The Structure and Processes of Synchro Canada

Abstract

A successful national sport organization, Synchro Canada, was described in terms of three structural characteristics (formalization, centralization, and complexity) and five processes (activities to ensure resources, work flow, control, identification, and homeostatic activities) based on evidence from documents and, to a limited extent, from interviews. Eighty-five subjects from four constituent groups (administrators, judges, coaches, and athletes) responded to a questionnaire that assessed their perceptions regarding the contributions of the selected organizational characteristics to Synchro Canada's overall effectiveness. The analyses showed that the organization's structures and processes were consistent with the literature in organization theory. From an overall perspective, the respondents perceived the structural and process characteristics as contributing to overall effectiveness. However, the coaches as a subgroup viewed the dimensions of activities to ensure resources, control activities, and centralization as detracting from effectiveness.