HCM 433 MANGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR.pdf

According to Mullins (2000), clearly stated and agreed objectives will provide a framework for
the design of structure, and a suitable pattern of organisaiton to achieve those objectives. The
nature of the organisation and its strategy will indicate the most appropriate organisational levels
for different functions and activities, and the formal relationships between them. Clearly defined
objectives will help facilitate systems of communication between different parts of the
organisation and extent of decentralisation and delegation. The formal structure should help make
possible the attainment of objectives. It should assist in the performance of the essential functions
of the organisation and the major activities which it needs to undertake.
3.3.2 Clarification of Tasks
According to Woodward (1980), tasks are the basic activities of the organisation which are related
to the actual completion of the productive process and directed towards specific and definable
end-results. To ensure the efficient achievement of overall objectives of the organisation, the
results of the task functions must be coordinated. There are four essential functions that the
organisation must perform such as follow:
(i) The good or service must be developed.
(ii) Something of value must be created. In the case of the business organisation, this might be the
production or manufacture of a product; in the case of the public sector organisation, the provision
of a service.
(iii) The product or services must be marketed. They must be distributed or made available to
those who are to use them.
(iv) Finance is needed in order to make available the resources used in the development, creation
and distribution of the products or services provided.
There are other activities of the organisation, called element functions, which are not directed
towards specific and definable ends but are supportive of the task functions and an intrinsic part of
the management process. These include personnel, planning, management services, public
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