Mintzberg's Five Configurations

Organizations do not vary along a single spectrum. They cluster into distinct configurations, each representing a different solution to the coordination problem. Mintzberg identified five, each defined by the coordination mechanism that dominates. The entrepreneurial organization is held together by direct supervision — one person at the top directing everyone else. The machine bureaucracy is coordinated through standardization of work processes. The professional bureaucracy is coordinated through standardization of skills. The diversified organization is coordinated through standardization of outputs. The innovative organization — the adhocracy — is coordinated through mutual adjustment, the informal, real-time communication between skilled professionals working on novel problems. Each configuration faces AI differently. AI subsumes what it can standardize and leaves untouched what requires human embodiment.