Design Roles: G4
Competence needs Organisation
All work within an organization is performed by staff in specifically , and that is how all the kinds of work required are covered. The organizational structure is a structure of because the in (corresponding to ) are naturally assigned to a staff-member holding .
The quality of work performed will be dependent on the competence of staff in the various .
The general public usually regards focused competence (or kind of work) as an occupation, discipline or profession. However, within an organization it is commonly referred to as a «». There are always a few and often very many within any organization. The number and diversity of necessary is one measure of the intrinsic complexity of an organization.
Competence involves:
- expert knowledge,
- being conversant with special methods,
- possession of skills,
- adherence to standards.
PLUS - how the above are integrated within the particular organization
Because any specific work activity is an expression of a , all must exist within a particular . This must itself be organised so that issues like •role design, •suitable recruitment, •staff training, •updating of expertise are all properly managed.
As a result, there is a need to see a as an organizational entity in its own right. It requires its own dedicated development within the organization so as to enhance its contribution. That entails considering the comprehensively, and this can be ensured by adding an additional (fourth) .
4 Types of Function
Proceeding on this basis produces 4 overlapping 4-Level hierarchical Groups (Tetrads): see diagram. These within an organization are named in terms of the lowest Level:
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e.g. Receptionist, Painter | ||
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e.g. Architect, Doctor |
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e.g. Management Accountant, Systems Analyst |
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e.g. General Manager |
The focus of the shifts progressively from being specific and concrete to being general and abstract. However, all overlap at , and this is where must be locked securely into the other in managing operations. 
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Features
Function: The Tetrads enable areas of work activity to be demarcated, owned, and competently handled for the benefit of a specific organization.
Quality: need to be managed comprehensively to ensure their development and organizational contribution, especially in regard to the proper design of all .
Integration within each Group: The standardizes and develops expert processes, methods, knowledge and skills around a professional/occupational identity, in a way that serves the organization's needs.
Integration across all Groups: All have roles performing work at where, despite differences in orientation, given values must be translated into concrete outputs.
Psychological Correlate: Culturally endorsed work identity is socialized via training within a societally-recognized discipline, profession, or occupation.
Personal Tension: Loyalty to a work-identity and its development within wider society, versus loyalty to a particular organization with its idiosyncratic goals and needs.
Social Correlate: The existence of academic and technical training and research institutions within wider society; and hence a reservoir of people with relevant knowledge and skills on which organizations can draw.
Organisational Tension: Functional boundaries tend to be resistant to alternative ways to divide up the work e.g. by geography, by needs, by customer niches, by products.
Practical Implications: Function-based role structures are essential and powerful. The power can become degenerate and must be controlled via a suitable management culture and the use of cross-functional teams. The need for a generates dual influence authority relations.
- See further explanation of these features and details of each of the within organizations.
- Explore practical issues in identifying and organising them properly.
Originally posted: 19-Mar-2014