The East Down Institute has a role culture due to it having a hierarchical or formal structure. Organisations possessing a role culture like the EDI will more likely be in the public sector due to them providing a service to the community, wanting to develop a skilled workforce and offer high quality services in means of courses in the Institute.
There are five basic functions or styles of management used in an organisation or business. They may be used in a large or small scale depending on the size, objectives of the company or the type of activity and legal form that goes on in a company.
- Forecasting – This is the process of predicting what will happen in the future, it is important that forecasts are an accurate picture of the future.
- Organising – This is the process of arranging and being responsible for work that is being carried out by individuals.
- Commanding – This is the process of leading a group by giving commands or orders and expecting them to be fulfilled.
- Co-ordinating – This is bringing various tasks together into one single operation.
- Controlling – This involves a senior member of staff directing, inspecting and modifying the work that is being done.
The management style used in the East Down Institute would be similar to controlling style; this would be due to the Institute having a hierarchical structure. By having one leader of the organisation in which they are the director or directors, they would modify work that is being carried out by staff below them such as heads of schools in the Institutes case, they would also direct these staff to ensure staff or lecturers below them are working to their potential. The Institute may also adopt a commanding style as well as a controlling style due to their being many high class or important staff to run the overall organisation.
The organisational structure, culture and management styles all affect the performance and operation of an organisation. Structure can affect performance by having a well-designed structure, which will motivate the workforce to work towards objectives, it will help the organisation to respond quickly to external changes, staff will be able to innovate which will be responsive to customers, with this decision making is quick and effective and having a well designed structure will improve business performance.
Structure can affect performance by having a poorly designed structure, therefore there will be poor motivation and low morale around staff, there will be a lack of personal and professional development, there will be a low level of creativity and innovation, it will cause inappropriate delegation, it will cause decision making to be slow, the organisation will be difficult to organise and there will be a poor overall business performance. The East Down Institute has a well designed structure giving a good overall performance, staff are happy and well motivated meaning students will enjoy using the Institutes services. There is a link between structure, management style and culture. The institute has a hierarchical structure, which means it has many levels of management, therefore the management style will be formal and the culture will be based on routine procedures, which means decisions will be centralised and generally formal.
The organisational structure, culture and management styles all affect how objectives are met. The structure of the Institute is similar to a large organisation even though the EDI is only a medium sized organisation, with an over all Managing Director and Directors answering to this person. They will be all in charge of each department and will have many staff below them. The managing director deals with the overall running of the Institute exactly like a large organisation or company. All companies will have objectives for the year ahead as to EDI. The strategic objectives of the EDI have been developed following a series of reviews by the Senior Management Team, a range of Institute staff and the Governing Body. This Planning Cycle involves the reviewing of achievements, the development of strategic and specific objectives, and the preparation of business action plans.
Many businesses use ICT or Information Communication Technology as do the East Down Institute. Communication is how two or more people exchange information if it’s through face-to-face communication or using a medium such as a computer. Computers are a good way to exchange information, through the Internet is the best example of how information is communicated. The Internet can be used to send a receive E-Mails or a person can work without leaving their house by Teleworking. The Internet is a vast international network; it enables computers to share information.
E-Mail is the transfer of information between computer users by using text or graphics. Communicating through E-Mail can be one to one, a person sending a private message to another person or a person may send the message connected to the network. The Internet for using E-Mail is very fast and efficient, messages can be at the receiver in a matter of seconds. As long as people have the ability to attach their modem to a phone line people can keep in touch any where in the world. Although the Internet is good for E-Mail a lot of bad things can become of it due to junk mail being sent to users, which may take up some of their time. A lot of time messages can be misinterpreted and recipients can get the wrong idea. If someone likes to spend a lot of time on the Internet costs will be high due to the extensive time on the telephone line.
Another way people may send information is though Electronic Data Interchange or EDI. It is a form of electronic passing of orders, invoices and other trade transactions. This is through two company computers, which will save on traditional paper based communication, which was slow and inefficient. The best use if EDI is through the Banks Automated Clearing System or BAC’s. It is used to sort out cheques and to help businesses to pay their staff through bank transfers.
The East Down Institute also uses communication through the Internet and the Intranet. The Institute has a Local Area Network or LAN this is a network of computers that are relatively close together and are connected through wires and other equipment. The Intranet is a company’s internal network that allows staff and other users to view files of the company or in the Institutes case let students view lecturer folders. The staffs in the Institute use the Internet to access E-Mail to send messages to other lecturers or heads of schools; this is a very efficient and fast way for them to communicate.
Through usage of the Intranet and Internet potential students can view courses and what is involved in that specific course, even foreign students who wish to enrol in the Institute can view from another country. Not all computers are one hundred percent efficient they may be fast but they can crash if not carefully looked after, networks can crash leaving the students who study computers with nothing to do and the Intranet unavailable to view. Due to the east down Institute having other campuses in the East Down area networks need to be connected on a wide scale, not every piece of equipment will work. When there is a number of users logged on the Internet connection speeds can be slow, which isn’t very efficient. Communication levels will not work as fast, so staff or students will be held up. ICT funding provided over the last three years has enabled the Institute to provide a ratio of 1:5 computers per student and offer fast Internet access through a 2 Meg bandwidth connection. The Institute has also purchased a Virtual Learning Environment, which facilitates the development of online learning and in the future will enable students to access their courses from home.
