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Functional and Dysfunctional Aspects of an Organization

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Describe the structure of an organization you know well. Explain the aspects of organizational structure that seem to work well and those that appear particularly dysfunctional.

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Solution Summary

Organizational structure outlines the functions such as the distribution, direction, and supervision of tasks among staff to achieve organizational goals. An efficient organization must be flexible, and innovative to gain an advantage over its competitors.

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According to Robbins (2005), an organizational structure defines how job tasks are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated. There are six key elements in designing an organization structure: (1) work specialization, (2) departmentalization, (3) chain of command, (4) span of control, (5) centralization and decentralization, and (6) formalization (p. 432).

To my knowledge, my previous company encompasses all six key elements of Robbins (2005), organizational structure design. However, the company seems to work well in departmentalization but dysfunctional in centralization and decentralization design.

Departmentalization - functional

Management ...

Solution provided by:
Jennifer Agard, PhD
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  • MA, Capella University
  • BA, Empire State College, NY
  • MBA, Empire State College, NY.
  • PhD , Concordia University
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