Organisational And Management Structures Flashcards
Organisation structures
The way in which a business is arranged to carry out it’s activities
What things does organisation structure show
•communication routes
•delegation
•promotion/career path
•control
•problem solving
•specialisation
Layers of hierarchy
The management structure of an organisation and indicates who is responsible to whom
Chain of command
The paths that communication takes place along- instructions or orders are passed down
Levels of responsibility
The amount of responsibility and the freedom to make decisions based on this responsibility will depend on the amount of control that has been delegated from above
Span of control
The number of subordinates answerable directly to a manager
•high level of delegation= wide span of control
•narrow span of control= strict hierarchical organisations with strict, centralised control
Line manager
The person who is immediately above the employee, to whom they answer
Subordinate
The person who is immediately below the line manager
Independent structure
Where the organisation doesn’t have an obvious structure- common in professional practices such as lawyers, doctors and accountants, where they operate as a team
Traditional hierarchical structure
A series of levels within a business where each level has responsibility and authority over the levels below
Advantages of traditional hierarchical structure
•control is at the centre , and senior management fully understand their responsibilities
•paths of communication and responsibility and clearly defined
•departments understand their position in relation to other departments
•each employee knows how they fit into the organisational structure
Disadvantages of traditional hierarchical structure
•relies on agreed procedures so can be bureaucratic
•organisation may be slow to respond to customers
•communication can be poor between departments
Matrix structure
Often used when cross-functionsl teams are created to run a project- emphasises getting people together into project teams, and run by project managers who want to achieve a certain goal with specific people’s skills and experience
Advantages of matrix structure
•allows individuals with specific skills to contribute to a number of different projects
•breaks down barriers of communication and ensures projects can be better coordinated
•helps ideas and innovation spread throughout the business
•there’s more efficient use of human resources- the structure can improve flexibility and motivation
disadvantages of matrix structure
•can require expensive support systems- extra secretarial and office staff
•co-ordination/communication problems may occur- different departments which slows down decision making
•employees can have divided loyalties- conflict may occur between project and department managers
