The structure of a company is directly related to the quality of its results and this structural organization of the company must be done according to the needs and culture that define it. The departmentalization It must be immersed in each person that makes up the company and reflect what it means for them to belong to that work team.
In this article you will find:
What is departmentalization?
It is a process through which work groups are formed, grouping similar and related tasks, functions or activities.
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In the foreground, work is distributed by tasks, achieving a certain specialization by department that allows to obtain better results and gains in productivity, thus achieving a departmentalization efficient.
The criteria to be used to carry out the departmentalization and distribute the work is based on the objectives of the company, the environment, the technology used, the preparation and training of employees, the tasks performed, the size or size of the company and the strategy to be followed, among other.
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Departmentalization objectives
- Know and understand the proper division of the functions of the company.
- Reduce and specify the tasks assigned to each worker, so that they carry it out more efficiently.
- It generates specialization, which is based on the experience gained by a worker with respect to the task that he develops, which has a positive impact on the quality of the work performed.
- It helps to make the best selection of employees for each given job position.
- The division of tasks creates new jobs.
- Facilitates supervision and control by bosses.
- It allows the development of specific attributions at the same level of the company.
Characteristics of departmentalization
Among the main characteristics of departmentalization, some advantages and disadvantages of it stand out, among these:
- It reflects the logical display of the business structure.
- It is chaired by occupational and labor specialization.
- Facilitates communication and understanding of the team in order to achieve greater efficiency in its functions.
- Sometimes the division by functions establishes a barrier that limits cooperation between the different areas.
- Helps organize a hierarchical structure of the entire company.
- It is suitable for small companies, with few production lines.
- Specialization must be controlled, since it is sometimes exaggerated and over-limited, resulting in a lack of attention to the overall results.
- It is not flexible, the process of adapting to changes is slow, so any change in the culture or business strategy can put the organization at risk.
- It does not allow the promotion of self-managed teams, the responsibilities of the final results in the organization fall on a single body.
Types of departmentalization
The types of departmentalization will depend on the way in which the departments of the company are conceptualized, they can be:
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- Departmentalization by type of client:
It is carried out according to the end customer. This type of departmentalization allows the company to focus on the best customer service, adding efforts to efficiently satisfy customer needs.
Example: The departmentalization that the bank has, which has a department dedicated to customer service in specific cases or circumstances, such as a mortgage department, loan department for companies, etc.
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- Departmentalization by time:
It consists of the creation of departments according to the duration of the activities carried out, sometimes it is combined with other classifications. The most common case is the division by day or work shifts.
- Departmentalization by territory:
The criteria used in this creation of departments is the geographical division, it depends on the sector of activity carried out by the company and they have their own management by area.
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- Departmentalization by projects:
It depends on the size of the project, it is practical if each project is managed by a different team and each work unit meets a series of specific requirements determined by the client.
- Departmentalization by products or services:
It consists of the formation of departments by product or service line, as long as the company does not handle too many lines.
- Departmentalization by processes:
It is a very useful department creation if the company seeks dynamics that optimize work and allow continuous improvement of production processes. It includes the planning and management of tasks in search of the maximum optimization of resources and return on investment.
- Departmentalization by team:
It is related to both projects and processes. It focuses on facilitating work with appropriate technology and tools, in order to reduce costs and take advantage of resources.
- Departmentalization by functions:
It consists of the division of companies using as a criterion the type of activity that each area develops. For example: Engineering, administration, accounting, purchasing, sales, etc.
- Matrix departmentalization:
The criteria for creating departments is the combination of functions with projects. The work teams for each project are made up of people who perform the same function in different projects at the same time, optimizing resources and improving times.
