Organization design
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Organization design involves the creation of roles, processes, and formal reporting relationships in an organization. One can distinguish between two phases in an organization design process: Strategic grouping, which establishes the overall structure of the organization (its main sub-units and their relationships), and operational design, which defines the more detailed roles and processes. The field is mainly practice-driven and many consulting firms offer organization design assistance to managers. However, there is also a substantial academic literature. The most frequently cited book is still Thompson (1967); other key works include Galbraith (1973) and Lawrence & Lorsch (1967).
It is important to distinguish between organization design and organization theory. The latter is a descriptive discipline, mainly focusing on describing and understanding organizational functioning. Organization design is (as the name suggests) a more normative, design-oriented discipline that aims to produce the frameworks and tools required to create effective organizations (see Romme, 2003).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Galbraith, J. (1973). Designing Complex Organizations. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.
- Thompson (1967). Organizations in Action. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Lawrence, P., and Lorsch, J. (1967). Differentiation and Integration in Complex Organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly 12, 1-30.
- Romme, A.G.L. (2003). Making a difference: Organization as design. Organization Science, 14, 558-573
