To what degree is there a relationship between organizational culture and techno-structural design?

                                           Michelle Susan Varteresian                                                  

                                                   COPYRIGHT 2016

No part of this opinion piece may be reproduced or reprinted in any online or print resource.

 Disclaimer: This article is intended to be an opinion piece, based on the author’s understanding of the topic, and by no means constitutes a definitive or all-inclusive guide to analyzing the subject at hand. always consult experienced, relevant professionals and specialists to provide counsel and guidance in the analysis, recommendations, and implementation of any matters relating to cultural or workplace change.

In this age of downsizing, mergers, acquisitions, and re-organizations, there has been increasing emphasis on workplace culture, and how that culture impacts organizational effectiveness. Nowadays, many job interview questions center around the concept of workplace culture. Interviewers ask candidates questions like, “What type of work environment are you looking for”? and “What qualities do you look for in a manager”? These types of questions, as well as behavioral questions related to how a candidate has reacted or would react to specific workplace challenges, form the basis of many initial phone interviews these days. The goal of this line of questioning is to find out what a potential employee is looking for in a work environment, and whether she/ he would thrive in a particular workplace culture. What the candidate sees as a fulfilling work environment and how that perspective may have an impact on how well the candidate will fit in with the existing team, is a critical issue facing many organizations today.

Specific employee KSAs, values, and characteristics are akin to and more in alignment with certain workplace cultures, and, for that matter, certain organizational structures.

A potential employee’s values, knowledge, skills, abilities are all related to the question of workplace culture, because they can give insight as to what employees value, how they perform work, and how well those employees may fit in an organization’s culture. Cues and hints as to what a particular company’s culture is, and how a potential employee may fit in with that culture, can be provided by reviewing the institution’s organizational chart, illustrating how working relationships relate to one another. In job interviews, the subject of an organization’s structure can be an important point of discussion, because a potential employee must be able to fit in a particular slot within the structure, and must often be able to work across functional specialties, be able to collaborate with colleagues in a leaner type of structure, or be a direct report to more than one manager. This requires that employees possess characteristics that illustrate her/ his ability to work on a team, and collaborate on projects. Specific employee KSAs, values, and characteristics are akin to and more in alignment with certain workplace cultures, and, for that matter, certain organizational structures. Thus, an organization’s structure can be identified as a more tangible representation of a company’s culture. Firms often advertise their products and services as a manifestation of the type of culture that defines them, as well, emphasizing, for example, how a collaborative environment fosters creativity and productivity. How workplace culture, employee values, and productivity illustrate this concept of organizational culture and structure, may be more concretely manifested in the competing values framework, which Kinicki and Fugate define as, “a practical way for managers to understand and measure…organizational culture” (2012). These paradigms graphically illustrate various workplace cultures, by defining them in terms of their focus, the means they employ to achieve results based on their focus, and eventual outcomes (Kinicki and Fugate, 2012).  Thus, a basic understanding of competing cultural values in the workplace, as described by Kinicki and Fugate, are but one illustration of how company culture is manifested in how an institution is structured.

Just as fitting employees to a workplace culture is a key component in trying to find those who will be most compatible in certain workplace environments and is a key ingredient to organizational success, also is that success manifested in an organization’s techno-structural design. Cultural characteristics may also be manifested in the techno-structural design of an organization. Although there are no hard and fast rules that can predict organizational success based on the relationship between structure and culture, there may be a higher degree of success with respect to what type of techno-structural design may be best-suited to a specific organizational culture. It is safe to say that there may be a predisposition of a certain organizational structure to be more fitting for some cultures, given the values, beliefs, and norms of a firm’s employees, as manifested in the company’s culture.

Although there are no hard and fast rules that can predict organizational success based on the relationship between structure and culture, there may be a higher degree of success with respect to what type of techno-structural design may be best-suited to a specific organizational culture.

Indeed, a firm’s employees must be equipped with the requisite KSAs and values to make an organizational structure work more effectively, or to implement a new one. Indeed, organization structures like the more traditional functional, divisional, and matrix structures, and the new more collaborative structural types, that are flatter and have more vertical relationships, are dependent on certain characteristics and qualities that employees possess (as represented by the organization’s culture), to make the structure work more effectively. As defined by Cummings and Worley, organizational structure outlines how the work of an organization is divided into subunits, and how those subunits are coordinated for the completion of tasks (2009). Thus, each structural type is dependent upon certain characteristics to make it work more effectively. For example, a matrix-type structure may be more appropriate for a workplace culture dependent on teamwork and cooperation. Structural design affects how work gets done, to what degree there needs to be task-specialization, teamwork, etc. Structures favoring certain characteristics will be more responsive if the organization’s culture supports it. For example, if the culture is a more flexible and adaptive one, like that of a clan or adhocracy culture, as defined by Kinicki and Fugate, then a more adaptable organizational structure other than a functional design, may be more appropriate.

Suggestions for conducting a cultural assessment:

• Conduct staff interviews to find out specific employee responsibilities, and what level of task coordination is necessary to fulfill the job
• Perform job analysis to sort out task characteristics
• Use these measurements as a guide to determine what KSAs are most prevalent
• Determine, based on employee KSAs and values, which characteristics are most prevalent, and use these characteristics to help guide in the selection of an organizational structure

Given the emphasis on the importance of workplace culture these days, it may be argued that the techno-structural design of an organization is an important reflection of that culture. In order for an employee to be a potentially good fit in an organizational culture, she/ he must possess certain KSAs and characteristics that are required to make an organization’s structure function more effectively. As businesses evolve, organizations become more interconnected, and companies form partnerships overseas, there will always be the need to address the symbiotic relationship between organizational structure and design.

                                                               References

• Cummings, T.G. & Worley, C.G. (2009). Organizational Development and Change (9th. Ed.).   Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
• Kinicki, A. & Fugate, M. (2012). Organizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills, & Best Practices (5th. Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.