Functional Organization: Advantages and Disadvantages

The organization seen from the sense of ordering and classification is based on the need to cooperate in the face of the physical, psychological and social limitations of the individual who seeks a greater productive, which will only be possible with an adequate organizational structure. Hence the interest in the concept of functional organization, advantages and disadvantages of the same, which will allow companies cooperation between different workers in order to achieve specific and general objectives for the development and success of the company.

In such a way that the structure of the organization must be guided in such a way that: for each and every one of the workers is perfectly clear, who will perform each task and who is responsible for certain results.

The organizational structure envisions the way in which activities in a company are grouped, divided and coordinated, as well as the relationships between managers and employees. A company in addition to being structured under the

functional organization scheme You can do it under other basic schemes such as organization by product or marketing and organization by matrix.

Functional organization

Consists of the division of labour by way of establishing specialization so that each worker focuses on certain functions, grouping the different activities or functions that must be carried out within the company.

The central idea of ​​the functional organization is specialization, that is, each area, each worker specializes in their own tasks.

In this way, a department gathers all those workers who are dedicated to a specific activity or to several related, (functions of the department) applying the principle of specialization in each task to form functional groups, which in turn will be vertically integrated from the lower to the upper levels of the organization.

The functional organization is one of the most basic and logical forms of business division used especially by small companies, which they produce and market a limited line of products, since the effective use of specialized human resources is facilitated. It also greatly facilitates the supervision of each manager as an expert with knowledge and skills in an area delimited by his functions.

Characteristics of the functional organization

• Authority divided and sustained by knowledge. Each superior has partial and relative authority over subordinates.
• Direct line of communication in search of speed of response between the different levels.
• Decentralized decisions, each specialized group has some autonomy in making decisions relevant to its functions.
• It emphasizes the specialization of all workers in charge of the different functions of the department.

Advantages and disadvantages of functional organization

Like any structure in search of objectives, functional organization has a number of advantages and disadvantages presented below:

Advantage

• The specialization in each area is greater.
• Facilitates the performance and efficiency of each worker.
• Better comunication.
• Each department efficiently carries out its specific activity.
• Manual work is separate from intellectual work.
• The pressure on a single person (boss) is reduced and responsibilities are shared.

Disadvantages

• The principle of unity in command is lost, which generates conflicts of authority.
• Problems occur in the delegation authority and the delimitation of responsibilities.
• Presents a tendency to competition among specialists, since the various bodies or positions specialize in certain activities; they tend to impose their point of view and approach on the organization.
• There is tension and conflict due to rivalry and competition, which affects the morale and discipline of workers.
• It lends itself to confusion and multiplicity in objectives, since it requires multiple subordination and gives autonomy of decision, generating conflicts in the general functions of the company.
• Existence of doubts in the chain of command that causes difficulties in orientation, difficulty in coordinating activities in a productive and confusion regarding the objectives to be achieved, which should always be in general function of the company profitability.