Strategy-structure typology is an approach to organizational structure that examines the relationship between a company's strategy and its structure. It identifies five coordinating mechanisms for monitoring work - mutual adjustment, direct supervision, standardization of work processes, standardization of outputs, and standardization of work skills. An organization also has key parts like the strategic apex, operating core, middle line, technostructure, and support staff. There are three dimensions of decentralization - vertical, horizontal, and selective. The interaction of these elements results in five structural configurations - simple structure, machine bureaucracy, professional bureaucracy, divisionalized form, and adhocracy.

1. Strategy-Structure Typology

2. What is Strategy-Structure Typology?

3. Strategy–Structure Typology An approach to organizational structure concerned with the relationship between organizational strategy and structure (Mintzberg, 1989). In this approach, the labor component is divided into tasks and these are achieved through coordination among those involved.

4. To achieve coordination, there are five strategies called “coordinating mechanisms” through which work is monitored and controlled.

5. 1. Mutual Adjustment – is making changes through informal communication which is both direct and basic to simple and complex organizations.

6. 2. Direct Supervision – is coordination through personal command. That is, one individual is responsible for the work of others. This strategy is similar to unity of command and scalar principle.

7. 3. Standardization of Work Processes – is programming the contents of the work. In schools, this strategy is apparent in job descriptions which govern the performance of educators.

8. 4. Standardization of Outputs – is setting up the results of work.

9. 5. Standardization of Work Skills – is providing the kind of training to do the work. This strategy provides indirect control of work. Training supplies workers with patterns of work to be performed as well as the bases of coordination.

10. Another component or dimension is the “key part” of the organization that plays the major role in determining the success and failure of the organization. According to Mintzberg, the key part consists of:

11. 1. The Strategic Apex consists of the top administrators who are responsible for ensuring that the organization serves its vision, mission and goals.

12. 2. The Operating Core is made up of the actual workers who carry out the organization’s tasks.

13. 3. The Middle Line consists of the administrators who connect the apex with the operating core.

14. 4. The Technostructure is the administrative component charged with the responsibility of planning. In some schools, it is composed of analysts, and research and development personnel. They design, plan and train but they do not directly manage.

15. 5. The Support Staff is composed of specialized units that provide support to the organization in the form of indirect service.

16. The third basic dimension of an organization is the type of decentralization it employs.

17. 1. Vertical Decentralization – is the distribution of power down the chain of command or shared authority between superordinates and subordinates.

18. 2. Horizontal Decentralization – is the extent to which non-administrators including staff make decisions or share authority between line and staff.

19. 3. Selective Decentralization – is the extent to which decision making is delegated to different units within the organization.

20. The utilization of the three basic dimensions of the organization will result in five structural configurations namely:

21. 1. Simple Structure -> has its key parts, the strategic apex and uses direct supervision and employs vertical and horizontal decentralization.

22. 2. Machine Bureaucracy -> has technostructure as its key part and utilizes limited horizontal decentralization and standardization of work processes. It has a high degree of formalization and specialization.

23. 3. Professional Bureaucracy ->has the operating core as its key part, uses standardization of skills as its prime coordinating mechanism and employs vertical and horizontal decentralization.

24. 4. Divisionalized Form ->has the middle line as its key part, uses standardization of output as its prime coordinating mechanism and employs limited vertical decentralization.

25. 5. Adhocracy ->has the support staff as its key part, uses mutual adjustment as a means of coordination and maintains selective patterns of decentralization.