Tight Coupling
Researcher Karl Weick developed the concepts of tight and loose coupling to describe organizational structure in educational institutions, but the same concept can be applied to businesses. According to Weick, a tightly coupled organization has a set of mutually understood rules enforced by an inspection and feedback system. For example, if a sandwich shop has a set of specific guidelines for how each sandwich should be made, and if the employees are trained in the guidelines and supervised by managers who correct any errors, the organization of the sandwich shop is tightly coupled.