Reoprt On The South African National Defense Force, Its Organizational Structure, Functions And Programmes

Introduction

The assignment is about the organizational structure of the South African National Defense Force, their functions and programmes. The first part of the assignment is the description of the SANDF features putting more focus on the principles of organizing. The second part is the organizational theory and approaches that best describes the SANDF followed by the illustration of the SADNF diagrammatically and analyzing the current organizational structure of Department of Defense if it complies with the principle of an effective structure.

The second last part of the assignment describes he legal framework that guides the SANDF, and lastly the paper highlight the challenges that may encountered if there is any structure deficiencies and to advise the organization about the relevance of an effective organizational structure, how it can bring unity and changes in the organization. The last part of the paper is the conclusion where the summary of all the concepts discussed is given.

Five principles of organizing

According to George (2018) the principle of organising guides the organising function. Some principles are: The principle of unity of objectives: Organising assists to attain the goals and objectives of the organization which influences the organizational structure; the following shows the five principles of organization:

Work Specialisation

George (2018) emphases that work specialisation is the degree to which organizational tasks are divided into separate jobs. Each employee is skilled to perform specific tasks interrelated to their specialized function. Specialisation is extensive, for argument sake, the Department of Defense is divided into four arms of service, which is Army, Navy, Air force and South African Health Military System (SAHMS). These groups are structured based on similar skills. Activities or jobs tend to be small, but workers can perform them efficiently as they are specialized in it. In spite of the obvious benefits of specialisation, many organizations are moving away from this principle as too much specialisation separate employees and narrows down their skills to perform routine tasks. Also it makes the organization people dependent. Hence organizations are creating and expanding job processes to reduce dependency on particular skills in employees and are facilitating job rotation among them.

Authority

Managers are assigned legitimate powers to make decisions, issue orders, and allocate resources on behalf of the organization to achieve organizational objectives, this is called authority according to George (2018). Authority is within the framework of the organization structure and is an essential part of the manager’s job role and follows a top-down hierarchy. Roles or positions at the top of the hierarchy are vested with more formal authority than are positions at the bottom. The extent and level of authority is defined by the job role of the manager. Subordinates comply with the manager’s authority as it is a formal and legitimate right to issue orders. In the context of SANDF the President who is the commander in chief is the one who has the authority over the SANDF Chain of Command. The chain of command is an important concept to build a robust organization structure. It is the unbroken line of authority that ultimately links each individual with the top organizational position through a managerial position at each successive layer in between. It is an effective business tool to maintain order and assign accountability even in the most casual working environments. A chain of command is established so that everyone knows whom they should report to and what responsibilities are expected at their level. A chain of command enforces responsibility and accountability. It is based on the two principles of Unity of command and Scalar Principle. In the military there is a chain of command in a form of a hierarchy structure where is is clearly defined who report to who and when to report. Unity of command, Unity of command is the concept that an employee should have one and only one manager or supervisor or reporting authority to whom he is directly accountable to. This is done to make certain that the employee does not accept conflicting demands or priorities from several supervisors at once, placing him in a confused situation. However George (2018) state that there are exceptions to the chain of command under special circumstances for specific tasks if required. But for the most part organizations to a large extent should adhere to this principle for effective outcomes.

Scalar principle

This principle states that there should be a clear line of authority from the position of crucial authority at the top to every individual in the organization, linking all the managers at all the levels. It involves a concept called a gang plank using which a subordinate may contact a superior or his superior in case of an emergency, defying the hierarchy of control. The instant superiors must be well informed about the matter.

Delegation

Another important concept closely related to authority is delegation. It is the practice of turning over work-related tasks and/or authority to employees or subordinates. Without delegation, managers do all the work themselves and underutilize their workers. The ability to delegate is crucial to managerial success. Authority is said to be delegated when discretion is vested in a subordinate by a superior. Delegation is the downward transfer of authority from a manager to a subordinate. Superiors or managers cannot delegate authority they do not have, however, high they may be in the organizational hierarchy.

Delegation as a process involves founding of expected outcomes, task assignment, delegation of authority for accomplishing these tasks, and exaction of responsibility for their accomplishment. Delegation leads to empowerment, as employees have the freedom to contribute ideas and do their jobs in the best possible ways.

Span of Control

Span of control (also referred to as Span of Management) refers to the number of employees who report to one manager. It is the number of direct reportees that a manager has and whose results he is accountable for. This type of control is significant in understanding organizational design and the group dynamics operating within an organization. Span of control may change from one department to another within the same organization. The span may be wide or narrow, a wide span of control exists when a manager has a large number of employees reporting to him. Such a structure provides more autonomy. A narrow span of control exists when the number of direct reportees that a manager has is small. Narrow spans allow managers to have more time with direct reports, and they tend to spark professional growth and advancement.

SANDF organisational theory

Weber's bureaucratic approach Asopa and Beye (1997) state that considering the organization as a division of broader society based the concept of the organisational structure, in a way that positions should be arranged in a hierarchy, each with a particular, established real organization on the following principles:

• Amount of responsibility and authority.
• Specialisation: Tasks should be illustrious on a functional basis, and then divided according to specialisation, each having a separate chain of command.
• Predictability and stability: the organization should operate according to a system of procedures consisting of formal rules and regulations.
• Rationality: Recruitment and selection of personnel should be neutral.
• Democracy: Responsibility and authority should be recognized by designations and not by persons.

The Weber's theory is infirm on account of dysfunctions such as rigidity, impersonality, displacement of objectives, limitation of categorization, self-perpetuation and empire building, cost of controls, and anxiety to improve status.

Administrative theory

Asopa and Beye (1997) says that the elements of administrative theory relate to achievement of tasks, and include principles of management, the concept of line and staff, committees and functions of management.

• Division of work or specialization: this increases productivity in both technical and managerial work.
• Authority and responsibility: these are imperative for an organizational member to accomplish the organizational objectives.
• Discipline: Members of the organization should honour the objectives of the organization. They should also comply with the rules and regulations of the organization.
• Unity of command: Unity of direction this means taking orders from and being responsible to only one superior.

Members of the organization should jointly work toward the same goals. Subordination of individual interest to general interest the interest of the organization should not become subservient to individual interests or the interest of a group of employees.

Remuneration of personnel this can be based on diverse factors such as time, job, piece rates, bonuses, profit-sharing or non-financial rewards. Centralization Management should use an appropriate blend of both centralization and de-centralization of authority and decision making.

Scalar chain If two members who are on the same level of hierarchy have to work together to accomplish a project, they need not follow the hierarchy level, but can interact with each other on a 'gang plank' if acceptable to the higher officials.

The matrix structure is an organizational structure that describes the SANDF, it is a bit more confusing, but pulls advantages from a couple of different formats. Under this structure, employees have multiple bosses and reporting lines. Not only do they report to a divisional manager, but they also typically have project managers for specific projects. While matrix structures come with a lot of flexibility and balanced decision-making, this model is also prone to complications and confusions, when employees are asked to fulfill conflicting responsibilities.

Principles of an effective structure

Hierarchy of Command

Hierarchy of command one of the principles that hold an organizational structure together. Respect for the authority of management and the executive team creates a functional line of communication. Instructions and decrees given by the upper echelon are validated by the belief in the hierarchy structure of the organization. Everyone in the company can follow the trail of accountability for projects, and there is a clear understanding by employees about who they report to and how the management structure affects their jobs, this principle mostly applies in the military environment, and it is applied also in the South African National Defence Force.

Role Definition

A well-organized organizational structure helps to properly identify everyone's role within the company. A clear description of the responsibilities and standing of each person within the company creates an understanding of what is expected from each individual, and how individual performance can affect the efficiency of the entire organization.

Evaluating Outcomes

The RAND Corporation as cited on George (2018) Points out that monitoring the outcome of individual projects, as well as the ongoing performance evaluation of individual employees, helps to determine the strengths and weaknesses in the organizational structure. The weaknesses can be dealt with either through training, reallocation of company assets such as equipment, or eliminating ineffective employees or those performing duplicate tasks. The strengths of the organization can be amplified to help identify future managers of the company, determine successful processes that can be used in future projects, and improve the processes used to reach future company goals.

Altering Organizational Structure

One of the key principles of organizational structure is the ability to remain dynamic and change to suit the needs of the company. Some of the elements that necessitate change in an organizational structure include changing customer needs, a change in company management, new technology, and reacting to the activities of your competition this also applies on the structure of the SANDF it is flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances of the external environment.

Challenges of structure deficiency

Poor Communication

Sam (2018) says that a poor organizational structure may lead to miscommunication because employees might be confused about who to report to, who needs information or where to send important messages. For example, a troop who is given task but does nt know who to give feedback to after the completion of the task may just give feedback to anyone in the unit and not to the relevant person, this can lead to him/her re-doing the task all over again because of poor communication, this can lead to delayed orders and long waits for feedback and loss of life especially in the Defence force.

Lack of Strategic Management

To maximize your growth possible, you’ll need to make plans for the future that produce opportunities, rather than simply wait for new business. Without an organizational structure that puts key executives or employees together on a regular basis, it will be difficult to create effective long-term strategies. Strategic management includes creating growth through objectives such as introducing new products, using new distribution channels, expanding geographically or going after a new target market. These strategies often require input from your marketing, accounting, information technology, production and sales managers.

Reduced Productivity

When your organization isn’t set up to create effective communications or doesn’t foster creative strategic management, you can miss opportunities, allow problems to continue and reduce employee morale. An employee who has two superiors might get conflicting directions and not want to follow either until she gets approval from higher up. When employees aren’t happy, they might not volunteer new ideas or might leave for a better job. Poor organizational structure can lead to a reduction in productivity, decreasing your growth potential. For example, when sales people don’t communicate with production managers about large orders they know will be coming in the months ahead, the production department can’t make the most effective scheduling plans, leading to a lack of production capacity, labor availability, and warehouse storage space and shipping efficiencies.

Damaged Company

In addition to the external frustration you can experience with a poor organizational structure, you can create problems for your customers when they don’t get timely answers to their questions, receive poor customer service or have to wait longer than normal for delivery of product. When this happens, you might lose customers, lose references and the ability to attract new customers and reduce revenues enough to damage your business. Once you start missing payroll, can’t repair equipment and machinery or start racking up a credit card, you create a downward spiral that’s hard to turn around.

Relevance of effective organisational structure

Brown (2018) state that, an organization structure is the ways in which subunits in organizations are inter-related and grouped it also specifies how subordinates report to their superiors. This assist with good coordination in the activities of the members of the group. The following are the organization structures determined by Brown (2018) which include line, functional, product and matrix organizational structures. A major advantage of an effective organizational structure is that it reduces conflict between employees regarding who is to carry out certain jobs in the organization.

Facilitates Specialisation

Organizational structure facilitates division of work since each boss has specialized knowledge on his field of work. He has better and accurate knowledge to guide his subordinates. It is the supervisor’s duty to ensure that his/her department performs its best, regardless of whether other units are performing as well. The supervisor should also assist his subordinates perform to their best in that area of specialisation.

Control over Resources

Organizational structures simplify control over resources because these resources can be rationed and allotted to the various units. These resources should be used to their most productive uses at that level. Since resources are very scarce, they should be utilized effectively by eliminating unnecessary wastage. This can only be done if an organizational structure is clearly defined and there is control of employees through an effective organizational structure.

Easier Communication

Organizational structures clearly state who reports to whom. A subordinate cannot report directly to the manager before communicating with his immediate supervisor. This simplifies the work of executive employees so that they are not overwhelmed by the activities of the firm. Flow of information is controlled so that employees do not take advantage of insider Better Employee Performance

Organizational structures clearly show different jobs to be performed by employees and which supervisor will manage them. The supervisor trains them out of his own experience or from the rules of the organization and helps they become better performers. Supervisors punish and reward where necessary and this helps the employees learn from their own experiences and also from their supervisors, in a way, supervisors are role models to their subordinates.