What do we mean by the “duality of structure”?

When you think of the structure of an organization you may think of organizational hierarchies, or metaphorically a machine. However, in order to fully grasp the concept of structures in organizations it is essential to understand the duality of structure as explained by sociologist Anthony Giddens.  More information about Anthony Giddens and the theory of structuration can be found at the website http://uregina.ca/~gingrich/f300.htm. 

The website www.afirstlook.com/manual5/ed5man17.pdf clarifies how the duality of structure explains why some groups are predictable and stable, while others are constantly changing and unpredictable.  As explained in our textbook Organizational Communication, there are two key elements to the duality of structure.  The first element is that structure is both an outcome of and a resource for interaction.  An example from Organizational Communication is the structure of the set of by-laws for an intramural team.  These by-laws are an outcome of initial discussions concerning the sport and a resource for the team’s future actions.   The second element to the duality of structure is that structure is enabling as well as constraining.  As Giddens says, “Structure helps us to accomplish things, yet it sometimes gets in our way.”  There is such a thing as too much structure; such as creating too many rules and procedures that can hinder an organizations growth.  Structure and process are interdependent.  According to Giddens as quoted in the book Contemporary Sociological Theory and It’s Classical Roots: The Basics by George Ritzer, “the structure and agency are a duality that cannot be conceived of apart from one another”.  As stated in Organizational Communication, structures can make things easier, such as running meetings, yet hold us back by keeping future talk and ideas within boundaries.  According to Clifford Gertz in his book The Interpretation of Cultures, “The fact that we create structures that then constrain us is one of the main ironies of society itself”.  You can learn more about the duality of structure in relation to franchising, and see a great diagram of Gidden’s duality of structure at this website www.wiwiss.fu-berlin.de/w3/w3sydow/neuerscheinungen/ PubOnDem/FRANCH%20Identities%20Ro-Sy%202.pdf. 

According to Giddens in his book Living in the World:  Dilemmas of the Self, “There is a duality of structures in society – on one side there are situated actors who undertake social action and interaction, and enter into knowledgeable activities in various situations.  At the same time, social systems and structures form the rules, resources, and social relationships that actors produce and reproduce through social interaction”. While many organizational structures can be as complicated as demonstrated in the image below, they don’t necessarily have to be to be successful.  The challenge is to find that balance where structures form from interactions that then become resources and constraints for future interaction.