COM 350 1st EditionExam # 1 Study Guide Lectures: 1 - 6Lecture 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 situationExamples: Organizational chart, Agendas and schedules, Physical space & technologydesign, Employee handbook, Rules, policies, procedures, even unspoken norms All of these structure how we relate to others and do our jobs Elements of StructureHierarchy 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 DepartmentsFormalization How strictly the employees follow rules, regulations, norms and procedures Example: how people dress, how people communicateTime Orientation How the company manages time Example: meetings, deadlines and responses Max Weber and Bureaucracy (Weber’s Ideal Type)Oldest organizational structureLegal-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 communicationDisadvantages: 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 message flow. Why? Message distortion (remember the classic “telephone game”) Afraid to “go over boss’s head” with important information Trying to manage impressions of power and authority (e.g., don’t want to associate with the “little guy” Alternative StructuresMatrix Structure- formed by functional departments and project teamsProject Organization- teams form and disband as projects wrap up and new projects are taken onLoosley Coupled Organization- In the public eye the firm has a clear identity but it is actually a network of firms held together by a core mission or product idea Work is contracted outAdvantages and Drawbacks: Too much structure or an “outdated structure” can threaten vitality  An “open system” can help chance of survival Flexible to change, roles are flexible, can talk to different people Organizational charts don’t necessarily depict the ways in which we actually communicate in organizations – can cause confusion Structures can be efficient or inefficient for communication Not rigid. Can be changed, especially when flatterLecture 2 (September 2) Chapter 2 continued Structure emerges from processExample: Grasshopper on the road story where the butterflies tell the grasshopper he can’t sit on the mushroom because they sit there everyday as a part of their process Structures are also emergentOrder arises out of disorderLogics that tell us “that’s how things are done here”Communication itself produces structures These processes of emergence are structuration (Anthony Giddens) The process by which structures emerge from interaction and then become resources for and constraints on future interactionThese processes reify (solidify) structures Structures are not fixedDuality of structure: (1) structure is an outcome of the past; (2) resource for present interaction Message flows that structure work relationshipsMembership negotiation- Communication between members (e.g., water cooler talk or asking boss for advice)Org Self-Structuring- Communication that elaborates on the formal structure (vision statement; employee handbooks; new HR policies)Activity Coordination- Workers problem solve together through jargon, shorthand, acronyms (Servers: 86, in the weeds)Institutional Positioning- External messages that affect the identity of the organization (government regulations, mass media – e.g., Hobby Lobby)Lecture 3 (September 4)Chapter 3- Rationality and Decision Making; Organization as “brain” Organization as “brain” implies that organizations are places where rational thought takes place and optimal decisions are made. Economic theories explain that rational thought among organizational members leads tooptimal decisions, which in turn lead to innovations for the company and profit maximization. Thus, organizations are:o Information processing systemso Self aware & self organizingo Learning organizations – learn from mistakes & adjust accordinglyo Rational and logical Rationality means ordering our world based on reason to reach objective conclusionso Reasonable, sensible, sane, systematico Behaving in ways that are consistent with self interestso Means being efficient, “getting the biggest bang for the buck”o Making decisions by forecasting - using statistics and hard datao Maximizing our profito Example: Give in Choose exercise from class Fredrick Taylor’s Theory of Scientific Managemento Striving for efficiency & organizationo There is one best way to do every jobo Proper selection of workerso Proper training of workerso Inherent difference between management and workerso Used time and motion studies to determine how to complete a task using as few motions as possible, hence increasing productivity o Every member doing the same job should be required to complete the same amount of work to eliminate systematic soldiering (social loafing)o Communication is… Task oriented – about gettting the job done (not friendly chit chat, not about office politics) Vertical and downward from boss to employee Written (memos, emails, employee handbooks, typed up policies and procedures) Formal in style and tone (distant, impersonal, relies on classic ettiquette, respectful)o Influences seen today: Employees are watched through different types of