Team-based, Network-based, and Boundary-less organizations

What are the advantages and disadvantages of team-based, network-based, and boundary-less organizations? Give an example of a function or role in the organization that could be benefited by each of these three organizational structures.

Organizing is the process of creating an organization's structure. Structure is an organization's framework as expressed by its degree of complexity, formalization, and centralization. Organization design is the development or changing of an organization's structure.

Team Based Organization
A Team based organization is one that realizes the benefits of operating in teams. They are actually called Learning Teams. It is the notion that working through teams produces working through synergy. Synergy can be compared to 2 + 2 = 5. In other words, four individuals can accomplish more working as a team than if they were to work independently of each other.

Advantages
Although teams are not appropriate for every organization or project, they do have many advantages. These include increased flexibility, better information flow and higher quality outputs.

Disadvantages
There is a tendency amongst many organizations to distribute work to teams rather than getting it done through the older more traditional methods. Sometimes this tendency is carried too far as some organizations will form teams regardless of the situation. However there are situations where the team approach works extremely well and others where the team simply does not reach it's potential.

Network-Based Organizations

In a network organization, long-term corporate partners supply goods and services to and through a central firm. Together, a network of small companies can present the appearance of a large corporation. Indeed, at the core of such an organization may be nothing more than a single entrepreneur supported by only a few employees.

Advantages
The operating environment of organizations has changed considerably during the last three decades. Organizations face more global competition, deregulated markets, increased customer selectivity on price, quality and service, environment protection issues and rapid technological development. In response to these forces many companies are restructuring their organizations to become more flexible and dynamic.

Disadvantages
Recent technological developments, specifically the integration of information and telecommunication technologies, have made possible an entirely new set of more disaggregated, distributed, and flexible production arrangements, as well as new ways for firms to organize their internal operations and their transactional ties to external firms.

Boundary-less Organizations

An organization has external boundaries that separate it from its suppliers and customers, and internal boundaries that provide demarcation to departments. This rigidity is removed in boundary less organizations, where the goal is to develop greater flexibility and responsiveness to change and to facilitate the free exchange of information and ideas. It is made up of self-managing and cross-functional teams that are organized around core business processes.
The teams include employees from different functional areas as well as customers and suppliers.

Advantages
Boundary less organization is able to achieve greater integration and coordination.
They are able to adapt to environmental changes.

Disadvantages
However, it can be difficult to overcome political and authority boundaries.
It can be time consuming to manage the democratic process to coordinate the efforts of many stakeholders.