Organising

By Mrs I. Savo
 Definition
• Organising is the process of establishing orderly uses for all
resources within the management system. It is a function in
which the synchronization and combination of human,
physical and financial resources are important to get results.
• organising is a function by which the concern is to be
able to define the role positions, the jobs related and
the coordination between authority and responsibility.
• Organising assists managers in clarifying which
resources will be used to attain the objectives.
• It is an important process during which managers
design an organisation’s structure.
 Importance of organising
 The management system uses it to activate the plans.
 Organising provides for optimum utilisation of resources
 Creates relationships and maintains relationships between all
organisation resources by indicating which resources are to be
used for specified activities and when, where and how they are to
be used
 Organising helps in effective administration
 Organising channels for expansion and growth
 Organising achieves co-ordination among different departments
 To minimise costly weaknesses such as duplication of effort and
idle organisational resources
Henri Fayol’s guidelines for organising

1.Judiciously prepare and execute the operating plan

2.Organize the human and material facets so that
they are consistent with objectives, resources and
requirements of concern
3.Establish a single competent, energetic guiding
authority (formal management structure)
4.Coordinate all activities and efforts
5.Formulate clear, distinct and precise decisions
 Henri Fayol’s guidelines for organising
continue
1.Arrange for efficient selection so that each
department is headed by a competent, energetic
manager and all employees are placed where they
can render the greatest service
2.Define duties
3.Encourage initiative and responsibility
4.Offer fair and suitable rewards for services rendered
5.Make use of sanctions against faults and errors
 Henri Fayol’s guidelines for organising
continue
1.Maintain discipline
2.Ensure that individual interests are consistent
with the general interests of the of the
organization
3.Recognize unity of command
4.Promote both material and human coordination
5.Institute and effect controls
6.Avoid regulations, red tape and paperwork
 The organising Process and steps

• Step 1. Reflect on plans and objectives

• Step 2. Establish major tasks
• Step 3. Divide major tasks into subtasks
• Step 4. Allocate resources and directives for
subtasks
• Step 5. Evaluate the results of implemented
organising strategy
The design of organizational structure

• In any organising effort, managers must

choose an appropriate structure. Structure
refers to the designated relationships among
resources of the management system.
• The organisational structure explains the
position and official relationship between
various individuals in the organisation.
 Formal Structure
• Formal structure is defined by Certo (1994) as the relationships
among organizational resources as outlined by management.
• Formal structure is concerned with the achievement of specific
organisational objectives and with the coordination of work
activities of the hospitality organisation.
• The people are brought together on the basis of defined roles
within the structure of the hotel.
• The most common methods of instituting formal relationships
among resources are: Departmentalisation, work specialisation,
chain of command (scalar relationships), span of control (span
of management), centralisation and decentralisation and
formalisation
 Departmentalisation.
• This is the process of establishing
departments within the management
system.
• A department is a unique group of
resources established by management to
perform some organisational task, based
on the work function; product, territory
being covered etc.
 Functional departmentalisation
• This is grouping of jobs according to
function.
• The department enjoys efficiencies from
putting together similar specialities and
people with common skills, Knowledge, and
orientations.
• There is coordination within functional area.
• There is in-depth specialisation
Product departmentalisation
• This allows specialisation in a particular
product and services.
• Managers can become experts in their
industry.
• It brings the department closer to customers.

• This is grouping jobs by product line

Geographical departmentalisation
• This is grouping of jobs on the basis of
territory or geography.
• The sales function may have Western,
Southern or Eastern region.
• There is more effective and efficient handling
of specific regional issues that arise.
• It enables the organisation to serve needs of
unique geographical markets better.
 Customer departmentalisation

• This is grouping of jobs on the basis of

common customers.
• The assumption is that customers in each
department have a common set of
problems and needs that can best be met
by having needs and problems met by a
specialist.
 Process departmentalisation
• This is a manner or practice of implementing a
process through combining related activities into
separate or specialised functional area distinct
from each other
• This allows for more efficient flow of work activities
• If the process involves customer management, it
needs to be divided on the basis of types of
customers served by the company
 Work Specialization
• This describes the degree to which tasks in an organisation are divided
into separate jobs.
• The main idea of this organisational design is that an entire job is not done
by one individual.
• It is broken down into steps and a different person completes each step.
• Individual employees specialise in doing a part of an activity rather than the
entire each step.
• Individual employees specialise in doing a part of an activity rather than the
entire activity.
• Emphasis is on obtaining increased productivity from individual workers.
• It involves a scientific selection, training and development of workers.
• There is clear division of work and responsibilities between management
and workers
 Span of Management
• Span of management is the number of
individuals a manager can supervise
effectively.
• It is important to a large degree because it
determines the number of employees a
manager can efficiently and effectively
manage
 Scalar Relationships /chain of
command
• This refers to the unbroken line of authority from upper levels of
the organisation to lowest. It is defined as a continuous line of
authority that extends from upper organisational levels to the
lowest levels and clarifies who reports to whom. There are three
important concepts attached to this theory:
• Authority: Refers to the rights inherent in a managerial position
to tell people what to do.
• Responsibility
• The obligation to perform any assigned duties
• Unit of command: Management principle that each person
should report to one manager.
 Centralisation versus Decentralisation

• The degree to which authority is dedicated

within an organisation.
• A centralised structure has a greater degree of
control, while a decentralised structure
involves a greater degree of delegated
authority to the regions or to the subordinates
. Centralisation and decentralisation
More centralisation
 Environment is stable
 Lower level managers are not as
capable or experienced at
making decisions as upper level
managers
 Lower level managers do not
want to have a say in decisions
 Decisions are significant
More Decentralisation
 Environment is complex,
uncertain.
 Lower level managers are capable
and experienced at making
decisions
 Lower level managers want a
voice in decisions
 Decisions are relatively minor
 Formalisation
• It refers to the degree to which jobs within
the organisation are standardised and the
extent to which employee behaviour is
guided by rules and procedures
 The formal organisational structure

• Organizing structure is represented primarily by means of a graphic

illustration called organizational chart.
• Traditionally an organization chart is constructed in a pyramid form,
with individuals toward the top of the pyramid having more authority
and responsibility than those toward the bottom.
• The relative positioning of individuals within boxes on the chart
indicates broad working relationships, and lines between boxes
designate formal lines of communication between individuals
• The position at the top point of the pyramid involve more authority
e.g. that of restaurant managers involve more authority and
responsibility while those farther away less authority
Organisational chart of a restaurant

Restaurant manager

Busboy Head chef Host/hostess Head waiter/Head

waitress

Busboy 1 Busboy 2 Chef 1 Chef 2 Waiter 1 Waiter 2 Waiter 3

 Groups in organisations

• A group is a collection of individuals who

interact with each other such that one
person’s actions have an impact on others
• In organisations most work is done within
groups
• Two type of groups in organisations include
formal groups and informal groups
 Differences between formal and informal
groups
Formal groups
Formal groups are created deliberately
and consciously in the organisation
They are created to for achieving the
legitimate objectives of the organisation
and are basic product of the formal
organisation structure
The members of formal groups derive
authority through the formal source that
through process delegation and re-
delegation. Therefore authority flows
from higher to lower levels.
Informal groups
Informal groups are created because of
the operation of socio-psychological
forces at the workplace, that is people
while at work develop a liking and
disliking for others for the type of
interactions not provided officially
The informal groups are created by
organisational members for their social
and psychological satisfaction. Thus they
serve the purpose of organisational
members which formal groups are not
able to satisfy
In informal groups all members are equal;
however some may command authority
by virtue of their personal qualities.
 Differences between formal and
informal groups continue
Formal groups
Communication is prescribed in the
formal groups. It is through formal
channel of communication
The formal group can be abolished at any
time since these are created by
organisational process
Informal groups
In informal groups communication is
trough informal channels of
communication
The informal groups are difficult to abolish
organisational process. Management does
not have control over them.
 Types of formal groups in
organisations
• Committees
• Work teams.
• Quality circles
 Committees

• A committee is a group of individuals charged with

performing some type of specific activity and is usually
classified as a task group
• They are established to
 To allow organisation members to exchange ideas
 To generate suggestions and recommendations that can
be offered to organisational units
 To develop new ideas for solving existing organisational
problems
 To assist in the development of organisational policies
 Work teams
• This is a task group in organisation to achieve greater organisational flexibility or
to cope with rapid change
• Employing work teams allows an organisation to draw the talent and creativity of
all its employees, not just top executives
• They help the organisation to remain competitive
• Work teams benefits the organisation through improved customer care and
relationships with clients and suppliers
• Individuals feel more motivated and committed to their work
• People feel that they are part of the team and the decision- making process, so
accept change better
• There are fewer accidents at work
• There is reduced staff turnover
• There is improved work quality
• There is better staff understanding and tolerence of others experiencing problems
 Quality circles
• Quality circle is a volunteer group composed of members who
meet to talk about workplace and service improvements and
present their ideas to management
• It is a small group of employee who come together to discuss
with management issues related to either quality control or
improvement
• They identify and solve work relate problems and interfere with
production as a team
• Quality circles improves communication within the organisation,
by overcoming barriers that may exist within the prevailing
organisational structure so as to foster an open exchange of ides
 The informal groups
• Types include
Interest groups
An interest group is an informal group that gains and
maintains membership primarily because of a
common concern members have about a specific
issue
Friendship groups
A friendship group is an informal group that forms in
organisations because of personal affiliation members
have with one another
Benefits of informal group to members
• Perpetuation of social and cultural values that group
members consider important
• Status and social satisfaction that people might not
enjoy without group membership
• increased ease of communication among group
members
• Increased desirability of the overall work environment
• Grapevine communication communication can be
equally important to both employees and managemnt
Benefits of informal group to the organisation

• Informal communication can often provide

accurate feedback on many important aspects
• There is better bonding , collaboration and
teamwork among individuals which may lead
to better organisational performance
• Informal groups form informal structure which
makes up for and compensate the
shortcomings of formal organisation
 The Informal structure

• Informal structure refers to the patterns of relationships that

develop because of the informal activities of organisation members.
• Informal structure evolves naturally and tends to be moulded by
individual norms and values and social relationships.
• These relationships are not usually identical to the organization’s
formal structure. Essentially the informal structure is the system or
network of interpersonal relationships within the organization.
• The personal relationships serve to satisfy psychological and social
needs which are not necessarily related to the tasks to be
undertaken.