Organization design is the overall set of structural elements and the relationships among those elements used to manage the total organization. Two early universal models of organization design were the bureaucratic model and the behavioral model. These models attempted to prescribe how all organizations should be designed.

The situational view of organization design is based on the assumption that the optimal organization design is a function of situational factors. Four important situational factors are technology, environment, size, and organizational life cycle. Each of these factors plays a role in determining how an organization should be designed.

An organization's strategy also helps shape its design. In various ways, corporate- and business-level strategies both affect organization design. Basic organizational functions like marketing and finance also play a role in shaping design.

Many organizations today adopt one of four basic organization designs: functional (U-form), conglomerate (H-form), divisional (M-form), or matrix. Other organizations use a hybrid design derived from two or more of these basic designs.

Four emerging issues in organization design are the team organization, the virtual organization, the learning organization and how international businesses should be designed.