An organization that forgoes the outward boundaries and internal hierarchies of more conventional organizations is known as a boundaryless organization.
A new organizational structure was deemed necessary for today’s workforce by a number of management gurus and firm executives, including Jack Welch, Ron Ashkenas, and Steve Kerr, as a result of the concomitant rise of economic globalization and quantum leaps in technology. Their idea of a boundaryless organization is one in which individuals are empowered to create their own schedules and control their own products while also using technology to connect teams from various places (both inside and outside of the same nations).
Boundaryless organizations can take many different forms. Some might stick with some components of the conventional organizational structure while doing away with others, while others would do away with all such restrictions in an effort to create a workplace that is as free-flowing and adaptable as possible.
Types of Boundaryless Organizations: A boundaryless organization can be established in a variety of ways, and it’s typical to combine many configurations. The following four types of organizations all benefit from the structure:
- Learning organizations: This kind of organizational structure puts a lot of focus on leveraging fresh data and knowledge to change a business’s current strategy in a good way. Employees in a learning organization share their results with other team members as they understand what processes work best and where there are pain points. Compared to waiting for management to adopt these changes from the top down, this is different. The performance of the entire learning organization is then enhanced by these insights.
- Modular organizations: A company is likely attempting to be a modular organization if it outsources all but the most critical aspects of its operations. Instead of striving to keep everything internal, modular organizations protect the most important components of a business while leaving the door open to forming collaborations with other enterprises.
- Network organizations: By redefining conventional task allocations and forming strategic partnerships with external businesses, network organizations dismantle barriers on both the inside and the outside. Regardless of where a candidate is on the organizational ladder, these businesses seek to assign work to the best-qualified applicant. Some network enterprises even go as far as to hire outside firms to handle their accounting or human resources departments.
- Virtual organizations: This type of organizational structure depends on online cooperation. Teams can collaborate across diverse geographic boundaries by using communication tools. Virtual enterprises frequently consist of a number of distinct businesses that naturally exchange pertinent and beneficial information with one another.
