1. The Nature and Structure of Organisations Flashcards
What is an organisation?
A social arrangement pursuing collective goals.
It controls its own performance and has a boundary separating it from its environment.
What are the five main types of organisation?
- Commercial
- Not-for-profit
- Public Sector
- Non-governmental organisations
- Cooperatives
What are some examples of a commercial organisation?
- Sole traders
- Partnerships
- Limited liability companies
- Limited liability partnerships
What is a public sector organisation?
An organisation owned by the government or local government.
Eg NHS or military
What are the five main organisation structures?
- Entrepreneurial
- Functional
- Matrix
- Boundaryless
- Divisional
What is an entrepreneurial structure?
Usually a younger business with a simple structure.
What is a functional structure?
Usually comprised of a CEO, superseding a board, where each director is managing a certain aspect of the company.
Eg Financial, manufacturing, marketing, IT.
What is matrix organisation?
Divides types of specialism like with a functional structure, but adds a second dimension where people are also divided by which project they are contributing to.
What are the three types of boundaryless organisation?
- Virtual
- Hollow
- Modular
What is a divisional structure?
When the organisation is divided between different regions to be more specialised in that area.
What are the five parts of a Mintzberg structure?
- Strategic apex
- Middle line
- Operating core
- Technostructure
- Support staff
What is the strategic apex in Mintzberg’s structures?
The board
What is the middle line in Mintzberg’s structures?
Middle management.
What is the operating core in Mintzberg’s structures?
Workers.
What is the support staff in Mintzberg’s structures?
Basic administrators.
What is the Technostructure in Mintzberg’s structures?
People from multiple departments that create standards, procedures, manuals etc.
What are levels of an organisation?
- Strategic (long term view - the board)
- Tactical (1 year view - managers)
- Operational (day-to-day - workers)
What are the advantages/disadvantages of decentralisation?
Advantages
- Work-load/time
- Speed of internal communication
- Expertise
- Motivation
- Training and assessment
Disadvantages
- Worse coordination
What are five recent trends?
- Downsizing
- De-layering
- Outsourcing
- Off-shoring
- Shared services
What is downsizing?
Getting smaller
What is De-layering?
Going from tall-narrow to wide-flat structures.
What is outsourcing?
Getting other people to do certain aspects the organisation needs.
What is Off-shoring?
Going abroad
What is shared services?
Parts of the business (eg separate offices) share access to a certain department (eg the accounting department)
What is the formal part of organisations?
Anything written down eg staff appraisals, organisation charts, mission statement etc.
What is the informal part of organisations?
Things the managers may not be aware of eg:
- Personal ambitions
- Mutual cover-up
- Personal preference
- Alliances
- Gossip/rumour
- Group norms
- Shortcuts
What is a business organisation?
Organisations that either focus on making profits (commercial companies) or improving society (charities).
What is a closed system?
A system that takes no input from it’s environment, and has no output.
They are theoretical and do not last long.
What is an open system?
A system/organisation that receives input from the environment and gives an output.
What are the three (sometimes four) commercial sectors?
-Primary sector: The extraction and production of raw materials.
-Secondary sector: Manufacturing.
-Tertiary sector: Provision of sales and services.
-Quaternary sector: Research and development.
What is a co-operative?
An organisation owned by the workers
Eg farmers may set up co-operatives to market their products more effectively.
What are the main functions within an organisation?
- Ordering and purchasing
- Manufacturing/production
- Direct service provision
- Sales and marketing
- Distribution
- Administration
- Research and development
- Human resources
- Accounting and finance
- Cash and working capital management
- Treasury management
What is a non-governmental organisation?
Usually not-for-profit with an international brief.
What are the main functions within an organisation?
- Ordering and Purchasing
- Manufacturing/production
- Direct service provision
- Sales and marketing
- Distribution
- Administration
- Research and development
- Human resources
- Accounting and finance
- Cash and working capital management
- Treasury management
What is a virtual organisation?
When a company is created outside the organisation to respond to exceptional, often temporary market opportunities.
What is a hollow organisation?
When all non-core operations are outsourced.
E.g. accounting, human resources, legal services and manufacturing.
What is a modular organisation?
What parts are ordered from different internal and external providers to be assembled into a product.
What does the term scalar chain mean?
The chain of command from the top to the bottom of a company.
