Woodward’s findings also suggested that given any technology a range of possible
organizational forms may be employed. Although suggesting that successful organizations
matched structure and technology: she demonstrated that this relationship was ultimately one
of strategic choice. Burns and Stalker also made a similar point in stressing that there was
absolutely no guarantee that firms would find the appropriate mode of organization for
dealing with their environment. Their study emphasized that successful adaptation of
organization to environment depended on the ability of top management to interpret the
conditions facing the firm in an appropriate manner and to adopt relevant courses of action.
Both these studies thus demonstrated that in the process of organizing a lot of choices have to
be made and that effective organization depends on achieving a balance or compatibility
between strategy: structure, technology, the commitments and needs of people, and the
external environment.