Are organizational structures beneficial to an organization? Support your assertion and give specific examples.
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
Thesis Statement: Organizational structures are beneficial to an organization as they provide clarity, promote efficiency, facilitate communication and collaboration, and enable effective decision-making. Several examples illustrate how different organizational structures contribute to these advantages.
Clarity and Defined Roles: Organizational structures help establish clear lines of authority, responsibility, and reporting within an organization. This clarity ensures that employees understand their roles and responsibilities, leading to improved productivity and accountability. For example:
In a hierarchical structure, such as a traditional top-down organization, employees have clear reporting relationships and know who is in charge. This clarity helps prevent confusion and ensures efficient decision-making.
In matrix structures, employees have dual reporting relationships, both functional and project-based. This structure clarifies roles and facilitates collaboration across departments, enabling efficient project execution.
Efficiency and Streamlined Processes: Organizational structures contribute to efficiency by streamlining processes and improving resource allocation. When tasks, responsibilities, and workflows are well-defined, organizations can minimize duplication of efforts and optimize resource utilization. For instance:
Functional structures group employees based on their expertise or specialized functions. This allows for efficient allocation of resources and knowledge sharing within each functional unit.
Process-oriented structures align employees based on specific processes or workflows. This ensures a smooth flow of activities and reduces bottlenecks, enhancing overall efficiency.
Communication and Collaboration: Organizational structures facilitate effective communication and collaboration among employees at different levels and across departments. They establish channels for exchanging information, ideas, and feedback. Examples include:
Flat structures promote open communication by minimizing hierarchical layers. This allows for easier information sharing, faster decision-making, and increased employee engagement.
Team-based structures encourage collaboration by grouping employees into cross-functional teams. This structure fosters cooperation, creativity, and innovation through shared goals and collective problem-solving.
Effective Decision-Making: Organizational structures enable effective decision-making by providing frameworks for authority and accountability. Clear decision-making processes help organizations respond quickly to challenges and seize opportunities. For instance:
Decentralized structures delegate decision-making authority to lower levels of the organization. This empowers employees, encourages autonomy, and enables faster responses to customer needs.
Centralized structures concentrate decision-making authority at the top level. While this structure may slow down decision-making, it ensures consistency and alignment with organizational goals.
In conclusion, organizational structures are indeed beneficial to organizations. They provide clarity by defining roles and responsibilities, promote efficiency by streamlining processes, facilitate communication and collaboration among employees, and enable effective decision-making. Various examples demonstrate how different organizational structures contribute to these advantages, emphasizing the importance of a well-designed organizational structure in achieving organizational success.
