Prawn characters are fictional characters that are depicted as a type of large, aquatic crustacean in science fiction and fantasy media. These characters are often humanoid in appearance, with a shell-like exoskeleton and various other physical characteristics that are reminiscent of real-life prawns.
One of the most iconic prawn characters in popular culture is the character of Dr. Zoidberg from the animated television show "Futurama." Dr. Zoidberg is a medical doctor who is a member of the main cast of characters, and he is a prawn-like alien with a crab-like appearance. Despite his profession, Dr. Zoidberg is often depicted as being incompetent and struggling to understand basic human social norms, which has made him a fan favorite among audiences.
Prawn characters are often used as a metaphor for outsiders or marginalized groups in science fiction and fantasy media. For example, in the 2009 film "District 9," the main characters are a group of prawn-like aliens who have been stranded on Earth and are forced to live in a slum-like area known as District 9. The film uses the prawn characters as a way to explore themes of racism, segregation, and social injustice.
In addition to being used as a metaphor for marginalized groups, prawn characters can also be used to add a sense of whimsy or absurdity to a story. For example, in the video game "Spore," players can create and customize their own prawn-like creatures as they progress through the game. This allows players to have a lot of creative freedom and encourages them to experiment with different designs and abilities for their prawn characters.
Overall, prawn characters are a popular and enduring trope in science fiction and fantasy media. Whether they are being used to explore deeper themes or simply adding a sense of whimsy to a story, these characters are sure to continue to captivate and delight audiences for years to come.
In functional departmentation, departments are created on the basis of functional areas production, marketing etc. It is typically used to describe different company areas or discuss the various departments within a company. In this process jobs are grouped according to some logical arrangement on the basis of functions, products or geographical requirements. Each division may view itself as completely separate from the other divisions and become concerned only with meeting its own objectives instead of those of the organization as a whole. Building Blocks of Structure What exactly do we mean by organizational structure? It is the process of grouping activities according to logical arrangements. What you should be aware of is that hierarchy must be distinguished from bureaucracy because the two have different meanings. How is functional departmentalization beneficial to the company? The service industry is particularly susceptible to problems associated with high levels of formalization.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Divisional Organizational Structure
Thus, a company organized on divisional lines could have operating groups for the United States or Europe, or for commercial customers, or for the green widget This approach is useful when decision-making should be clustered at the division level to react more quickly to local conditions. Conversely, an environment that tends to be static will not change the organizational structure too much. What companies use a divisional structure? A planning task force can be a powerful tool for developing an effective plan with the right people. Planning Task Force Planning task forces can help develop plans because they bring together people with different perspectives. In a good organizational structure, it must explain the authority relationship, who reports to whom. Related: Managers Must be a Leader Types of Departmentalization Departmentalization results from the division of work and the desire to obtain organization units of manageable size and to utilize the managerial ability.
Despite these downsides, however, mechanistic structures have advantages when the environment is more stable. Since managers are experts in functional areas, employees approach them with common problems and issues. A sales manager is appointed to manage the selling work in the field. For example, a company might have separate departments for North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. When company departmentalization becomes too complex and impractical for a functional structure, managers need to form semi-autonomous divisions, where each division designs, manufactures and markets its own product. Related: Customer departmentalization Customer departmentalization divides the company by customer groups or segments.
What is functional and divisional departmentalization?
Structural contingency theory and individual differences: Examination of external and internal person-team fit. If one department is not productive or efficient enough, it could prove costly for the entire business model. By bringing all these different viewpoints together, the task force can create a well-rounded plan with a greater chance of success. It facilitates assigning work by skill level. Hybrid Structure Hybrid structure is a form of departmentalization that adopts parts of both functional and divisional structures at the same level of management. This departmentalization strategy can be beneficial because it keeps each department focused on serving one customer group.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Divisional Structure
Divisional depratmentation is a costly form of departmentation. The advantages of the divisional structure: Organization on the basis of division has several advantages. The effects of tall versus flat organization structures on managerial job satisfaction. The main disadvantage of matrix departmentalization is that it can be challenging to balance the demands of multiple bosses. Hence, the manager in charge of sales splits advertising and sales promoting activities, and for each, places a subordinate in charge. CONCLUSION Based on the definitions and theories regarding structure and organization mentioned above, it can be synthesized that organizational structure is a pattern of relationships between internal and external parties, a formal system within an organization in order to create control over organizational activities. It must be remembered, that the objective of departmentalization is not to build a rigid structure, balanced in terms of levels and characteristics by consistency and identical bases, but to group activities in the manner that will best contribute to achieving enterprise objectives.
This can make the organization less responsive and agile. The division head is primarily concerned with competing with other units within the same company. Matrix departmentalization Matrix departmentalization attempts to combine functional and task force project departmentalization designs to improve the synchronization of multiple components for a single activity i. Juggling entrepreneurial style and organizational structure—how to get your act together. Sloan Management Review, 31 2 , 43—53. Competition The divisional structure works well in markets where there is a great deal of competition, where local managers can quickly shift the direction of their businesses to respond to changes in local conditions.
In simple the saying that with great power comes great responsibility is not taken seriously by all people and it is the company who has to identify such managers and ensure that such people are not given too much power. Academy of Management Review, 2, 27—37. Why are these three activities fundamental? Harvard Business Review, 84 4 , 60—70. Because specialists are organized just to maximize their benefits, there will be problem in acquiring resources among different managers in a multidivisional structure. It can also be helpful when an organization wants to change a process, as it can do so without impacting the rest of the business.
Examples of Organizations Using Divisional Structure
It allows the organization to staff all important positions with functional experts and facilitates coordination and integration. A matrix structure is a hybrid of the functional and divisional structures. These groups work within their teams to complete their focus areas and expertise. When a company has a diverse product line, each product will have unique demands, deeming divisional or product-specific structures more useful for promptly addressing customer demands and anticipating market changes. How are departments organized in a departmental structure? Hierarchical is not always biocratic. As all related activities are conducted by a group of like-minded and shared knowledge and skilled people in one place, you can expect specialized activities and great results. This can cause problems when different departments have conflicting ideas about how a product should look or function.
These elements of structure affect the degree to which the company is effective and innovative as well as employee attitudes and behaviors at work. The matrix departmentalization is especially useful when multiple product lines are being developed at once because employees can share knowledge and expertise across department boundaries to work more efficiently together. These elements come together to create mechanistic and organic structures. In simple words, if the division performs well than divisional head will be rewarded and if the division does not perform well then it is the divisional head that has to face consequences. Functional departmentalization The goal of this If a company is developing a new product, it might have one group of the marketing department, another team of software designers, and yet another human resource. What is the difference between functional and divisional departmentation? Some employees are more comfortable in an organization where their manager confidently gives instructions and makes decisions.
