Final Exam for Organization Research and Theory - Assignment Example

? Final Exam for Organization Research and Theory Question Organizational life cycle is the varied stages through which an organization passes and it implies the achievement or failure the organization faces while conducting operations throughout the business life cycle. It is essentially the life cycle which depicts the varied stages from the start up to decline of an organization. There are five stages through which an organization passes during its life cycle which include start up, growth, maturity, revival as well as decline (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2010). A computer technology firm has experienced tremendous growth owing to the effective leadership of an efficient top management team. However, it has also witnessed a huge turnover of scientists as well as researchers. The company can be stated to be in maturity stage of the organizational life cycle which signifies that it is functioning in an effective manner which enables it to generate higher profits. At this stage, the management of the firm generally remains the same and there is less delegation of authority or power. The firm at this stage is more focused on developing the efficiency in its business operations. This stage exists as long as the firm is generating profit. The firm is mainly concerned about analyzing as well as managing the costs of the products. The management structure of the firm tends to be more bureaucratic and there is less emphasis on brining in new innovations in the organizational process. In this stage, profit is maximized for its growth as well as the services which are provided by the firm. The growth of the firm is for the result of better collaboration as well as team work along with enhanced leadership by the top management (Daft, Murphy & Willmott, 2010). The firm after gaining drastic growth in the maturity stage may tend to proceed towards the decline stage for inefficient performance as well as bureaucratic nature of the management. These factors primarily result in crisis for delayed decision making process as well as slow performance. The performance of the firm can decrease or decline and there can also be a lack of innovativeness. The firm also suffered a huge number of turnovers of employees which declined its performance. The workforce of the firm has decreased which results in reduced market share as well as it reduces the competency of the firm. The management at this stage needs to take up certain measures immediately in order to recover from the crisis (Practical Management, 2012). The crisis which is suffered by the firm may be recovered at the revival stage of the organizational life cycle. The revival stage may occur at the maturity or decline stage for recovering the firm from the crisis which is hampering its growth. The firm should take innovative decisions and the bureaucratic nature of management should be minimized for retaining the growth of the firm. The workforce of the firm should be engaged in the decision making process. The management should devise methods for encouraging as well as developing trust among the employees for enhanced performance of the firm. The issues should be analyzed and steps or measures should be taken for lowering turnover of key employees of the organization such as scientists and researchers as they significantly contribute towards ensuring innovativeness in the products and services of the firm. The employees should be provided with better working atmosphere as well as culture for effective performance of employees with reduced turnover. The aspect of providing rewards and recognitions to deserving employees including the scientists as well as researchers can be started by the organization to ascertain that they are motivated to remain in the organization and provide their best. All these measures will assist the firm to resolve the prevailing crisis and to retain its best workforce which in turn would facilitate the company to ensure long-term profitability and sustainability (Products Arts, 2012). Question 6 a) A Mechanistic Structure A mechanistic structure of an organization exists where the operations are performed under stable conditions. In this structure, decision making process is centralized which signifies that the decisions are made by a few number of authorized individuals of an organization. The employees are provided with information through formal communication channels and the employees are delegated the tasks to be performed in a specific manner. The structure of an organization is rigid and is suitable for large organizations that have a stable environment for decision making which is essentially made through centralized manner. It is also followed by a bureaucratic nature which is mainly for the reasons of lack of innovativeness as well as creativity. At times, it is recognized that there is also a lack of motivational factor for the employees and they are not fully satisfied with the jobs which are required to be performed. It mostly consists of written communication and follows vertical communication process. Mechanistic organizations mainly exist where the market condition is stable and the organizations require little or no changes in its operations (Mansoor, Aslam, Barbu, Capusneanu, & Lodhi, 2012). b) An Organic Structure An organic structure of an organization exists where the operations are performed in dynamic conditions. This type of structure in mainly adapted by firms which are elastic in its operation and the firms readily take risks as well as make innovative decisions for adapting the changes in the market. The policies of an organization are usually flexible and the employees are delegated responsibilities in accordance with their knowledge and expertise. It mainly consists of verbal communication and follows lateral communication process. An organization with this type of structure is decentralized and is formalized to a minimum degree. In an organic structure the employees are allowed to participate in the decision making process of an organization. The top management is required to perform their activities with lesser hierarchical practices. All these factors enable an organization to perform activities in accordance with the changes for its enhanced performance. An organic organization performs efficiently where the market conditions change in a drastic manner and requires frequent changes in plan as well as policies (Bombaci, 2012). c) Elements of Both An organization should adopt both mechanistic as well as organic structure for performing its activities in an enhanced manner. An organization is required to be competitive in adverse market conditions or environment. In such adverse market conditions, an organization is required to adopt any of the structures in accordance with the situation which will be appropriate for the successful performance of the organization. The departments of an organization should be segmented with different structures for efficient performance. The management of an organization should seek that the employees of varied departments are performing activities in accordance with the specified situation. Therefore, in such adverse market conditions an organization is required to be rigid or mechanistic in terms of its overall organizational process, however it needs to be organic in terms of making appropriate decisions in keeping with the prevailing market conditions. This is because at volatile market conditions flexible decision making is imperative to deal with the scenario effectively (SAGE Publications, 2012). Question 7 The Origin of Organizational Culture Organizational culture is a system of beliefs as well as assumptions which exists inside an organization. It is mainly the personality or features in accordance with which the employees of an organization perform their activities. It is a source which enables the management of an organization to manage the behavior as well as to motivate the people of an organization to accomplish the goals or objectives. It is a premise which the employees commonly share and it also enables to stabilize the structure of an organization with all the policies, customs as well as traditions. Organizational culture is important for adapting to the changes which are required for enhanced performance of an organization. It is also a process of maximizing the productivity of the people involved with an organization. An organization should adopt an appropriate culture which is essential for its successful performance. It is norms, principles as well as beliefs which provides a distinct feature to an organization. Culture is an important factor of motivation among employees to improve performance (Leland, 2012). According to Deal and Kennedy (2000), the origin of organizational culture is based on the concept that culture is mainly concerned with the success of an organization instead of the structure or politics. The concept of organizational culture is considered to be a significant factor which determines the success or failure of an organization. There are four cultural dimensions which are ‘values’, ‘rites and rituals’, ‘heroes’ as well as the ‘culture network’ (Deal & Kennedy, 2000). Different Organizations Have Different Cultures The culture which prevails in an organization is distinct from other organizations. The concept of organizational culture is based on the way employees perform their activities in an organization. Different organizations develop their own distinct culture which will enhance the performance of the organization. Different organizations adopt different policies, norms, beliefs, languages as well as rituals for performing activities in an effective manner. An organization identifies the changes which are required to be performed for effective performance and to fulfill its goals or objectives (Business Case Studies LLP, 2012). The culture of an organization is based on a few concepts which are the major ways for influencing it. An organization is mainly concerned with those factors which are required for enhanced performance and for motivating the employees. The employees who have performed effectively should be rewarded for performing activities in accordance with the requirements of an organization. The employees who are not performing with regard to the success factors of an organization should be motivated to upgrade their performance. An organization should adopt those behavioral models for the workplace which will enhance its performance (Wallace, Hunt, & Richards, 1999). Therefore, the culture of an organization is different from others with respect to the people, beliefs as well as objectives. An organization should perform activities which will be beneficial and different organizations have different objectives. References Business Case Studies LLP. (2012). Corporate and organisational culture. Retrieved from http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/business-theory/strategy/corporate-and-organisational-culture.html Bombaci, S. A. (2012). Management structures. Retrieved from http://www.hkiaat.org/images/uploads/articles/Management.pdf Daft, R. L., Murphy, J., & Willmott, H. (2010). Organization theory and design. United Kingdom: Cengage Learning EMEA. Deal, T. E. & Kennedy, A. A. (2000). Corporate cultures: the rites and rituals of corporate life. New York: Basic Books. Leland, S. M. (2012). Organizational culture: understanding theoretical and practical applications. Retrieved from http://www.eolss.net/Sample-Chapters/C14/E1-34-01-05.pdf Mansoor, N., Aslam, H. D., Barbu, C. M., Capusneanu, S., & Lodhi, M. A. (2012). Organizational structure as determinant of organizational performance: uncovering essential facets of organic and mechanistic structure. American Journal of Scientific Research, pp. 48-55. Practical Management. (2012). Organizational life-cycle & decline. Retrieved from http://www.practical-management.com/pdf/Organization-Development/Organizational-lifecycle-and-decline.pdf?format=phocapdf Products Arts. (2012). Company evolution & the organizational life cycle. Retrieved from http://www.product-arts.com/articlelink/1246-company-evolution-a-the-organizational-life-cycle SAGE Publications. (2012). Burns and Stalker, the management of innovation. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/27412_8.pdf Wallace, J., Hunt, J., & Richards, C. (1999). The relationship between organisational culture, organisational climate and managerial values. The International Journal of Public Sector Management 12 (7), pp. 548-564. Read More