Mintzberg’s design

parameters

Pål Sørgaard, Telenor R&D and IfI

INF 5250
September 5, 2005
Remember: a book about
designing organisations
 One way to describe possible designs is to use a set of
design parameters (3.2 GHz, 512 MB, 120 GB, 4 USB
2.0)
 Mintzberg defines a set of 9 design parameters

 These are covered in chapters 2-5

 Overview table 2.1 page 27

 Corresponding design questions p 25

5 September. 2005 Pål Sørgaard, R&D 2

Use the design questions!

 Try to establish the design parameters for your

organisation
 Example:
– Design parameter: training and indoctrination
– Related concept (table 2.1): standardisation of skills
– Design question (p 25): What skills and knowledge should be
required for each position?
– Translate into analysis question: How are positions defined in
terms of skills and knowledge?
– Collect data: look at job descriptions, vacancies in the
paper/on the web, ask questions about this in an interview
– Establish answer: e.g. main training at universities, but
knowledge of the company must be acquired
5 September. 2005 Pål Sørgaard, R&D 3
Job specialisation (ch 2, p 26)

 How many tasks should a given position in the organisation

contain, and how specialised should each task be?
 Coordination mechanism: standardisation of work content

 Horizontal specialisation
– basic division of labour
– the typical split between different specialities and talents
 Vertical specialisation
– split between performance of the work from its administration
– relation to discussion of Taylorism, scientific management, and job
enlargement
 Variation between the different parts of the organisation
 Think of examples from summer jobs, etc

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Behaviour formalisation (ch 2, p
33)
 To what extent should should the work content of each
position be standardised?
 Coordination mechanism: standardisation of work content

 Can take place

– by position (e.g., job description)
– by work flow (e.g., put orders here!)
– by rules (e.g., dress code, code of conduct, use this form)
 Useful for manageability, efficiency and equal treatment of
clients
 Relevance to core values of bureaucracy (Max Weber)

 Variation by part of organisation, most common in the

operating core
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Training and indoctrination (ch 2, p
39)
 What skills and knowledge should be required for each
position?
 Coordination mechanism: standardisation of skills

 Training: the teaching of job-related skills and knowledge

– Training through apprentice system or schools?
– Professionals in the operating core?
 Indoctrination: the process by which organisational norms
are acquired
– Values can be taught at school
– In house programs?
– Some agencies train their own people, but fewer than before
 Variation by part of the organisation, e.g. common in the
technostructure, variation in the operating core
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Unit grouping (ch 3, p 46)

 On what basis should should positions be grouped into

units and units into larger units?
 This is what we typically see in an organisation chart

 Coordination mechanism: direct supervision and also

mutual adjustment
 Related concepts
– Administrative division of labour
– Formal authority
– Informal communication

5 September. 2005 Pål Sørgaard, R&D 7

Bases for grouping

 Possible bases for unit grouping:

– knowledge and skill
– work process and function
– time
– output
– client
– place
 Summarised in
– market grouping (output, client, place)
– functional grouping (knowledge, skill, process, function)

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Criteria for grouping

 Work flow interdependencies

– pooled (shared resource)
– sequential
– reciprocal
 Process interdependencies
– related to shared specialisation, consulting each other
 Scale interdependencies
– e.g. to exploit economies of scale
 Social interdependencies
– also a reality!

5 September. 2005 Pål Sørgaard, R&D 9

Market grouping vs functional
grouping
 This is one of the classical dilemmas
– Telenor Mobil (Norway) part of Telenor Mobile (international) or
Telenor Nordic
 Functional grouping
– Main concern with process and scale interdependencies
– Encourages specialisation
– Weak on customer focus and coordination of work flow (relies on
direct supervision)
 Market grouping
– Main concern with whole product, meeting the customer, handling of
complex work flows
– Reduced quality of specialised work
– Cannot take the same advantage of economies of scale

5 September. 2005 Pål Sørgaard, R&D 10

Unit size (ch 3, p 65)

 How large should each unit be; how many people should
report to a given manager?
 Coordination mechanism: direct supervision and also
mutual adjustment
 Related to informal communication and “span of control”

 If using direct supervision: how many can you control?

 If working tightly together: what size works best?

 Unit size driven up by standardisation, employees’ need for

autonomy, and need for short communication chains
 Unit size driven down by need for close direct supervision,
mutual adjustment, other tasks of the manager, and
employees’ need for consultation, advice and feedback
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Planning and control systems (ch
4, p 73)
 To what extent should the output of each position or unit be
standardised?
 Coordination mechanism: standardisation of output

 Heard of “mål- og resultatstyring”?

 This was modern when the limitations of scientific

management were realised
– fad of the 40ies and 50ies

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Performance control

 Often after the fact

 Typically a financial focus

 Normally supported by IT (MIS: management information

system)
 Most applicable when units are relatively independent
– interdependencies mainly pooled, e.g. financial resources
– units typically grouped on the basis of market

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Action planning

 Goes into the units

 Nonroutine decisions and actions planned in advance

 Plans for
– building a ship
– fighting a battle
– starting a gsm-operation in Pakistan

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Liaison devices (ch 4, p 81)

 What mechanisms should be established to facilitate mutual

adjustment among positions and units?
 Coordination mechanism: mutual adjustment

 When standardisation and direct supervision are insufficient

 Used to overcome the limitation present in any hierarchical

structure
 Various mechanisms available to support mutual
adjustment
 Fad of the 60ies (and later!)

 Excellently treated by Jay Galbraith

– core concept: task uncertainty

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Some liaison devices

 Liaison positions (no funds)

 Task forces and standing committees

 Integrating managers (with funds)

 Matrix structures
– regional and functional responsibilities in Oslo

 The devices can be used to handle market issues in

functionally grouped organisation or to handle functional
issues in a market based organisation

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Vertical decentralisation (ch 5, p
101)
 How much decision-making power should be delegated to
the managers down the line of authority?
 We focus on decentralisation of authority (not issues of
location)
 Often referred to as delegation

 Coordination mechanism: mutual adjustment (between

managers that have the power needed)

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Horizontal decentralisation (ch 5, p
105)
 How much decision-making power should pass from the
line manager to the staff specialists and operators?
 Coordination mechanisms: standardisation

 Power to the analysts (decentralisation to people in the

technostructure that set the standards)
 Power to the experts (in R&D , in the operating core, etc)

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Five models for decentralisation,
see figure 5-4
A. Vertical and horizontal centralisation
B. Limited horizontal decentralisation (selective)
– typically to the technostructure
C. Limited vertical decentralisation (parallel)
– strong divisional leaders
D. Selective vertical and horizontal decentralisation
– ad hoc, as needed, highly organic
E. Vertical and horizontal decentralisation
– professionals in the operating core run the game
 Each of these fit with one of the main configurations
– See table p 153 and table 12-2

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