ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN IN SAUDI ARABIA

This study was designed to examine the applicability and usefulness of contingency theory within the Saudi setting. According to this theory, to understand the structure and function of public bureaucracy, one must understand the external environment which influences that bureaucracy through constant daily interaction with it. To achieve this goal, cross-organizational analysis was conducted among four governmental organizations serving four district subenvironments (districts). The analysis involved four environmental forces employed as independent variables: family status, religious piety, education, and preferred conflict avoidance style. Seven organizational characteristics represented the dependent variables: power structure, formal communication, informal communication, direct supervision, formalization and standardization, the effectiveness of the general coordination mechanism, and the quality of personal treatment received by the employees from the public. The data were collected by questionnaire from two sources in each district: 125 public employees of public organizations serving the four districts, and 347 clients of those governmental organizations.