UA COM 350 - Exam 1 Study Guide (8 pages)

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COM 350 1st Edition Exam 1 Study Guide Lectures 1 6 Lecture 1 August 28 Chapter 2 Organizational Structure and Process Organization as Machine How can we apply the concept of machine to understanding how organizations work Moving parts People and their assigned jobs Oil electricity energy Physical resources needed to do a job sources of motivation Each machine has a specific purpose Organizational goals Parts always do the same thing Rules standards procedures One broken part affects the whole machine Everyone is interdependent Organizational Structure those aspects of an organization that are pre specified for a given situation Examples Organizational chart Agendas and schedules Physical space technology design Employee handbook Rules policies procedures even unspoken norms All of these structure how we relate to others and do our jobs Elements of Structure Hierarchy How is authority distributed Who reports to whom Are there a lot of levels or very few Differentiation Specialization All about the division of labor in an organization each person has a specific task Example Division of Student Affairs Athletics Academic Departments Formalization How strictly the employees follow rules regulations norms and procedures Example how people dress how people communicate Time Orientation How the company manages time Example meetings deadlines and responses Max Weber and Bureaucracy Weber s Ideal Type Oldest organizational structure Legal rational authority Lots of rules Specialization Division of Labor Centralization Decisions made by few Hiring based on technical qualifications non political Advantages Hiring promotion based on merit Organizes large systems Promotes fairness Rules are shortcuts for decision making and communication Disadvantages Takes away individuality Impersonal Overcentralization of power Less initiative taking Does not allow for quick change Mechanistic Closed system Rules are shortcuts for decision making and communication Tall organization can block