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Module 4-Organizing Technical Activities

The document discusses organizing technical activities for engineering managers. It defines organizing and describes its purposes, including facilitating plans and breaking down jobs into manageable tasks. The document outlines different organizational structures like functional, product, and matrix structures. It details their advantages and disadvantages. Different types of authority and committees are also summarized.

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LegenGary
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2K views9 pages

Module 4-Organizing Technical Activities

The document discusses organizing technical activities for engineering managers. It defines organizing and describes its purposes, including facilitating plans and breaking down jobs into manageable tasks. The document outlines different organizational structures like functional, product, and matrix structures. It details their advantages and disadvantages. Different types of authority and committees are also summarized.

Uploaded by

LegenGary
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 9

MODULE OF INSTRUCTION______________________________ ENG-6301 Engineering Management

ORGANIZING TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES

Introduction

The engineer manager needs to acquire various skills in management,


including those for organizing technical activities. The opportunities offered
by skillful organizing are too important for the engineer manager to ignore.

Reasons for Organizing


Organizing is undertaken to facilitate the implementation of plans. In
effective organizing, steps are undertaken to breakdown the total job into
more manageable man-size jobs.

Organizing Defined
• Organizing is a management function which refers to “the structuring
of resources and activities to accomplish objectives in an effective
manner”.
• Structure is the arrangement or relationship of positions within an
organization.
• Structure is the result of organizing process.

Purpose of the Structure


The structure serves some useful purposes. They are the following:
1. It defines the relationship between tasks and authority for individuals
and departments.
2. It defines formal reporting relationships, the number of levels in the
hierarchy of the organization, and the span of control.
3. It is defines the groupings of individuals into departments and
departments into organization.
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MODULE OF INSTRUCTION______________________________ ENG-6301 Engineering Management

4. It defines the system to effect coordination of effort in both vertical


(authority) and horizontal (tasks) directions.
When structuring an organization, the engineer manager must be concerned
with the following:
1. Division of labor
2. Delegation of authority

3. Departmentation
4. Span of control
5. Coordination

Formal Organization

The formal organization is the structure that will carry out the plan. It
is described through the organization chart, the organization manual, and the
policy manual.

Informal Groups
Informal groups oftentimes find their way to exist side by side with
formal organizations. These groups may make it easy or make it hard for the
organization to achieve its objectives.

Type of Organizational Structures


Before the commencement of activities, the decision makers in an
organization will have to decide on what structure to adapt. Depending on
the size and type of operations, a certain structural type may best fit the
requirements.

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MODULE OF INSTRUCTION______________________________ ENG-6301 Engineering Management

Three Type of Organizational Structures


1. Functional organization- form of departmentalization in which
everyone engaged in one functional activity (engineering or
marketing).
2. Product or market organization- refers to the organization of a
company by division that brings together all those involved with a
certain type of product or customer.
3. Matrix organization- each employee reports to both functional or
division manager and to a project or group manager.

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MODULE OF INSTRUCTION______________________________ ENG-6301 Engineering Management

Functional Organization
It’s very effective in smaller firms, especially in a single-business firms
where key activities revolve around well-defined skills and areas of
specialization.

Functional Organization Advantages


1. The grouping of employees who perform a common task permit
economies of scale and efficient resource use.
2. Since the chain of command converges at the top of the organization,
decision-making is centralized, providing a unified direction from the
top.
3. Communication and coordination among employees within each
department are excellent.
4. The structure promotes high-quality technical problem-solving.
5. The organization is provided with in depth skill specialization and
development.

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MODULE OF INSTRUCTION______________________________ ENG-6301 Engineering Management

6. Employees are provided with career progress within functional


departments.

Functional Organization Disadvantages


1. Communication and coordination between the departments are
often poor.

2. Decisions involving more than one department pile up of the top


management level and are often delayed.

3. Work specialization and division of labor, which are stressed in a


functional organization, produce routine, non-motivating employee
tasks.

4. It is difficult to identify which section or group is responsible for


certain problems.

5. There is limited view of organizational goals by employees.


6. There is limited general management training for employees.

Product or Market Organization


• The product or market organization, with its feature of operating by
division, is appropriate for a large corporation with many product
lines in several related industries.

Product or Market Organization Advantages


1. Flexible and responsive to change.
2. Provides a high concern for customer’s needs.
3. Provides excellent coordination across functional departments.
4. Easy pinpointing of responsibility for products problems.

5. Emphasis on overall product and division goals.

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6. The opportunity for the development of general management skills is


provided.

Product or Market Organization Disadvantages


1. High possibility of duplication of resources across divisions.

2. Less technical depth and specialization in divisions.


3. Poor coordination across divisions.
4. Less top management control.
5. Competition for corporate resources.

Matrix Organization
• Is a structure with two or more channels of command, two lines of
budget authority, and two sources of performance and rewards
according to Thompson and Strickland.

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MODULE OF INSTRUCTION______________________________ ENG-6301 Engineering Management

• The matrix structure was designed to keep employees in a central


pool and allocate them to various projects in the firm according to
length of time they were needed declared by Higgins.

Matrix Organization Advantages


1. More efficient use of resources than the divisional structure.

2. Flexibility and adaptability to changing environment.


3. Development of general and functional management skills are
present.
4. Interdisciplinary cooperation and any expertise is available to all
divisions.
5. Enlarged tasks for employees which motivate them better.

Matrix Organization Disadvantages


1. Frustration and confusion from dual chain of command.

2. High conflict between division and functional interests.


3. Many meetings and more discussion than action.
4. Need for human relations training for key employees and managers.
5. Tendency for power dominance by one side of the matrix.

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Three Type of Authority


1. Line authority- a manager’s right to tell subordinates what to do and
then see that they do it.
2. Staff authority- a staff specialist’s right to give advice to a superior.

3. Functional authority- a specialist’s right to oversee lower level


personnel.

Staff Officer may be Classified into the following:


1. Personnel staff- those individuals assigned to a specific manager to
provide needed staff services.
2. Specialized staff- those individuals providing needed staff services for
the whole organization.

The Purpose of Committees

Used as a supplement to the existing formal organization and are


formed to perform specific tasks.

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MODULE OF INSTRUCTION______________________________ ENG-6301 Engineering Management

Committees may be Classified as follow:


1. Ad hoc committee- one created for a short-term purpose and have
limited life.
2. Standing committee- permanent committee that deals with issues on
an ongoing basis.

Reference:
Roberto G. Medina(1999). Engineering Management, First Edition.
Distributed by REX Book Store, Inc.(RBSI)

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