Mechanistic and Organic Structures | Commerce & Accountancy Optional Notes for UPSC PDF Download

Mechanistic and Organic Organizational Structures 

• The contingency approach to  organizational  design  tailors  organizational structure to the sources of uncertainty facing an organization.
• In a landmark study conducted in 20 British firms during the 1960s, Tom Burns and G.M.Stalker identified two types of organisations— mechanistic and organic. They observed that the mechanistic organisation was characterised by: rules, procedures, a clear hierarchy of authority, centralised decision making, and the control of incoming and outgoing communications from the top and a tendency for information to be provided on a need to know basis. 
• By contrast, the organic organisation was characterised by: low formalisation, rules and regulations were not written or if written down were ignored, and open and widely used communication patterns which incorporate horizontal, diagonal as well as vertical channels. Burns and Stalker’s research work stressed the belief that the organisation could change its structure in relation to its environment. 
• Thus, in a rapidly changing environment, an organisation tends to change to organic form from the mechanistic form in order to remain competitive. The mechanistic form of organisation structure is adopted when there is relative stability in the environment. 
• According to Stephen P. Robbins, these forms of organisation structures represent two extremes of a continuum. While the mechanistic model is generally synonymous with bureaucracy, the organic model looks more like the boundaryless organisation. 
• The relation of one form to the other is elastic. As such, an organisation may oscillate from one end (mechanistic) to the other (organic) depending upon the nature of the environment and other factors like the overall strategy of the organisation, organisation size, and technology.