Ch.7: Organizational Structures and Management Paths

All organizations have an organizational design where decisions, accountability, and responsibility are divided and coordinated. These structures are impacted by the amount of control each level has and how that control is often divided. The text describes four organizational structures: functional, divisional, matrix, and network. There are also additional structures that are described in other books and articles. For the purpose of this blog post we will focus on these four specific structures and which of them I thrive in and which of them I find to be the most difficult. I will also discuss two types of career paths: functional vs. generalist, and which of those career paths I choose to pursue and why.

Photo found at Unplash @Kaleidico

A fairly quick rundown for the four structures from the text:

• Functional Form: Individuals are arranged in formal groups, classified with similar occupations, operations, activities, or status to carry out assigned tasks. They work well for small businesses with limited services or products and tends to support an easy flow of communication in organizations (Gulati, Mayo, & Nohria, 2016). These forms are also best suited for competitive situations, where competition is an aspect of expertise. 
• Divisional Form: Firms are organized by individuals in different occupations and activities being placed together to carry out assigned tasks. These can be broken down into products, geography, and customers. It is different than the functional forms in that each division is self-contained, allows greater accountability, is not based on functional expertise, and coordination among functions is more fluid and easier to manage because the different functions are all represented within the division (Gulati, Mayo, & Nohria, 2016).
• Matrix Form: This is where the functional and divisional forms come together in a complex interweave, where the chains of command take place both vertically and horizontally. It is common for most employees to work in two or more units at once, however each unit has their own leadership with objectives that can often conflict with each other (Gulati, Mayo, & Nohria, 2016).
• Network Form: Often called the "flat" form and is less hierarchical and more flexible than other structures. It may emerge in more traditional organizations in the form of project teams and are managed both internally and externally to the firm (Gulati, Mayo, & Nohria, 2016). 

As far as my personality goes, I feel I would thrive more in the network form due to the fact that communication is allowed to flow more freely and opens up considerably more opportunities for innovation. It can be more complex as it is more decentralized and has a bottom-up flow of decision making and ideas (Boundless). I personally like the aspect of lots of individuals bringing in ideas. While I have worked in various settings, and none really have been awful, I found the divisional form to be the one I desired less simply because of the lack of communication between the divisions and individuals. Working as a Social Worker for DCFS approximately 15 years ago is the job that comes to mind the most. It always really bothered me that the different divisions barely spoke to one another and had this invisible tension between them. I really never understood it. 

Now let's discuss management career paths. These two career paths include the functional specialist or the generalist. The functional specialist being the expert in a given field such as; consulting, finance, information technology, marketing, or continuous improvement and the management generalist who oversees a broad skill-set, including the functional specialists (Ashe-Edmunds, 2016). 

Photo found at Unsplash @wokintechchat

As far as what type of career path I choose to pursue, I am already in the functional specialty path and will continue remain there. Both businesses that I own and run are specialty clinics, one being a private  therapy practice that only provides counseling. The other is a specialty clinic that offers counseling, consulting, group activities, etc. with a specific focus on neurodiverse clientele. I also enjoy my work more when I am managing something about which I am knowledgeable. While I won't go so far as to say I wouldn't be good at the generalist sector, I do feel I would struggle more with it. 

As you can see there are a variety of organizational structures and diverse management career paths. Each individual has their niche to which they feel partial. Sometimes we don't know what that niche is until we have a good comparison from having worked in different environments. 

References

• Ashe-Edmunds, S. (2016, July 14). A Functional Specialist Vs. a Management Generalist. Retrieved July 13, 2020, from https://woman.thenest.com/functional-specialist-vs-management-generalist-20809.html
• Boundless. (n.d.). Boundless Management. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-management/chapter/common-organizational-structures/
• Gulati, R., Mayo, A. J., & Nohria, N. (2016). Management: An integrated approach. Australia: Cengage Learning.
• Kaleidico. (2018, July 26). Photo by Kaleidico on Unsplash. Retrieved July 13, 2020, from https://unsplash.com/photos/3V8xo5Gbusk
• Wocintechchat.com, C. (2019, November 07). Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash. Retrieved July 14, 2020, from https://unsplash.com/photos/ws6CJRzdOg8