Importance of Integration

Integration is one of the most criteria of a company which could also be referred to as organization and this is dependent on right incentives.

Integration signifies coordination, cohesion and synergy between different roles and units in an organization whose activities are different but interdependent in the process of creating a collective value (Child,2005). While Lawrence and Lorch defined integration as "the quality or state of collaborations that exists among departments that are required to achieve unity of effort by the demands of the environment"(Studymode,2012)

Due to growing intensity of competition and globalization, integration in companies have become more pressing needs. Integration is major in functional areas like, quality control, R&D and marketing. There is a need to achieve integration but it's not a straightforward thing. Integration is caused by different problem but relationship between different functions or specialties within the company is the most common one. Integrating the peripheries of an organization with its core is vital. Integration between functions with the ability to adapt continuously to external environment with those that is responsible for producing goods and services (Child,2005).

Achieving integration is a big challenge and the need for adequate integration is in all major functional areas like production, sales, R&D, quality assurance and HRM. Other problem areas of integration are innovation, concurrent development, coordination between head office and divisions, coordination of complementary services by members of different professions. Poor integration can lead to disaster which is why its avoidance should be paramount for all company to ensure adequate integration. "The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing", is an often-heard complaint of clients and customers Problems which cause lack of integration are; persistent conflict between departments, fudging integration issues through a proliferation of formal meetings, overloading of top management, the ritual of red tape etc (Child,2005)

Ways of how integration can be applied in organizations are

* Lateral coordination: This is a decentralizing management decision whereby contributions of different people are integrated to perform a common task. Human resources can be used in maintaining integration. People can be grouped in clusters to enhance intensive communication needs and also the use of ICT base systems. This brings about direct contact between employees and managers.(Child,2005)

* Team work: Defined by Professor Child as "a group comprising people with complementary skills who are working to a common purpose for which they are collectively accountable". These are individual strengths collectively brought together for a specific purpose; it also increases a sense of responsibility