3.2 Describing The Functional Structure Flashcards
Is a system that outline how certain activities are directed in order to achieve the goals of an organization. These activities can include rules, roles, and responsibilities.
Organizational Structure
Determine how information flows between level within the company.
Organizational Structure
Standard practices that have developed over the firm’s history often dictate how a company organizes and operates.
Company Operational and Organizational Guidelines
The management team operates in a manner unique to a given company. Companies might be formal or informal, or democratic or autocratic.
Management Style
Customers particularly governmental agencies, may require formal specifications or administrative controls. Thus, the organization needs to understand and respond to these requirements.
Customer Influences
Large companies have the ability to maintain formal systems and records, whereas smaller companies may not.
Company Size
An organization suitable for the manufacture of a small number of highly sophisticated products may differ dramatically from an organization that produces a high volume of standard goods.
Diversity and Complexity of product line
It generate economies of scale that influence supervision, corrective action, and other quality related issues.
Stability of the product line
Quality managers need to recognize that their efforts must fit within the overall budget of the firm.
Financial stability
The lack of certain skills may require other personnel such as supervisors, to assume duties they ordinarily would not be assigned.
Availability of personnel
The organization is divided into functions such as operations and maintenance, each of which is headed by a manager.
Functional Structure
It provides organizations with a clear chain of command and allow people to specialize in the aspect of the work for which they are best suited.
Functional Structure
Few employees in the functional organization have direct contact with customers or even a clear idea of how their work combines with the work of others to satisfy customers.
It separates employees from customers
No organizational unit has control over a whole process, although most processes involve a large number of functions.
Inhibits process improvement
It breaks the feedback loop that informs employees that their work needs to be improved.
Often have a separate function for quality called Quality Control or Quality Assurance
Individuals or process owners are accountable for process performance and have the authority to manage and improve their process.
Focus on Processes
2 Classifications of processes
(1) Value creation or core processes
(2) Support processes
Drive the creation of products and services that are critical to customer satisfaction, and have large impact on the strategic goals of an organization.
Value creation or core processes
Generally do not add value directly to the product or service.
Support processes
It is not unusual for Total Quality-focused organizations to eliminate the quality department and make everyone in the organization a quality manager.
Make Quality Everyone’s Job
Many organizations flip the organizational chart to put customer at the top, as opposed to the traditional functional structure.
Put external customers first
Customer-supplier links should be forged, one at a time, from the organization’s suppliers all the way to its external (real customers).
Recognize Internal Customers
Companies accept functional or cross-functional teams, each of which has the responsibility to carry out and improve one of the organization’s core processes.
Create a Team-Based Organization
Reduction of hierarchical levels in the organization, can eliminate non-value added activities and the empowerment of frontline workers to improve processes, there is a less supervision and coordination of managers to do.
Reduce Hierarchy
