Organization Design - The Role of Management

The Role of Management

Designers with imagination have the best chance to group people and machines into workable combinations having the greatest efficiency and effectiveness within the recognized constraints. Certain characteristics should be designed into an effective and efficient system — simplicity, flexibility, reliability, economy, and acceptability.

At this point, the designer must determine what has to be done to achieve the stated objective(s) and how the total task can be divided into meaningful units. Of the many possible combinations, one must be selected as that which satisfies the decision criteria better than the other alternatives. Of course, the balance between technical efficiency and the human factors that determine organizational climate should be included in making this decision. The eventual success or failure of the project is somewhat predetermined by management's attitude and the relationship between the designers and those who must implement the process.

The systems approach suggests a new role for management. In the traditional view, the manager operated in a highly structured, rigid system having well-defined goals, clear-cut relationships, tight controls, and hierarchical information flows. In the flexible (or open) systems view, the organization is not static but is continually evolving to meet both external and internal changes. The manager's role is to develop a viable organization, cope with change, and help participants establish a dynamic equilibrium. Leonard Sayles has expressed the manager's problem as follows:

“The one enduring objective is the effort to build and maintain a predictable, reciprocating system of relationships, the behavioral patterns of which stay within reasonable physical limits. But this is seeking a moving equilibrium, since the parameters of the system (the division of labor and the controls) are evolving and changing. Thus, the manager endeavors to introduce regularity in a world that will never allow him to achieve the ideal”.

The systems approach does not offer a prescription for making a manager's difficult and complex job easier. Rather it helps him understand and operate more effectively within the reality of complex systems. The systems approach suggests that operations cannot be neatly departmentalized but must be viewed as overlapping subsystems. In addition, it suggests that leadership patterns must be modified, particularly when dealing with professionals and highly trained specialists, and motivation must take the form of active, willing participation rather than forceful subjugation.

Systems design involves establishing project and facilitating subsystems to accomplish certain tasks or programs. In this approach, the network of human independence required to accomplish a given task is based on the shared responsibility of all members of the subsystem. In contrast, the traditional organization is geared to functional performance and the integrating force is authority. Instead of gearing participant activities to obedience to rules and closely structured behavior, the systems approach provides a basis for active cooperation in meeting task requirements. The manager is looked upon as a resource person who can help the group meet its goals and also as a source of authority and control. Thus, systems theory lends a structure by which the concepts of motivation, leadership, and participation can be applied effectively within the organization.

Implementation is, of course, implicit in the connotation of systems design; otherwise it would be nothing more than an empty exercise. It follows that the interface between managers and systems designers is critical, and mutual understanding must be fostered to maximize returns from design efforts. The system must be tailored to the needs of the organization and adapted continually as circumstances change. In a general sense, managers engage in systems design on a day-to-day basis when they plan activities and organize systems to accomplish objectives. Specialized staff groups have evolved to perform tasks such as long-range planning, organizational studies, and systems design. However, since managers are ultimately responsible for organizational endeavors, they should make a special effort to help ensure the development of useful systems and to make design activities an extension of the manager's role rather than a separate function.

Operating managers need to understand the organizational decision-making requirements and the information needed to support the system. Although the probability of success in implementation is enhanced considerably if management is vitally interested in the project, technical expertise and motivation for change are more likely to be found in staff groups. The solution to the apparent dichotomy would seem to be a team approach, with specialists supporting operating managers who are responsible for the project's success. A manager might devote either part-time to such an effort or full time temporarily, if the task requires it.

A project involving an integrated system for the entire company might well require years to complete. If operating people are delegated responsibility and authority for such a project, particularly if they are delegated the authority to outline specifications, they should also maintain sufficient contact with the day-to-day operations and its attendant information flow to retain their expertise for decision making. If the environment is dynamic or internal capabilities undergo change, it might be wise to rotate people from operations to systems design periodically, so that operating expertise is updated continually.