mintz berg situation configuration 20050919

8/13/2019 Mintz Berg Situation Configuration 20050919

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Mintzberg: situation

and configuration

Pl Srgaard, Telenor R&D and IfI

INF 5250

September 19, 2005


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19 September, 2005 Pl Srgaard, R&D 2

Situational factors of organisations

(ch 6)Age and size

The technical system used in the operating core

Environment (stability, complexity, diversity, hostility)

Power relationships

In the group task: determine these factors for your

case organisation!

Test the hypotheses in your case organisation!


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Relations between design

parameters and with the situation We have worked through 9 design parameters

These cannot be combined arbitrarily

There are some combinations that are really

consistent: these are called configurations

Effective structuring requires a fit between situation

and design parameters (congruence)

Today: cover situational factors, hypotheses about

congruence and configuration, and two basic

configurations


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Age and size hypotheses

1. Older organisations tend to rely more on

formalisation of behaviour

Theyve seen it all before

2. The structure of the organisation tends to reflect theage of its industry

3. Larger organisations are more elaborate: more

specialised tasks, more differentiated units, more

developed administrative components4. Larger organisations have larger units

5. Larger organisations have more formalised

behaviour


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Technical system in the operating

core Woodwards research on

unit production

mass production

process production (high degree of automation)

Mass production, boring jobs, conflict, hostility,

suspicion, focus on control

Automation (IT!) leads to dramatic reduction on the

number of unskilled operators in production Machines do their jobs without control

Hordes of specialists needed

Change in mix of people and jobs, new culture

Different challenges for management


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Technical system hypotheses

6. A more regulating technical systems leads to more

formalisation and more bureaucratic structure of the

operating core

Remember: this is from the 80ies. Still a lot of manual workbeing controlled by elaborate technical systems

7. A more sophisticated technical systems requires a

more elaborate nonoperating structure (IT/Telenor)

8. Automation of the operating core transforms abureaucratic administrative structure into an organic

one

Less traditional industry, more knowledge industry,

especially in high-cost economies


7/2219 September, 2005 Pl Srgaard, R&D 7

Environment

Stability: stable vs dynamic (unpredictable)

Complexity: simple vs complex, p 136

Market diversity: integrated vs diversified

Hostility: munificent (friendly) vs hostile

Telenor example

From stable to dynamic

From quite simple to increasing complexity

From two integrated services in one market to increased

diversification and many markets

From monopoly to competition and regulation


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Environment hypotheses

9. A more dynamic environment requires more dynamic

structure

10.A more complex environment requires more

decentralised structure11.Diversified markets generally lead to split into

market-based units

12.Extreme hostility in the environment leads to

(temporary) centralisation13.A mixed environment encourages selective

decentralisation


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Type of organisation and

environment (p 144)

stable dynamic

Complex Decentralised

Bureaucratic

(standardisation of skills)

Decentralised

Organic

(mutual adjustment)

Simple Centralised

Bureaucratic(standardisation of work

processes)

Centralised

Organic(direct supervision)


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Power issues

External control

owners

politicians

regulation Personal ambitions

at different positions in the organisation

Internal power struggles


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Power hypotheses

14.External control drives centralisation and

formalisation

15.Power needs of groups favour centralisation, to

themselves 16.There is fashion and fad in the way organisations are

structured, sometimes resulting in inappropriate

structures


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An evolutionary interpretation

To a large extent organisations compete (companies)

As the economy develops, new environmental

challenges emerge (e.g. use of IT)

Some organisation try new structures to cope betterwith the challenges

Those that succeed, tend to win in the competition

Some solutions settle as types/configurations

Thus, in an evolving economy, it is no surprise that we

over time have an increasing set of typical

configurations


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The simple structure (ch 8)

Characteristics

prime coordinating mechanism: direct supervision

key part: strategic apex (the boss)

main design parameters: centralisation, organic structure situational factors: young, small, nonsophisticated technical

system, simple, dynamic environment, possible extreme

hostility or strong power needs of top manager, not

fashionable

Typical example: the entrepreneurial firm normally a boss and some employees (operating core)

Under extreme conditions other organisations revert to

the simple structure


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Variants and hybrids

The simplest structure (more mutual adjustment)

The crisis organisation (temporary)

The autocratic organisation (dictatorship)

The charismatic organisation


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Important features

Flexible and dynamic, no bureaucracy

Risky (depends on one person)

Has a sense of mission, many people like them!

Often a stage in a more mature organisations life

Its very hard to grow large with a simple structure

The transition from simple structure to other

configurations can be difficult


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The machine bureaucracy (ch 9)

Characteristics

prime coordinating mechanism: standardisation of work

processes

key part: technostructure main design parameters: behaviour formalisation,vertical and

horizontal job specialisation, usually functional grouping, large

operating-unit size, vertical centralisation and limited

horizontal decentralisation, action planning

situational factors: old, large, regulating, nonautomatedtechnical system, simple and stable environment, external

control, not fashionable


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The organisation as a programmed

machine

The operating core is the processor

The technostructure does the programming

Low-level programming where assumptions are hard-

coded into the design equipment

job descriptions

The focus is efficiency and control

Webers ideal

Some remaining cases

The Norway Post, Oslo sporveier, SAS, traditional mass

production, classical bureaucracies such as the Tax

Administration, National Insurance Scheme


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Max Weber 18641920

The decisive reason for the advance of bureaucratic

organisation has always been its purely technical

superiority over any other form of organization. The

fully developed bureaucratic mechanism compareswith other organizations exactly as does the machine

with the non-mechanical modes of production.

Precision, speed, unambiguity, knowledge of the files,

continuity, discretion, unity, strict subordination,reduction of friction and of material and personal costs

these are raised to the optimum point in the strictly

bureaucratic organization (p 176 in Structure in Fives)


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The control issue

Rules, regulations, formal communication, formal chain

of authority: predictability

Attempts are made to eliminate all uncertainties, so

that the organisation can run smoothly, uninterruptedly By virtue of its design, the structure is ridden with

conflict; the control system is required to contain it

separation of planning and doing

jobs with little satisfaction difficult to get heard

vulnerable to disobedience

Conflicts are not resolved, but bottled up


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Challenges for the machine

bureaucracy

Work of complex environments cannot be rationalised

into simple tasks

The work of dynamic environments cannot be

predicted and made repetitive Does not cope well with full automation of the

operating core

Behaviour and lack of mutual adjustment (govt)

Human problems

Split strategy formulation and strategy implementation

Assumes full information

Assumes enough stability so that strategies remain relevant

during implementation


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Future of the configuration

Will become less common, especially in rich,

developed countries

Will remain superior in mass production involving

manual work Loses (has lost?) its role as the main type of

organisation, as the source for general principles about

organising

May still thrive in contexts were external control andpredictability is given top priority

this ought to be a dilemma for politicians

mintz berg situation configuration 20050919

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