Principle 3: Unify Functions
All organizations are composed of various functions that must work together as a unit to achieve their major objectives.
An organization may be thought of as a system. Thus, each of the four major functions of a business organization — production, marketing, finance, and personnel or human resources administration — may be regarded as a subsystem. Since these subsystems are interrelated, the effectiveness of any one functional subsystem is dependent upon (or affects) the operations of the other three. Each of these subsystems, in turn, must be considered in relation to the other parts of the system. For example, a subsystem may need to be expanded or reduced in size in order to satisfy the overall objectives of the business. An effective technique for emphasizing such interrelationships— and thereby applying Principle 3 — is shown in Figure 2-1.
The unity-of-functions principle requires that:
The various organizational functions identified earlier be in proper balance in keeping with the importance of their contributions to meeting the firm's objectives. For example, if a firm's objectives require increased sales of eight percent, then production capacity must be expanded accordingly. Also, enough funds must be made available to purchase additional equipment; and the number of workers needed for the new production volume must be recruited, oriented, and trained.
A reasonable amount of stability in personnel be maintained. This allows an organization anticipating a lengthy decline in sales income to provide for a stable work force by cutting back the number of hours each office employee works during the week.
Flexibility be ensured to meet seasonal or economic changes. As an example, in many offices the workers are trained to perform more than one kind of job so that during rush periods the workers may be transferred from job to job as the need arises. Flexibility also means providing for the possibility of growth and expansion in order to adjust easily to future needs of the firm. An AOM effectively adjusts either to expansion or contraction of office operations by installing furniture and lighting systems that can be quickly and inexpensively moved about.
The
successful administrative office system
provides support service activities for
every functional area in the organization.
These activities are so closely interrelated
that none can be considered without
considering their effect upon the others.
For example, the services offered by
word processing must be related to the needs
of the persons writing letters, to records
management, to the mailing function, and to office supervision. Also,
the activities of the human resources function must relate to each of
the activities just mentioned.
And the managers of other functions,
such as production and marketing,
must work with the AOM, because in various
ways their activities are interdependent. Similarly, as the office
organization expands by adding more supervisors and
administrative assistants, all must work
together as a unit or team under the direction of the AOM. This
integration of functions must be constantly kept in mind because it
improves productivity and reduces
the cost of the work. The result is an increase
in the efficiency of the information
function, which is a major objective of the AOM.