Discuss the various types of organizational structures of tourism sector.

The organic structures are very flexible and adaptive. On the other hand, the mechanistic structures are rigid and very much rely on well defined hierarchy to facilitate coordination. In the tourism sector, we briefly discuss four types of organizational structures:

Product/Service Based Structures:

An organization which offers a variety of products or services and builds a structure falls in this category. In this kind of organization, each product and service is a division of its own. For instance, if one company deals in the different segments in the tourism sector like in airlines, hotel chain and restaurant. Each segment has its own criteria and focus on its own division.

Spatial Based Structures:

The structural dimensions of a country’s tourism sector, and in particular the spatial structure of tourism production and consumption, relate closely to the nature and extent of the impact that tourism can have. To understand how this could be effected it is necessary to understand the spatial distributional effects of tourism, and the underlying reasons for it. The central argument is that tourism is geographically focused, with tourist activities concentrated in a few locales and sub-regions.

Conglomerate Structures:

Some organizations work by acquiring other business. In such conglomerate structures, the business or companies acquired are maintained as subsidiaries.

Matrix Structures:

In this kind of structure, the employees work under a dual authority. One line of, command is functional while the other is related with a project based approach. This means that an employee is answerable to two heads at onetime. The matrix structure is also known as a multiple command system as it is a combination of product and functional organization.

Apart from these, there are few organizations which have a structure based on functions like marketing, production and finance. In these sorts a companies similar functions are placed under one functional head. We must note that there is no one structure which is perfect for any organization. But the appropriate structure could be one that:

• Provide a suitable structure where individual jobs can In performed with ease.
• Enables operational efficiency for achieving organizational goals.

There are certain factors to be kept in mind while choosing a structure. These may include:

• Size of the organization.
• Objectives of the organization.
• The market and environment of the organization.
• Technology to be adopted.