Organising

Organising is the management function wherein organisational resources are

allocated and responsibilities are delegated in order to accomplish long-term
organisational goals. It ensures efficient use of organisational resources. It is
related with building up of a framework or structure of various interrelated
parts.

Meaning and Definition of Organising

A few definitions of organisation are given below:
Organising is a process of identifying and grouping the work to be
performed, defining and delegating responsibility and authority and
establishing a pattern of relationship for the purpose of enabling people to
work most effectively together in accomplishing objectives.
“As a process of combining the work which individuals or a group have to
perform with the facilities necessary for its execution, that the duties so
performed provides the best channel for the efficient, systematic, positive
and coordinated application of available efforts.”-Oliver

“Organising involves the establishment of an internal structure of roles,

by identifying and listing the activities required to achieve the purpose
of a enterprise, the grouping of these activities, the assignment of such
group of activities to manager, the delegation of authority to carry out and
provision for coordination of authority relationship horizontally and
vertically in the organisation structure.”-Koontz and O‟Donnell
 Characteristics of Organising
 Organising is one of the basic and important elements or functions of
management. To get things done by others, a manager has to organise
their activities
 It is a goal-oriented process. It is only to accomplish certain goals that the
process of organising is designed for. The structure of an organisation is
designed so as to facilitate performance of large number of activities.

 The organising process chiefly deals with group efforts, which are made
to achieve common goals.
 Organising is based on the principle of division of work and
specialisation.
It involves the processes of differentiation or division of activities and
integration of activities by grouping them.
 The process of organising aims at interrelating, mobilising and
coordinating the activities of employees.

 It establishes authority relationship of superior and subordinate among

the employees by assigning the activities and delegating adequate
authority to them.

It has two basic constituents or dimensions, namely

Authority structure, which is created by delegation of authority from top
to lower level.
Activity structure, created by dividing activities into jobs and tasks,
grouping them and then assigning them to the various department or
individuals.
 Process of Organising
Identification of Activities: At the first stage of organising, the manager
recognises those activities, which are indispensable for reaching common
goals. The common goals of organisation provide the basis for determining
and identifying the activities.
Division of Activities: Once the events have been acknowledged, they are
divided and subdivided into jobs and small tasks known as elements of
activities.
 Grouping of Activities: After division into small elements known as
tasks, the closely linked ones having similarity may be grouped to form a
department.
Granting Necessary Authority: Groups of activities are assigned to
various departments and individual employees' demands to grant adequate
authority to them are considered.
Assignment of Group Activities: Once activities are classified into
groups, they are allocated to the particular department or an individual.

 Coordinating the Functioning of Various Departments: In the process

of organising, attempts are made to coordinate each small element or task
with departmental activities. Further, the functioning of each department is
coordinated to achieve common goals.

After completing the above-mentioned stages involved in the process of

organising, it results in the creation of a structure known as organisational
structure.
Need and Importance of Organising
 Sound organisational structure facilitates effective management.
 The whole process of organising helps in co-ordinating various jobs in
the department or division and by relating them to departmental work.
 Logical and clear-cut division of work and delegation of authority
among the various members leads to many benefits.
 The sub-processes, differentiation and integration may directly affect
operating results of the enterprise. If both the processes are conducted in
a proper manner, overall organisational efficiency tends to increase.
 Creation of organisational structure also necessitates delegation of
authority among various managerial positions. Decentralised
organisational structure encourages prompt decision-making and
efficient control.
 The organisational structure delivers the basis and framework to the
manager, which permits him to cope with the changing environment.
 The structure of an organisation facilitates formal communication through
line of authority, established from top to lower levels.
 Creation of staff units in the activity structure of the organisation broaden
the span of control of the manager and help him in discharging his
responsibility in a more efficient manner.

 Organising virtually means order and discipline both in respect of

working behaviour of the employees and their role and relationship.

 Highly de-centralised structure of an organisation tends to have a strong

influence on development of managers as delegation of authority to lower
level managers provides opportunity to them for making decisions and
exercising administrative authority.
 Principles of Organising
1. Principle of Division of Labour: This is the basic principle of organising, which
represents division of work and activities into small tasks and jobs necessary for
achieving a set of objectives.
2. Principle of Functional Definition: In order to exonerate assumed responsibility by
concluding the job assigned to the employee, he has to perform many functions.
According to this principle, the tasks to be performed by an individual employee or by a
department must be well-defined.
3. Principle of Scalar Chain: This principle is known as scalar chain or line of authority
or chain of command. It states that there exists an unbroken line of authority or sealer
chain from the top to the lowest level.
4. Principle of Span of Control: This principle refers to the number of subordinates to be
placed under the command of the manager so that he can manage their work efficiently.
5. Principle of Unity of Command: The principle of unity of command implies oneness
of command and single source of authority over a subordinate.
6. Principle of Objective: The organisation and each of its components or
sub-systems should be directed towards the accomplishment of
predetermined objectives.
7. Principle of Balance: According to this principle, all techniques and
principles applied to particular structure of the organisation must be
properly balanced to ensure that one principle does not contradict with
another or benefits of one are not countered by the benefits of the other.
8. Principle of Flexibility: It proposes that the structure of an organisation
should be designed to permit growth and diversification.
9.Principle of Absoluteness of Responsibility: According to this principle,
responsibility once assumed by the manager cannot be shifted to
subordinates.
10. Principle of Delegation by Result Expected: For creating the structure of an
administration, authority should be delegated in such a way as to elucidate performance
potentials in terms of cost, volume, time and efforts.
11. Principle of Parity between Authority and Responsibility: The principle suggests
that there should be complete balance or parity between authority and responsibility;
only that much authority should be delegated which is needed for carrying out the
assigned job.
12. Principle of Efficiency: According to this principle, the organisational structure
should be designed in such a way as to facilitate efficient accomplishment of objectives.
13. Principle of Continuity: The principle of continuity states that while designing the
structure of the organisation, due care should be taken to maintain continuity in respect
of its existence and functioning.
14. Principle of Cooperation: According-to this principle, an organisation is considered
as a team aimed at achieving objectives. Therefore, all members should achieve the
allotted work in co-operation with each other.
Span of Management
Span of management is a way in which many people in an organisation are controlled
and managed by single officer. It can be further called as:
 span of management
 span of authority
 span of supervision
 span of responsibility

Such principle depends upon principle of relationship. In this number of members can
be more or less as per nature of work done by subordinate or ability of supervision. In
working domain with one head, nearly about four to five subordinates tends to work.