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James Thompson - Emerging Trends In Corporate Structure
Management Concepts & Organisational Behaviour - Emerging Trends In Corporate Structure
James Thompson - Emerging Trends In Corporate Structure
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Several years after Woodward’s British studies, an American researcher, James D. Thompson divided technologies into three categories on the basis of years of observation in different organizations.
James
Thompson
Several years after Woodward’s British studies, an American researcher, James D. Thompson divided technologies into three categories on the basis of years of observation in different organizations. He labeled technologies as long-linked, mediating or intensive.
Thompson’s long-linked technology is characterized by a series of sequential tasks that must be performed in a specified order. The assembly line is an example of long-linked technology. This category closely parallels Woodward’s large-batch and mass-production technology.
Is a process that brings together groups that need to be interdependent for the desired action to take place. For example, banking is a mediating technology; it facilitates the interaction between depositors and borrowers. Employment and other talent search agencies connect suppliers of specialized labor with buyers. This type of technology is intermediate in flexibility. It allows for some standardization but can also adjust its output in response to variations in the needs of the parties it seeks to link.
An intensive technology involves the application of specific skills, techniques or services in order to make a change in an input. This type of technology describes custom work and is consistent with Woodward’s unit production technology. The value of an intensive technology is its flexibility.
Environment and technology are not the only critical factors shaping organization design decision. The sheer size of an organization often plays a central role in organization design.
The impact of the sheer size of an organization on its design has attracted a great deal of research attention. It seems obvious that organizations change as they get larger and that more complex designs become necessary. But the research results are not unanimous. This may be due in part to the fact that size has been measured in a variety of ways.
Several years after Woodward’s British studies, an American researcher, James D. Thompson divided technologies into three categories on the basis of years of observation in different organizations. He labeled technologies as long-linked, mediating or intensive.
Long-Linked Technology:
Thompson’s long-linked technology is characterized by a series of sequential tasks that must be performed in a specified order. The assembly line is an example of long-linked technology. This category closely parallels Woodward’s large-batch and mass-production technology.
Mediating Technology:
Is a process that brings together groups that need to be interdependent for the desired action to take place. For example, banking is a mediating technology; it facilitates the interaction between depositors and borrowers. Employment and other talent search agencies connect suppliers of specialized labor with buyers. This type of technology is intermediate in flexibility. It allows for some standardization but can also adjust its output in response to variations in the needs of the parties it seeks to link.
Intensive Technology:
An intensive technology involves the application of specific skills, techniques or services in order to make a change in an input. This type of technology describes custom work and is consistent with Woodward’s unit production technology. The value of an intensive technology is its flexibility.
Environment and technology are not the only critical factors shaping organization design decision. The sheer size of an organization often plays a central role in organization design.
Size
The impact of the sheer size of an organization on its design has attracted a great deal of research attention. It seems obvious that organizations change as they get larger and that more complex designs become necessary. But the research results are not unanimous. This may be due in part to the fact that size has been measured in a variety of ways.
Tags : Management Concepts & Organisational Behaviour - Emerging Trends In Corporate Structure
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