HCM 433 MANGEMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR.pdf

functions, departments or sections. Work may be departmentalized and based, for example, on
differentiation between task and element functions, discussed above. See Fig. 11.1 below.
ii) Product or Service
In division by product or service, as shown in Fig. 11.2, the contributions of different specialists
are integrated into separate, semi-autonomous units with collective responsibility for a major part
of the business process or for a complete cycle of work. This form of grouping is more common in
the larger diversified organisations and may be used as a means of sub-dividing departments into
sections.
A good example is the bringing together of all activities concerned with a particular production
line, product or service. A different is in a hospital where medical and support staff are grouped
together in different units dealing with particular treatments such as accidents and emergency,
medical and surgery. The danger is that with grouping by product or service, there is a danger that
the divisions may attempt to become too autonomous, presenting management with a problem of
coordination and control.
iii) Location
In division by location, as shown in Fig. 11. 3, different services are provided by area or
geographical boundaries according to particular needs or demands, the convenience of consumers,
or for ease of administration.
Examples are the provision of local authority services for people living in a particular locality; the
siting of hospitals or post offices; the provision of technical or agricultural further education in
industrial or rural areas; sales territories for business firms; or the grouping of a number of retail
shops under an area manager. Another example is provided by organisations with multi-site
working and the grouping of a range of similar activities or functions located together on one site.
One problem with grouping by location is difficulty in the definition of the geographical
boundaries and the most appropriate size for a given area. The improvement in communications,
particularly telecommunications, tends, however, to reduce the importance of location. For
example, administrative staff may no longer need to be located within the main production unit.
Figure 15.1: Division of work by major Purpose or Function
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