Typology of Organizational Structure

Formal organizational structure can be analyzed and described from various aspects - there are therefore different typologies of the organizational structurecreated, which varies according to different authors and evaluation criteria:

Linear × Functional × Line & Staff × Matrix organizational structure

The criteria are the number of managers, degree of vertical or horizontal arrangement and the existence of the support organizational units. From these aspects are usually delimited the following types of the organizational structures:

• Linear organizational structure is based on the principle of one clearly defined manager for each employee
• Functional organizational structure is based on the principle of more managers according to different perspectives on the worker’s activity
• Staff & Line organizational structure is based on the existence of staff departments that provide the adminstrative and management support to managers at different organizational levels and their organizational units
• Matrix organizational structure is based on the prinicple: one task - one manager. It is used for example in the project methodology where the workers have different managers for different projects

Centralized × Decentralized organizational structure

The criterion is the degree of centralization/decentralization of decision making powers and relating responsibilities and the related flexibility of the decision making:

• The basis of the centralized structure is the concentration of decision making powers in the management center of the organization in the hands of the senior management. The highly centralized structure with a high number of hierarchical levels significantly complicates decision making processes and it complicates the management.
• The basis of the decentralized structure is the empowerement - an example of decentralized structure are Strategic Business Units - SBUs) - a large organization is, according to certain criteria divided into comprehensive organizational units (business units), which have relative freedom in its operations, especially in management and decision making.

Tall × Flat organizational structure

The criterion is the number of hierarchical levels of the organizational structure (see the picture below):

Tall (Steep) organizational structure

Flat organizational structure

The specific approach to the description and modeling of the organizational structure was developed by Henry Mintzberg.