Organizational Structure: Simple, Functional, and Divisional

Organizational Structure
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Organizational Structure
Organizational structures influence employees and organizations. According to McConnell (2020), organizational structures establish the reporting structure, flexibility, communication, and decision-making within an organization. In healthcare, organizational structures can influence how healthcare services are delivered. This paper examines three types of organizational structures and provides examples of healthcare organizations that would utilize each structure.
Simple Organizational Structure
Simple organizational structures, also known as flat structures, have a centralized authority with little or no middle management. As a result, it has a small chain of command since employees have direct contact with the decision-makers (Fernandopulle, 2021). It has limited work specialization and departmentalization. Due to its flat nature, this organizational structure facilitates quick communication between staff and decision-makers because the communication lines are shorter (Fernandopulle, 2021). A simple organizational structure is typical for small organizations managed by the owner, who directly delegates duties to employees. Due to limited specialization and departmentalization, employees often have multiple organizational functions. One employee might perform functions such as receptionist, marketing, and bookkeeping.
In healthcare, this type of structure might be ideal for stand-alone, privately-run specialized clinics. For example, a privately-run gynecology and obstetrics clinic can be managed by the owner/medical practitioner, supported by a nurse and an assistant. The nurse and the assistant can perform other functions, such as cleaning the premise and posting marketing content on social media. Open communication between the staff and the owner ensures the clinic is responsive to patients' needs, regulations, and other changes. These employees can cooperate to get the work done because they are not hindered by bureaucratic obstacles (Fernandopulle, 2021).
Functional Organizational Structure
This type of structure is suitable for complex organizations that require division of labor and specialization. According to McConnell (2020), this structure is highly centralized, has many hierarchical levels, and is characterized by a high degree of specialization and formalization. As a result, the decision-making process takes a top-down approach within each functional area. In addition, it is characterized by high departmentalization to ensure employees are divided into groups based on their roles or functions (McConnell, 2020). Such departments include sales, marketing, accounting, and human resources. However, this structure is the least flexible because employees must deal with bureaucratic obstacles and cannot make any decisions since al...