Luther Gulick’s Article

Gulick’s Paper:

Luther Gulick’s article expressed the theory of organization as it has to do with the structure of co-ordination imposed upon the work division units of an enterprise. Gulick explains that work division is the reason for organization. Division of work is required because of the constraints of time, place and human nature. It allows better utilization of skills resulting in specialization and is more efficient. The limitations of division arise from the 1) volume of work involved in man-hours; 2) technology and custom at a given time and place; and 3) the physical division into inorganic division. Just as work must be divided, co-ordination must be implemented.

Co-ordination is achieved by interrelating the subdivisions of work by assigning them to men in authoritative positions and developing the singleness of purpose in the minds of the worker. Coordination must be approached differently in small and large organizations. To achieve organization, an authoritative system of effective communication and control must be implemented to monitor the central objectives. The executive expands the span of control to others to direct specific groups of workers and so on. However, the administration must maintain the "unity of command" so as not to spawn confusion, inefficiency and irresponsibility. 

The group must be unified and work together. An expert in one field is not necessarily competent in another field. Gulick writes that the essential validity of democracy is a way of government in which the common man is the final judge of what is good for him. Organizational patterns are a source of dispute, as to whether they work from the top down or from the bottom up. Gulick reveals that any practical solution must be approached from both the top and the bottom. The executive function must also be organized. POSDCORB is a word Gulick formulated to describe the functions of the chief executive, Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting and Budgeting.

What All the Fuss Was Originally:

Gulick expressed the need for subdivision of duties and an authoritative structure for organizations. He indicated that the division of work is needed for an organization to run efficiently and once the work is subdivided, the role of co-ordination is crucial. This article outlined the importance of the middle manager.

Why It Is Still a Significant Article Today:

As our society grows, so do our organizations and bureaucracies. It is important to keep in mind Gulick’s basis for subdivision of work and the equally important coordination of those efforts into an efficient organization. Implementing these efforts while maintaining a "unity of command" is still a struggle.

My summary:

• Wherever many men are working together, the best results are secured when there is a division of work among them. In other words, work division is the foundation of an organization.
• Why divide the work?

• Men differ in nature, capacity and skills, and gain more when they are specialized in specific tasks.
• The same man cannot be at two places at the same time.
• One man cannot do two things at the same time.
• The range of knowledge is great that a man cannot within his life-span know more than a small friction of it.

• The limits of division:

• Dividing the work might results in setting up tasks that require less than the full time of one man.
• Technology and custom at a given time and place.
• Subdivision must not pass beyond physical division into organic division (separating the cow example).

• It is evident that the more the work is divided, the greater is the danger of confusion, and the greater is the need for overall supervision and co-ordination. However, there is no one way to co-ordinate. Experience shows that it may be achieved in two primary ways:

• By organization: by allotting them to men who are placed in a structure of authority, so that the work may be coordinated by orders of superiors to subordinates, reaching from the top to the bottom.
• By dominance of an idea: the development of intelligent singleness of purpose in the minds and wills of those who are working together as a group, so that each worker will of his own accord fit his task into the whole will skill and enthusiasm.

• The organization needs these two traits together to be effective. But, size and time are the great limiting factors in the development of co-ordination.

Co-ordination through Organization:

• First Step: define the job to be done.
• Second Step: provide a director to see that the objective is realized.
• Third Step: determine the nature and number of individualized and specialized work units into which the job will have to be divided.
• Fourth Step: Establishment and perfect the structure of authority between the director and the ultimate work subdivisions. This is the main source of concern for organizations.

Span of Control:

• Span of control is about the limits of knowledge, time, and energy. This is also affected by the elements of diversification, time, and space. However, these points are not backed with research, they are only backed with experience.

One Master:

• A man cannot serve two master (Unity of Command). A person subject to more than one master will be confused, inefficient, and irresponsible. The rigid adherence to the principle of unity of command might have its absurdness, but this is quite unimportant compared with the effects of confusion, inefficiency, and irresponsibility.

Organizing from Up or Down?

• In any practical situation the problem of organization must be approached from both top and bottom.

The Responsibility of the Executive is POSDCORB, Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, and Budgeting. In big organizations, other executive persons might take some of these responsibilities.

The work and the nature of organizations could be characterized by:

• The major purpose he is serving. Purpose department are vertical.
• The process he is using; they are horizontal departments.
• The persons he or things dealt with or served.
• The place where he renders his service.

Geographical Division: means the departmentization on the basis of place.

Departments on the basis on the client of the material are similar to the vertical.