1. The Nature and Structure of Organisations

Question 1

What is an organisation?

Answer 1

A social arrangement pursuing collective goals.

It controls its own performance and has a boundary separating it from its environment.

Question 2

What are the five main types of organisation?

Answer 2

• Commercial
• Not-for-profit
• Public Sector
• Non-governmental organisations
• Cooperatives

Question 3

What are some examples of a commercial organisation?

Answer 3

• Sole traders
• Partnerships
• Limited liability companies
• Limited liability partnerships

Question 4

What is a public sector organisation?

Answer 4

An organisation owned by the government or local government.

Eg NHS or military

Question 5

What are the five main organisation structures?

Answer 5

• Entrepreneurial
• Functional
• Matrix
• Boundaryless
• Divisional

Question 6

What is an entrepreneurial structure?

Answer 6

Usually a younger business with a simple structure.

Question 7

What is a functional structure?

Answer 7

Usually comprised of a CEO, superseding a board, where each director is managing a certain aspect of the company.

Eg Financial, manufacturing, marketing, IT.

Question 8

What is matrix organisation?

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

What are the three types of boundaryless organisation?

Answer 9

• Virtual
• Hollow
• Modular

Question 10

What is a divisional structure?

Answer 10

When the organisation is divided between different regions to be more specialised in that area.

Question 11

What are the five parts of a Mintzberg structure?

Answer 11

• Strategic apex
• Middle line
• Operating core
• Technostructure
• Support staff

Question 12

What is the strategic apex in Mintzberg’s structures?

Answer 12

The board

Question 13

What is the middle line in Mintzberg’s structures?

Answer 13

Middle management.

Question 14

What is the operating core in Mintzberg’s structures?

Answer 14

Workers.

Question 15

What is the support staff in Mintzberg’s structures?

Answer 15

Basic administrators.

Question 16

What is the Technostructure in Mintzberg’s structures?

Answer 16

People from multiple departments that create standards, procedures, manuals etc.

Question 17

What are levels of an organisation?

Answer 17

• Strategic (long term view - the board)
• Tactical (1 year view - managers)
• Operational (day-to-day - workers)

Question 18

What are the advantages/disadvantages of decentralisation?

Answer 18

Advantages
- Work-load/time
- Speed of internal communication
- Expertise
- Motivation
- Training and assessment
Disadvantages
- Worse coordination

Question 19

What are five recent trends?

Answer 19

• Downsizing
• De-layering
• Outsourcing
• Off-shoring
• Shared services

Question 20

What is downsizing?

Answer 20

Getting smaller

Question 21

What is De-layering?

Answer 21

Going from tall-narrow to wide-flat structures.

Question 22

What is outsourcing?

Answer 22

Getting other people to do certain aspects the organisation needs.

Question 23

What is Off-shoring?

Answer 23

Going abroad

Question 24

What is shared services?

Answer 24

Parts of the business (eg separate offices) share access to a certain department (eg the accounting department)

Question 25

What is the formal part of organisations?

Answer 25

Anything written down eg staff appraisals, organisation charts, mission statement etc.

Question 26

What is the informal part of organisations?

Answer 26

Things the managers may not be aware of eg:
- Personal ambitions
- Mutual cover-up
- Personal preference
- Alliances
- Gossip/rumour
- Group norms
- Shortcuts

Question 27

What is a business organisation?

Answer 27

Organisations that either focus on making profits (commercial companies) or improving society (charities).

Question 28

What is a closed system?

Answer 28

A system that takes no input from it’s environment, and has no output.

They are theoretical and do not last long.

Question 29

What is an open system?

Answer 29

A system/organisation that receives input from the environment and gives an output.

Question 30

What are the three (sometimes four) commercial sectors?

Answer 30

-Primary sector: The extraction and production of raw materials.
-Secondary sector: Manufacturing.
-Tertiary sector: Provision of sales and services.
-Quaternary sector: Research and development.

Question 31

What is a co-operative?

Answer 31

An organisation owned by the workers

Eg farmers may set up co-operatives to market their products more effectively.

Question 32

What are the main functions within an organisation?

Answer 32

• 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

Question 33

What is a non-governmental organisation?

Answer 33

Usually not-for-profit with an international brief.

Question 34

What are the main functions within an organisation?

Answer 34

• 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

Question 35

What is a virtual organisation?

Answer 35

When a company is created outside the organisation to respond to exceptional, often temporary market opportunities.

Question 36

What is a hollow organisation?

Answer 36

When all non-core operations are outsourced.

E.g. accounting, human resources, legal services and manufacturing.

Question 37

What is a modular organisation?

Answer 37

What parts are ordered from different internal and external providers to be assembled into a product.

Question 38

What does the term scalar chain mean?

Answer 38

The chain of command from the top to the bottom of a company.