Organizational Structure Examples

Let's begin with understanding what an organizational structure is. Well, in short, an organizational structure is a type of hierarchical coordination of actions that are undertaken to achieve the collective organizational goal. An organizational structure achieves such coordination by dividing the organizational processes and functions into well-marked departments and by delegating different levels of responsibilities to different people, demarcated by designations. The structural requirement of an organization depends upon its objectives. Due to this reason, we can find many types of organizational structure and design, each of which meets a specific organizational need. Broadly speaking, there are two basic organizational structures - tall and flat - but based on complex needs and activities, there have evolved about different types of organizational structures. Let us look at each of these organizational structure examples to understand them.

Types of Organizational Structures

As discussed above, there are two basic types of organizational structures - tall and flat. Tall organizational structures are marked by multiple hierarchies and a pyramidal mold having several rungs to it. This kind of structure may be found in both operational and informal organizations. A flat organizational structure can commonly seen in start-up and small companies which have fewer hierarchical needs and a smaller budget to be able to afford a complex structure. There is usually one managerial head to which all lateral departments such as accounting, human resources, etc., collectively report.

Organizational Structures List

However, the aforementioned two basic structures fail to envelop all factors of organizational activities and, hence, many more organizational structure models have evolved from these two basic structures as a result. Let's take a brief look at the different types of organizational structure examples to get an idea.

Organizational Structure	How it Works
Pre-Bureaucratic Structure	These organizations do not involve standardization of tasks and their structural hierarchy is completely centralized. This is, by far, the best example of a flat organizational structure.
Bureaucratic Structure	These are the typical tall organization structures that enforce standardization of tasks and this structure is best suited for large and complex organizations.
Functional Structure	Such organizations are divided into specific departments and employees are hired for each department based on their professional skill sets that are best suited for that department. For instance, an accounts graduate would be preferred over an arts graduate for handling the accounts and taxation department.
Divisional Structure	This kind of structure is also known as "product structure" as each functional unit is grouped as a division. Each of these divisions is equipped with all required resources and functions for the achievement of divisional goals. Divisions can be distinguished on the basis of geographical location, product, services, etc.
Matrix Structure	This kind of structure is characterized by the grouping of employees on the basis of product as well as function. This way, it imbibes the best of functional as well as divisional structures. For instance, if a company is dealing in 3 different products, it can have separate functional departments for all three, such as separate sales, customer services and troubleshooting departments for each product. A matrix organizational structure can be of three types - weak matrix, balanced matrix and strong matrix. In a weak matrix, a project manager is given limited authority to supervise the cross functional project aspects. In a balanced matrix, the authorities and responsibilities of a project are equally shared by the project manager and the functional managers. In a strong matrix, the project manager is the whole-and-sole authority with functional managers extending technical assistance and resources when approached.
Team Structure	This is the newest rung in the organization structure evolutionary ladder! We can see many organizations working in teams, which may be vertical or horizontal. The teams can also be decided based on individual processes and functions.
Network Structure	In these structures, the managers are typically vested with the responsibility of coordinating and controlling external collaborations and relations via electronic media.
Virtual Structure	This is an extension of the network structure and it enables managers to establish and maintain regular contact with different divisions all over the world without necessitating maintenance of extensive physical and manual infrastructure. This kind of organization is boundary less and its operation is completely/majorly dependent upon the Internet.

That was a brief overview of organizational structure examples. However, most organizations we see today do not belong to the pure organizational structure types discussed above. They are usually some sort of customized hybrid combining aspects of several different organizational structures to meet individual organizational requirements.