Q.

2 Does Pakistani Politics act as an external factor in Organizational

structuring? Analyze

ANS:

An organizations success is influenced by factors operating in its internal and

external environment; an organization can increase its success by adopting
strategies which manipulate these factors to its advantage. A successful
organization will not only understand existing factors but also forecast change, so
that it can take advantage of change within the environments in which it operates.

Political factors as an external factors influence organizations in many ways in

Pakistan. Political factors can create advantages and opportunities for
organizations. Conversely they can place obligations and duties on organizations.
Political factors include the following types of instrument:

Legislation such as the minimum wage or anti-

discrimination laws.
Voluntary codes and practices
Market regulations
Trade agreements, tariffs or restrictions
Tax levies and tax breaks
Type of government regime e.g. communist, democratic,
dictatorship

Political stability is vitally important for the attainment of nation building, such as
political development and national integration, which has direct influence on
formation of political parties. The development is in states-modern or modernizing,
takes place due to the varying degree of political" stability. "It can be regarded as
important to maintain peace, harmony, enduring constitutional contentments,
maintenance of government institutions and possession of civic order. It is often
used to refer to democratic political stability.

The extent of the political stability can be measured by the adaptability of two
institutions: State and Society. The variation occurring in one area will affect the
other. In spite of the change in the social system, it has the capacity to allow change
in such a way which can easily meet the varying challenges of political development.
Many underdeveloped nations of Asia and Africa including Pakistan have been
confounded as how to overcome the problems of centralization of authority, national
integration, economic development, political participation and social welfare of the
modernizing societies which have grown simultaneously in the political order of these
states. The political stability can be understood more by defining the causes of the
instability in developing states. There are five issue areas as described by Leonard
Binder, which many states are facing while trying to maintain the stability needed in
their political system. These areas are: "Identity crises, legitimacy Crisis, Penetration
crisis, Participation crisis and distribution crisis. Without any doubt these all play a
significant role in creating the political instability.

The institution of leadership in Pakistan has remained so weak and its structure is
always from top to bottom. The leadership in Pakistan is based on heredity/ family
patterns. In actual the process of becoming a leader starts from bottom to top, in
which the fist step is social welfare service then entering in political arena.

Pakistans experience is evident that quality and stability of political system, and
leadership is not possible without quality education. As it has been discussed that
pluralistic societies there are sensitive issues of langue, religion and ethnicities, here
the role of leader becomes more important than any other factor.

Specially incase of the state and society like Pakistan where various ethnicities and
sects are residing and all these different people became one nation on the basis of
religious commonness and same aspirations which they could not have in united India
where other religions were not letting them live in peace. When the institution of
leadership in Pakistan split into the levels of sub-national/ ethnic, provincial and
religious/ sectarian by then the problems of legitimacy and identity started and by
the passage of time gained momentum. The theme of a national leadership lost in
these various levels of leadership.

The present political instability in Pakistan has raised the external and internal
challenges for its society and state. Pakistan is facing serious challenges specially in
the realms of politics and economics. The global world is providing aid and assistance
to Pakistan but in presence of insincere leadership and political instable conditions
the huge foreign aid is not generating any positive results.

The environment is the world in which the organization operates, and includes
conditions that influence the organization such as economic, socialcultural,
legalpolitical, technological, and natural environment conditions.
Environments are often described as either stable or dynamic.

In a stable environment, the customers' desires are well understood and

probably will remain consistent for a relatively long time. Examples of
organizations that face relatively stable environments include manufacturers
of staple items such as detergent, cleaning supplies, and paper products.

In a dynamic environment, the customers' desires are continuously

changing the opposite of a stable environment. This condition is often thought
of as turbulent. In addition, the technology that a company uses while in this
environment may need to be continuously improved and updated. An example
of an industry functioning in a dynamic environment is electronics. Technology
changes create competitive pressures for all electronics industries, because as
technology changes, so do the desires of consumers.

In general, organizations that operate in stable external environments find

mechanistic structures to be advantageous. This system provides a level of
efficiency that enhances the longterm performances of organizations that
enjoy relatively stable operating environments. In contrast, organizations that
operate in volatile and frequently changing environments are more likely to
find that an organic structure provides the greatest benefits. This structure
allows the organization to respond to environment change more proactively.

Advances in technology are the most frequent cause of change in

organizations since they generally result in greater efficiency and lower costs
for the firm. Technology is the way tasks are accomplished using tools,
equipment, techniques, and human know how.

Organizations, like humans, tend to progress through stages known as a life

cycle. Like humans, most organizations go through the following four stages:
birth, youth, midlife, and maturity. Each stage has characteristics that have
implications for the structure of the firm.

Birth: In the birth state, a firm is just beginning. An organization in the birth
stage does not yet have a formal structure. In a young organization, there is
not much delegation of authority. The founder usually calls the shots.

Youth: In this phase, the organization is trying to grow. The emphasis in this
stage is on becoming larger. The company shifts its attention from the wishes
of the founder to the wishes of the customer. The organization becomes more
organic in structure during this phase. It is during this phase that the formal
structure is designed, and some delegation of authority occurs.

Midlife: This phase occurs when the organization has achieved a high level of
success. An organization in midlife is larger, with a more complex and
increasingly formal structure. More levels appear in the chain of command,
and the founder may have difficulty remaining in control. As the organization
becomes older, it may also become more mechanistic in structure.

Maturity: Once a firm has reached the maturity phase, it tends to become
less innovative, less interested in expanding, and more interested in
maintaining itself in a stable, secure environment. The emphasis is on
improving efficiency and profitability. However, in an attempt to improve
efficiency and profitability, the firm often tends to become less innovative.
Stale products result in sales declines and reduced profitability. Organizations
in this stage are slowly dying. However, maturity is not an inevitable stage.
Firms experiencing the decline of maturity may institute the changes necessary
to revitalize.