Subject: Business Management - Unit 3 Question: Identify and analyse one internal and one external pressure that could alter the organisational structure. Response: Internal and external pressures are referring to the pressures from the relevant environments - the internal environment for internal pressures, and the operating and macro environments for external pressures. Organisational structure refers to the ways resources, in particular, human resources, are sorted/organised within an organisation. Some internal pressures which could alter the organisational structure include: - the management style used by managers: the less autocratic the style used, the more likely the structure will move towards a flatter structure - the management skills possessed by managers: managers lacking skills such as delegation are less likely to use a flatter structure, they might also avoid the matrix structure etc. - the policies and procedures which exist in an organisation - the corporate culture in an organisation: for example, it would be difficult to implement the matrix structure if the culture simply didn’t facilitate it - e.g. employees aren’t used to responding to two levels of management. If there are severe rivalries between teams, the use of the functional structure may be counter-productive. Some external pressures which could alter the organisational structure include: - economic pressures: if money is tight, the matrix structure might not work. If there is a strong need for efficiency and times won’t allow the hiring of more employees (because it’s too expensive?), middle management might be cut (i.e. streamlining towards a flatter structure), the matrix structure might be avoided etc. - consumers: it may be necessary to adopt a divisional structure based on location if consumers are located in various places, with their needs best met by targeting them in localised groups etc.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 04:27:16 +0000
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