Organization: Contemporary Principles and Practice, 2nd Edition

PART II

New Internal Forms

Chapter 4 Simpler Structures – Reducing Hierarchy

Chapter 5 Achieving Integration

Chapter 6 Control

Chapter 7 Questions of Reward

Chapter 8 Payment Systems

Introduction to Part II – New Internal Forms

The chapters in Part II focus on the specifics of organization as it occurs largely within the boundaries of firms and institutions. Chapter 4 is concerned chiefly with hierarchy, a fundamental structural feature of organization. It considers downsizing and delayering, which are moves toward smaller and slimmer management structures that have fewer hierarchical levels. The attempt to reduce hierarchy is often accompanied by the greater use of teams.

Teams are an important means of improving the coordination and integration of activities, which is the subject of Chapter 5. That chapter discusses ways in which integration can be achieved, including the use of cross-functional teams and modern information and communication technologies. The management of projects is a particularly important capability today and the coordination of the specialized contributions required is usually achieved through teams.

Control is the subject of Chapter 6, which is another fundamental aspect of organizing where new approaches have been developed to suit modern conditions. The ...