Most of the scholars agree to the above listed dimensions of the organisational structure. Their major disagreements are regarding their operational definitions and importance,. e.g. whether the dimension is primary or simply a sub dimension under some other broader dimension.
The complexity of an organisation is indicative of the degree of differentiation on it. It is primarily (a) horizontal, (b) vertical, and (c) spatial. The horizontal differentiation refers to the variation in the units in the organisation based on the orientation of its members, their training and education and the nature of tasks they perform. Larger the number of different occupation in an organisation, more complex it would be in structure. Diverse occupations make it more difficult to communicate and coordinate their activities. Diversity increases the likelihood of having each group having different goal emphasis, time management and work vocabulary. Job specialisation reinforces differentiation.
Vertical differentiation refers to the depth of the organisational hierarchy. The larger the depth, more will be the difficulty in information flow and more will be the distortions in the content and value of the information and larger will be the time taken in passage of information. The quality and productivity of the organisation, largely depends on the instantaneous speed of information flow.
Spatial differentiation encompasses the degree to which the location of an organisation's facilities and personnels are dispersed geographically and the ease of communication between these locations.
Vertical and horizontal differentiations shall not be treated independent of each other. As specialisation or variety of occupation increase in an organisation, i.e. as horizontal differentiation increases, it becomes more and more difficult for individual units to see how their tasks fit into the greater whole. Someone must supervise these occupational groups to ensure that the work is done according to planned schedule and specifications, indicating the necessity of vertical differentiation. Thus, vertical differentiation can be treated as a response of horizontal differentiation.
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