Chapter 5 Organizing and Delegating Work Organizing is

Chapter 5 Organizing and Delegating Work

Organizing is the second function of management, defined in chapter 1 as the process of delegating and coordinating tasks and resources to achieve objectives.

Managers Organize Four Resources Human Physical Financial Informational

Les Mills’ Group Fitness Programs The Springfield, MA, JCC reorganized by upgrading their facilities and programming. A new fitness wing was added to accommodate the growth in group fitness classes. An affiliation was forged with Les Mills to bring in top-level group fitness programs such as their successful Body. Pump program. Three new fitness directors were added to lead the charge into group fitness.

Aspects of Organizing an Organization Unity of command direction Chain of command Span of management (flat and tall organizations) Division of labor (specialization) Coordination Delegation Flexibility Departmentalization Integration

Organizing the Olympics Tom Ridge (the Homeland security director at the time) said that, during the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, the city would be "one of the safest places on the globe. " Roughly 15, 000 people—including 10, 000 members of national guards, state and local police, and federal officers—handled security operations

Handling Terrorism at the Olympics Ridge said, "This is the best planned, best coordinated, and best organized plan the world has ever seen. I think it sends a real strong message to the rest of the world. Terrorism will not prevail. ” Not a single security issue occurred during the entire two-week experience.

2012 London Olympics Security The biggest peacetime security operation in Britain’s history: an $877 million civilian and military plan to protect athletes and visitors from threats ranging from organized criminals to suicide bombers. 12, 500 police officers were on duty while 12, 200 soldiers carried out the venue security searches assisted by at least 7, 000 contracted civilian security workers. A further 5, 500 troops were involved in military operations outside the site.

Responsibility and Authority Responsibility is one’s obligation to achieve objectives by performing required activities. Authority is the right to make decisions, issue orders, and use resources.

Delegation and Flexibility Delegation involves assigning responsibility and authority for accomplishing objectives. Flexibility involves understanding that there are often exceptions to the rule.

Levels of Authority Informing authority Recommending authority Reporting authority Full authority

Organization Chart An organization chart lays out the organization’s management hierarchy and departments and their working relationships. It shows the level of management hierarchy, chain of command, division and type of work, and departments.

Span of Management Span of management (also called the span of control) has to do with how many employees report directly to a manager. Typically, lower-level managers have a wider span of control (monitor more employees) than do higher-level managers.

Flat Versus Tall Organizations Flat organizations have fewer layers of management with wide spans of control. Tall organizations have many layers of management with narrow spans of control.

Figure 5. 1

Troubles Organizing the USOC Norman Blake of insurance giant USF&G was hired to reorganize the U. S. Olympic Committee (USOC). Blake’s position was that the USOC is “too hierarchical and too bureaucratic, ” which facilitated giving money to Olympic sports without enough accountability. His solution? Flatten the USOC, move away from its management-by-committee style, and start paying for performance. Blake lasted only 9 months in the position of CEO of the USOC. His reason for leaving so quickly was a lack of support from the governing bodies of the sports. In retrospect Blake felt he might have fired staff too quickly and was too fast to implement his pay-for-performance (i. e. , winning medals) strategy.

Division of Labor Division of labor occurs when jobs are organized by specialty: Accountants work in the accounting department, sales reps work in the marketing department, and football players are on the offensive or defensive squad. The MLB American League has specialized batting and pitching with its designated hitter. Managers usually perform less specialized functions as they move up the management ladder.

Coordination is about departments and individuals in an organization working together to accomplish strategic and operational objectives for its environment. Coordinating across jobs and departments requires systems-based analysis and conceptual skills.

Coordination must be undertaken with the goal of meeting the needs of the members of the organization. They can be members of a fitness center, fans at an event, or student-athletes in a school.

Line Versus Staff Authority Line authority is the responsibility to make decisions and issue orders down the chain of command. Operations and marketing are usually line departments, but some organizations also organize financial activities as line departments. Staff authority is the responsibility to advise and assist other personnel. Human resources (HR), public relations, and management information systems are almost always staff departments.

Centralized Versus Decentralized Authority With centralized authority, important decisions are made by top managers. With decentralized authority, important decisions are made by middle - and first-level managers. Which type of authority works best? There is no simple answer. Authority is a continuum, and most organizations function as a blend of centralized and

Job Design Job design is the process of combining the tasks that each employee is responsible for completing. The following slide summarizes the types of job designs and the job characteristics model.

Options in Job Design Job simplification makes jobs more specialized and efficient by eliminating, combining, or changing the order of tasks. Job expansion makes jobs less specialized. – Job rotation – Job enlargement – Job enrichment (continued)

Options in Job Design (continued) Work teams: jobs are designed for teams, not individuals. – Integrated – Self-managed The job characteristics model provides a conceptual framework for designing enriched jobs. – Core job dimensions – Critical psychological states – Performance and work outcomes – Employee growth: need strength

Organizing Yourself Setting priorities involves asking three questions: 1. Do I need to be personally involved? 2. Is the task my responsibility or will it affect the performance or finances of my department? 3. Is quick action needed?

Delegating Work 1. Explain why you are delegating the task and the reasons you chose this person to do the work. 2. Clearly define responsibility, the person’s scope of authority, and the deadline. 3. Plan the task. 4. Establish control checkpoints and hold employees accountable.