1. Chapter Twelve Organization Size, Life Cycle, and Decline 課程教授：任維廉教授
Chapter Twelve
Organization Size,
Life Cycle, and Decline
課程教授：任維廉教授
報告學生：楊逢新
報告日期: 12/28 1

2. outline Organization Size: Is Bigger Better? What is Bureaucracy?
Organizational Life Cycle
Organization Characteristics During Four Stages of Life Cycle
Organizational Size, Bureaucracy, and Control
Bureaucracy in a Changing World
Bureaucracy versus Other Forms of Control
Organizational Decline

3. Differences Between Large and Small Organizations

4. Organization Size: Is Bigger Better?
Pressures for Growth
Companies in all industries strive for growth to acquire the size and resources needed to compete globally
Size enables companies to take risks
Dilemmas of Large Size
Large organizations are able to get back to business more quickly following a disaster
Large companies are standardized, mechanistic and complex
Small companies are flexible and can be responsive

5. Organization Size: Is Bigger Better? (續)
Big-Company / Small-Company Hybrid
Large companies can retain flexibility and customer-focus by decentralizing authority, cutting out layers of the hierarchy, and using information technology.

6. What is Bureaucracy?

7. Weber’s Dimensions of Bureaucracy and Bases of Organizational Authority

8. Organizational Life Cycle

9. Organization Characteristics During Four Stages of Life Cycle

10. Size and Structural Control
Formalization – rules, procedures, and written documentation
Centralization – level of hierarchy with authority to make decisions
Personnel Ratios – clerical and professional support staff ratios

11. Percentage of Personnel Allocated to Administrative and Support Activities

12. Bureaucracy in a Changing World
Bureaucracy worked for the industrial age
The system no longer works for today’s challenges
Today bureaucracy leads to inefficiency
Organizations are creating temporary structures to respond to crisis

13. Approaches to Busting Bureaucracy
Cutting layers of hierarchy
Maintaining light headquarter staff
Empowering lower-level workers
The increasing professionalism of employees is attacking bureaucracy

14. Bureaucracy versus Other Forms of Control
Type
Requirements
Bureaucracy
Rules, standards, hierarchy, legitimate authority
Market
Prices, competition, exchange, relationship
Clan
Tradition, shared values and beliefs, trust

15. Organizational Decline
The decrease of an organization’s resources is caused by:
Organizational atrophy
Vulnerability
Environmental decline or competition
Downsizing refers to intentionally reducing the size of a company’s workforce

16. A Model of Decline Stages

17. Downsizing Implementation
Consider voluntary programs
Communicate more, not less
Allow employees to leave with dignity
Provide assistance to displaced workers
Use ceremonies to reduce anger and confusion
Comfort not to displaced workers

18. Discussion
(1)本文第一章節有提到 Big-company/small-company hybrid的公司型態，那麼什麼樣的組織適合這種類型呢？
(2)當組織發生嚴重的衰退期，除了利用裁員使公司精簡化，減少成本之外，還有其他方法可以使公司起死回生嗎?