Organizational design patterns determine how a company structures its people and operations. Companies choose from various templates, starting with a flat or tall structure. The design pattern emphasizes excellence, people, and communication, and companies need strong processes to implement it.
Organizational design patterns detail how a company organizes people and operations within its structures. There are many different types of design templates, with companies selecting which one works best for them. Different organizational design models often start with a flat or tall structure. Hence, the organization can use a design pattern to create specific departments within the company to carry out activities. Owners and managers tend to drive this process in most cases, although a bottom-up approach can occur.
Flat organizations usually have few levels of management. Companies use these organizational design templates to encourage employees to take more responsibility. A flat structure can also prevent micromanagement, with fewer managers being able to control an employee’s specific actions. Owners and managers can also keep their fingers on the pulse of the business as there are fewer layers between them and the frontline workers. If left without proper supervision, however, these businesses can become ineffective.
Tall organizations have many more levels of management than flat organizations. More management allows for better control, although more bureaucracy is a side effect. This prevents a company from running smoothly at times as lower level employees have to wait for certain decisions from upper management. These organizational models also have more tendencies for micromanagement if the owner allows managers to be directly involved in day-to-day activities. The inclusion of more management positions can also increase costs for the organization.
A company often emphasizes three important attributes in organizational design patterns: excellence, people and communication. Excellence means that poor quality or workmanship is not acceptable in a process. Focusing on people helps a company work better together by building strong employee relationships. Communication is necessary to inform all workers about the various activities of the company. In most cases, companies may experience any or all of these at some level in their design processes.
Companies also need to cobble together strong processes to implement organizational design. Having a repeatable business ensures that all design processes follow the same steps for success. Steps can include setting the stage, gathering data, designing the transformation, and implementing and evaluating the process. Each stage comes with a different set of knowledge, skills, and abilities for completing it in the best possible way. While a company may only use in-house staff, outside agencies can help piece together these organizational design templates if needed.
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