Organizational Structure

The three most common dimensions of organizational structure are complexity, formalization, and centralization. Complexity describes the way in which an organization is differentiated. The three types of differentiation in sports are horizontal, vertical, and spatial. Sport Organizations are horizontally differentiated when work is very specific and when the organization is departmentalized. Vertical differentiation refers to the number of levels in the organizational hierarchy.A flat structure refers to an organization that is not very vertical. It usually consists of one level with a "manager" watching over one other level of employees. A tall structure is very vertical and refers to an organization that has many levels and many employees. A big factor in the vertical structure is the span of control. The span of control refers to the number of employees directly supervised by a manager. A sport organization is spatially differentiated when tasks are separated geographically. Spatial differentiation occurs vertically when different levels of the organization are dispersed geographically and horizontally when the functions of the organization take place in different locations. The greater the horizontal, vertical and spatial differentiation, the more complex the sport organization. Formalization is one of the ways used to manage complexity. Formalization refers to the existence of mechanisms, such as rules and procedures, that govern the operation of a sport organization. Formalization's purpose is to regulate employee behavior. It happens in two ways. Through the existence of written documentation such as job descriptions, and through professional training. Deciding which approach to use is usually dependent on how specified the work is. Centralization, the last dimension of structure and the most problematic of the three, is concerned with who makes decisions within the organization. The higher up the decisions are made, the more centralized it is considered. The lower down the decisions are made, the more decentralized it is considered. These three things allow people to describe and compare organizations. They show how the work of the sport organization is broken down and the means used to integrate the different tasks. To manage a sport organization effectively and efficiently. It is essential that sport managers understand the various elements of structure and their interrelationships.