Just like the MBTI poles, for example a thinker versus a feeler, to balance where one is now with where one needs to go, one must practice behaving in an opposite manner to achieve balance. For example, if a person is highly emotional, they need to work on becoming more of a thinker, to balance their personality. If a person is more of an extravert, then they need to work on becoming more of an introvert, et cetera.
Similarly, if the organization one leads is highly centralized, then they need to work on making the organization more decentralized, to balance authority and decision-making. That said, it is the rates and types of change that will dictate which way the organization needs to change. For example, if the organization one leads is mostly a centralized organization, so a little closer to centralized than decentralized, and the organization is facing rapid change, then the organization needs to become more decentralized.
However, if the organization one leads faces slower rates of change, then they have the opportunity to become even more centralized. Each row in this tool, below the first row of environmental stability (slow rates of change) and environmental instability (fast rates of change), provide the user guidance as to how the organization must behave, in order to adapt to the prevailing rate of change, to be able to survive, and grow.
| Balancing Mechanistic and Organic Organizations | ||||||||
| Mechanistic Organizations | ← | ← | ← | ↔ | → | → | → | Organic Organizations |
| Best pick for organizations facing slow rates of change. | Best pick for organizations facing rapid rates of change. | |||||||
| Simple Structure | Functional Structure | Divisional Structure | Multidivisional Structure | Complicated Structure | ||||
| Employees have a single role with multiple tasks. | Employees have multiple roles with multiple tasks. | |||||||
| Low Differentiation | The organization has few layers, sub-units, and job titles. | The organization has many layers, sub-units, and job titles. | High Differentiation | |||||
| Vertical Differentiation (Tall Structures) | Horizontal Differentiation (Flat Structures) | |||||||
| Centralized Decision-Making | Vertical decision-making, has communication, and accountability from the top to the bottom of the organization, with emphasis on authoritative and defensive relationships. | Horizontal decision-making, has communication and accountability at every level, with emphasis on collaborative and supportive relationships. | Decentralized Decision-Making | |||||
| Low Integration | Hierarchy | Manager Meetings | Integrating Coordinator between groups or divisions on a temporary basis. | Integration Committees or task force coordinates organizational activities on a temporary basis. | Integrating Coordinator between groups or divisions on a permanent basis. | Integration Team coordinates organizational activities on a permanent basis. | Integrating Department coordinates large activities in the organization on a permanent basis. | High Integration |
| Standardized and Formal Environment | Heavy reliance on managers, SOPs, rules, and formalized culture, and little reliance on informal culture. Work progress is predictable. | Little reliance on managers, SOPs, rules, and formalized culture, and heavy reliance on socialization, or informal culture. Work progress is unpredictable. | Self-Correcting and Informal Environment | |||||
| Inflexible to Change, Incremental Innovators, Focus on Short-Term Revenue Growth | Flexibility to Change, Radical Innovators, Focus on Long-term Revenue Growth | |||||||
