Organisational Structure of Judge Business School (University of Cambridge)
Introduction
An organisation’s structure is one of the key factors that help in determining whether it is operating effectively and efficiently. A clear structure makes it much easier to identify and observe the functions performed by various parts of the organisation and the relationships between them. Furthermore, an organisation’s structure helps identify the chain of command and the responsibilities of different departments. It also demonstrates the values of the organisation and lays out individual or department responsibilities and their expected contribution towards achieving organisational objectives. According to Sexton (1970, p.30) “organisation structure is comprised of functions, relationships, responsibilities, authorities and communications of individuals within each department”. Typically, the depiction of organisational structure is shown in an organisational chart.
An organisational structure can be divided into three different parts. These include:
Traditional Structures
These structures are based on functional division and departments (shown in figure 1). Different types of traditional structure are (Miles et al, 2003):
Line Structure: This kind of structure follows a specific line of command where orders come from top to bottom. Line structure is more suitable for smaller organisations.
Line and Staff Structure: Line and staff structure is more suitable for larger organisations. It combines the line structure with staff, and departments for support and specialisation. It is more centralised thus the decision making process is slower. The line manager and staff manager have authority over subordinates but the staff manager has no authority over the line manager and their subordinate(s).
Functional Structure: it classifies people according to the function they perform in an organisation. This structure is quite common and typically consists of President, Sales, Human Resource, Customer Service and Accounting departments etc (Irani, 2007).
Figure 1: Traditional functional structure
As all traditional structures are centralised they tend to be somewhat bureaucratic. Compared to other structures, traditional forms makes the coordination between different departments more difficult and it also do not allow for flexibility (Limerick et al, 2002).
Divisional Structures
The divisional structures are based on different divisions in organisations (shown in figure 2). These structures are divided into
Product Structure: It organises employees on the basis of different type of products e.g. a company manufacturing four different products has four different divisions (Miles et al, 2003).
Market Structure: It is used to structure employees on the basis of the different markets a company operates in e.g. a company operating in three different markets will have three separate divisions for each market.
Geographical Structure: Large organisations that have offices at various different places often organise them in zonal region structure (Keeling and Kallaus, 1996).
Figure 2: Divisional structure
Divisional structure can result in the duplication in resources e.g. each division may have their own Research and Development units and also the exchange of knowledge between people working in same company may not be possible (Limerick et al, 2002).
Matrix Structures
It combines function and product structure to make an efficient and effective organisational structure (shown in figure 3). Among all, this type of structure is most complex where some employees may have more than two managers, e.g. a functional manager and a product manager. This structure is mostly used in multinationals, however, because of dual authority it is not easy to implement (Keeling, and Kallaus, 1996).
Figure 3: Divisional structure
In this essay I shall be looking into the organisational structure of Judge Business School of Cambridge University and shall analyse why that structure is most appropriate for them, and what are the key advantages and disadvantages of this structure.
Organisational Structure of Judge Business School (Cambridge University)
Judge Business School is part of University of Cambridge which is one of the oldest and largest universities in the world. The school was established in 1990 and is a fully integrated department of Cambridge University (JBS, 2008). The organisational structure of Judge Business School is shown in Figure 4. The school follows a traditional functional structure. It is headed by the Director’s Office which has five key members including a Director, an Executive Assistant to the Director, a Personal Assistant to the Director, a Personal Assistant to the Faculty, and a Personal Assistant to the Faculty. The Director of JBS has all the responsibilities of a head of department. The Director office formulates many of key strategic decisions such as school finances and educational changes.
Under the Director’s office, each division structures its people according to the functions they perform in JBS. The school has eight divisions. These include MBA, Programmes (non-MBA), Research, Executive Education, Operations, Marketing and Communications, Finance and Executive MBA.
Figure 4: Structure of Judge Business School (JBS, 2008a)
MBA
MBA division is headed by ‘Director of MBA’, who is also part of the School’s Director Advisory Group. The other three members in the MBS director office are the Deputy Director, the Executive Director, and the Chairman MBA Admissions Committee. This division has four sub divisions including:
Admissions: A subdivision responsible for the admissions onto the MBA course. They have three team members including the MBA Admissions Coordinator, the MBA Admissions Administrator, and the MBA Admissions Officer.
MBA Program Management: A team which manages day to day activities of the MBA program. The staff members include the Programme Manager, the MBA Programme Administrator and the MBA Programme Assistant.
MBA Marketing: This team effectively markets the the MBA course. It has four team members including the Marketing Manager, the MBA Marketing Manager and two MBA Marketing Officers (JBS, 2008a).
MBA Career: This team provides career services to its MBA students. They are gthe department’s link to outer world. This subdivision has seven team members including the Career Director, the Associate Director, the Student Projects Manager, the Development Manager, two Recruitment Coordinators and a Coordinator (JBS, 2008a).
Programmes (non-MBA)
This division handles all operations of non-MBA programs. The key members of this division are the Director and the Educational Programmes Manager. The four subdivisions of this department include:
Master of Finance: This subdivision handles the day to day activities of the Master in Finance program. The four members of this team include the Director, the Programme Manager, the Admissions Officer and two Administrators.
MPhil Management: This subdivision deals with MPhil Management program. The members include the Director and the Course Administrator.
MPhil Technology Policy: The two key member of the MPhil Technology Policy program are the Program Director and the Course Administrator.
MST (Undergraduate): this department handles the one year undergrad program which is offered by JBS. The two member of this subdivision are the Director and the Course Administrator (JBS, 2008b).
Research
The Research division underpins all the research activities in JBS. The department has four subdivisions including
PhD: This division deals with all the PhD program activities. The three member of the PhD subdivision are the Director, the Deputy Director and the Course Administrator.
MPhil Finance: This subdivision deals with MPhil Finance activities. The members include the Director and the Course Administrator.
MPhil ISO: This subdivision has two key members including the Director and the Course Administrator.
MPhil Management Science: also has two team members, the Director and the Course Administrator (JBS, 2008b).
Executive Education
The main function of this subdivision is to take care of all Executive courses (non-MBA) in JBS. The team members of Executive Education are the Director, the Senior Advisor, the Director of Open Programmes, the Design and Development Director, the Programme Director, the Team Leader and eight Programme Managers and Accounts Clerk (ibid).
Operations
Operations is one of the key divisions of JBS. This division is headed by its own Director and has further seven divisions which are divided on the basis of the function they perform. The seven divisions include:
IT: This subdivision manages all the IT related activities in JBS. Key members of the IT team include an IT Manager, a Systems Developer, a Systems Administrator, a Computer Officer, two Computer Associates, CRM Database Liaison and an Audio Visual Technician.
Web: It is responsible for managing the school website and handles all web related functions. The two members are the Web Developer/Manager and the Web Editor.
Library: is another important operations subdivision. JBS library has 8 member including a Librarian, a Deputy Librarian, four Library & Information Assistant and two Library Invigilators.
HR: this subdivision serves the key function of HR such as recruitment, training, redundancies, promotions, grievance and disciplinary procedures, equal opportunity and diversity etc. the two members of HR are the Human Resources Manager and the Human Resources Administrator.
Facilities: the main function of the Facilities subdivision is to manage various facilities in JBS. The key people in this department are the Facilities Manager, two Custodians, a Senior Building Services Technician, three School Receptionists and an Events Coordinator.
Programme Administrator: this sub-division has an Educational Programmes Manager, six Course Administrators and MoTI & MST Projects Coordinator as members.
Research Support: provides supports to all researchers in JBS. It has two members including a Research Support Manager and a PA to the Research Director (JBS, 2008a).
Marketing & Communications
This division functionality is to provide marketing and communication support to the school. The division is headed by the Director and supported by a Communications Officer. The two sub-divisions are:
Communications: this subdivision is run by Communications Manager, whose key function is to publicise and promote JBS through the media.
Alumni: this division has two members including an Alumni Relations Manager and an Alumni Events Coordinator (JBS, 2008a).
Finance:
This division manages all the finances of School. It is headed by its Director. Other members include the Chief Accounts Clerk, and a Senior Accounts Clerk.
Executive MBA
To deal with the Executive MBA, the school has a separate division. It is headed by its Director and his subordinates are the Executive Director, and the Enquiries Officer (JBS, 2008b).
Some of the key advantages of having a functional structure in Judge Business School are that this structure puts the specialists together, and thus benefits from economies of scale and minimizes the duplication of personnel and equipment. Each department focuses on its own work, which makes things much more clear, as each person knows what other person’s role and responsibilities are. The JBS employees arguably feel more comfortable in this structure as they get an opportunity to communicate better with their colleagues. The functional structure enhances accountability in the school as each division has its own director and each employee is accountable to someone in a position of responsibility. The functional structure also offers a way to centralise decision making which provides staff members a unified direction from the top to the bottom. It also acknowledges occupational specialisation and simplifies training. As the school is divided into various different divisions, each performing a specialised task, communication and coordination between each department is excellent. It is also suitable for JBS as it enhances the quality of technical problem solving because it gives employees a quick access to those with technical expertise. However, some of the key disadvantages of following functional structure are that individual division could become resistant to change. Although the coordination within division is normally fast it can become slower between two divisions and sometimes the gap between the top and the bottom can be problematic.
Conclusion
The Judge Business School aspires to become the best business school in the world and this means the provision of state-of-the-art facilities for students, researchers and faculty. Therefore there is a real need for excellent co-ordination between various functions of the organisation to deliver the service expected from an institute of this stature. The functional organisational structure, in this regard, best suits JBS as it allows various departments to specialise in their own fields, and provide the best possible service in their respective fields too. This structure also allows effective monitoring and control over the organisation’s operations and performance evaluation. The structure makes it easy to quickly spot if a particular department is not performing according to the expected standard, and thus it makes the quality assurance easier which goes along way in achieving the institute’s aim to become the number one British business school. Therefore, it can be safely said that the organisational structure of Judge Business School helps the institute to make progress on achieving its key aims and objectives.
References
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