2.2 Organizational structure Flashcards

1
Q

Delegation?

A

✓ occurs when a manager gives authority for a particular decision to someone else but he still holds responsibility for the outcome of that decision.

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2
Q

The span of control ?

A

✓ Points to how many employees/subordinates are directly under the authority of a particular manager.

Mostly, various assistants and juniors are not included in the span of control

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3
Q

A level of hierarchy?

A

✓ A level of responsibility within a business.

Levels range from most senior, the chief executive officer (CEO), to the most junior, the “junior” working in the marketing department.

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4
Q

The chain of command?

A

✓ The formal route though which a decision must travel. Usually, decisions are made at the highest level and are communicated down.

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5
Q

Bureaucracy ?

A

✓ An organization that is “bureaucratic” has many rules and procedures. Is associated with businesses that are well established and have been operating for many years

✓ may have neutral (clear rules) or negative (flexible thinking and delegation are not expected) meaning

Is more related to a tall structure rather then to a flat structure

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6
Q

Characteristics of Centralization?

A

✓ When the majority of decisions are made by a small group of individuals in a senior position within the business.
✓ usually many levels of hierarchy and
✓ narrow spans of control – for effective control of their subordinates.
✓ delegation rarely happens and
✓ leadership is more likely to be autocratic.

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7
Q

Decentralization?

A

✓ Decisions are made by middle managers. Senior management is likely to retain control of key strategic decisions.

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8
Q

De-layering?

A

✓ Reduction of the levels of hierarchy by removing layers of management.

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9
Q

Characteristics of a flat structure?

A

✓ Few levels of hierarchy
✓ Wider span of control.
✓ Decentralized decision making. and delegations
✓ short command chains

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10
Q

A tall structure

A

✓ has many levels of hierarchy and
✓ narrow spans of control
✓ autocratic leadership (probable) and
✓ decision making is centralized, with less delegation.
✓ long chains of command

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11
Q

What is a PA of the CEO in hierarchy?

A

The personal assistant (PA) to the CEO is not included in the levels of hierarchy

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12
Q

Line managers ?

A

A line manager is the first layer of management above the front line workers. They’re accountable for their department, or part in the business.

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13
Q

A project-based organizational structure or a MATRIX

A

Usual for IT, architects etc.
✓ Business’s human resources are organized around many projects.
✓ Project managers run teams of employees focusing on individual projects.
✓ After the project is completed, the team is split up and reassembled to begin another project.
✓ Each team “borrows” members of different departments such as accountants, operations managers and marketing specialists.

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14
Q

The shamrock model (Charles Handy)

A

● The first leaf represents the core managers, technicians and employees essential to the business.
● The second leaf is the contractual fringe, because non-core activities are subcontracted out to specialist businesses.
● The third leaf consists of a flexible/unskilled/seasonal workforce

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15
Q

The process of communicating a message

A

The sender - encoding the message - the appropriate media - the receiver - decoding - feedback.

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16
Q

Importance of feedback

A

feedback ensures that the message has been understood and acted upon successfully.

17
Q

What may be cause disruptions in communication?

A

● The wrong code of the massage
● The wrong receiver
● The wrong media
● A background noise.

18
Q

What may cause disruptions in a communication?

A

● The wrong code of the massage
● The wrong receiver
● The wrong media

19
Q

Communication forms?

A

Formal/informal:
● Verbal
● Visual
● Written

20
Q

A background noise in communication?

A

Also called interference - anything that interferes with the communication process between a speaker and an audience.

Examples of causes - different perception of the same messages due to different culture, age etc;

21
Q

A hierarchical organization?

A

Also used synonymously to tall structure:

Pyramidal with many layers (workers>supervisors>managers>senior managers>executives>CEO) or long chain of command with usually a narrow span of control.

Individuals tend to have specialized skills.

Decision-making typically has to go through many layers and is therefore not a quick process.

22
Q

Which type of structure is characterised with:

Decisions flow from top down and information - from the bottom up.

Authority/decision-making is centralized and delegated authority, if any, is narrowly defined.

A

Tall/hierarchical

23
Q

Which type of structure is characterised with:

Individuals tend to have specialized skills.

Decision-making typically has to go through many layers and is therefore not a quick process.

A

Tall/hierarchical

24
Q

Which type of structure is characterised with teamwork?

A

Matrix

25
Q

Which type/model of structure implies outsourcing?

A

The shamrock model (Charles Handy)

26
Q

Which type of structure would adopt a company, where the processes are standardised and front line workers all know what to do? What type would be the control span?

A

Flat structure, wide span of control

27
Q

Which type of workers will be the outsourced marketing staff working for the company? (Shamrock model of Handy)

A

Contractual fringe

28
Q

Which type of worker will be the designer of the company, who managed to differentiate well the company products form the competitors ? (Shamrock model of Handy)

A

Core

29
Q

Which type of structure would be appropriate for an ambitious worker to be promoted and to build a career?

A

Opportunity for promotion is high in a tall structure.

30
Q

Which type of structure causes faster decision-making process?

A

Flat

31
Q

Disadvantages of a tall structure?

A

Slow decision-making
Costly

32
Q

What levels of bureaucracy is expected to be in France which has high index in Uncertainty Avoidance (Hofstede)

A

High

33
Q

Limitations of centralisation?

A

Many levels of hierarchy slows down a decision making
Autocratic leadership may limit motivation, initiative and innovation

34
Q

Limitations of decentralisation

A

Faster decisions may prove to be made by unqualified staff and may result in large damages, particularly in high risk areas

Coordination failures may result in insufficiencies.

35
Q

Benefits and Limitations of Bureaucracy

A

Benefit:
If rules are well drafted based on research and experience, company may avoid bad decisions; Processes may be fast
Limitation:
may be inflexible when unusual event occur