Understanding the Design of Organizations

Abstract

The purpose of this note is to help readers understand organisational structure better by making them recognize the intricacies of structure and its alignment with various other elements of organisation. We first introduce organisations as open systems, describe the elements of an organisation and stress the importance of alignment of all the elements. We then shift our focus to defining structures and enlisting weaknesses and strengths of each structure. Finally, we focus on Matrix structures, their presence and importance to organisations, the challenges of managing Matrix structures, and our recommendations about managing Matrix structures effectively.