Formal Characteristics

SOC/120: Evolution of Formal Organizations Due: 12/11/2011 Nancy Keta The way that I will conduct my research is to first explain how formal organizations have evolved over the past century. Second, what differences were there in organizations a century ago, and compare to today’s organizations. And lastly I will also tell of the trends in today’s formal organizations in modern society. I will describe how each of the characteristics for formal organizations will need to evolve or change in Micah’s organization to be more open and flexible. And I will give an overall prediction based on my research on how organizations like Micah’s may evolve in the future. The evolution of formal organizations over the past century has changed due to the advances in technology and politics. There will always be changes in organizations as time passes and goes on; it can be influences from the outside world like consumers, or inside forces such as productivity. The outside influences are always changing due to the consumer and ever changing market is demanding a service or product every time they feel there is a need for something new, or something that they may desire. Making the companies aware of these desires and demands is a key factor in determining what needs to take place within the organization and turn them into being productive. Organizations that were here years ago did have all the advancements and technology as they do now. If you think about it most upper management handled just about everything in writing and managed tasks according to manual and procedures. Technology today has increased the speed of processing information and completed various other tasks that management had to do manually or by hand. Computers and the internet were here about 10 years ago, but not 100 years ago, but even 10 years ago many things had to be done by hand. The speed of technology has increased quickly and we are no longer waiting for the internet to connect thru dial up services; we have advancements in technology that connect us to the internet in a matter of a second. Medical equipment in today’s world uses software that will calculate birthdates and sex of fetuses, and can show us what an unborn child may look like at the time of being in the womb. There was not even a thought of this technology a century ago; people went ff old wise tales to find out what the sex of the child was. Looking at the medical coding field that has erupted in education institutions, technology is taking over the personal side of things, pretty soon there will be only machines working rather than humans. In many companies, this has already taken place; many positions that were previously filled by humans have beco me computer automated. In today’s world the advancement of technology is leading the way, getting jobs done faster and more efficient than the way they have been done when our predecessors were in the work force. From the stand point of a formal organization it is important to understand that most factors of the organization are built on traditions; some methods of doing business have been the same way for many years. Work methods are not as modern because everything stays the same and not much improvement has been made with this type of organization. Many believe that a formal organization is an old way of thinking, and these organizations are opposed to the new way of thinking which is more modern and technologically driven. Formal organizations often have a set standard or rule book in which their business is conducted and ran. Organization is key and highly important within a formal organization. When assessing the ladder of leaders within a bureaucratic organization, it is important to picture or a pyramid type order. Within the pyramid format, everyone has a supervisor that they report to and have to answer to. This pyramid is constructed with supervisors being at the top of the pyramid and employees are at the bottom. Within this pyramid each person has designated tasks, and job expectations. Generally a person can see how relationships between co-workers are minimal to maximize work ethic and cut down on fraternization of employees. Within a bureaucratic organization communication is left on an impersonal note consisting of email, telephone, or letters. It seems that â€Å"succession planning† is becoming a major trend among major corporations. Many companies are strategically planning processes and corporate policies. This is not just for the upper ranks; this is becoming a proactive management of the corporation’s entire talent pool. Leadership development, integrating with talent management, and career development programs, succession planning is going beyond the reactionary replacement of employees. Effective succession planning is making it possible for the success of a organizations talent, on demand, and as needed, right now and in the future. The biggest hindrances to organizations are time and resources. It seems that the day to day challenges of running these companies over power the organization’s ability to effectively engage in succession planning. Many other obstacles occur when management feels threatened because they are asked to train their successors; this is also in addition to being able to predict the needs of the company in the company in the future. Many places do not have the internal career development programs to help employees take over available positions in the future or have clear career pathways defined. Being able to identify internal candidates with the right skills, experience, and abilities to handle various needs is a big challenge for many organizations. Connecting the collection and retrieval of such data enabled the implementation of succession planning activities. Identifying these skills and abilities needed for various positions, and relaying this information to the workforce, organizations have the ability to proactively recruit internal talent, and employees are enabled to manage their own careers within the company. In the execution of these actions employee retention and morale seem to be higher and the company is better off and more profitable in the long hall. More organizations are beginning to realize that there is a need for the developing some type of succession planning. With the upcoming need to have new managers ready to assume positions because of massive numbers of baby boomers retiring, companies need to move and act fast. Citations: * GROOMING SUCCESSORS. Full Text Available By: Heffes, Ellen M. Financial Executive, Sep2002, Vol. 18 Issue 6, p21-24, 4p, 4 Color Photographs * MANAGEMENT BY WONDERING ALOUD. Full Text Available By: Galagan, Patricia. Training & Development Journal, Jun86, Vol. 0 Issue 6, p4, 1p * Organizing for Decision Support System Support: The End-User Services Alternative. Full Text Available By: Watson, Hugh J. ; Carr, Houston H. Journal of Management Information Systems, Summer87, Vol. 4 Issue 1, p83-95, 13p * Renewal Through Reorganization: The Value of Inconsistencies Between Formal and Informal Organization. Full Text Available By: Gulati, Ranjay; Puranam, Phanish. Organization Science, Mar/Apr2009, Vol. 20 Issue 2, p422-440, 19p, 3 Diagrams, 2 Charts, 5 Graphs