| A study was conducted aimed at advancing the science of organizational inquiry relating to organizational structure in the not-for-profit sector of the healthcare industry. Interest centered specifically on the effects of levels of differentiation and integration on organization performance and implications for organization development (OD) practitioners and scholars.;The framework of this research was that the current trend towards transforming highly differentiated organizations into more integrated structures has had positive effects on organizational effectiveness and performance. Integration means practices that group tasks, individuals, and functions in ways that maximize their coordination and relationships. Differentiation means the number of different products or services characterized by increased specialization, more functional departments, and multiple hierarchical chains of command.;The study revealed that contingency-based, organization-developed interventions have helped complex academic medical centers integrate disparate components of the clinical enterprise by using strategies to increase integration within highly differentiated organizations. The strategies included mechanisms used to achieve unity of effort across organizational components, such as matrix relationships, developing more differentiated structures, and increasing integration through influential intermediate structures, i.e., persons with integrating functionality and task conflict management skills. |
