Koleje Śląskie as an Example of H. Mintzberg’s Structural Configuration Theory Application in Designing Organizational Structure of a Railway Operator

Abstract

In practice, the challenge of transport management lies in the development of organizational structures of enterprises—especially railway companies, which are usually characterized by a kind of hierarchical organizational structures. Meanwhile, rail companies in liberalized markets need to adapt to market conditions. The theoretical achievements in the field of management science and theory of enterprise can be utilized to achieve the abovementioned goals. One of the most interesting models based on practical research of organizational structures is the theory of structural configuration, developed by H. Mintzberg in 1979. This model was used to design the organizational structure of Koleje Śląskie Sp. z o.o. Mintzberg’s model is based on five main parts of organization, five coordination mechanisms, nine design parameters, and four groups of conditions. It is a powerful diagnostic and planning tool. Mintzberg’s model has proven to be useful in the evaluation and design changes to the organizational structure of Koleje Śląskie Sp. z o.o. The company was established as a so-called internal operator with the objective of providing passenger rail service in Silesia. It has been proven that H. Mintzberg’s model can be successfully used in the creation of a flexible organizational structure adapted to the liberalization of transport markets. The proposed model was used in the construction of the organizational structure and organizational regulations that have been adopted by the company in 2014. The next step of the restructuring was a significant change in the corporate strategy of Koleje Śląskie Sp. z o.o. The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate the possibility of a successful application of the theoretical output of Henry Mintzberg in the field of railway transport.