The effect of organisational design on group cohesiveness, power utilization and organisational climate

Abstract

Modern organisations are facing many challenges that are threatening their survival. These challenges come in the form of social, political, economic and rapid ongoing technological change. As organisations search for appropriate designs for the nineties and beyond, clear schools of thought have developed, vehemently supporting either the organic or mechanistic approach. While these debates rage on, several critical considerations are being ignored. One such consideration is the effect of organisational design on organisational climate, utilisation of power and group cohesiveness. This research sets out to explore this consideration. Various questionnaires were utilized to measure employees' perceptions of climate, power utilisation and group cohesiveness within organistic and mechanistic orientated organisations. A systematic research and design process was undertaken within two business units of a large financial organisation, from which the sample for the study was drawn. Statistical analyses revealed that organisational design does have a significant effect on job satisfaction, work group support and employee support. The employees which perceived the organisation to be more mechanistically inclined reported higher levels of employee empowerment; workgroup support and job satisfaction than their counterparts who perceived the organisation as more organistically inclined.