concepts of organization

8/6/2019 Concepts of Organization

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CONCEPTS OF ORGANIZATION

ASSINGMENT ONE

QUESTION ONE

Environment is the set of forces surrounding an organization that have the potential

to affect the way it operates and its access to scarce resources.

Sources of uncertainty in the environment:

Environment uncertainty is a condition of the environment in which future condition

affecting an organization cannot be accurately assessed and predicted. The more

uncertain an organization environment, the more time and effort managers must

expend monitoring the environment, assessing the implications for the organization,

and deciding what present and future actions to take.

The degree of environmental uncertainty is a function of three major factors,

complexity, dynamism and munificence.

Environmental complexity: refers to the number of elements in an

organizations environment and their degree of similarity. Environments in

which there are relatively small number of similar items are said to be

homogeneous. In contrast, environments in which there are large number of

dissimilar items are considered to be heterogeneous.

Environmental dynamism: refers to the rate and predictability of change in

the elements of an organizations environment. Environments in which the

rate of change is slow and relatively predictable are considered to be stable.

Conversely environments in which the rate of change is fast and relatively

unpredictable are said to be unstable. As elements in the environment

become more unstable, they present greater challengers to managers.

Environmental munificence: the extent to which the environment can

support sustained growth and stability. Environmental munificence can range

from relatively rich to relatively lean, depending on the level of resources

available to the organization within the environment. Unfortunately, rich


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environments eventually tend to attract other organizations. Munificence is

important because when organizations operate in rich environments, they are

able to build up a cushion of internal resources, such as capital, equipment,

and experience.

QUESTION TWO

What motivates organizations to form inter organizational linkages is the

symbiotic and competitive interdependencies, whereby competitive

interdependencies exist between an organization and its suppliers and

distributors and competitive interdependencies exist among organizations that

compete for scarce inputs and outputs.

Strategic alliances is an agreement between two or more individual or

entities stating the involved parties will act in a certain way in order to achieve

a common goal. Strategic alliances usually make sense when the parties

involved have complementary strengths.

The advantages of strategic alliance as a way of exchanging resources:

1. Allowing each partner to concentrate on activities that best match their

capabilities.

2. Learning from partners and developing competences that may be more

widely exploited elsewhere.

3. Adequacy a suitability of the resources and competencies of an

organization for it to survive.

QUESTION THREE


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Differentiation is the extent to which organizational units differ from one

another in terms of the behaviours and orientations of their members and their

formal structures. Differentiation occur in an organization

because, as organizations grow and become more complex, they establish a

division of labour. Complex organization must control and coordinates

activities to achieve goals.

It also occurs when managers decide how to control and coordinate the

activities that are required from the organization to create value. To examine

an organization and change the problems. To face its attempts to achieve its

goals. It is done to differentiate the organization and allocate people and

resources to organization tasks. To concentrate on new developments,

operate fairly informally, and be concerned with long-term success.

QUESTION FOUR

Vertical differentiation is the comparing of many products in a single market

and ordering them from lowest to highest, according to their perceived quality.

Vertical differentiation can be determined by comparing one key feature, such

as taste, usability or color. It is also widely practised by firms selling physical

goods to consumers with heterogeneous valuations.

Horizontal differentiation is a general concept and not restricted to certain

configuration. Is the degree to which specialisation of tasks occurs in an

organization. In horizontal differentiation, differentiation is high when there is a

large number of small tasks that are specialised based on experience

education and training.

QUESTION FIVE


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Authority and division of labour is appropriate in an organization because, with

authority the company has a right to make decisions, carry out actions, and

direct others in matters related to the duties and goals of a position. For

example, as the manager, you might except to have the authority to do such

things as hire employees, assign work, and order the food and supplies

necessary to keep things running smoothly. In division of labour the positions

are grouped according to their organizational levels which are first level,

middle, and top management for which their task is to achieve

organizational goals.

concepts of organization

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