CommitteesCommittees may not work properly, however, if they are not correctly managed. Delaney suggests that it might be useful to set up some procedures to make the committee a more effective tool to accomplish our goals.

Summary The proper management of engineering activities, whether at the unit, department or firm level, requires effective organizing. The organizing function is undertaken to facilitate the implementation of plans.

SummaryOrganizing refers to the structuring of resources and activities to accomplish objectives. The structure serves as a way to reach the organizations goals.

SummaryThe formal organization is the structure that will carry out the plan. It is described through the organization chart, the organization manual and the policy manual.

SummaryInformal group oftentimes find their way to exist side by side with formal organizations. These groups may make it easy or make it hard for the organization to achieve its objectives.

SummaryOrganization may be classified into: (1) functional, (2) product or market or (3) matrix.

Authority delegated to the members of the organization may be classified into: (1) line authority, (2) staff authority and (3) functional authority.

SummaryCommittees are used as a supplement to the existing formal organization. Committees are classified into: (1) ad hoc, and (2) standing.