Organizational structures differ based on factors like the nature of work, strategy, size, technology, and environment. Structures define authority, behaviors, work processes, and impact culture and performance. Strategy, such as innovation or cost minimization, affects structure. Size influences structure through layers of management and employee empowerment. Technology changes jobs and structures through automation and communication. The environment, whether stable internally or with external forces, also impacts organizational design.

1. WHY STRUCTURES DIFFER
 Organizational structures differ because of the nature of the work that the organizations do and their
different methods of dealing with dilemmas
 Organizational structure divides organization into distinct parts and defines the relationships among
them (Verle, Markic, and Kodric, 2014)
 Organizational structures:
• Define authority
• Emphasize employee behavior
• Determine how work accomplished
• Impact performance, motivation, corporate culture (CSU, 2018)
 Factors that affect structure – strategy, size, technology, and environment

2. STRATEGY
Skill in managing or
planning
1
Primary means of
reaching objective
2
Direction and scope of
an organization over
long term (Feurer &
Chaharbaghi, 1997)
3

3. STRATEGY (CONT.)
Innovation - introduction
of new products/services
Cost minimization – cost
controls, avoidance of
expenses
Imitation – move into
new market/products
after viability proven by
another organization
(CSUS, n.d.)

4. ORGANIZATIONAL SIZE
 Organizational size can affect structure:
1. As organization grows it needs more managers for
controlling - adds layers of hierarchy
2. Employee/job satisfaction can decrease
3. Growth can deplete employee empowerment (Gupta, 2010)

5. ORGANIZATIONAL
SIZE (CONT.)
 Organizational size can affect structure by - Increase in
span of control which increases management complexity
1. Nature of work – jobs or tasks which require limited
skills require occasional management decision
2. Experience level – if experience level high require little
training
3. Budget constraints – if financial hardship or
downsizing, span of control increased (Gupta, 2010)

6. TECHNOLOGY
 Technology can create or eliminate positions within your
company. As technology continues to change the function of jobs,
the organizational structure changes with it (Root, n.d.)
 Technology can influence –
 Horizontal communication – among peers
 Vertical communication – upward and downward
 Work flow – semi-automated form of manual labor
 Automation – human is a supervisor, machine des the work (Gustafsson,
Franke, Johnson, & Lillieskold, n.d.)

7. TECHNOLOGY (CONT.)
How an organization
transfers inputs into
outputs
The degree of routineness
is common in technology
Each organization has
technology that converts
resources into
products/services (CSUS,
n.d.)
Technology affects:

8. ENVIRONMENT
Environmental stability – stable environment less
demanding
Environments are forces that affect organizational
performance, operations, and resources (Mange, 2016)

9. ENVIRONMENT (CONT.)
Internal
environment
• Aspects within boundaries of organization, generally controlled by
management
• Direct impact
• Ability to alter or modify (Mange, 2016)
External forces
that affect
organization
• Political
• Economic
• Socio cultural
• Technological (Thomas & Mason, 2018)

10. REFERENCES
CSU. (2018). Unit VI: Organizational design models and organizational structures. Retrieved from
https://online.columbiasouthern.edu/CSU_Content/Courses/Business/MBA/MBA6001/15L/UnitVI_Presentation.ppsx
CSUS. (n.d.). Chapter 15: Foundations of organization structure. Retrieved from https://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/sablynskic/ch15.htm
Feurer, R., & Chaharbaghi, K. (1997). Strategy development: Past, present and future. Training for Quality, 5(2), 58-70. Retrieved from
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/2121117
83?accountid=33337
Gupta, A. (2010). Organization’s size and span of control. Retrieved from http://practical-management.com/Organization-
Development/Organization-s-size-and-span-of-control.html
Gustafsson, P., Franke, U., Johnson, P., & Lillieskold, J. (n.d.). Identifying IT impacts on organizational structure and business value. Retrieved
from http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-336/paper4.pdf

11. REFERENCES (CONT.)
Mange, S. (2016). The impact of environment on organizational structure. Retrieved from
https://www.slideshare.net/Sunilkumarmange/the-impact-of-environment-on-organisational-structure
Root III, G. N. (n.d.). What impacts organizational structure? Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/impacts-organizational-
structure-75.html
Thomas, J. G., Mason, W. H. (2018). Macroenvironmental forces. Retrieved from
http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Log-Mar/Macroenvironmental-Forces.html
Verle, K., Markic, M., Kodric, B., & Gorenc Zoran, A. (2014). Managerial competencies and organizational structures. Industrial
Management & Data Systems, 114(6), 922-935. Retrieved from
https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docvie
w/1650583955?accountid=33337