There are many advantages of organizational structure, especially structure that is clear and definite. When an organization has the appropriate structure, it can run more efficiently, especially when all employees — from part-time workers to upper management — know what they are responsible for and when departments are clearly designated. The more structure an organization has, the better it will function overall.
One of the advantages of organizational structure is having the allocation of tasks and responsibilities for supervision clearly defined. An organization that is optimally organized should be able to create an organizational flowchart showing which employees and departments are under the supervision of which managers and executives, which are usually indicated by job titles. Having the organizational hierarchy specified exactly means employees should know to whom they should go when they have different questions or concerns.
An organization that has a hierarchical flowchart also might have clearly outlined departmental divisions and specific job descriptions for all employees. This will help to ensure that all employees and departments understand their responsibilities and will make it easier to train new or transferring employees. Cross training of employees also will be manageable in an organized work system. Structure such as this also should help to avoid overlap of responsibilities and duplication of services, which will save the organization money and time and increase efficiency.
If an organization or business is arranged as described above, it is easy then for it to periodically re-evaluate the aims and goals of the organization as well as the progress that is being made toward them. As a structurally sound organization, they can then more easily make action plans to address any areas of concern, such as low profitability in a particular area or customer service difficulties. An action plan will contain the goal being addressed, the proposed actions to improve performance, and the people or departments responsible for carrying out the actions. Job descriptions, departmental layouts and hierarchy are clearly defined, so deciding who should address problems should be a straightforward process.
Another one of the advantages of organizational structure is that it can help to increase employee morale. When employees know exactly what their responsibilities are and what other workers are responsible for, they are more likely to feel secure about their job. Having a comprehensive job description eliminates the frustration employees feel when they are not sure what they are supposed to be doing. The more comfortable all employees feel with their job responsibilities, the more likely they will be to have high morale and retain their positions. This will increase the profitability and success of a company, business or organization.