Importance of Coordination

Importance of Coordination

Coordination matters because it integrates the efforts of individuals, departments and specialists into one purposeful whole. The underlying reason is interdependence — departments and individuals depend on one another for information and resources to carry out their own activities, so their differences in approach, timing, effort and interest have to be reconciled, and their individual goals harmonised with the goals of the organisation. The textbook gives three main reasons why coordination becomes necessary.

1. Growth in Size

As an organisation grows, the number of people it employs rises, and integrating their efforts and activities becomes harder. Individuals differ in their work habits, backgrounds, ways of approaching situations and relationships with others, and each may pursue personal goals alongside the organisation's goals. Coordination is what keeps everyone working towards the common organisational goals, harmonising individual and organisational objectives so that overall efficiency is maintained.

2. Functional Differentiation

The work of an organisation is divided into separate departments, divisions and sections — for example finance, production, marketing and human resources — and each may develop its own objectives, policies and style of working. This can create conflict: the marketing department might want to lift sales by ten per cent by offering discounts, while the finance department resists because discounts mean a loss of revenue. Such clashes arise when units act in isolation and the barriers between them harden. Because all departments are in fact interdependent and need information from one another, coordination is needed to link their activities and refocus them on the common organisational goals.

3. Specialisation …