Structure of an Organization and Impact on the Culture

Assignment Task

1. Describe the structure of the organisation outlined below
2. Identify and explain the organisational culture
3. Analyse how the structure of this organisation can impact on the culture of the

organisation

4. Identify 2 potential changes this organisation could make to improve this provision

(40 marks) (1500 words)
SCENARIO
‘Road’ is a supported living scheme run for men and women who have served in the
armed forces and have become homeless and now have health problems. They have 1
large site with 16 flats.
The CQC registered manager is called Frank, he used to be in the army and has been
homeless, and he set up the project to help people who had a similar experience to his
own.
Formal weekly meetings are held with the staff team; these meetings are mainly used for
delegating tasks and planning the week ahead. The registered manager, Frank, chairs
these meetings and often says “if in doubt about what to do come and ask me.” The team
leader writes a list of the actions that Frank has asked the staff to carry out; this list is
referred to throughout the week.
Frank spends very little time in his office, he is involved in the day to day running of the
scheme; he often works alongside the support workers and gives them feedback on how
to improve their work. The team usually check with Frank before they make decisions.
The team is made up of
Frank who is the registered Health Care Manager
A Team leader
A nurse
3 x Support workers
1 employment workers
2 assistant support worker
1 cleaner.
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
 Knowledge and understanding of different organisational structures in business
health and social care organisations.
 Knowledge and understanding of how organisational structure impacts
organisational culture
 Ability to consider the discipline from intellectual, practical, and affective viewpoints
Points to consider:
 Identify the basic structure of the organisation by comparing it to other structures
remember very few organisations conform precisely to a specific structure.
 Consider the NHS and the British Army they have adopted a hierarchical structure
and Google and Waterstones rely on a horizontal structure why might this be?
 In terms of organisational culture, Deal and Kennedy say organisational culture is
“.. the way we do things around here”.
 Charles Handy identified 4 organisational cultures: Task, Power, Role and People,
most organisations he argued had a culture that fitted into these categories.
 Edgar Schein wrote about how organisational culture is adopted in the work place,
he was interested in the difference between the espoused culture (what the
company says it’s like) and the reality of what it is really like.
 Consider how the organisational culture at the centre would alter if different
structures were introduced, for instance: if the structure was flatter, if there was a
wider span of control or if it were a complex matrix structure.
 In terms of improving this organisation consider how to improve the outcomes for
the clients, what might they want to change? Do you think the way the team
communicates is acceptable to everyone working there? Look at Daniel Goleman’s
work on emotional intelligence (2005).
 The staff team have little autonomy is this a good or bad thing for an organisation?
Look at Kotter and Lewin’s Models of Change.
AREAS FOCUS ON
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

• Write about the structure of organisations and the structure in the case study (include your and citation).

ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE

• Write about the culture of organisations and the culture in the case study.

THE IMPACT OF STRUCTURE ON CULTURE

• Think and write about how the structure may impact or effect the culture of an organisation, then think about it from a number of different points of view. Focus on the health care organisation in the case study. Use citations