Explain the importance of organizational integration.

Answers will vary. To be effective, organizations must design and build linkage and coordination mechanisms. Integration is the process of coordinating the different parts of an organization. Effective integration helps keep the organization in a state of dynamic equilibrium, a condition in which all the parts of the organization are interrelated and balanced. A stronger device for integration is to develop a person or department designed to be an integrator. In most organizations, the integrator has a good deal of responsibility but not much authority. Such an individual must have the ability to get people together to resolve differences within the perspective of organizational goals. Please see the section "Key Organizational Design Processes" for more information.