Adaptive organizational structures are flexible structures that are characterized by the absence of clear bureaucratic regulation, a detailed separation of the types of work. They are characterized by some vagueness and flexibility of the administrative apparatus, decentralization of the decision-making process, as well as the individual responsibility of each member of the organization for the overall result.
Characteristic features of adaptive structures
Adaptive organizational structures are characterized by some distinctive features. Namely:
- The ability to quickly and relatively "painlessly" change its shape depending on changes in environmental conditions.
- Lack of strict bureaucratic regulation of the activities of the senior management, relative freedom of action and creativity of the manager.
- The lack of deep specialization of the organization, which leads to openness to experimentation.
- The desire for accelerated implementation of complex programs and projects.
- Clear time limits are imposed on the implementation of projects (programs) or problem solving.
- Creation of temporary management bodies that dissolve after reaching the desired position of the organization.
- The simplicity of the organizational structure, which is expressed in the minimum possible number of steps in the managerial hierarchy.
- The shortest way for information to pass between departments, project teams or individual employees (this minimizes the risk of loss and distortion of valuable data).
- A high degree of independence of line managers in the decision-making process.
- Decisions made at lower levels of management are no less significant than those made by senior managers.
- A high degree of staff integration in the enterprise management process.
- Limited life cycle (as a rule, flexible organic adaptive organizational structures are introduced for the period of solving a problem or completing a task).
- The high importance of the human factor (that is, the employee is perceived not only as a labor resource, but also as a person).
Design organizational structure
Design organizational structures are temporary. They are created for the period of solving some organizational problem (developing a project and putting it into practice). The essence of this structure is to assemble a team of qualified specialists who will work on a task for a limited period. At the same time, there is a predetermined level of quality of work and a certain resource framework (material and labor).
As a rule, in large companies, top management has many responsibilities within the framework of the project. Since the head cannot independently cover the solution of all problems, special organizational structures are formed for each hotel project. A project manager is appointed who defines the concept and goals, selects specialists and distributes tasks between them, coordinates and controls actions.
When the project is completed, the structure breaks up. Participants return to their previous positions, or move to new projects (if they are full-time employees), or leave the organization (if an urgent contract was concluded with them).
Advantages of design organizational structure
The project organizational structure has a number of undeniable advantages. Namely:
- thanks to the integration of multidirectional efforts, the company manages to achieve better results within the framework of a specific project;
- an integrated approach to solving problems and completing tasks;
- activization of the activities of managers related to the creation of project teams;
- to solve the problem, maximum effort is concentrated;
- a high degree of flexibility, which is expressed in the ability to quickly adapt when changing the conditions of the internal or external environment;
- a high degree of personal responsibility of both the project manager and other participants.
Disadvantages of design organizational structure
Also, this type of adaptive organizational structure has some disadvantages. Here are the main ones:
- in the presence of several projects, the organization’s resources are fragmented, which complicates its functioning and development as a whole;
- since the project organizational structure is not sustainable, disorientation of employees occurs, it becomes difficult for them to realize their place in the organization;
- the leader must manage not only the project itself, but also regulate the place of the subordinate group in the organizational structure of the enterprise;
- difficulties with the exploitation of specialists in the future;
- if there are several design structures, duplication of functions may occur.
Matrix Organizational Structure
Among organizational structures of the adaptive type, the matrix is quite common and at the same time the most complex. It implies the consolidation of two directions of leadership - vertical and horizontal. The structure arose due to the urgent need for rapid changes without reducing the efficiency of labor utilization. For the first time, matrix organizational structures arose in the space industry.
Vertical management is a top management that oversees the work of functional units. Horizontal management involves managing individual projects. Project managers determine the priority and time frame for solving problems, and the heads of structural divisions have the right to choose a working methodology and appoint performers. At the same time, employees of the organization (that is, project participants) are immediately subordinate to two managers to the same extent (thus, a double subordination system is formed).
The matrix structure is formed by superimposing the design on the permanent organizational structure of the enterprise (linear-functional). In this case, the task of senior management is to maintain the balance of this "design".
There are two types of matrix organizational structures. The first involves the interaction of the head with several groups of subordinates (permanent members of the project team and employees of other functional units, whose subordination is limited with maintaining subordination to the main managers). The second involves the temporary submission to the project manager of performers from certain functional units.
Advantages of matrix organizational structure
This type of adaptive organizational structure has a number of undeniable advantages. Namely:
- close consolidation of various departments and activities of the organization;
- high-quality simultaneous implementation of a larger number of projects in comparison with project and bureaucratic structures;
- Strengthening the degree of interaction between different functional units;
- revitalization of the management apparatus through close interaction with functional units;
- the involvement of managers and employees of all levels in creative activities to form and implement new ideas;
- Reducing the burden on senior management by delegating part of the authority to middle management while retaining the right to control key decisions;
- strengthening the sense of personal responsibility of the leader for the implementation of the project as a whole and its individual elements;
- high degree of flexibility and coordination of the functions performed;
- overcoming communication barriers within the organization without violating functional specialization;
- improving the efficiency of resource use by improving the quality of current management;
- ample opportunities for maneuvering resources while simultaneously implementing several projects;
- wide opportunities for the introduction of new effective management methods;
- the relative autonomy of the project teams contributes to the formation of new skills among employees in the field of decision-making and conducting business operations;
- quick response to changes in the environment.
Disadvantages of matrix organizational structure
But there are also negative points that cause skepticism among specialists. Here are the main disadvantages of the matrix organizational structure of management:
- violation of the principle of unity of command due to a system of double subordination;
- complexity and bulkiness of the structure;
- with a fuzzy distribution of rights and obligations in the matrix system, a tendency to anarchy is noted;
- a large number of leaders leads to an increase in conflict situations, as well as to an increase in overhead costs;
- as the power of authority is not clearly distributed, competition for power may arise between project and unit managers;
- the use of matrix structure can lead to ambiguity and dissipation of responsibility, which prevents the achievement of high-quality results;
- violation of the traditional system of relationships between units;
- Conflict situations between the leaders of different projects due to lack of resources;
- real control over the activities of units and project teams is significantly hampered;
- disruption of the activities of units due to the prolonged absence of specialists involved in the implementation of programs and projects;
- inefficiency in times of crisis;
- the difficulties of practical implementation of the structure associated with the need for additional training of employees and the development of an appropriate organizational culture.
Network organizational structure
The most modern adaptive organizational structure is network. It contrasts job hierarchy and functional separation with intellectual cooperation and network cooperation. Such transformations are caused by the fact that material assets as a global resource have been replaced by intellectual potential.
Hierarchical organizational management structures are becoming less relevant. The fact is that they arose when there was no critical development uncertainty in the economic environment. Now a period of global uncertainty has come, which forces managers to continuously learn to solve new problems. Emergencies arise more often, and therefore traditional management mechanisms demonstrate their inefficiency.
In the network organizational structure, each management link is considered not as a closed, self-sufficient unit, but as a public resource. Units complement each other, which increases the overall usefulness of the work. Thus, the management hierarchy is eroded, and all managers are on an equal footing as carriers of knowledge, experience, capital, and so on. But this can only be realized if network connections are established.
The transition to a hierarchical organizational structure of management occurs gradually in several stages. First, functional units are transformed into problem-oriented teams led by managers, who can simultaneously be in senior management. At the next stage, managers abandon the key role in their teams, while maintaining influence on them. They become more specialists than managers. Management is not an add-on, but a supporting basis for the production process. Thus, direct network collaboration crowds out obsolete bureaucratic structures.
An important distinguishing feature of this type of adaptive structures is that management can be transformed into a virtual resource that can be used without coming into direct contact. The virtual manager is more mobile and affordable. Moreover, entire organizations can move into a virtual environment. This is the best solution in an ever-changing environment.
Advantages of network organizational structure
There are several advantages of a network organizational management structure. Namely:
- lightning reaction to changes that occur both in the internal and in the external environment;
- the ability to choose the most priority activities at the moment;
- a significant reduction in costs and a significant increase in revenue;
- elimination of the likelihood of duplication of managerial executive functions;
- wide opportunities for intra-industry and inter-industry partnership.
Disadvantages of network organizational structure
But there are also disadvantages to the networked organizational management structure. Here are the main ones:
- violation of the principles of organizational segmentation;
- increased risks associated with dependency on staffing and a high probability of staff turnover;
- lack of guaranteed social and material support for participants in the network organizational system.
Ring organizational structure
Adaptive organizational structures also include a ring. This concept is one of the newest, it originated in the 80s. In accordance with it, a council is created at each managerial level, which includes the head and representatives of departments of various levels (as a rule, one level lower and one higher level). At the same time, a leader of a certain level can take part in several tips at once, which ensures the cohesion of levels into a single system, which is called the ring.
Given the experience of organizations that have already managed to implement such a management system, we can conclude that it is effective, as with other main types of adaptive structures. Thanks to this mechanism, performers of all levels are clearly aware of the goals and objectives of senior management. And senior management, in turn, understands the needs and experiences of employees of all departments.
Centralization and decentralization
In the formation of the organizational structure of the organization’s management, the optimal ratio of centralization and decentralization plays an important role:
- A centralized organization is one in which the highest level of authority is assigned to senior management regarding important managerial decisions. This approach allows you to maximize control and coordination of the work of employees at all levels, and also significantly reduces the number of erroneous decisions and the extent of negative consequences from them. Also, a high degree of centralization virtually eliminates the imbalance between the resource and information supply of various departments.
- A decentralized organization is one in which managerial authority is evenly distributed among managers at various levels. Such a system is typical for large enterprises, which are almost impossible to manage through strict centralization, because it requires the processing of significant amounts of information and the adoption of a huge number of decisions. Thanks to decentralization, the manager who is closest to the problem can make a responsible decision. Decentralization also promotes initiative and staff responsibility. It contributes to the formation of a high-quality personnel reserve (in particular, managerial).
In practice, there are no completely centralized or completely decentralized organizations. As a rule, there is federal decentralization. This means that the most important decisions are made by senior management, and the solution of operational tasks remains with line managers. But modern adaptive organizational structures are characterized by an increasing degree of decentralization.
The need for adaptive systems
Unfortunately, the former continue to dominate between bureaucratic and adaptive organizational structures in the domestic economy. Nevertheless, the introduction of a suitable modern organizational structure does not guarantee success (while choosing the wrong organizational structure is a guarantee of failure).
The problems of choosing organizational structures in domestic conditions are associated with crisis phenomena and instability in the economy. In this regard, it is worth noting the following:
- There is a need for frequent changes in the strategies, goals and principles of organizations that would correspond to constantly changing environmental conditions.Also, the system should provide the most rapid creation of goods and services with their subsequent promotion on the market. Unfortunately, the old bureaucratic structures are not adapted to this.
- It is important that managers understand that corporatization is the opposite of autonomy and independence. It entails the economic responsibility of managers both to their own personnel and to external investors.
- The organization should be attractive to both the public and the state. A favorable image enhances investment opportunities. Flexible and open adaptive organizational structure as well as possible contributes to the formation of a positive image.
- Ensuring the financial stability of the organization requires a diversified approach to production, as well as the search for new areas for commercial activity. Thus, the organizational system must be flexible enough to quickly respond to negative influences and be rebuilt to implement a new ideology.