1.4 - Organisational Structures Flashcards
(26 cards)
What is a hierarchical organisational structure?
It is a structure with multiple levels where each level has authority over the one below. It’s visualised in an organisational chart.
What does an organisational chart show?
Who has authority and responsibility
Who employees are accountable to (above them)
Who employees are responsible for (below them)
The chain of command and communication
How the business is divided (by department, product, or location)
What is a tall organisational structure?
A structure with many levels of hierarchy and a long chain of command.
Give two advantages of a tall structure.
More promotion opportunities
Narrow spans of control, allowing close supervision
Give two disadvantages of a tall structure.
Slow communication
Slow decision-making due to bureaucracy
What is a flat organisational structure?
A structure with few levels of hierarchy and wider spans of control.
Give two advantages of a flat structure.
Faster decision-making
More employee responsibility and motivation
Give two disadvantages of a flat structure.
Managers can become overworked
Employees may lack supervision and support
What is span of control?
The number of employees a manager directly oversees.
What is a wide span of control?
One manager supervises many employees, typical in flat structures.
What is a narrow span of control?
A manager supervises only a few employees, common in tall structures.
When is a wide span of control acceptable?
When employees are doing routine tasks and require less supervision (e.g. 10–12 staff).
Why can a narrow span of control be demotivating?
It can lead to micromanagement and make employees feel they are not trusted.
What is delayering?
Removing levels of hierarchy to flatten the organisational structure.
Give two benefits of delayering.
Reduces costs (e.g. fewer management salaries)
Improves communication and efficiency
Give two drawbacks of delayering.
May cause short-term costs (retraining, redundancy pay)
Managers may become overstressed due to wider spans of control
What is a centralised structure?
Decision-making is kept at the top levels of management.
What are three advantages of centralisation?
Experienced senior managers make decisions
Decisions are consistent across departments
Quicker decision-making at the top
What are three disadvantages of centralisation?
Less employee involvement → demotivating
Managers may lack insight into day-to-day operations
Slow to respond to market changes
What is a decentralised structure?
Authority is delegated to lower levels and across the organisation.
What are three advantages of decentralisation?
Motivates employees
Faster decision-making at local levels
Local staff use their sector-specific knowledge
What are three disadvantages of decentralisation?
Inconsistent decisions across the business
Junior staff may lack experience
Poor understanding of overall strategy
What is a matrix organisational structure?
A structure where staff are organised by both function and project.
Give an example of a matrix structure team.
A team creating a new product may include engineers, marketers, finance staff, and HR specialists.
