The four common elements of an organization include common
purpose, coordinated effort, division of labor, and hierarchy of
authority.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Describe the common elements that define an organizational structure, according to Edgar Schein
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
Organizational psychologist Edgar Schein proposed four common elements of an organization's
structure: common purpose, coordinated effort, division of labor, and hierarchy ofauthority.
Common purpose unifies employees or members by giving everyone an understanding of the
organization's mission,strategy, and values.
Coordinated effort is the organization of individual efforts into agroup or collective effort.
Division of labor is an arrangement in which different people perform discrete parts of a task for
greater efficiency.
Hierarchy of authority is the control mechanism for making sure the right people do the right
things at the right time. This control enables organization members to make decisionsquickly
when necessary.
TERM [ edit ]
organizational psychologist
A person who conducts scientific study of employees and workplaces.
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [edit ]
Common Elements of Organizations
Organizational psychologist Edgar Schein proposes four common elements of an
organization's structure:
1. Common purpose
2. Coordinated effort
3. Division of labor
4. Hierarchy of authority
From a manager's point of view,
operations are made successful by
instilling a common purpose to create a
coordinated effort across the organization
and organizing resources based on tasks
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and decision making. Each of the four elements is relatively straightforward in theory but
represents a critical component of an effective structure.
Common Purpose
An organization without a clear purpose or mission soon begins to drift and become
disorganized. A common purpose unifies employees or members and gives everyone an
understanding of the organization's direction. Ensuring that the common purpose is
effectively communicated across organizations (particularly large organizations with many
moving parts) is a central task for managers. Managers communicate this purpose by
educating all employees on the general strategy, mission statement, values, and short- and
long-term objectives of the organization.
Coordinated Effort
Coordinating effort involves working together in a way that maximizes resources. The
common purpose is achieved through the coordinated effort of all individuals and groups
within an organization. The broader group's diverse skill sets and personalities must be
leveraged in a way that adds value. The act of coordinating organizational effort is perhaps
the most important responsibility of managers because it motivates and distributes human
resources to capture value.
Division of Labor
Division of labor is also known as work specification for greater efficiency. It
involves delegating specific parts of a broader task to different people within the organization
based upon their particular abilities and skills. Using division of labor, an organization can
parcel out a complex work effort for specialists to perform. By systematically dividing
complex tasks into specialized jobs, an organization uses its human resources more efficiently
.
Division of labor
This matrix illustrates the division of labor on Wikipedia, according to some statistics.
Hierarchy of Authority
Hierarchy of authority is essentially the chain of command—a control mechanism for making
sure the right people do the right things at the right time. While there are a wide variety of
organizational structures—some with more centralization of authority than others—hierarchy
in decision making is a criticalfactor for success. Knowing who will make decisions under
what circumstances enables organizations to be agile, whileambiguity of authority can often
slow the decision-making process. Authority enables organizations to set directions and
select strategies, which can in turn enable a common purpose.