Find out more about Business and Management degrees a The Open University
These are clearly stock image people. What would it take to make them an organisation?
Henry Mintzberg, writing in The Structure of Organizations, came up with this diagram as a way of explaining what makes an organisation:
What is the Strategic Apex?
At the top of the organisation is a Strategic Apex the purpose of which is to ensure the organisation follows its mission and manages its relationship with its environment. The individuals comprising the apex, for example, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), are responsible to owners, government agencies, unions, communities and so on.
What is the Middle Line?
Below the apex is the Middle line, a group of managers who are concerned with converting the objectives and broad plans of the Strategic apex into operational plans that can be carried out by the workers.
As organisations grow and become more complex, they usually develop a separate group of people who are concerned with the best way of doing a job, specifying output criteria (e.g., quality standards) and ensuring that personnel have appropriate skills (e.g., by organising training programmes). This group of analysts is referred to by Mintzberg as the Technostructure.
The organisation also adds other administrative functions that provide services to itself, for example legal advice, public relations, mailroom, cafeteria and so on. These are the Support staff.
What is the Operating Core?
Finally, at the bottom of the organisation, is the Operating Core. These are the people who do the basic work of producing the products or delivering the services.
Mintzberg’s generic organisational model also illustrates an important principle of organisation structure: the separation of direction and management, whereby those people who decide the mission and general direction of the organisation are different (other than in a very small organisation) from those who handle the implementation of plans and subsequent controlling of operations to ensure that objectives are met. Senior managers (the Strategic apex) will establish long-term organisational objectives and policies through which goals are to be achieved. Middle managers (the Middle line) will be responsible for translating the necessarily broad and general strategic plans into detailed action plans, specifying managerial responsibilities for particular tasks and how resources are to be allocated. These middle managers will also be responsible for monitoring activities and taking action to ensure that resources are being used efficiently and effectively to achieve organisational objectives.
Like this? Try a FREE course
-
Collective leadership
Learn more to access more details of Collective leadershipThis free course, Collective leadership, will give you an insight into the importance of how to be a more effective leader, and how to better engage and work with ‘followers’ in an organisational setting.
-
Effective communication in the workplace
Learn more to access more details of Effective communication in the workplaceThis free course, Effective communication in the workplace, explores the importance of communication as a skill in the workplace. It aims to increase your understanding of communication skills and to help you to consider how your communication could be perceived by others. You'll cover areas such as verbal and non-verbal communication, written ...
-
Contemporary issues in managing
Learn more to access more details of Contemporary issues in managingThis free online course, Contemporary issues in managing, introduces three contemporary approaches (managing through organisational culture, managing through internal marketing, and managing through collective leadership). These approaches require you to think critically and challenge ideas and received wisdom.
Rate and Review
Rate this article
Review this article
Log into OpenLearn to leave reviews and join in the conversation.
Article reviews