A disorganized business is often the result of poor management. This is not usually due to the individual but the organization as a whole. Gregory Okwuosah believes almost any business in Lawrenceville, Georgia, can work as a system with a strong foundation and clear understanding of common goals.
What Is An Entrepreneurial Organizational Structure?
Depending on the type of business, the requirements of a successful organizational structure change. With a well-organized system of operations, Gregory Okwuosah has noticed the potential for marketing strategies and sales.
At its core, an organizational and management structure helps align different subsets of a business. Once all departments are on the same page, the overarching goals can be reached at a faster pace. How a business leader approaches their structure can dictate how well departments communicate, production speed, and marketing techniques.
Gregory Okwuosah has examined five critical elements that make an organization thrive. Job design, delegation, departmentation, chain of command, and span of control are at the heart of every company’s structure.
Types of Organizational Structures Used in Lawrenceville, Georgia
The most popular types of structures can be summed up into two main categories: mechanistic and flat.
Flat Organization Structure
A flat organizational structure is designed to improve responsiveness and innovation. Gregory Okwuosah usually sees this approach in smaller companies that can afford flexibility. A flat structure essentially bypasses the middle layers of management.
Since the chain of command is relatively short in a flat organizational approach, communication is often more direct. Supervisors and team leaders still exist in this structure, but the communication is much clearer because there are fewer departments.
Mechanistic Organizational Structure
The Mechanistic approach relies on hierarchy structures. This provides some flexibility to larger organizations or corporations. This creates more of a traditional bureaucracy and may involve a lot of red tape over time. A functional structure is often used for this approach because of its ability to increase productivity.
For a fluid form of the hierarchical method, the matrix structure is used for a centralized organization. Employees with multiple skills can move from one department to the next depending on what needs to be accomplished. This gives supervisors the ability to choose from a range of employees with a competing skill set.
Another popular centralized structure is also used for employee flexibility. The projectized structure allows employees to focus on one project at a time while managers can make high-priority decisions. This allows for a faster production schedule and effective communication.
What Is An Open Boundary Structure?
Structural forms have evolved in recent years to eliminate the excessive traditional boundaries within a business or organization. Instead of relying on departments, teams are used. Suppliers work closely with the organization making the company feel more compact. This type of structure falls into the “flat” category.
There are several benefits to this approach. An organization is able to leverage an employee’s individual talents to fit the company best. This structure also allows for a faster response when markets change. As with most flat structures, this approach is widely used to increase communication and cooperation among teams and employees.
Unfortunately, there are disadvantages to running an open boundary structure. It is not uncommon to see a lack of strong leadership. Although employees may be well informed about what is happening within the organization, the overall goals are not always clear.
An open boundary structure can be time-consuming. This strategy needs time to grow, which may not always suit small businesses just starting out. CEOs may abandon the structure before it begins to work.
Modular Organizations
Within an open boundary structure, there are several forms to choose from. A modular organization structure will frequently keep the core part of a product while outsourcing lesser portions. If a product cannot be broken into smaller parts, this structure will not work for a large organization.
Decisions affecting the business as a whole are made at a corporate, team, divisional and individual level. The number of specialists can be reduced and overhead due to the outsourcing of smaller components.
Privacy is especially important when using this method. Since suppliers have access to core data, this can expose trade secrets. CEOs should be aware that if suppliers are no longer available, this can raise prices.
Network Structure
A network structure is a unified organization that benefits from competitive partnerships. This is essentially a corporation that operates among institutions to deliver a common service. Each business is usually conducted online.
CEOs can successfully minimize overhead by eliminating certain global boundaries while allowing the business maximum flexibility. Another benefit of this structure has to do with power distribution. With a network structure, employees can collaborate to make important decisions affecting the organization.
This can be a risky structure depending on the level of trust one business has for the other. If there is sabotage or poor communication inside the organization, this will make the process increasingly complex. Before entering into this type of agreement, legal assistance is advised.
How To Choose The Right Organizational Structure
There are a few considerations to assess before determining which organizational structure will work best. The amount of control necessary, overhead costs, and competing companies are just a few. Depending on the business, priorities may change over time. An organizational structure can be reformed with legal help. Gregory Okwuosah is an experienced attorney who can guide clients through the process of restructuring management.
