Organizational architecture
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The architecture of an organization provides the framework through which an organization aims to realize its core qualities as specified in its vision statement. It provides the infrastructure into which business processes are deployed and ensures that the organization's core qualities are realized across the business processes deployed within the organization. In this way organizations aim to consistently realize their core qualities across the services they offer to their clients.
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According to most authors organizational architecture is a metaphor, like traditional architecture it shapes the organizational (some authors would say the informational) space where life will take place. It also represents a concept which implies a connection between the organizational structure with other systems inside the organization in order to create a unique synergistic system which will be more than just the sum of its parts.
Conventionally organizational architecture consists of the formal organization (organizational structure), informal organization (organizational culture), business processes, strategy and the most important human resources because what is an organization if not a system of people. The table shows some approaches to organizational architecture.[1]
| Nadler & Tushman (1997) | Merron (1995) | Galbraith (1995) | Henning(1997) | Churchill (1997) | Corporate Transitions International (2004) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vision, strategic goals and strategic management | Strategy | The role of the organization | Strategy | ||
| Informal organization | Organizational culture | Reward systems | Reward systems | Organizational culture | Organizational culture |
| Formal organization | Organizational structure | Organizational structure | Groupings | Organizational structure | Organizational structure |
| Business processes | Processes and lateral links | Business processes and work design | |||
| Human resources | Human resources | Human resource development | Communication |
The goal of organizational architecture is to create an organization which will be able to continuously create value for present and future customers, optimizing and organizing it self. Some under organizational architecture understand building blocks which are mandatory for the growth of the organization. To design an organization means to set up a stage where the drama of life will take place.
[edit] Approaches to organizational design
There are various approaches to organizational architecture including
- (1986, 1991, 2004) - Kenneth D. Mackenzie
- (1992, 1993) - David Nadler & Michael Tushman.
- - Organizational Architecture by David Nadler, Marc C. Gerstein and Robert B. Shaw.
- (1993, 1995) - Designing organizations using the Star Model as developed by Jay Galbraith
- Benjamin's Layered Model of organizations.
- The Organizational Adaption Model by Raymond E. Miles and Charles C. Snow.
- (1995) - Richard M. Burton & Borge Obel
- (2004) - Richard K. Daft
- (2001) - Ralph Kilmann
- (2005) - The Tricord Model - Designing organisations from a Whole Systems Perspective[2]
[edit] Characteristics of effective organizational design
Some systems are effective and efficient whereas others are not. Successful systems may be attributable to the skill exercised in designing the system or to the quality of management practised during operations, or both. Successful systems are characterized by their simplicity, flexibility, reliability, economy, and acceptability.[3] Simplicity, flexibility, and reliability tend to be a function of design, whereas economy and acceptability pertain to both design and operations. Numerous relationships exist among these characteristics; for example, simplicity will affect economy and possibly reliability. Moreover, management must reach a compromise between economy and reliability, and between technical efficiency and organizational climate. The balance reached will determine whether short- or long-run objectives are optimized.
- Simplicity
An effective organizational system need not be complex. On the contrary, simplicity in design is an extremely desirable quality. Consider the task of communicating information about the operation of a system and the allocation of its inputs. The task is not difficult when components are few and the relationships among them are straightforward. However, the problems of communication multiply with each successive stage of complexity.
The proper method for maintaining simplicity is to use precise definitions and to outline the specific task for each subsystem. Total systems often become complex because of the sheer size and nature of operations, but effectiveness and efficiency may still be achieved if each subsystem maintains its simplicity.
- Flexibility
Conditions change and managers should be prepared to adjust operations accordingly. There are two ways to adjust to a changing operating environment: to design new systems or to modify operating systems. An existing system should not be modified to accommodate a change in objectives, but every system should be sufficiently flexible to integrate changes that may occur either in the environment or in the nature of the inputs. For example, a company should not use the same system to build missiles as it uses to build airplanes, nor the same system to sell insurance as the one originally designed to sell magazines. However, it should be possible to modify an existing system to produce different sizes, varieties, or types of the same product or service.
A practical system must be well designed but it cannot be entirely rigid. There will always be minor variations from the general plan, and a system should be able to adapt to such changes without excessive confusion. The advantages associated with having a flexible system will become more apparent when we consider the difficulty of administering change.
- Reliability
System reliability is an important factor in organizations. Reliability is the consistency with which operations are maintained, and may vary from zero output (a complete breakdown or work stoppage) to a constant or predictable output. The typical system operates somewhere between these two extremes. The characteristics of reliability can be designed into the system by carefully selecting and arranging the operating components; the system is no more reliable than its weakest segment. When the requirements for a particular component — such as an operator having unique skills — are critical, it may be worthwhile to maintain a standby operator. In all situations, provisions should be made for quick repair or replacement when failure occurs. One valid approach to the reliability-maintenance relationship is to use a form of construction that permits repair by replacing a complete unit. In some television sets, for example, it is common practice to replace an entire section of the network rather than try to find the faulty component. Reliability is not as critical an issue when prompt repair and recovery can be instituted.
- Economy
An effective system is not necessarily an economical (efficient) system. For example, the postal service may keep on schedule with mail deliveries but only by hiring a large number of additional workers. In this case, the efficiency of the postal system would be reduced. In another example, inventories may be controlled by using a comprehensive system of storekeeping. However, if the cost of the storekeeping were greater than the potential savings from this degree of control, the system would not be efficient. It is often dysfunctional and expensive to develop much greater capacity for one segment of a system than for some other part. Building in redundancy or providing for every contingency usually neutralizes the operating efficiency of the system. When a system's objectives include achieving a particular task at the lowest possible cost, there must be some degree of trade-off between effectiveness and efficiency. When a system's objective is to perform a certain mission regardless of cost, there can be no trade-off.
- Acceptability
Any system, no matter how well designed, will not function properly unless it is accepted by the people who operate it. If the participants do not believe it will benefit them, are opposed to it, are pressured into using it, or think it is not a good system, it will not work properly. If a system is not accepted, two things can happen:(1) the system will be modified gradually by the people who are using it, or (2) the system will be used ineffectively and ultimately fail. Unplanned alterations in an elaborate system can nullify advantages associated with using the system.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ TOP Organizational Architecture
- ^ Tricordant Model
- ^ Richard A. Johnson, Fremont E. Kast, and James E. Rosenzweig, The Theory and Management of Systems, 3rd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1973), pp. 144-46.
[edit] Further reading
- Organization Modeling by Joseph Morabito, Ira Sack and Anilkumar Bhate, 1999, ISBN 0-13-257552-3
- Designing Organizations by J. Galbraith, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, 1995.
- A framework for managing IT-enabled change by R.I. Benjamin and E. Levinson, Sloan Management Review, Summer 1993.
- Organizational Architecture by David Nadler, Marc C. Gerstein and Robert B. Shaw, 1992, ISBN 1-55542-443-0.
- Arhitektura suvremenih organizacija (The Architecture of Modern Organizations) by Miroslav Žugaj and Markus Schatten, publisher Tonimir, Varaždinske Toplice, 2005, ISBN 953-7069-50-8
- Organizational Adaption by Raymond E. Miles and Charles C. Snow, 2003, ISBN 0-8047-4840-3.
- Burke-Litwin Model of Organization Performance by W. Warner Burke and George Litwin, Journal of Management, Vol. 18, No. 3, 523-545 (1992)
