SATM 6.2.2.6 Environment

The survival of organizations as open systems depends upon some degree of exchange with outside parties. The higher the degree of environmental uncertainty and turbulence, the more the structure of an organization needs to be adaptive with fluid role structures, co-ordination achieved by frequent meetings, and considerable lateral communication.

The bureaucratic firm is incapable of accommodating the demands of large-scale research and development, and the new relationships with the market, required in these conditions.

Uncertain and turbulent environments require more adaptive management systems, exhibiting greater flexibility and demanding more commitment from members; what Burns and Stalker (1961, The Management of Innovation, Tavistock, London.) call an "organic" or organismic structure.

Mechanistic structures exhibit specialization, independence of tasks, strict rules, vertical communication, tight job descriptions, and a hierarchy with communication coming down from an omniscient leader at the top.

Organismic structures need to show less formal task definition, greater task interdependence, continual redefinition of duties, horizontal as well as vertical communication, and greater decentralization of decision making.

Organizational participants develop vested interests in protecting existing organizational designs and procedures.

Different sub-units within organizations (production, sales, research and development) will themselves require different structures because they each relate to different sub-environments (technical, market, and scientific, respectively).

Overall organizational performance demands a degree of differentiation among sub-units consistent with the requirements of their specific environments and a degree of integration consistent with the demands of the total environment.

(Jackson, Michael C. (2000) Systems Approaches to Management, Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers. P113~114.)