Achieving Effective Co-ordination

Communication is the key to effective coordination

Coordination is basically information processing task—the greater the uncertainty of the task to be coordinated the greater the need for information. The three approaches to achieving effective coordination are as follows:

•    The first employs the basic management techniques:

the managerial hierarchy, plans and goals to give general direction to activities and rules and procedures to guide these activities.

•    The second approach becomes necessary when the organization's various subunits become more interdependent, expand in size and the basic coordination mechanisms of managerial hierarchy, rules and procedures, and goal setting become inadequate. The approach focuses on increasing the coordination potential by investing in: (communication)

•    vertical information system e.g. the modern MIS—a means of which data are transmitted across the levels of the organization.

•    By creation of lateral relationships i.e. cutting across the chain of command by permitting information to be exchanged and decisions made at hierarchical levels where the needed information actually exists e.g. direct contact between individuals who must deal with the same situation.

•    The third approach to achieving effective coordination is by reducing the need for coordination. This may be done through:

- Creation of slack resources—additional resources give extra leeway to working units e.g. providing more workers, materials or time can ease problems.
-  Creation of self contained jobs—each unit is provided with all the resources and information needed to function without having to share resources with other units.