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Pages:
4 pages/β‰ˆ1100 words
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2 Sources
Style:
APA
Subject:
Business & Marketing
Type:
Essay
Language:
English (U.S.)
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MS Word
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Total cost:
$ 17.28
Topic:

MGT 501: Organizational Structure and Behavior

Essay Instructions:

After finishing with the background page and readings, go to the following interview with Rosabeth Moss Kanter, who is a renowned Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and an influential business advisor. Among other things, in this interview she talks about the evolution of changes in organizational structure in the past decades, and the link to employees’ well-being and functioning.

Required Reading

Both of the following articles can be found in the EBSCO Business Source Complete database.

Puffer, S. (2004) Changing organizational structures: An interview with Rosabeth Moss Kanter.Academy of Management Executive, 18(2).

The following article looks at changing organizational structures as open systems and the effect on managers.

Buhler, P. M. (2011). Changing organizational structures and their impact on managers.Supervision, 72(2), 24-26.

Assignment

Write a 4- to 5-page critique answering the questions below.

  1. An organization’s structure can have significant effects on its members. What might those effects be? Analyze the behavioral implications of different organizational designs and use at least three examples, SAS being one of them.
  2. Is it possible to generalize and say that a certain structure is better than others? That is, is there a structure that is superior in terms of its effects on its members?

Keys to the Assignment

The key aspects of this assignment that should be covered in your paper are:

  • Define the problem: Explain the relationship between organizational structure and human behaviors.
  • Analyze the cause: Analyze how specific organizational designs can elicit predictable attitudes and motivations. Be sure to use SAS as one of your examples (refer back to Module 2).
  • Propose a solution: Take a position on Question 2 and defend it with references to the concepts in the readings in this module and any previous modules that you find relevant.
  • Extra credit will be given if you can relate your discussion to cultural differences (Module 1).

Assignment Expectations

Your paper will be evaluated using the following five (5) criteria:

  • Assignment-Driven Criteria (Precision and Breadth): Does the paper fully address all Keys to the Assignment? Are the concepts behind the Keys to the Assignment addressed accurately and precisely using sound logic? Does the paper meet minimum length requirements? 
  • Critical Thinking (Critical Thinking and Depth): Does the paper demonstrate graduate-level analysis, in which information derived from multiple sources, expert opinions, and assumptions has been critically evaluated and synthesized in the formulation of a logical set of conclusions? Does the paper address the topic with sufficient depth of discussion and analysis?
  • Business Writing (Clarity and Organization): Is the paper well written (clear, developed logically, and well organized)? Are the grammar, spelling, and vocabulary appropriate for graduate-level work? Are section headings included in all papers? Are paraphrasing and synthesis of concepts the primary means of responding to the Keys to the Assignment, or is justification/support instead conveyed through excessive use of direct quotations? 
  • Effective Use of Information (Information Literacy and References): Does the paper demonstrate that the student has read, understood and can apply the background materials for the module?  If required, has the student demonstrated effective research, as evidenced by student’s use of relevant and quality (library?) sources? Do additional sources used in paper provide strong support for conclusions drawn, and do they help in shaping the overall paper? 
  • Citing Sources: Does the student demonstrate understanding of APA Style of referencing, by inclusion of proper end references and in-text citations (for paraphrased text and direct quotations) as appropriate? Have all sources (e.g., references used from the Background page, the assignment readings, and outside research) been included, and are these properly cited? Have all end references been included within the body of the paper as in-text citations?

Tips and Suggestions

Please note the following tips and suggestions:

  • Include a cover page and reference page in addition to the 4–5 pages of analysis described above.
  • You are expected to demonstrate that you have read, understood, and can apply the required background readings for this module in your answer to this case. Be sure to read the required readings carefully, and use the theories and arguments you learn from them to support your analysis.
  • Include headings for all papers longer than two pages (basically all papers).
  • Cite and reference all sources that you use in your work, including those that you do not quote but paraphrase. This means include citations and quotation marks for direct quotes of more than five words, and include citations for information that you have "borrowed" or paraphrased from other sources.
  • Follow TUI Guidelines for well-written papers. (If you are unsure of what those guidelines are, see The Elements of a Well Written Paper).
Essay Sample Content Preview:

Organizational Structure and Behavior
Name:
Institution:
Different organizations and businesses use varying structures to organize their work force into manageable categories. Structures are basically grouping methods, where the people of a given organization are organized relative to their functions and the goals of the firm. It is this organization that then establishes the relationships that are formed among the managers at the same level and the subordinates at lower levels. With the different levels established there are responsibilities that are assigned to the different individuals. Some of the key elements of an organization structure include, work specialization, chain of command, departments, spans of control, formalization and centralization or decentralization (Puffer, 2004). Relative to the interaction between the responsibilities, resources available including human resources and the objectives of the firm, staffs are bound to have some behavioral shifts. This aspect is due to the fact that these are elements that highly implicate the culture and the working environment of the firm (Buhler, 2011).
As Rosabeth Moss Kanter points out, the structure of the organization has some dire impact on the productivity and the potential of the members. If the structure s build around cultures that are old and strict to the chains of command such as is in the military, most people will not feel comfortable exploiting their potential. As a result, people only work to satisfy the laid out objectives of the firm and meet the deadlines set out by the departments. The level of creativity is affected by the structure that the organization adopts. Where the structure incorporates strict guidelines and boundaries to be observed, the level of creativity is certainly going to be low. However, if an organization uses a rather flexible structure and one that does not have a bureaucratic structure in chains of command, the staffs are bound to feel free to create and nurture new ideas. Most of the staff would want to exploit more of their potential given the chance to work in an organization that embraces flat structures. These are structures that reduce the bureaucracy that results from tight chains of command, such that the employees have some better chances of interacting with their superiors in a much more convenient manner.
According to Kanter (Puffer, 2004), the organization structure creates the employees that it has on it payroll. This means that the behavior that the employees exhibit, is tentative to what the organization structure has conditioned them to be. Different positions and responsibilities that come with them shape the behaviors of the employees holding these positions. One of the levels of behavior that illustrates the effects of the structure is performance. Different employees will exhibit differences in their performance relative to the way they interact with the working environment and as designed by the stricture (Buhler, 2011).
Employee behavior among staffs of the same department and between staffs of the different department is bound to be different. Sometimes, depending on the structure of the organization, staffs of different departments become hostile to those outside their departments, while forming...
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