Fundamentals of Management, 8th ed

Functional (U-Form) Design

The

functional design

is an arrangement based on the functional approach to depart-

mentalization. This design has been termed the U-form (for unitary) approach.

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Under

the U-form arrangement, the members and units in the organization are grouped into

functional departments such as marketing and production.

For the organization to operate efficiently in this design, there must be considerable

coordination across departments. This integration and coordination are most commonly

the responsibility of the CEO and members of senior management. Figure 6.2 shows the

U-form design applied to the corporate level of a small manufacturing company. In a

U-form organization, none of the functional areas can survive without the others.

Marketing, for example, needs products from operations to sell and funds from finance

CEO

Vice president,

operations

Vice president,

marketing

Vice president,

finance

Vice president,

human resources

Vice president,

R&D

Scientific

director

Labor relations

director

Plant human

resource manager

Controller

Accounting

supervisor

Regional

sales managers

District

sales managers

Plant

managers

Shift

supervisors

Lab manager

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