Fundamentals of Organizing

The obvious part of organizing an organizations' structure is determining who reports to who. What I didn't realize is that you can divide up work into departments in different ways. You can divide it according to functions or self-contained units.
Functional Departmentalization groups activities around functions like circulation, reference, or children's services.
Product Departmentalization groups around the company's products or services.
The more I look at all these different approaches the more they all look the same. I don't think I'd be able to differentiate them unless I had to use them and examine their differences.

The organization chapter introduced the idea of power vs. authority. I can see how this simple concept of organizing who reports to who can become very complex when seen through the perspective of power vs. authority. This is where Union organizing comes in. "Experts often argue that getting employees' acceptance is increasingly important today, given the emphasis on empowered workers and team-based organizations." Dessler p.169

Power vs. Authority
You can have power without authority. Authority is based on job title. Whatever is at the center of the organization holds the most power. Some examples would be design, engineering, finance, marketing, or in the case of libraries - information. In a conical power model where power is the center, one can move horizontally towards the power core without moving vertically upward with authority.

Types of Power
Legitimate- power based on one's position in the formal hierarchy
Coercive- power based on fear and intimidation
Reward- power based on the ability to distribute something that others value, for ex: recognition or bonuses
Expert- power based on one's expertise, special skill, or knowledge
Referent- power based on identification with a person who has resources or traits

Delegation: The act of passing down authority from supervisor to subordinate.
"Organizing would be impossible without delegation."
"Managers are people who get thing done through others, so knowing how to delegate is a crucial management skill."

• The manager can delegate authority but cannot delegate responsibility
• Clarify the assignment
• Delegate, don't abdicate
• Know what to delegate
• Specify the subordinate's range of discretion
• Authority should equal responsibility
• Make the person accountable for results
• Beware of backward delegation

How would these delegation skills apply to coordinating volunteers for an organization? Would the volunteers be accountable for results? Is that where volunteerism is different from a job?