Standardized Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Standardized Organization - Essay Example Following Ruest and Ruest (2006): "Standards are the key here. Organizations that run non-standard systems are faced with several potential issues on an ongoing basis" (3). Design of the structure involves such central issues as how the work of the organization will be divided and assigned among positions, groups, departments, divisions, etc., and how the coordination necessary to accomplish total organizational objectives will be achieved. This, it is important to note that standardized organizations can be found outside IT environment. In general, standardized organization means a structure of the organization based on certain standards and rules which guide and support organizational performance. Standardized structure allows companies to maintain control through the use of certain rules. Choices made about these issues are usually publicized in organizations charts. "Standard processes are a lot easier to automate because they are repeatable and predictable" (Ruest and Ruest 7). The behavior in a standardized organization is influenced by a system of variables (technical, individual, social and organizational inputs), it is obvious that such formal documents are only one method of signaling to individuals what behavior is expected of them. Nevertheless, this method is important because it is so widely used by managers to define and communicate their expectations of other organization members, encourage them to undertake collaborative activity. While our central focus is on the basic structure, we shall have more to say about these operating mechanisms later. In standardized organization, units which are required to integrate their activities closely are grouped together, because the common superior can then work to achieve the required integration through the management hierarchy (Robbins 8). In the stable environment, successful organizations tended to be what the authors called "automation." There is more reliance on formal rules and procedures. Decisions are made at the lower levels of the organization. The spans of supervisory control are narrow. They found that successful organizations in industries with different production technologies are characterized by different structures. The structure of organization is one variable in a system affecting behavior in organizations and providing a conceptual framework which is sufficiently comprehensive for analyzing and solving structural design problems. As such, "standardized processes rely on automation to reduce potential diversity within deployed systems" (Ruest and Ruest 2). Rather than thinking of division of work as only affecting the economies and efficiencies of task performance, Ruest and Ruest (2006) recognize that each unit is itself a subsystem in which members would develop particular orientations and structura l patterns, depending on their task and their predispositions. Since different units are working with different parts of the environment, these units would develop differentiation to some degree or other, depending upon the specific environment. For instance, "In a non-standard environment, there is simply no such thing as service level agreements. It is understandable: how can you predict how well a service will run if you cannot state with determination how it was

Public speaking and democracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Public speaking and democracy - Essay Example While one may argue that the importance that is given to demagoguery in a democratic setup subverts the role of an intelligent citizen by tricking him and showing disrespect to the wisdom and trust of an electorate, it is also true that extremely important points are made during speeches that serve to move people to the side of righteous causes and also to rightly channelize the anger of a nation for productive purposes. This has been seen time and again in the history of the United States of America. A successful democracy, America has always placed a great amount of importance on the ability of its public figures to engage in oratory. It is no coincidence that most of the American presidents were excellent orators and could move masses to their point of view time and again and in the process, win their trust and love. The importance that is placed on oratory in a free democracy may also stem from the basic right to speech that citizens are provided with in a democratic nation. The right to express oneself from a public platform in order to communicate one’s views to another person or group remains the highest expression of one’s right to free speech. ... People also share a great interest in the contents of political speeches, with replies and counter-arguments being a part of the discussions that permeate the lives of a modern man in a democratic state. These events are also a site where the political leaders who give speeches are able to demonstrate the strength of the numbers of people that follow their views, apart from being an opportunity to win more followers and thus increase their base of supporters. This would enable them to not only win elections, but also to sustain the trust that people have in them. In many cases, an emotional and moral mandate of the population is necessary before a government undertakes any action of grave importance, something that may have a profound effect on the lives of the people of a country. This may be made possible through a powerful verbal assertion of the reasons that a leader may have for undertaking that particular action. This also demonstrates the effectiveness of public speaking as a tool in a democracy for the purpose of maintaining communication between the holders of executive authority and the electorate. In a democratic nation, public speaking is a tool that political and other leaders may use in order to stay in constant contact with the masses. This may help to impart to the masses the feeling that the state is being looked after in a good manner. This also enables the government in power to block allegations that may be leveled against it by people of differing viewpoints. The act of public speaking, thus, enables a citizen of a democratic country to express dissent that may then be shared by many sections of the society. It may also be used to attract attention to a certain problem that may have otherwise gone unnoticed by the