Here is a compilation of essays on ‘Organisation’ for class 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Organisation’ especially written for school and college students.
Essay on Organisation
Essay Contents:
- Essay on the Meaning of Organisation
- Essay on the Definitions of Organisation
- Essay on the Nature of Organisation
- Essay on the Types of Organisation
- Essay on the Principles of Organisation
- Essay on the Importance of Organisation
Essay # 1. Meaning of Organisation:
The term “organisation” is used in structural sense as well as in functional sense. As a structure it means a developed enterprise being operated to achieve the given goals. As a function it refers to establishing relationship between activities and authority pertaining to an enterprise.
Some others use the term merely to indicate a firm or enterprise doing a specific business. Still others conceive it as representing people discharging their duties. The pioneers and promoters of an enterprise at its inception and management later have to undertake concrete steps to bring up the enterprise in a tangible form by mobilising capital, labour, physical assets and arrange for business operations by using the resources in an orderly sequence.
What is organisation. Organisation is a process of welding together a frame work of positions which can be used as a management tool for the most effective pursuit of goals of an enterprise.
Essay # 2. Definitions of Organisation:
1. According to Theo Haimann. “Organisation is the process of defining and grouping the activities of enterprise and establishing the authority relationships among them. In performing the organising function, the manager defines, departmentalises and assigns activities so that they can be most effectively executed.”
2. According to Louis A. Allen, Organisation is the process of identifying and grouping the work to be performed, defining and delegating responsibility and authority and establishing relationship for the purpose of enabling people to work most effectively together in accomplishing objectives.
3. According to Oliver Sheldon, “Organisation is the process of combining the work which individuals and group have to perform with the facilities necessary for its execution that the duties so formed provide the best channels for efficient, systematic, positive and co-ordinated application of available effort.”
4. According to McFarland, “Organisation is an identifiable group of people contributing their efforts towards the attainment of goals”
Essay # 3. Nature of Organisation:
Organising is considered as one of the major functions of management along with planning, directing and controlling. As a basic function of management, it is the mechanism through which the management divides, coordinates & controls the business operations.
The term organisation can be interpreted in many ways. Broadly the term ‘organisation’ can be used to denote.
I. Organisation as a Process.
II. Organisation as a Structure.
I. Organisation as a Process:
Organising is the process of defining and grouping the activities of the enterprise and establishing authority relationships among them. On performing the organising function, the manager defines, departmentalises and assigns activities so that they can be most effectively executed.
To quote Louis Allen, “Organisation is the process of identifying and grouping work to be performed, defining and delegating responsibility and authority and establishing relationships for the purpose of enabling people to work more effectively together in accomplishing objectives. Thus, organisation as a process, involves identifying, arranging and integrating various activities of the organisation in a well co-ordinated and orderly manner for accomplishment of work.”
The process of organising involves the following steps:
i. Determination of Objectives:
The first step in organising is to identify the objectives of the enterprise which determine the various activities to be performed.
As Alfred Shandler puts it, “Structure-follows strategy. It can be stated that organisations are built around long-term and short-term objectives of the business.” For example, a manufacturing firm will have different functions compared to a trading firm as the nature of objectives differ.
ii. Division of Work:
Organisations are created because the work they are meant to accomplish can’t be performed by one person alone. Thus, the work of the organisation must be appropriately divided amongst its members. By appropriate, we mean, that individuals will be assigned tasks on the basis of their qualifications and abilities. The division of work is based on the fact that specialisation leads to maximum efficiency.
iii. Grouping Jobs and Departmentation:
After the identification of various activities and division of work, the next step in the process of organising is to group the closely related and similar activities into divisions and departments. Grouping of activities is called departmentation. For example, activities of a manufacturing concern may be grouped into departments such as production, marketing, repairs and maintenance, research and development, financing, personnel and so on.
iv. Assigning Duties:
Clear definition of work to be performed by every individual to department is absolutely essential to avoid duplication and overlapping of effort. Thus, organisation, as a process demands assigning activities to different individuals on the basis of their abilities and aptitudes. Assignment of duties is an important step in the process of organising, to ensure, that right man is placed at the right job with clear specifications as to the work allotted to him.
v. Delegating Authority:
Here assignment of duties is not enough unless individuals are given sufficient authority to perform the assigned duties. No individual can discharge his obligations in absence of authority to do the same. Thus, delegation of authority is a vital step in the process of organising to create inter-relationships in the organisation by establishing formal authority.
vi. Setting Up a Coordination Mechanism:
Individuals and departments in the organisation carry out their work with specialisation. During the process the overall goals of the organisation might be overlooked or conflicts may arise. For example, in a manufacturing firm, the functions and decisions of production and sales manager are not coordinated properly, may result in loss and mismanagement. Hence, coordination is an important aspect of organising as a process and has to be kept in mind at every step.
II. Organisation as a Structure:
In the second sense, organisation is a structural framework for carrying out functions of planning, decision making, control, communication, motivation etc. It can also be referred as the structural framework in which individual efforts will be coordinated and proper authority relationships will be arranged amongst various positions to which specialized duties have been assigned.
According to Koontz and O’ Donnell, “Organisation is the structural relationship by which an enterprise is bound together and the framework in which individual effort is coordinated”. Thus, organisation as a structure, refers to network of formal and informal relationships between individuals which provides a mechanism for carrying out the functions necessary to achieve the desired goals. Organisation as a structure, has the following elements.
i. Relationship Between Members of Group:
Organisation as a structure is a formal relationship among individuals of a group whether large and small. According to Terry, “Organisation is establishing of effective behavioral relationship among selected persons and work places in order, for the group to work together effectively.”
ii. Common Objectives:
Organisation is a tool to achieve the pre-determined and common objectives of the business. By organising, human and material resources are bound together in a framework for attainment of common purpose.
iii. Formal Relationships:
Organisational structure can be interpreted as an arrangement of inter relationship of the component parts and positions of a firm which is an indicator of organisation’s hierarchy and formal authority structure. The formal authority relationship is governed by established rules and regulations.
iv. Effective Communication and Cooperation Between Members:
Organisational structure lays down both channels and patterns of communication. According to Henry, “Organisation is a harmonious adjustment of specialized parts for accomplishment of some common purpose. Thus, in order to achieve common goals of the business, individual efforts are coordinated and integrated”.
Essay # 4. Types of Organisation:
i. Line Organisation:
This is the simplest and oldest type of organisation.
It assumes direct straight line responsibility and control from general manager to plant manager, to superintendent, to foremen, and to workers, as is illustrated in the chart given below:
This type of organisation has frequently been referred to as military organisation. It acquired its name through the fact that there are direct single lines of authority and responsibility between an officer and his subordinates. However, “any similarity that might have existed previously between this form of organisation and the organisation of the military is now outmoded”.
According to Koontz and O’ Donnell, “Line organisation refers to authority relationship in an organisational position where one person has the responsibility for the activities of another person.”
ii. Staff Organisation:
As the business enterprises grew from simple to complex organisations, a need was felt to devise an organisation in which advantages of line as well as functional organisation both may be available. It was felt that in a large organisation a few executives cannot perform all the functions themselves and they needed assistance from the specialists in different areas.
Thus the line and staff type of organisation was developed. “In essence the line portion of a line and staff organisation serves to maintain stability and discipline, whereas the staff or functional portion serves to bring expert knowledge to bear on problem”.
It is more popular, specially in large enterprises.
An idea about it can be had from the chart given below:
The role of staff should be clearly understood. The staff is usually advisory in nature and has only the power to recommend It has no authority over the line. Its main function lies in rendering advice, assistance and the provision of expert and specialised service.
At the top level, it renders advice whereas at the lower level, it is more concerned with rendering services. It may be noted that the work of the staff does not have any direct effect on either the finance, production, or the distribution of the product. However, it does not mean that their functions are useless.
In practice there is no clear-cut distinction in the line and staff authority. The same person may hold both. It is also to be noted that the staff departments within themselves are organised on a line basis. The personnel department, for example, is a staff organisation if considered from the point of overall firm, but a personnel officer or manager would have line authority over the staff or subordinates working under him.
iii. Functional Organisation:
This type of organisation was organised by F. W. Taylor and is also known as functional foremanship. According of him, “Functional management consists of so dividing the management that each man from the assistant superintendent down shall have as few functions as possible to perform. If practicable, the work of each man in the management should be continued to the performance of a ‘single’ leading function.”
He felt that a foreman could not be specialist in everything. Therefore, instead of having one single superior, as in the line organisation, there was need for the specialists to boss over the workers in various aspects of the business. Thus, he introduced the principle of specialisation.
Accordingly, the following plan of functional organisation is submitted by him:
The chief advantage of this type of organisation is that each function is administered by a specialist in the particular area. In this manner the expert advice is always available to the workers which may not only solve their problems but may also result in improvement in their efficiency.
But the greatest drawback of this method of organisation is that a worker has to deal with eight bosses simultaneously. It creates lot of difficulties and confusion, that is why it is not popular in practice.
iv. Committee Organisation:
Some authorities take committee organisation as one of the types of organisation. As a matter of fact, it is supplementary to line or line and staff types of organisation.
According to Newman, “A committee consists of a group of people specifically designated to perform some administrative acts. It functions only as a group and requires the free exchange of ideas among its members.”
The need for committees arises from the fact that one individual is not capable of handling all the complex problems effectively, specially in a big organisation. He has to take the help of others in understanding and solving the problems. A good administrator is one who is able to get others to work with him toward a common goal. For this the consultation with others is very essential.
It has been rightly pointed out that “A committee is a tool for the development of ideas and recommendations of policy and procedure. It is a means whereby ideas can be pooled and offered for criticism. It is the strong right arm of a tactful administrator who realises the importance of getting his people to work together in the solution of their own problems.”
Essay # 5. Principles of Organisation:
There has been a constant search for evolving a universally accepted set of principles of organisation.
F.W. Taylor, Henry Fayol and Lyndall Urwick have laid down certain organisation principles which are given below:
i. The Principle of Objective:
An organisation must be designed in conformity with the objectives of the business. If the organisation does not serve as an instrument to achieve the objectives of the business it must be changed. The objectives is identifiable with the policies and the policies with the function.
ii. The Principle of Co-Ordination:
Co-ordination is the unification of actions of the group of people. The quantity of co-ordination is the crucial factor in the survival of organisation. The football team, the members of which willingly respond to their coach and captain afford an excellent example of highest form of coordinated effort. In short, smooth working of an enterprise and the definite achievement of its objectives depends on sound co-ordination.
iii. The Principle of Authority:
In every organised group, supreme authority must rest somewhere. There should be a clear line of authority to every individual in the groups.
iv. The Principle of Responsibility:
The responsibility of the subordinates to his superior for authority received by delegation is absolute and no superior can escape the responsibility for the organisation activities of his subordinate.
v. The Principle of Definition:
The content of each position, both the duties involved, the authority and responsibility contemplated and the relationships with other positions, should be clearly defined.
vi. The principle of Balance:
Each portion and function of an enterprise should operate with equal effectiveness in making its allotted contribution to the total purpose, It imposes a responsibility on the organising executive to ensure that the vertical and horizontal dimensions of his structure are in a reasonable balance.
vii. The Principle of Span of Control:
The span of control refers to the number of subordinates a superior executive can supervise. The determination of an optimum number is very necessary for the efficient setting of the organisation’s structure.
Lyndally Urwick has fixed a limit at 5 to 6 at the top and 20 at the bottom. But it cannot be an universal truth. The number of subordinates, a manager and supervisor, differs from business to business and depends upon the policy of enterprise, efficiency of the staff, financial resources of the enterprise, etc.
viii. The Scalar Principle:
There are different levels of authority in an organisation structure from the top executive to the worker. The chain command must be clearly defined for sound organisation. Every subordinate must know who his superior is and to whom policy matters beyond his own authority must be referred for division.
This principle is important, in the sense that it throws light on the way in which the different parts of an organisation are created and are held together. Further, it also helps in understanding the authority relationships in an organisation.
ix. The Principle of Unity of Command:
In this principle an employee gets orders only from one superior, boss. He is responsible to one boss only. It is the best principle if it is not affected by ‘dual command’. If two superior bosses put their authority over the same person of department, everything will be in disorder.
x. The Principle of Simplicity:
Simplicity should be an objective of organisational planning, simplicity helps in the minimisation of the overhead costs and reduces the difficulties that arise due to complicated organisation structure.
xi. The Principle of Flexibility:
The organisation must be flexible to meet changing conditions.
xii. The Principle of Continuity:
It means that the organisation structure should be such as to provide not only for the activities immediately necessary to get the objectives of the concern but also for the continuation of such activities in the future.
Essay # 6. Importance of Organisation:
Organisation is an end in itself but it is a means by which problems of the enterprise connected with policies, operations and administrations can efficiently be solved. Sound organisation can contribute greatly to the continuity and success of the enterprise.
According to Lounebury Fish, Organisation is more than a part—it is the mechanism through which management directs, co-ordinates and controls the business. It is indeed, the foundation of management.
If the organisation plan is ill-designed, if it is merely a make-shift arrangement, then management is rendered difficult and inactive. If, on the other hand, it is logical, clear cut and streamlined to meet present-day requirements then the first requisite of the sound management has been achieved.
i. Efficiency in Administration:
Organisation lays down a solid framework for focusing managerial attention and actions on the accomplishment of the objectives of the enterprise.
Organisation aims at efficient execution of work by management in following ways:
(i) By proper division of labour and specific assignment of duties.
(ii) By consistent and effective delegation of authority and well-defined relationships.
(iii) By effective communication and co-ordination of group activities.
ii. Adaptation to the New Technology:
The effectiveness of the enterprise is measured by its power of spontaneous reaction to changes and its capacity to carry out adequate reactions to changes in conditions. This is possible only if the organisational structure is flexible and permits adaptation of changes in technological environment.
iii. Facilitates Growth and Diversification:
Organisational structure is a framework within which an enterprise grows. Expansion and diversification is possible only if the organisational structure is elastic enough to allow the requisite changes to stimulate growth and development.
iv. Training and Development:
Sound organisation recognises the need for training and development, facilitates to ensure optimum utilisation of human resources leading to overall efficiency in the management. The training facilities enable their employees to make optimum use of scarce resources and also initiate creative thinking.
v. Better Industrial Relations:
An effective organisation integrates and coordinates the group efforts in such a manner that team spirit are developed leading to improvement in morale of the workers. Systematic fixation of remuneration and adequate training and development in a sound organisational structure also leads to better industrial relations.