Organising is a management function that forms the step after planning. Managers allocate resources, departmentalise work, demarcate authority, and distribute responsibilities through the firm. It is a complicated process that requires the simultaneous collaboration of various factors. Managers need to focus on the particular skills and strengths of the workers while dividing work. Understanding the process of specialisation and how the division of labour leads to it is a major factor in increasing labour efficiency. Henri Fayol explained this in the following terms:

“The specialisation of the workforce according to the skills of a person, creating specific personal and professional development within the labour force and therefore increasing productivity, leads to specialisation which increases the efficiency of labour. By separating a small part of work, the workers’ speed and accuracy in its performance increases. This principle is applicable to both technical as well as managerial work.”

Types of organisational structure

The concept of organising makes room for various kinds of structures that can be applied to determine how a firm will go about the operations needed to be executed to achieve the aims laid down in its plan. This structure is represented graphically by a flow chart known as the organisation chart or the org chart. This chart shows the interrelations between the various points of operation and management in the structure. It shows how the various heads of authority are arranged and how responsibilities are distributed throughout the organisation. Following are the ways in which a firm can be organised:

• Functional structure: In this kind of organisation, the different departments are made according to their function or speciality. These departments often have no overlap of function and perform functions that are distinct from one another. That is why they are sometimes called silos or separate vertical structures. Such organisations have departments for finance, marketing, sales, etc. A functional system of organisation groups together workers who perform the same function. This tends to increase productivity. But a drawback of this structure is that the different verticals may not communicate with each other, and the company might lose flexibility because of this. A loss of flexibility inhibits growth since there is less room for innovation and the different processes cannot be easily pruned or modified to meet changes.
• Matrix structure: A matrix structure of an organisation operates on the basis of a matrix formed by the production line and function verticals. The production lines are horizontal in their work, and the functions are managed vertically. This means that each vertical like finance, production, research, and sales are divided internally for each product. This is a complex form of organisation and should be adopted only when the company feels its size justifies the complexity of the organisation. Another way of explaining this would be that in such a structure each product line would have management for each function. So hypothetically speaking, if a firm has 4 products and 5 functions, the number of management interactions will be 4×5. The complexity of the organisation increases with the increase in the number of potential managerial interactions.
• Divisional structure: Such a system is characterised by divisions made on the basis of geographical or production factors. Each division has within itself all the functions of an organisation (functions like finance, marketing, etc.). Geographical divisions are made on the basis of geographies such as specific divisions for South East Asia or Europe. A company makes such divisions when consumer preferences and demands vary widely across different areas. This gives the company room to customise consumer experience and to tailor the product according to the market. Divisions on the basis of products mean that each product line will contain within itself functions pertaining to its working. So for example, if a company makes both refrigerators and mobile phones, each product will have its own sales, research, marketing, engineering departments.

Importance of organising

These are some reasons why organising is important:

• Harmony between the individual goals and the larger goals of the firm is important. Organising brings this cohesion.
•   If a business has to increase its profits, expansion of operations is essential. Organising helps in managing resources productively, making expansion possible.
• A well-organised business makes well-structured management possible leading to better decision-making and distribution of responsibilities.

Conclusion

The concept of organising is a vital part of managerial studies. The importance of organising lies in the fact that it enables a firm to grow and keeps the workflow efficient. Organising is the most important part of a manager’s duties. It makes the company work in coordination, and the individual workers are able to perform in accordance with their potential. The concept of organising should be well-studied and its implementation should be well-researched by anyone aspiring to be an effective manager.