Henry Mintzberg's Framework Analysis

Organizational Structure: Mintzberg’s Framework

Summary

Mintzberg’s framework on organizational structure was an eye opener for us because it allowed us to understand how the structure of an organization evolved over due course of time. We found that, in some areas, the simple structure is prevalent even today (mostly in small organizations). Machine bureaucracy involves creating a machine like scenario for people to do the same work day in day out. Professional bureaucracy consists of highly trained professionals who work independently, providing services to their clients. Divisionalized bureaucracy is a combination of professional and machine bureaucracy, where the entire company is divided in special divisions and each division follows its own rules and regulations. Finally, adhocracy is the type of structure which is followed a lot nowadays. It involves forming teams based on projects, separating out once the project is over and then forming new teams again. It is the heart of all the startup companies. Thus, based on the various structures, we tried to decide which one would be most suitable for our company (we being the board of directors) and we also took suggestions from our stakeholders (audience). In the end we decided to go with a combination of two or more structures in order to meet our demands. Part of the small group discussions was dedicated to predicting future organizational models twenty years in the future. Mintzberg’s five structures represented the history of organizational change during the 20th century, but seemed to cover nearly every facet of existing organizations. Because there is evidence of combining parts of organization structures already, we reached the conclusion that synthesis of structure is the next step with models such as divisionalized adhocracy. Applying the framework in a nontraditional setting also garnered some differing opinions. The example of a nonprofit organization was used to setup the problem. Although the work...