Organising: Structure, Design and Delegation
Structure fundamentals
Organising divides work, groups it, assigns authority and coordinates effort. Building blocks: division of labour (specialisation gains efficiency but risks boredom and silo thinking); departmentalisation (functional, product, geographic, customer, process); span of control (narrow spans give tall structures with close supervision, wide spans give flat structures needing capable staff and standardised work); chain of command and unity of command; line authority (direct command) versus staff authority (advice and functional authority).
Authority, responsibility, accountability, delegation
Authority is the right to give orders; responsibility is the obligation to perform; accountability is answerability for results. Delegation transfers authority and responsibility downward, but accountability for the delegated task stays with the delegator. Principles: parity of authority and responsibility, delegation by results expected, clear limits, and the exception principle. Decentralisation is the organisation-wide dispersal of decision rights - distinct from delegation, which is a superior–subordinate act.
Designs
Mechanistic structures suit stable environments: high specialisation, rigid hierarchy, vertical communication. Organic structures suit turbulence: lateral communication, broad roles, decentralised decisions. The matrix combines functional and project lines, gaining flexibility at the cost of dual reporting. Team and boundaryless designs cut internal walls.
Worked example
A group accountant delegates monthly reconciliation to a finance officer without training her or setting limits, then files late returns. Reasoning: authority passed but competence and boundaries did not, so she could not act; accountability remained with the accountant, who answers to the board. Delegation failed on clarity and capability, not on trust.
Traps
- Writing that accountability can be delegated.
- Confusing delegation (a superior–subordinate act) with decentralisation (a structural policy).
- Claiming matrix structures preserve unity of command - they deliberately break it.
- Assuming narrow spans are always better; they raise cost and slow decisions.