Mechanistic and Organic Organization Structures

Mechanistic and Organic Organization Structures

Designing an organization is one of the most important parts of creating a successful business. The organizational design determines how a business will manage its processes to achieve its strategic goals and objectives. Two main paradigms inform the development of organizational structures: mechanistic and organic. This paper aims to evaluate the two models and determine how their significant differences affect their flexibility and applicability in the contemporary business environment.

Definition of the Mechanistic and Organic Organizational Structures

An organic organization is a flexible and highly adaptable structure characterized by decentralization of authority, open communication, and information participation in decision-making (Jones, 2013). On the other hand, a mechanistic organization is a hierarchal and bureaucratic structure that is characterized by centralized authority, vertical communication, and over-reliance on rules and specific guidelines for decision-making (Jones, 2013).

Differences between the Organic and Mechanistic Structures

One of the main differences between the organic and mechanistic structures is the leadership and decision-making structure. A mechanistic organization comprises a hierarchical leadership structure and a bureaucratic decision-making system (Claver-Cortés et al., 2012). For instance, a company with this structure will have a chief executive officer with the central authority to make most of the decisions for the rest of the organization. For any decisions to be approved, there needs to be strict bureaucratic guidelines to be followed (Jones, 2013). Basically, such an organization is guided by these strict processes. On the other hand, the organic organizational structure is characterized by an open leadership model. There is no particular centralized power responsible for the decision-making. Instead, the decision-making process in such an organization is lateral and shared between its members.

Another difference between these two organizational structures is the communication process. Communication in the mechanistic structure is very formal and vertical. The authority leading the organization has most of the communication power (María Martínez-León & Martínez-García, 2011). All other organization members need to follow bureaucratic processes to communicate information. Conversely, the organic organization has an open communication model. No significant formal processes are required to communicate information to the authorities. In addition, communication is lateral, and people do not need to have some authority to communicate important information with the rest of the organization.

These two organizational structures are also differentiated by the strategy of carrying out processes. In a mechanistic structure, some rules and guidelines guide all processes. The employees are required to perform their roles and responsibilities according to the rules (Claver-Cortés et al., 2012). In comparison, the organic structure has a more flexible way of doing things. Workers can be flexible in how they carry out their roles and responsibilities (Claver-Cortés et al., 2012). They can change their strategies at any time if it helps them achieve their objective.

How Mechanistic Organizations Handle Turbulence of Hyper-change and Hyper-Competition vs. Organic Organizations

Certain rules and processes must be followed before any change is implemented in a mechanistic organization. When turbulence is caused by a significant environmental change or a change in competition, such an organization will have a harder time adapting to the change. This is because the communication of the change takes a significant amount of time due to the bureaucratic processes. In addition, adaptation to the required change is also harder because it takes time for the workers to get comfortable with the new model of doing things after being used to the older procedures. In comparison, an organic organization does not need any significant rules to adapt to change. These kinds of businesses naturally adapt to the changes in competition or other factors in the environment because of the organization’s flexibility (Jones, 2013). The free communication and decision-making power make it easier for the organization to manage the change quickly and with minimal effort.

Applicable Organizational Structure

The organizational structure that would be more applicable considering the current local and global environment is the organic organization. Almost every factor that affects business performance in the 21^st century is changing in the contemporary environment. For example, new technologies are constantly being developed, and there is a lot of political influence on businesses and increasing competition, especially in the era of globalized business. In an environment where these things are happening, it is important that a business is as flexible and adaptive as possible. If there is an emerging trend in the market, a business should be able to quickly adapt to it to avoid being left behind. The organic structure has the characteristics that allow for such quick adaptation. With a quicker decision-making structure and less bureaucratic communication processes, companies can make quick changes to always remain competitive. A company that is quick to adapt to strategies is more likely to maintain or gain its competitive advantage in the business environment today.

References

Claver-Cortés, E., Pertusa-Ortega, E. M., & Molina-Azorín, J. F. (2012). Characteristics of organizational structure relating to hybrid competitive strategy: Implications for performance. Journal of Business Research, 65(7), 993-1002.

Jones, G. R. (2013). Organizational theory, design, and change. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

María Martínez-León, I., & Martínez-García, J. A. (2011). The influence of organizational structure on organizational learning. International Journal of Manpower, 32(5/6), 537-566.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Mechanistic and Organic Organization Structures

Overview

Because of today’s hyper-competitive and rapidly changing global marketplace, it is absolutely critical that organizations be flexible, adaptable to change, and focused on the customer. Thus, they must completely reinvent themselves as necessary. Literally, it can mean the difference between success and failure.

Instructions

Mechanistic and Organic Organization Structures

Search the Capella library for articles on mechanistic and organic organization structures. In a 3-page paper:

• Define briefly mechanistic organizational structure and organic organizational structure.
• Compare and contrast the main differences between the two types of organizational structure.
• Compare how mechanistic organizations handle the turbulence of hyper-change and hyper-competition versus how organic organizations address the same issues.
• Explain which type of organizational structure you feel is more applicable to the current domestic and global environment, and why.

Please note: The term environment is used throughout this course to mean all of the external factors that affect an organization. These include, but are not limited to, the overall political, economic, sociocultural, and technological environment.

Submission Requirements

Your paper should meet the following requirements

• Written communication: Written communication should be well organized and clear, with correct spelling and grammar.
• APA format: Resources and citations should be in current APA format. Be sure to include title and reference pages.
• Length: 3 typed pages, double-spaced pages, not including the title and reference pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.