4.1 Organised Structures Flashcards
why are organisational structures used?
- so people know what there duties are, the people they report to and the other employees they are responsible
What kind of job roles are there in an internal structure (top -down)
chief executive (CEO)
directors
managers
team leaders
workers
what is a line manager?
an employee’s immediate superior/boss (this then works up the chain of authority)
what are the responsibilities of the directors?
Establish the business’s overall goals set long-term and the targets for the business
what are the responsibilities of the managers?
work to achieve the short + long term targets set by directors
can be responsible for a function within the business (e.g. marketing/finance)
use employees and resources in the best ways
what are the responsibilities of the team leaders?
help managers achieve targets by reporting problems and passing on instructions
make simple decisions (e.g allocating jobs to employees)
what are the responsibilities of the shop-floor workers?
carry out business’s basic duties/activities such as working on production line , serving customers and other basic duties
what are the features of an internal structure?
span of control, levels of hierarchy, chain of command, delayering, delegation
what is span of control?
the number of employees managed directly by another employee
what are levels of hierarchy?
layers of authority within the business
what is chain of command?
line of authority within a business along which communication passes
what is delayering?
the removal of one or more levels of hierarchy from an organisational structure. removing excess employee costs but has consequences
what are the consequences of delayering?
junior employees taking on higher duties
senior employees having wider spans of control
what is delegation?
the passing down of authority to more junior employees
what is a flat organisational structure?
where there are fewer levels of hierarchy, communication becomes easier as there is direct contact however, managers are responsible for larger numbers, horizontal communication becomes a struggle because of the fewer, wider levels
what are tall organisational structures?
where there are more levels of hierarchy, communication becomes harder as there is not direct contact, narrow spans of control for managers means less responsibility/more supervision
what is centralisation?
occurs when a small amount of senior managers in a business make all the important decisions
what is decentralisation?
allows employees of all areas of the business to take decisions
what are the advantages of decentralisation?
reduces pressure on senior management
motivates employees with new authority to take decisions
better decisions are taken as employees are suited to their area
allows faster decisions-making as employees do not need to wait to consult managers
what are the challenges of decentralisation?
all the employees must understand the business’s aims + goals to be able to make decisions in the business’s best interest
training maybe needed for employees to take on new duties
good communication is important, so all management is aware of key decisions
