Characteristics of a boundaryless organization structure?

Company Characteristics

Boundaryless organizations communicate mainly through email, phone and other virtual methods rather than more traditional face-to-face communication. The freedom to telecommute with international employees removes geographical barriers to productivity and allows for schedule flexibility. By organizing expert employees in groups and giving them decision-making authority, these companies can change quickly to meet needs and function efficiently in an ill-defined hierarchy.

"Employees no longer work in isolation but work as part of a team on broad, company-wide projects, quality management, just-in-time methods, lean production, and supply-chain management," reports US Legal. To be successful, you should feel comfortable in a chaotic free-form workplace and have an ease of working with people to orchestrate the incredible amount of networking required. When employees manage and coordinate their own projects, it fosters a sense of pride in the ability to change and meet the demands of the situation fostering a strong work ethic.

The four main types of boundaryless organizations are modular organization, strategic alliance, network organization, and virtual organization. Modular and virtual organizations outsource all non-essential functions. When two companies collaborate to form a partnership that is beneficial to all parties, they are a strategic alliance. "A network organization is one in which companies outsource their major business functions in order to focus more on what they are in business to do," reports Flat World Knowledge.

Sometimes boundary organizations still require boundary-spanning activities. These help to focus groups and keep everyone on task. These boundary-spanning activities need to be as flexible as the groups they support because they restructure as often as the company does.