Chapter 41- Organisation Flashcards
(43 cards)
1
Q
Definition of organisational chart
A
- A diagram that shows the hierarchy in a business (top-bottom)
2
Q
Definition of span of control
A
- The number of employees for whom a manager is responsible for
3
Q
What does a wide span of control mean?
A
- The manager is responsible for many employees
4
Q
What does a narrow/thin span of control mean?
A
- The manager is responsible for relatively few employees
5
Q
What is the best span of control ?
A
4 or 5
6
Q
What happens as span of control increases?
A
- The number of channels of communication increases
- So effective communication breaks down
7
Q
What happens if there is a small span of control?
A
- The number of layers/levels in the hierarchy will increase
- This means there will be more layers for communication to pass through making effective communication less likely.
8
Q
What are the factors that depend on how many people are involved?
A
- personality of the manager
- size of the business
- skill/experience of the employee
- degree of competition in the market
- whether or not the business is centralised
9
Q
Definition of chain of command
A
- It’s concerned with the way in which responsibility for employees is organised within a business
10
Q
Definition of levels of hierarchy
A
- This refers to the number of levels/layers in a business organisation
11
Q
What will depend on the number of levels or layers in a business?
A
- Type of organisational structure chosen by the business
12
Q
What organisational structure will have fewer levels?
A
- Horizontal/flat structure
13
Q
Definition of delayering
A
- Reducing the number of levels in the hierarchy of an organisation
14
Q
Why does delayering take place?
A
- It takes place as a result of rationalisation in a business
- If a business is in a competitive market it needs to make sure it’s costs are kept under control and one way to reduce costs is to remove a layer/tier of management
15
Q
Advantages of delayering
A
- It provides an opportunity for employees to have more responsibility (beneficial for motivation)
- Decision making process is quicker as there are fewer layers for decisions and messages to go through
16
Q
Disadvantages of delayering
A
- Span of control in the business will increase
- There may be implications for costs in the short term as redundancies may be necessary to achieve the delayering
- Employees may be demotivated as they are fearful of losing their job (reduce sense of security)
17
Q
Definition of delegation
A
- It refers to the process by which a manager/leader assigns responsibility and authority for specific tasks or decisions
18
Q
What happens when there’s more delegation in an organisation?
A
- There is a bigger span of control
- Wider organisational structure
19
Q
What factors depend on how much delegation takes place?
A
- Leadership style (democratic style means more delegation)
- How busy the manager is (the busier it is the more likely for delegation to occur)
- Ability and willingness of employees to take on additional responsibility
20
Q
Definition of empowerment
A
- This means giving employees responsibility for the tasks they perform (form of delegation)
- By enriching employees jobs it will make them more motivated (Herzberg and Mayo)
- Offering empowerment may give the business the opportunity to reduce the number of levels in it’s organisational structure (delayering)
21
Q
What is organisation by system?
A
- The business is split into specialist areas which operate together to make the business function efficiently
22
Q
Points to bear in mind with organisation by system:
A
- Without high levels of integration, coordination and some degree of compromise e.g. deadlines, the business will become fragmented which will damage the overall productivity
- Difficult to evaluate performance and whether or not it’s successful since there are several department inputs affecting performance. (Departments may try to take most of the credit/ blame others for failure)
- Not easy for managers in one department to see direct result between their contribution and results
23
Q
What is organisation by product?
A
- The business is organised around recognisable individual products (known as profit centres)
24
Q
Reasons why organisation by product is a sensible way to organise
A
- Easier to see which products are performing well (each profit centre can be easily evaluated)
- Managers of each product can concentrate their energies on the product rather than several
- Managers can see the direct result of their decisions (may be more motivated)
25
Drawbacks of organisation by product
- Different products compete for resources (leads to conflict)
- Resources being wasted
26
Organistic (horizontal or flat) structure
- Flat
- Large span of control
- Associated with democratic style of leadership
- Delegation is encouraged (more motivated workforce)
27
Mechanistic (vertical or tall) structure
- Vertical
- Smaller span of control
- Less democratic style of leadership as there are a large number of layers
- More bureaucratic
28
Centralised structure
- Associated with autocratic leaders who want to keep firm control of the business
- Leader is involved with everything
- Communication goes through them
- Decision-making process takes place at the top of the hierarchy
29
Decentralised structure
- Allows the decision making process to take place away from the head office
- Span of control will be wide
- Associated with democratic leaders as employees will have responsibilities delegated to them
30
Advantages of a centralised structure
- Decisions are quicker because there is no need to consult all areas
- Strong leadership (in an event of a crisis)
- Consumers will recognise the standardised approach and consistent organisation
31
Disadvantages of a centralised structure
- Decisions are made without the benefit of local knowledge
- Lack of involvement in the decision making process is demotivating
- Experts in a region may be ignored resulting in mistakes
32
Advantages of a decentralised structure
-Being able to make decisions is a motivator (Mayo & Herzberg)
- Local regions/ areas are better informed for some decisions
- Delegation/empowerment will mean there are opportunities for local initiative to be used
33
Disadvantages of a decentralised structure
- Duplication of resources occurs which could be reduced if centralised
- Some decisions made at regional/product level may be appropriate for that region or product but not appropriate for the business as a whole
34
Matrix organisational structures
- It’s where employees with similar skills are put together to complete tasks or projects but with more than one manager supervising
35
What does there need to be for matrix organisational structures?
- A substantial amount of co-operation as working for various managers may be confusing
36
Value of organisational structure
- Brings a sense of organisation/order to the business
- Spans of control can be viewed and used to ensure there are a fair distribution for the spans of control for directors/managers within the business
- May be possible to ascertain whether delayering is possible/beneficial for the business that may need to cut costs
- It allows the business to plan for the future
- Stakeholders within the business can identify the strengths and weaknesses
- Employees may be able to see where there may be possibilities for promotion
37
How is the level of authority clear within the organisation?
- By viewing the chain of command and span of control
38
Organisational culture
- This reflects the values, attitudes and beliefs of a business
- It will strongly influence the manner in which the business operates
39
What will give an indication of the culture of a business?
A mission statement
40
What do mission statements highlight?
- Ethical stance and/or how a concern for the environment is high on it’s list of priorities which may be reflected in the way the business operates
41
What are the main components of a good organisational/corporate culture?
- Vision- starting with a mission statement
- Values- They are a core of its culture
- Practices- acting/operating in such a way as to match it’s values
- People- employees who share the values of the business
- Narrative- viewing the history of the business and it’s heritage
- Place- location is very important
42
How can the corporate/ organisational culture of a business be seen within a business?
By the manner in which it:
- Conducts its business
- Treats its customers
- Reacts/ show concern for its local community
- Allows employees to be involved in the decision making process
- Communicates within the organisation
- Views the commitment of all within the business to the values, objectives and mission statement
43
How can the organisational culture of a business be seen?
- The way employees dress
- The manner in which the building is designed, equipped and decorated
- Publications of the business
- Degree of training offered
