Importance of Structure and Culture on Organisational Effectiveness
Importance of Structure and Culture on Organisational Effectiveness
Introduction
Robbins and Judge define organisational behaviour as ‘a method for understanding individual and group behaviour to facilitate organisational performance and effectiveness’ (Robbins and Judge, 2007). Robbins (2003) highlights the importance of managers studying organisational behaviour as this will help them to develop the people skills needed to deal with employers on a day-to-day basis, which is the fundamental aspect of any management role. In fact, organisational behaviour is of huge concern for anyone who organises or supervises the activities of others. There are several influences on organisational behaviour, each of which can impact upon the effectiveness of an organisation. The key influences as identified by Cushway and Lodge (1993) are ‘organisational climate, motivation, group norms, management style and processes’ Although all these factors play an important role in how individuals and groups behave within organisations, it can be argued that there are two factors that exert the most significant impact on organisational effectiveness. The first main factor is organisational structure as it has a massive influence on the design of work activities, the duties of and relationships between employees and employers and the coordination of work roles in order to meet organisational goals. Robbins and Coulter (2012) characterise organisational structure as the way in which jobs are officially arranged within an organisation. Structure forms an outline within which an organisation’s numerous operations may be planned, organised and controlled. The second main factor is organisational culture, which can be seen as a reflection of the personality of an organisation. Schein (1990) cited in Rollinson (2008) sees organisational culture as the collective convictions, beliefs and outlooks shared by the members of an organisation. Adler (2008) points out that organisational cultures can
Introduction
Robbins and Judge define organisational behaviour as ‘a method for understanding individual and group behaviour to facilitate organisational performance and effectiveness’ (Robbins and Judge, 2007). Robbins (2003) highlights the importance of managers studying organisational behaviour as this will help them to develop the people skills needed to deal with employers on a day-to-day basis, which is the fundamental aspect of any management role. In fact, organisational behaviour is of huge concern for anyone who organises or supervises the activities of others. There are several influences on organisational behaviour, each of which can impact upon the effectiveness of an organisation. The key influences as identified by Cushway and Lodge (1993) are ‘organisational climate, motivation, group norms, management style and processes’ Although all these factors play an important role in how individuals and groups behave within organisations, it can be argued that there are two factors that exert the most significant impact on organisational effectiveness. The first main factor is organisational structure as it has a massive influence on the design of work activities, the duties of and relationships between employees and employers and the coordination of work roles in order to meet organisational goals. Robbins and Coulter (2012) characterise organisational structure as the way in which jobs are officially arranged within an organisation. Structure forms an outline within which an organisation’s numerous operations may be planned, organised and controlled. The second main factor is organisational culture, which can be seen as a reflection of the personality of an organisation. Schein (1990) cited in Rollinson (2008) sees organisational culture as the collective convictions, beliefs and outlooks shared by the members of an organisation. Adler (2008) points out that organisational cultures can
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