Posted by
Anjali Kaur
on
Nov 28, 2020
Functional Structure of the Organisation
There is 2 main structure of the organization, which includes the functional structure of the organization and the divisional structure of the organization. In this post, I will explain only the functional structure of the organization.
Let’s learn more about it.
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What is the functional structure?
The functional structure of the organization means a grouping of jobs of similar nature under different functions and organizing these major functions as a separate department.
For example, all departments will report to a coordinating head.
A functional structure is an organizational design that groups similar or related jobs together.
Advantages of functional structure
1. Specialisation
A functional structure leads to occupational specialization, as activities are grouped according to the type of function. This promotes efficiency in the utilization of manpower as employees perform similar tasks within a department and are able to improve performance.
2. Coordination
The department formed in the functional structure is interdependent on each other which means the activity of 1 department depends upon the performance of another department. For example, the production department depends upon the purchasing department for raw materials. Similarly, the sales department depends on the production department for final output and so on.
3. Managerial efficiency
Managers of one department are performing same type of function again and again which makes them specialized and improves their efficiency.
4. Effective training
It makes training of employees more easy as they are trained in limited types of skills. For example, employees of production department are given training of production techniques only.
5. Supervision
The supervisor became familiar with the type of task to be performed because all tasks are related to 1 function only. As a result, he can supervise and guide the employees who are performing these activities.
Disadvantages of Functional Structure
1. Difficulty in achieving organisation goals
The department become specialised in their own way only. They fail to see the prospects of whole organisation. As a result, the organisation goal can’t be achieved.
2. Departmental heads attitude
The departmental head start thinking their department as their functional empire and this leads to conflicts among various department.
3. Difficult to fix accountability
When the organisation goal is not achieved them it becomes very difficult to make any 1 department accountable for its because all the department are inter-related and it is very difficult to find out that which department is going against the organisation goals. Hence, coordination among different department decreases.
4. Inflexibility
Employees get training of one function only, that is, the department to which they belong so, they cannot be shifted to other departments.
Suitability of functional structure
Functional structure is suitable:
- When the size of organisation is large.
- It is also suitable for organisation which require high degree of functional specialization with diversified activities.
- When organisation are producing one-line of product.
Thank You!
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