Management - Vikhanskiy OS

2.8. Differentiation and integration

An important place in the design of an organization is the problem of establishing the required relationships between parts or divisions of the organization. Professors of the Harvard Business School P. Lawrence and J. Lorsch, based on a survey of a number of enterprises, concluded that interdepartmental relations, among others, are influenced by such factors as the degree of difference between units (differentiation) and the degree of required unit cooperation (integration). This approach to the design of an organization, often called the theory of differentiation and integration, is part of a more general theory of the situational approach to managing an organization.

Differentiation means the division in the organization of work between its parts or divisions in such a way that each of the works receives a certain degree of completeness within the framework of this unit. Differentiation is the allocation of parts in an organization, each of which offers something in response to the demand from the external environment and, in particular, its institutions that are in direct contact with the organization.

Fig. 7.20 illustrates the idea of ​​how individual parts or sub-Partitions of the organization deal with different aspects of the overall non-organizational environment.

DIFFERENTIATION

Demand DIFFERENTIATION Demand

Fig. 7.20. The conceptualization of the Lawrence and Lorsch model

To determine the degree of differentiation in the organization, Lawrence and Lorsch proposed using the following four parameters.

Certainty in goals or tasks. Are the goals clear and easily measurable or are they ambiguous and have a strong qualitative hue?

Structure. Is the structure formal, with rigid policies and procedures, or is it free and flexible, with a policy that is currently oriented?

Level of interaction. Are there significant interpersonal and inter-group relations and cooperation or not?

Time limits of feedback. Do people receive information about the results of work at short or long intervals?

The dimensionality of these four differentiation differentiates the degree of difference between the divisions (Table 7.4).

Table 7.4.

Differentiation between units in four variables

Basic variables of differentiation

R & D

Production

Marketing

Objectives

New Product

Cost price

Volume of sales

Structure

Highly organic

Mechanistic

Organic

Interaction

Strongly people-oriented

Focused on tasks

Focused on people

Feedback

Very long

Long

Fast

The more units within an organization differ from each other in these four variables, the more differentiated is the organization. Managers need to understand that working in highly differentiated organizations is very difficult to coordinate. When an organization is simultaneously highly differentiated and highly decentralized from the point of view of its management, it becomes necessary to introduce the roles of integrators, i. Certain people, and maybe even a whole unit, must carry out special work to coordinate and integrate the various parts of the organization. These people or units need not necessarily have the power to make decisions, but they must ensure that decisions are made by the relevant groups.

Integration means the level of cooperation existing between parts of the organization and ensuring the achievement of their goals within the requirements set by the external environment. The need for integration is initially created by the division and interdependence of the work in the organization.

Different combinations of these two factors affect the relationships between parts or divisions of the organization, which has a direct application in the design and management of the organization (Figure 7.21). So, for example, the combination of the two factors placed in quadrant 1 is the simplest and easiest for the organization. In the event that the required levels of differentiation and integration are low enough, parts or divisions of the organization are practically independent of each other. Repair shop and transport department of a machine-building plant can serve as an example of such a combination.

The matrix of the model "differentiation and integration

Fig. 7. 21. The matrix of the model of "differentiation and integration"

In quadrant 2, the situation is reflected in which the projected level of integration clearly exceeds the needs created by the divisions of units. This disadvantage usually suffers from the so-called institution of deputies in the organization. So, if the deputy director of a machine-building plant for production coordinates the work of several production workshops, then it is possible to explain the creation of such a position in the organization only because of the scale of controllability, but not because of the need to integrate subdivided subdivisions. The experience of developed countries shows that such luxury, as the institution of deputies, can afford either inefficient state enterprises or inexperienced commercial structures.

In quadrant 3, a situation is presented that, from the point of view of a combination of factors, is the most difficult and difficult for organizational design. In this situation, it is necessary to involve a significant amount of resources and use a wide range of integration mechanisms and patterns of behavior to effectively manage the organization. Thus, at the top levels of the organization this can be manifested in the creation of strategic economic centers, the use of product or matrix departmentalization, and at the lower levels in the formation of target groups and integrated teams.

In quadrant 4, in contrast to quadrant 2, a situation is reflected in which the level of coordination clearly does not correspond to the high degree of difference between units. Thus, under the conditions of barter relations between enterprises, the subordination of the heads of the supply department and the sales department to different deputies or the inclusion of these departments in various integration schemes does not, as a rule, promote stable and rhythmic work of enterprises. Naturally, such a situation is usually temporary, and as the external environment changes (stabilizing the financial system), it is necessary, depending on the situation, to go to quadrant 1 or quadrant 3.

The study of the degree of differentiation of parts of the organization helps to determine the level of potential conflict between them, and finding the appropriate integration mechanism creates the conditions for reducing the level of possible conflict. All together, it helps to increase the effectiveness of the organization in its interaction with the external environment.