Answer to Question #296084 in English for Bheka

Question

Discuss the different structures that an organisation can assume, as identified by Hickson and Macdonald (2001). [12 marks]

Answer 1

The traditional Organisation

It’s an organizational structure where behavior is often traditionalized and strict rules are followed to the letter. It is common to find family firms function as this type of organization, whereby the descendants of the founder head up the organization by default, the CEO and even CFO are mostly the heir of the family and these positions are mostly set apart for them as they are groomed within the structure. Culture and traditional way of business are mostly carried through by descendants and the heart of the organization is based on customs. Examples include family-owned businesses such as Johnson & Johnson that are run by the descendants of the founders. Such businesses or organizations have a legacy of using traditional management styles that were put in place by their forefathers or original founders of the business.

The rational-legal or bureaucratic organization

These organizations are seen to be rationally formed for specific purposes, with a legal authority that informs their rules and procedures. Jobs and offices are arranged to reflect an authority hierarchy. Mostly in this type of structure, it depends on the education and experience of the individual, the authority of each official is formally defined and access to certain files, information, and functions are carefully decided upon to enforce the authority of certain officials over others. The structure is that every role is clearly defined, and protocol is observed to serve the purpose of the organization with authority. Examples include government departments and ministries, where strict protocol is followed, and communication is limited to said protocol. A junior officer is only limited to function the organization to the limit of their responsibilities or job descriptions and authority bestowed upon them

The charismatic organization

charismatic organization, its authority is from the personal charisma of the leader. This kind of organization depends on the livelihood and personal character of one leader. These leaders are usually attributed with virtually superhuman strength and sometimes even supernatural qualities by their followers. An example of this structure is a church, in most churches when its founder and prophet of the organization dies then the source of authority is lost, which means that the

organization needs a different basis of legitimacy to continue existing. As the organization will struggle to re-establish itself under a different form of legitimacy.