Organizational Coordination Mechanisms and Structure

Coordination Mechanisms Commonly Used in Organizations

• Mutual adjustment: Coordination is achieved through informal communication among people who run the tasks that interrelate with each other.
• Direct supervision: A hierarchy is established by assigning to individuals responsibility for coordinating the work of others, who report to them and carry out their tasks in the office.
• Standardization: Standards are defined and implemented, and the coordination is automatically built into the activities.

Organization and the Organizational Chart

The organizational chart is a structure that shows a vision of the firm in a simplified way. It is the way the organizational structure is articulated. Although it does not describe everything exhaustively, it helps to have a first approximation of the organizational structure.

The organizational structure represents these elements:

1. The existing authority relationships among the elements that compose the organization.
2. The formal communication channels that must be used under normal conditions.
3. The formal work groups and the distribution of tasks.
4. The formal scheme of responsibilities and departments.

Criteria for Grouping Positions

The criteria for grouping positions into units are based on a certain similarity and on reporting to the same superior. Creating departments within the organizational structure makes coordination clearer.

Traditionally, two criteria have been identified:

• Functional grouping: Positions performing similar tasks or activities are grouped in the same department. This way of organizing work is a functional grouping with functions such as marketing, production, finance, etc.
• Market grouping: Departments are organized according to markets or customer groups.

The Matrix Structure

In a matrix structure, functional grouping and market grouping are combined. In this structure, positions are subject to dual supervision, which sometimes creates confusion when implementing direct supervision.

The matrix structure tries to obtain the benefits of each criterion while keeping the groups without suffering the disadvantages of each one. However, this combination leads to the appearance of conflicts and disputes among work units.

When the matrix structure is applied, decision making can become slow, and the time spent in coordination meetings multiplies. Moreover, it can generate high levels of stress among members of the organization.

In consequence, the matrix structure should be understood not as a panacea for all organizational problems, but as one structural option with its own advantages and costs.