Departmentation in management. Departmentation: Meaning, Aims and Methods 2022-10-23

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Departmentation is the process of grouping activities into departments. It is a fundamental aspect of management that helps to organize and coordinate the activities of a business or organization. There are several types of departmentation that can be used, each with its own set of benefits and limitations. In this essay, we will explore the different types of departmentation and the role that it plays in management.

The most common type of departmentation is functional departmentation. This involves grouping activities based on the function or specialization of the work being done. For example, in a manufacturing company, there may be a production department, a marketing department, and a finance department. Each department is responsible for a specific set of activities and functions within the organization.

Functional departmentation has several advantages. It allows for specialization of knowledge and skills, as employees within a department are typically experts in their field. This can lead to increased efficiency and productivity. It also allows for clear lines of authority and responsibility, as each department is headed by a manager who is responsible for the performance of the department.

However, functional departmentation can also have some limitations. It can lead to silos within the organization, as departments may become isolated and focused on their own goals and objectives. This can lead to a lack of coordination and communication between departments, which can hinder the overall performance of the organization.

Another type of departmentation is divisional departmentation. This involves grouping activities based on the product or service being offered. For example, a company that manufactures both automobiles and airplanes may have separate divisions for each product line. Each division is responsible for its own sales, production, and finance activities.

Divisional departmentation allows for greater autonomy and decision-making authority within each division. It also allows for customization of products and services to meet the needs of specific markets or customer groups. However, it can also lead to duplication of resources and increased costs, as each division may have its own support functions such as finance or HR.

A third type of departmentation is matrix departmentation. This involves combining functional and divisional departmentation, creating a matrix structure where employees report to both a functional manager and a divisional manager. This can allow for increased coordination and communication between departments, as well as flexibility in the allocation of resources. However, it can also lead to confusion and conflict as employees may have conflicting goals and priorities.

In conclusion, departmentation is a key aspect of management that helps to organize and coordinate the activities of an organization. Different types of departmentation have their own benefits and limitations, and the best approach will depend on the specific needs and goals of the organization. It is important for managers to carefully consider the pros and cons of each approach and to choose the one that best fits the needs of the organization.

Organisation and Departmentation

departmentation in management

Departmentation is the way in which an organization groups its various activities. Concept of Departmentation : Departmentation refers to grouping of jobs, identified earlier, into work units on some logical basis. To promote the attainment of overall organisational objectives. Functionalised units for each product are created within the general structure of the organisation. In other words departmentation is the process of division of enterprise into different parts known as departments. The management should group the activities into various units in such a way which leads to specialisation of work. The employees have to work under two superiors.


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Departmentation: Its concept, Structure, Benefits and other Details

departmentation in management

Decision making tends to become slower and more bureaucratic. It is desirable for top management to utilise staff support to create and oversee policies that guide and limit the range of actions taken by its divisions. This has necessitated the cross functional teams replacing the rigid departments. Top management may find it difficult to effectively control the product departments. Thus, they can expand their operational efficiency as well as give a new edge to their organization. The differentiation of activities brings in specialization and managerial convenience. Logical grouping of activities gives us — i individual jobs ii sections and iii departments.

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Departmentation: Management and Example Essay Example

departmentation in management

This helps in minimising the administration costs. ADVERTISEMENTS: Grouping of activities is an essential step for the efficient functioning of the organisation. There must be a proper mechanism for coordinating the activities of different departments so as to enable the organisation to achieve its objectives successfully. It lays emphasis on the performance of all the activities necessary for achievement of organisational objectives. Departmentation is a means of dividing large and complex organization into smaller and flexible adminis­trative units.

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Types of Departmentation

departmentation in management

Here are six common bases for departmentation: 1. This becomes possible due to their involvement in a variety of projects and from their interaction in the teams with experts from other areas. By product or service. All organizations share three common characteristics. The disadvantages are difficulty of co-ordination, under utilisation of resources, and competition among managers for special concessions for their own customers. In business, departmentalization means dividing an organization into different departments, which each typically performs specialized tasks. Principle of control by top management — The basis of departmentation applied in an organisation must ensure appropriate authority responsibility fixation on the departmental heads for effective control.

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Departmentation: Meaning, Importance, Process, Need, Principles, Types, Merits

departmentation in management

Monetary and non-monetary costs that are involved in creation of number of departments for any special activity should also be considered. Therefore, it is an important consideration while choosing a particular method of departmentation but over specialisation should also be avoided because it will result in loss of motivation among the personnel. It may be difficult to co-ordinate the activities of different departments because the employees narrow their focus to the department. But divisional structures suffer from duplication of resources and efforts. Their success or failure can be identified more easily and accurately. The term functional departmentation is used at the higher organizational levels. In 1978, the company created 15 departments or SBUs centering on such high-profit products as computer terminal peripherals and integrated circuits.

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What are the Bases and Principles of Management Departmentation?

departmentation in management

When the demand for a particular product declines, there is underutilisation of plant capacity. The department should be adjusted according to available resources. The departmentation is a crucial process as it needs to learn the nature of job or activity, product, service or customer. They are the personalities of individuals, the nature of organisation, the pattern of informal relationships in the organisation, the attitude of management towards, the market to be served etc. Top management is at liberty to use any means of departmentation while forming an organization structure.

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Departmentalization in Management: Definition, Types & Advantages

departmentation in management

It provides motivation to the project staff as they use their competence for the completion of a particular project. ADVERTISEMENTS: Bases for Departmentalisation SPAN or Management effect of span of structure. In truth, both project and matrix forms of departmentation involve ways to bring together organisational personnel from several specialities to complete finitely durable projects i. It increases problem of top management control. Each unit may even compete with other units under the same management. Advantages : Product departmentalisation works well in the exploration and generation of petroleum products, in the production of textbooks or in the manufacture of electronics, because it allows a company to concentrate its research speciality on specific and related projects and problems. Whereas functional and divisional structures depend primarily on vertical flows of authority and communication.

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Departmentation: Management and Example

departmentation in management

This leads to the familiar departments of manufacturing, marketing, engineering, finance, and so on. Grouping by the basic function in the organization: purchase supplies, raise capital, generate research, etc. Better performance will help in growth and expansion of business. Moreover, some costs of operations can be saved, for example, serving of customers at different locations. Professional identification is maintained 3.

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Departmentation in Management: Meaning, Importance, Principles, Types, Methods

departmentation in management

But once the various activities have been identified, it is necessary to group them together on some logical basis so that a team can be organised. Instead, we have organizations of thousands of people with diverse skills that work together to build buildings. If carried to its extreme, this type of competition can be destructive. This obviously helps not only in fixing the responsibility but also in evaluating the work carried on by an individual or a group of individuals or the department as a whole. Since managers are aware of local customs, styles, preferences, etc.

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What do you mean by Departmentation in management?

departmentation in management

In practice, because of the expansion of business and complexity of tasks, most organisations use a combination of functional, geographic or any other form of departmentation. Benefits of Departmentation Functional Specialization Since functions are divided and work evenly distributed, departmentation leads to specialization in every function that different departments of the organization perform. Lastly, formalization refers to the degree to which employees, and managers, and directed by rules and regulations. The project organisation offers the following benefits: 1. It does not give good training to staff members and there is a lack to overall development of the managerial talents. This type of departmentation is preferred when the various needs of customers are different in nature. Increase in Efficiency : When the activities of a large organisation are divided into different departments, decentralisation of authority to departmental heads takes place.

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