CHAPTER 4

ORGANIZING
TECHNICAL
ACTIVITIES
LIST OF CONTENTS
01 Reasons for Organizing

02 Organizing Defined

03 The Purpose of the Structure

04 The Formal Organization

05 Informal Groups

06 Types of Organizational Structures

07 Types of Authority

08 The Purpose of Committees

 Organizing is undertaken to facilitate the
implementation of plans. In effective
organizing, steps are undertaken to
breakdown the total job into more
manageable man-size jobs.

Doing these will make it possible to assign

particular tasks to particular persons. In turn,
these will help facilitate the assignment of
authority, responsibility, and accountability for
certain functions and tasks.
 "the structuring of
resources and activities to
accomplish objectives in
an efficient and effective
manner.”
 The arrangement or
relationship of positions
within an organization is
called the structure. The
result of the organizing
process is the structure.
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The structure serves some very useful purposes. They
are the following:

1 2 3 4
It defines the It defines formal It defines the It defines the
relationships reporting groupings of system to effect
between tasks relationships, the individuals into coordination of
and authority for number of levels in departments and effort in both
individuals and the hierarchy of departments into vertical (authority)
departments. the organization, organization. and horizontal
and the span of (tasks) directions.
control.
When structuring an organization, the engineer
manager must be concerned with the following:

1
- determining the scope of work and how it is combined in a job.

2
- the process of assigning various degrees of decision-making authority
to subordinates.

3
- the grouping of related jobs, activities, or processes into major
organizational subunits.
When structuring an organization, the engineer
manager must be concerned with the following:

4
- the number of people who report directly to a given manager.

5
- the linking of activities in the organization that serves to achieve a
common goal or objective.
 "the structure that details lines
of responsibilities, authority, and
position.“

It is "the planned structure"

and it "represents the deliberate
attempt to establish patterned
relationships among components
that will meet the objectives
effectively."
 1
The
is
described by 2
management
through:
3
 Organization chart
The organization chart is a diagram
of the organization's official positions
and formal lines of authority.
Organizational manual
The organizational manual provides
written descriptions of authority
relationships, details the functions of
major organizational units, and
describes job procedures.
 Policy manuals
The policy manual describes
personnel activities and company
policies.
There are instances when members of an organization
spontaneously form a group with friendship as a principal reason
for belonging. This group is called an informal group. It is not a
part of the formal organization and it does not have a formal
performance purpose.

Informal groups are oftentimes very useful in the

accomplishment of major tasks, especially if these tasks conform
with the expectations of the members of the informal group.

The informal organization, useful as it is, is "vulnerable to

expediency, manipulation, and opportunism," according to
Valentine. It's low visibility, Valentine added, makes it "difficult for
management to detect these perversions, and considerable harm
can be done to the company."
 TYPES OF
ORGANIZATIONAL
STRUCTURE
Before the commencement of activities, the
decision-makers in an organization will have to
decide on what structure to adapt. Depending on
the size and type of operations, a certain structural
type may best fit the requirements.
1 Functional organization
- this is a form of departmentalization in
which everyone engaged in one functional
activity, such as engineering or marketing, is
grouped into one unit.
2 Product or market
organization
- this refers to the organization of a
company by divisions that brings together all
those involved with a certain type of product
or customer.
3 Matrix organization
- an organizational structure in which each
employee reports to both a functional or division
manager and to a project or group manager.
 Functional organization
Functional organization structures are very
effective in smaller firms, especially "single-
business firms where key activities revolve
around well-defined skills and areas of
specialization."
 ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
1. The grouping of employees who perform a 1. Communication and coordination between
common task permit economies of scale and the departments are often poor.
efficient resource use.
2. Decisions involving more than one
2. Since the chain of command converges at department pile up at the top management
the top of the organization, decision-making is level and are often delayed.
centralized, providing a unified direction from
the top. 3. Work specialization and division of labor,
which are stressed in a functional organization,
3. Communication and coordination among produce routine, nonmotivating employee
employees within each department are tasks.
excellent.
4. It is difficult to identify which section or
4. The structure promotes high-quality group is responsible for certain problems.
technical problem-solving.
5. There is limited view of organizational goals
5. The organization is provided with in-depth by employees.
skill specialization and development.
6. There is limited general management
6. Employees are provided with career training for employees.
progress within functional departments.
 Product or Market
Organization
The product or market organization, with its
feature of operating by divisions, is "appropriate
for a large corporation with many product lines
in several related industries
 ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
1. The organization is flexible and
responsive to change. 1. There is a high possibility of
duplication of resources across divisions.
2. The organization provides a high
concern for customers' needs. 2. There is less technical depth and
specialization in divisions.
3. The organization provides excellent
coordination across functional 3. There is poor coordination across
departments. divisions.

4. There is easy pinpointing of 4. There is less top management control.

responsibility for product problems.
5. There is competition for corporate
5. There is emphasis on overall product resources.
and division goals.

6. The opportunity for the development

of general management skills is provided.
 Matrix Organization
A matrix organization, according to Thompson and
Strickland, "is a structure with two (or more) channels
of command, two lines of budget authority, and two
sources of performance and reward."

Higgins declared that "the matrix structure was

designed to keep employees in a central pool and to
allocate them to various projects in the firm according
to the length of time they were needed."
 ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
1. There is more efficient use of 1. There is frustration and confusion from
resources than the divisional structure. dual chain of command.

2. There is flexibility and adaptability to 2. There is high conflict between

changing environments. divisional and functional interests.

3. The development of both general 3. There are many meetings and more
and functional management skills are discussion than action.
present.
4. There is a need for human relations
4. There is interdisciplinary cooperation, training for key employees and
and any expertise is available to all managers.
divisions.
5. There is a tendency for power
5. There are enlarged tasks for dominance by one side of the matrix.
employees which motivate them
better.
1 Line authority
A manager's right to tell subordinates
what to do and then see that they do it.
2 Staff authority
A staff specialist's right to give advice to
a superior.
3 Functional authority
A specialist's right to oversee lower level
personnel involved in that specialty,
regardless of where the personnel are in the
organization.
 Line departments perform tasks that reflect
the organization's primary goal and mission. In a
construction firm, the department that
negotiates and secures contracts for the firm is a
line department. The construction division is also
a line function.

Staff departments include all those that

provide specialized skills in support of line
departments. Examples of staff departments
include those which perform strategic planning,
labor relations, research, accounting, and
personnel.
 Staff officers may be classified into
the following:

Personal staff
- those individuals assigned to a specific
manager to provide needed staff services.

Specialized staff
- those individuals providing needed staff
services for the whole organization.
 A committee is a formal group of
persons formed for a specific purpose.

For instance, the product planning

committee, as described by Millevo, is
"often staffed by top executives from
marketing, production, research,
engineering, and finance, who work
part-time to evaluate and approve
product ideas."

Committees are very useful most

especially to engineering and
manufacturing firms.
Committees may be classified as follows:
1 Ad hoc committee
- one created for a short-term purpose and have a
limited life. An example is the committee created to
manage the anniversary festivities of a certain firm.

2 Functional authority
- it is a relatively permanent committee that deals with
issues on an ongoing basis. An example is the grievance
committee set up to handle initially complaints from
employees of the organization.
 SUMMARY
The proper management of engineering activities, whether at the unit,
department, or firm level, requires effective organizing. The organizing
function is undertaken to facilitate the implementation of plans.

Organizing refers to the structuring of resources and activities to accomplish

objectives. The structure serves as a way to reach the organization's goals.

The formal organization is the structure that will carry out the plan. It is
described through the organization chart, the organization manual, and the
policy manual.

Informal groups oftentimes find their way to exist side by side with formal
organizations. These groups may make it easy or make it hard for the
organization to achieve its objectives.
 SUMMARY
Organizations may be classified into: (1) functional, (2) product or market, or
(3) matrix.

Authority delegated to the members of the organization may be classified

into: (1) line authority, (2) staff authority, and (3) functional authority.

Committees are used as a supplement to the existing formal organization.

Committees are formed to perform specific tasks. Committees are classified
into: (1) ad hoc, and (2) standing.
 THANK YOU F O R Y O U R A T T E N T I O N

GROUP 4 : BSCE-2B
ELLYSA O. CALACAT
GERLIE MAE A. GALICIA
JEAN DIANNE M. PAIGAO