Enhancing the Organizational Structure

Organizational management includes various objects used to create the structure of your company. An organizational plan is a comprehensive model of the structural and personnel environment of your company and is created using organizational units and positions.

Hierarchies within your organizational plan set up your organizational structure. The organizational structure depicts the hierarchy that exists between the various organizational units in your company. The organizational structure is created by relating organizational units to one another.

Activities to create an organizational plan include the following:

• Create root organizational unit
• Create subordinate organizational units
• Create jobs
• Create positions
• Assign cost centers
• Assign persons
• Maintain other object attribute

Here are the three most important objects in organizational management:

• O Organizational Unit
• S Position (Specification)
• P Person

… and can be viewed, for example, with the transaction PPOSE Organization and Staffing Display.

Organizational units describe the various business units that exist in your company. Organizational units can be classified generally (for example, by function or by region) or specifically (for example, by project group). Multiple organizational units are related with one another in an organizational plan and their relationships form the organizational structure.

Organizational units can be linked to cost centers from accounting. This example illustrates the organizational unit of the executive board as the superior object over two subordinate organizational units, human resources and finance.

Organizational units include positions that form the reporting structure (chain of command). An organization chart maps the structure in your company and you create a reporting structure by creating and maintaining positions and relating these to one another.

The hierarchical interrelationships that exist between the organizational units represents the organizational structure of your enterprise.

Employees hold positions in your organization. A position inherits a job's tasks and you can also assign additional tasks that refer specifically to one position. Positions can be 100% filled, partially filled, or vacant. One position can be shared by multiple employees, each working less than full time. For example, two employees can hold the same position at the same time. One works 60% of the time and the other works 40% of the time.

Persons are objects that hold positions within the organizational structure (which is governed by organizational management). Persons generally represent employees. Information in personnel administration for employees can be defaulted from organizational management data, such as the employee group/subgroup, infotype 1013.

Additional characteristics can be created in the form of relationships to other objects, or data stored in other infotypes unique to the object. Once you have created your objects and structures, you can add additional attributes that are organizational management infotypes.

Objects consist of the following parts:

You can define particular characteristics for an object in each infotype. Some infotypes can be maintained for all object types, such as the object and relationship infotypes. Others are only relevant for particular object types, such as the vacancy infotype, which is only relevant for positions.

Not all infotypes are necessary. However, they can provide important information on objects.

The Organization and Staffing interface is divided into four work areas.

Work areas of the Organization and Staffing interface include the following:

Object manager:

The object manager is on the left side of the screen and is divided into a search area at the top with a selection area below.

• Use the search area to locate objects such as organizational units, persons, jobs, positions, and users.
• The selection area provides the results of the search. Choose an object from the results list and the details of the selected object transfer to the work overview and detail areas.
• The Area on the right side of the screen and is divided into overview and detail areas.
• The overview area provides a view of the organizational unit hierarchy or the staffing assignments of an organizational unit.
• The detail area is used to maintain objects and their characteristics.

The Organization and Staffing interface provides a view of the selected object and is organized with a navigation tree. Different views are available and you can create additional views to meet your requirements in customizing.

The search area provides tools to search for different objects in organizational management. You can search by relationships with other objects and store the results as favorites.

Delivered search tools enable you to find objects using the name, abbreviation, or ID of the object. You can also search for objects that are assigned directly or indirectly to another object, for example, all positions for a specific organizational unit.

The following search tools are available:

• Search Term
• Structure Search
• Free Search (search using a query)

The results of your search appear in the hit list. Double-click the object that you want to edit and it transfers to the overview area.

You can also customize the displayed column using the column configuration.

Organizational units can be displayed in the tree structure or in list mode. Double-click an object and additional information displays in the detail area. Characteristics of the selected object can be updated in the detail area.

The overview area is used for the following activities:

• Create new objects
• Display organizational units in a tree structure
• View a structure as a list to display staffing assignments
• Define which details display
• Drag objects from the selection area to assign new positions, persons, or users to a staffing plan

• View objects using theGoTo selection

Each infotype uses a start and end date to identify the validity of the infotype data. Validity dates determine the existence of an object. The validity date in the Organization and Staffing interface determines the point at which data displays.

Validity dates enable you to do the following:

• Define the validity of an object or object characteristics
• Identify changes in your organization while retaining historical data
• Enable the evaluation of the organizational structure on key dates
• Evaluate key data or specific time periods from the past, present, or future

Different attributes, relationships, and characteristics of objects are grouped on different tab pages in the detail area. The following important tabs are available for the details of the person object:

• Basic Data
• Qualification
• Financing Status
• Tasks

You can maintain the objects directly where they are or drag and drop them to maintain them outside the selection area. Relationships are automatically created using drag and drop. When adding attributes in this area, you are creating infotypes.

Icons are displayed if functionality is possible. Data entered can be undone and restored using the appropriate icons provided the data has not been saved.

The following important tabs are available for the details of the position object:

• Basic Data
• Accounting assignment
• Financing Status
• Address
• Cost Distribution
• Working Time

Jobs are general classifications of attributes, tasks, or responsibilities required for the job. Jobs are used when creating positions and tasks assigned to a job are inherited by the positions created based on that specific job. You can create many positions from one job.

Jobs are important for the following application components for example:

• Personnel cost planning
• Personnel development

Cost centers are maintained in Controlling and can be linked to either organizational units or positions. Cost center assignments are inherited along the organizational structure. Multiple cost center assignments or percentages can be set up. The cost center can be set at the organizational unit and changed at a lower level such as position.

Organizational management is based on the concept that every element of the organization constitutes a unique object with individual attributes. You create and maintain each object individually and create relationships between the various objects to form a framework for your organizational plan. This gives you a flexible basis for personnel planning, previewing, workflows for approvals, and reporting.

Here is a selection of the main object types for organizational management:

• Position - Object type S
• Person - Object type P
• Job - Object type C
• Cost Center - Object type K
• Organizational Unit - Object type O

Organizational management provides a comprehensive view of your company in the past, present, and future.

This information provides a sound basis on which to plan and react to future personnel changes and requirements. In the example, the left structure shows the current status of the organizational structure and, on the right, the planned structure in the future.

All data is created with a unique two-character alphanumeric code, a start and end date, and each is a different plan version and all are independent of one another. The organizational management component enables you to plan and map any kind of organizational restructuring or reorganization of your company.