Role of Organizational Design

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1. I need some help getting started. I need to evaluate the role organizational design plays in contributing to achievement of the most admired dimensions.

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Each year Fortune magazine publishes a "Most Admired" list of the top companies in America. Firms are rated on these eight dimensions: innovativeness, quality of management, long term investment value, social responsibility to the community and the environment, ability to attract and retain talented people, quality of products and services, financial soundness, wise use of corporate assets, and, if international, effectiveness in doing business globally.

Organizational Design (OD) plays an important role on contributing to achievement of the above admired dimensions, by aligning OS with the business goals. OS defines the roles and the activities of different organizational positions within the organization. In other words, it refers to the formal pattern in which people and jobs are grouped in an organization. It outlines the channels for strategic information flow and decision making. The organizational structure plays an important role in day-to-day functioning of the organization. An efficient structure facilitates in delegation of authority and operationalizing control and communication systems (http://dictionary.bnet.com/definition/organizational+design.html).

Basically, an organization is a group of people intentionally organized be the management to accomplish an overall, common goal or set of goals. The OD refers to the management decisions and the set of structural elements designed and planned to meet the goal of the business organization. These features are explicit (deliberate and recognized) or implicit (operating unrecognized, "behind the scenes") that, ideally, are carefully considered and established, usually during the strategic planning process (http://www.managementhelp.org/org_thry/org_defn.htm). Thus, the Organization Design OD is the continuing cycle of DEVELOPING goals, strategies, and changes in technology with the organizational framework through the roles and the group of people that make up the organization. Good OD helps communications, productivity, and innovation and creates an environment where people can work effectively (http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_95.htm).

OD needs a strategic plan. This includes the vision, mission, values and strategic goals. The vision is the image that the members of the organization have - an image in their minds about how the organization should be working, how it should appear when things are going well. The mission - organization operates according to an overall purpose, or mission. Values - all organizations operate according to overall values, or priorities in the nature of how they carry out their activities. These values are the personality, or culture, of the organization. Strategic Goals - Organizations members often work to achieve several overall ...