How Organizational Design Has Impacted Higher Education

IS (Information Systems) has impacted the organizational design (o/d) of Higher Education (HE) in many ways. First and foremost it has taken many institutions from their former organizational designs, and turned them into Networking designs which helps them to better suit their overall organizational strategy. Pearlson discusses the three different types of o/d prior to IS becoming so prominent in the planning, and of the three (Hierarchical, Flat, and Matrix) I believe most HE institutions have in the past fallen under the Hierarchical. The design, which is a top-down kind of management full of middle managers who communicate with those under them on behalf of those who are seated over them, is a system guided by a predetermined set of rules. Sound familiar?

While HE still has components of this type of o/d, to be certain, IS has more or less create an evolution that is nothing less than astounding by turning that type of o/d upside down with the Networked Organization Structure that allows for a more liberal type of management to occur. While those 'in charge,' such as was with the Hierarchical situation, are still the ones who are generally turned to for the final decision on big issues, most other issues can now be assessed and solved throughout the institution and at every level [giving the institution both a Flat and Hierarchical feel, as noted in Pearlson, (67)].

Communication is now instantaneous as all parts of the company are connected for real time communication. One example, and I know there are many, is this: A Student Services employee is sitting in at the Registration Desk, helping out during the busy season, but her position, while it does entail some aspects of Registration, does not leave her equipped with the in-depth knowledge she may need to answer certain situations that might come up. In the past, this could lead to a communication gap, as the employee would inquire to those around her if they knew the answer. If they did not, she would have to walk to the supervisor (or middle management) and try to find the answer. If it could not be found there, or the supervisor was out of the office at that precise moment, the employee might have had to tell the student she could not register him or her at that time. Then she would take their telephone number and promise to call back at a later date, or worse, tell the student to call her back. This gap in time and knowledge could lead to a dissatisfied customer who would be more than willing to go to a neighboring competitor who was more in the know, for his or her educational needs. Or it could lead to any other of a multitude of scenarios, depending on the variables.

Today, the aforementioned scenario would next to never happen as departments from all over the college can be contacted immediately to find the answer to most any question, supervisors can be contacted in an important situation (more important than my example, I would hope) instantly via iPhone's, laptops, instant messaging, etc.. With IS in place, the answers to many questions can also be found in comprehensive, in-house FAQ that are already programmed into the software. All parts of the company are truly connected with a Networked Organization structure, or what is referred to in Pearlson as "technological leveling," (68). As is predicted in a Wall Street Journal article I read today, this type of technology only serves to become faster, tougher, and more complex in processing while even easier to understand for the consumer (Lawton), so I imagine, just from the precedents IS has set, that future changes will be even more phenomenal.

People are now able to use IS for tasks that used to require huge amounts of physical time, such as recording, storing, and filing data. With IS maintaining operational process control (67) employees are free to focus on more important things, like customer service, and learning to use their creativity as part of their position instead of being stifled by the monotonous tasks that once dominated the majority of their time. This type of enhancement is furthered by IS in that all persons from any area of the college are also able to share their expertise and experiences with one another so that no one is really doing one thing alone any more; everything is more of a group effort. This is fantastic because in addition to the benefits mentioned, people are also better able to see how their departments can interact with one another to the benefit of them all. To quote Pearlson, "In short, the networked organization is one in which IT ties together people, processes, and units," (68). It really is an amazing, fantastic thing.

The changes we have seen in just the past decade as far as IS goes in HE has without doubt changed or drastically affected almost every area that can be imagined. So many of these changes have increased efficiency, allowed connectivity across once well-defined borders, and consistently improved customer relations, that there is no doubt we will continue to see the Networked Organization Structure as the dominant design in HE for years to come.

Lawton, Christopher. "Once Wimpy, Cell Phones Got Game." Wall Street Journal. 2008, September 10.

Pearlson, K. E. & Saunders, C. S. (2006) Managing & Using Information Systems.