Mintzberg's Taxonomy Of

Organizational Forms
A comparative study showing impact of structure on
organizational performance
(Basic level)

By
Mohamed Fayek, MBBCh

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Intro…
Healthcare organizations and people who
lead them need to understand different
organizational forms and their distinctive
strengths and weaknesses
The performance of even the best people
will be constrained if their organization is
not appropriately structured to meet the
challenges before it .

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…
By contrast if an organization is able to adopt
a structure that fits its needs and
opportunities, the prospects for success
become considerably brighter.
In this respect, good leaders are like
architects, attempting to achieve a union of
structure and function.
Achieving the appropriate organizational
form depends on what the structure is
intended to do.
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…
The performance of any healthcare
organization and medical practice is a
product of Tow Key Factors :
I. the people who make them up
II. The form in which they are structured
In this session we will focus on the
second one.

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Four basics organizational forms
The machine bureaucracy
The entrepreneurial startup
The professional organization
Adhocracy
Each of these forms is found in a distinct
setting according to:
I. The degree of environmental complexity
II. Pace of environmental change

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Forms … Factors

Description adhoc
of each rac
form according to Profess
ion
y
environmental al
org
en ani High
factors

zati complexity
Machin tre 
on
Stable
 Rapid pace
e of change
bureauc pr environmen
t
racy  Low
en
complexity
 High
complexity
eu
 Stable
 Rapid pace
environmen
of change
t
 Low
ria
complexity l
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…
Lets examine each form and distinguish
their strengths… weaknesses ..
and how leaders can improve
organizational performance..???

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The Machine Bureaucracy
The organization shows following policies
Standardization of procedures and outputs
Dominated by Technocrats
Dominated by Rules
Decision-making authority tend to be
centralized
The key parameter is efficiency "the relationship of

outputs (services produced) to inputs (resources used to produce the services)" [jci second edition]

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The Entrepreneurial Startup
No procedure manuals
No precised tabs for what everyone is
doing
Managerial structure is small and loose
No strategic planning – and people
generally train “on the job”
No bureaucracy – reporting directly to the
leader who is usually the founder
Founder or Leader oriented

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The professional organization
This form elaborate the followings:
1. System of training and indoctrination to create an
internal compass allowing them to control over
their work
2. Quality standards are enforced by internal
expectations
3. Resistance to external control
4. No central control – cumulative effect of
individual
5. It responds to changes in an evolutionary fashion

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Adhocracy “for this”
Small groups to tackle specific task
No efficiency – just problem solving
No Silo mentality
Interdepartmental exchange
The key is getting people together to share
problems and perspectives
Work settings ( under pressure – committed
– challengeable –

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Which form is the best for healthcare
organizations
According to what explained we can
conclude the following:
The healthcare organization is a dynamic
entities that usually facing changes and
development with high complexity level
of organization

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Which form is the best for healthcare
organizations
Many hospitals and medical schools are
founded from many years ago, so
founders are rarely on hand.
Entrepreneurship is not the word that
characterizes the attitude of many
hospitals.

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Which form is the best for healthcare
organizations
The most suitable form for healthcare
organizations is the professional
bureaucracies although in sometimes it
must adapt adhocracies also to face some
rapid changes.

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Case presentation
Hospital A adopt the professional
organization form, applying quality roles and
training policies in its different departments,
putting strategies and procedures that police
itself from external control
But Hospital A appoints a small group of
individuals to advice, plan, implement, and
monitor new information system as a small
group can produce better that a large one
with many tasks on its plate.
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Thank You…!!

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Mobile:+20 11 92 92 091

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