MHR 505 Lecture 3: Designing

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Human Resources
• Course: MHR 505
• Professor: Frank Miller

Document Summary

Division of labour and patterns of coordination, communication, workflow, and formal power that direct organizational activities. Relates to many ob topics (job design, teams, power) Results in specialization, separate jobs for different people. Value of division of labour is limited to ability to coordinate that work. Three coordinating mechanisms informal communication formal hierarchy standardization. All firms use informal communication for coordination. Easiest in small firms, but technology extends its use in large firms. Larger firms also apply informal communication through: Necessary in most firms, but has problems. Number of people directly reporting to the next level. Wider span of control is possible when: Focus power around managers, so staff feel less empowered. Svenska handelsbanken supports better customer service and higher empowerment by giving its branch managers and staff considerable autonomy to run the local branches. Centralization -- formal decision making authority is held by a few people, usually at the top.