2. Information And Systems

Question 1

What is an organisation

Answer 1

A group of people with a specific purpose

Question 2

What is the division of labour, what does it allow people to do

Answer 2

It’s where tasks and activities are allocated to staff depending on their roles and skills. This allows people to specialise in certain areas and complete tasks with more efficiency.

Question 3

What 5 things do Information needs depend on

Answer 3

• Type or structure
• Scale of the organisation
• Nature of the organisation
• Management style of the organisation
• Tasks in the organisation

Question 4

What do structures determine in an organisation

Answer 4

Structures determine who is responsible to who and who can make which type of decision

Question 5

What is a “span of control,”

Answer 5

The number of employees who are directly supervised by one person

Question 6

What is the chain of command

Answer 6

The path through levels of management, instructions go down the level of authority and problems go up.

Question 7

What are the two main types of organisation structure

Answer 7

Pyramid structure Horizontal structure

Question 8

What is a pyramid structure

Answer 8

• This is the traditional shape of a structure within large businesses
• Roles are clearly defined and the most powerful are located at the top.

Question 9

Advantages of the pyramid structure

Answer 9

• Clearly defined authority
• Employees loyal to their department

Question 10

Disadvantages of pyramid structure

Answer 10

Long time to implement

Question 11

What is a Horizontal structure

Answer 11

These structures have fewer layers and a wider span of control.

Question 12

Advantages of horizontal structure

Answer 12

• Greater communication between management and workers
• Less burocracy and easier decision making
• Employees respond more Lower costs associated with fewer management levels

Question 13

Disadvantages of horizontal structure

Answer 13

Departments don’t interact with each other

Managers can be responsible for several departments

Their roles aren’t clear Fewer prospects of promotion

Question 14

How has the development of ICT affected the organisational strucutre

Answer 14

ICT eliminates the need for certain jobs, making a flatter strucutre

Question 15

What are the two activities within an organisation

Answer 15

• Ordering systems
• Cusomter support

Question 16

What is “ordering systems”

Answer 16

Allows businesses to manage the distribution of goods from supplier to customer in an automed way that saves time.

Question 17

What is customer support within an organisation

Answer 17

• Customer support is how the business handles its customers
• A good customer experience can boost sales

Question 18

What is the “strategic level of task,”

Answer 18

• This is the highest level
• It consists of upper management

Question 19

What is the “tactical level of task,”

Answer 19

This consists of the middle managements who make decisions on training courses, ordering staff and timetable issues

Question 20

What is the “operational level of task,”

Answer 20

• This is the lowest level, this consists of the workforces who make the product
• The information they recieve must be of a high level of detail.