IntroductionNowadays we are placing on a constantly changed business environment. The global economy is full of both problems and opportunities. Finding out an appropriate organizational structure to grasp opportunities at the meantime solve problems has become one of the biggest business concerns of contemporary management. To understand why today's rapid change is causing traditional structures to be replaced by more responsive ones, it is useful understand two important factors, namely environment change and technology change, under which organizations should consider restructure (Dessler, 1998, p.250).Organizational structure is the formal presentation of systems of positions ...view middle of the document...
These pressures could include technological change, communication, and an increase of competition.Change of environment lead to structure changingExternal stimuli- business globalisationA significant part of external environmental change is the business globalisation that is becoming an important influence on structuring organizations, both on global level and internal organization level. Globalization has many implications for organizations today and in the future. Early to the last century (even to some extent today), there was a tendency for many people to think locally: one's hometown was one's world. However, current management is realizing that, although this point of view may have been common during that era, globalization is rapidly occurring. As technology and communication improve, barriers between nations and regions are disappearing, and global village is forming. Global perspectives are being spread to the farthest points in the world and to the most isolated people. People of different cultures come together to live, study or engage in business.Under the environment of business globalisation, organizations are required to create flatter organisational structures in order to increase responsiveness by developing authority and responsibility. Besides, customer-centred organization with structures that reflect, and are responsive to, different markets rather than different functions attempts to rapidly respond globalisation through creation of so-called "network organization", which can break down internal barriers, disseminate knowledge and develop synergy (Burnes, 1996).Competition pressure triggers changesPromising sources for alteration could involve, technological advancement, changing markets, and environmental issues. Changing markets in an organization usually involves the change in products or range of products that the organization produces. In some circumstances, for example, competition pressures, an organization may need to expand their product range to compete with their competition. Organizations can also confront changing markets through product advertising or community relation campaigns, or by increasing/decreasing costs of production, therefore raising the issue of price competitiveness.In order for an organization to remain up with the opposition, large organizations have to rely on the use of modern and obtainable technology. However technology advances rapidly and therefore requires a change in technology when new and improved technology is available. This pressure may require a significant change in organizational structure and almost always requires changes in work practices within the organization. For example, the aircraft industry's shift from piston to jet engines profoundly affected the relationship between engine and airframe. Some established firms faltered because they underestimated the complexities; Boeing rose to lead the industry because it understood them (Bolman and Deal, 1997, cited in Hender...
