A Review of the Internet Article“Organizational Theory: Determinants of Structure”Sheldon Saltzman
pre-plan.
When a situation is highly complex, there are too many contingencies to figure everything all out
in advance. This is where there is a need to allow for real-time, flexible adjustment.
According to Johan Strumpfer, of John P. Wiley and Sons, “We need to shift to a view where
`organization' is an active and never-ending verb. In this view of `organization' the focus is on
creating stability amid chaos by creating stable transformation guides for the system (Strumpfer,
Johan, 2000).” Situations are so complex in our ever-changing society, that a company needs to
be able to anticipate change and to be able to change directions on the spur of the moment. The
corporation needs to be able to adapt to its environment as well, or natural selection will apply.
Those that do not adapt will simply die off. It makes no sense to continue to manufacture a
certain clothing style, for instance, that no longer is in fashion.
Another factor to consider, states Mr. Borgatti, is the dependence, or rather the
interdependence, of one organization and another. Our economy consists of one giant network of
organizations that are linked together by buying and selling relationships. Sometimes a company
can depend on its suppliers so much, that the suppliers themselves can exert great influence on
the company from outside. If one organization has power over another organization or group,
then that organization can often impose its own structure upon that organization or group. When
I was working for my previous employer, Allwood Recycling, Inc., there was a need to utilize
the services of independent truckers. Since there is a shortage of good independent truckers in
Houston, when business was slow, it was often very difficult to find a trucker when a delivery
was needed. They just didn't need us that much. They usually had all the business they could
handle. However, when business was heavy, we would often give a trucker so much business
that after a while, he would begin to act more and more like a regular employee instead of an
independent contractor. This was because he was now receiving so much consistent business
from us, that we would now be looked upon by him as a source of financial security. We
became a "comfort zone" to him. He would even deliver for less money than usual, to keep our
business.
One more factor to consider in light of organizational structuring that is not mentioned in this
article is politics. Fred Nickels of Distance Consulting, Inc. states that, “Organizations are hotly
and intensely political (Nickols, Fred, 2002).” Regardless of how rational or logical one’s
business plan might be, this plan may still not be accepted by management. Sometimes the
owners or the management will make decisions based solely upon personal favor. This may not
seem fair, but one has to remember, sometimes, The Golden Rule: “He who has the gold is the
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