Level of Communication and Locus of Decision-Making in Organizations:

Abstract

Structure and processes are core variables in understanding organizational effectiveness. This paper assesses the influence of the nature of formalization and level of horizontal integration on the level of communication and locus of decision-making in organizations. The paper is drawn from a study of two Kenyan universities, namely the Moi University and the University of East Africa (UEA), Baraton . The study utilized a cross-sectional survey design that was descripto-explanatory in nature to identify attributes of the study population using a small sample of individuals. Independent samples t-test was used to test whether or not there was any significant difference in organizational structure and organizational effectiveness between public and private universities. The study used a sample of 365 participants (300 from Moi University and 65 from UEA-Baraton). Based on the study findings, it was concluded that high performing organizations move beyond conventional approaches and continually re-examine their approach to effectiveness assessment in the context of current and emerging market forces. The necessity for integration increases with increased environmental complexity, diversity and change. Therefore, it was recommended that horizontal integration is necessary in order to resolve conflicts, to ensure that the objectives and functioning are in consonance with overall organizational goals and strategies by developing rules and procedures, training, liaison roles and use of professional committees involving managers from different specialized units. Moreover, since formalized rules and procedures, together with centralized decision-making, hinder employees from thinking outside the box, it was recommended that decision-making be decentralized to specialized sub-units and employees be encouraged to exert more efforts in achieving organizational goals by identifying whether or not the existing organizational structure is supportive for them.