chap 6 business Flashcards
Technology
Conversion process used to transform inputs into outputs
coordination
The process of linking the activities of the various departments of the organization
learning organization
One that works to facilitate the lifelong learning and personal development of all its employees while continually transforming itself to respond to changing demands and needs
job enrichment
An alternative to job specialization that attempts to increase both the number of tasks a worker does and the control the worker has over the job
organic organization
Very flexible and informal model of organization design, most often found in unstable and unpredictable environments
job characteristics approach
An alternative to job specialization that suggests that jobs should be diagnosed and improved along five core dimensions, taking into account both the work system and employee preferences
centralization
The process of systematically retaining power and authority in the hands of higher-level managers
virtual organization
One that has little or no formal structure
span of management
The number of people who report to a particular manager
organizational life cycle
Progression through which organizations evolve as they grow and mature
delegation
The process by which a manager assigns a portion of his or her total workload to others
integration
Degree to which the various subunits must work together in a coordinated fashion
Location departmentalization
Grouping jobs on the basis of defined geographic sites or areas
mechanistic organization
Similar to the bureaucratic model, most frequently found in stable environments
functional design
Based on the functional approach to departmentalization
organizational size
Total number of full-time or full-time-equivalent employees
departmentalization
The process of grouping jobs according to some logical arrangement
matrix design
Based on two overlapping bases of departmentalization
Job rotation
An alternative to job specialization that involves systematically moving employees from one job to another
team organization
An approach to organization design that relies almost exclusively on project-type teams, with little or no underlying hierarchy
Functional departmentalization
Grouping jobs involving the same or similar activities
Authority
Power that has been legitimized by the organization
Reciprocal interdependence
When activities flow both ways between units
Pooled interdependence
When units operate with little interaction; their output is pooled at the organizational level
Decentralization
The process of systematically delegating power and authority throughout the organization to middle- and lower-level managers
work teams
An alternative to job specialization that allows an entire group to design the work system it will use to perform an interrelated set of tasks
Job specialization
The degree to which the overall task of the organization is broken down and divided into smaller component parts
differentiation
Extent to which the organization is broken down into subunits
customer departmentalization
Grouping activities to respond to and interact with specific customers or customer groups
sequential interdependence
When the output of one unit becomes the input for another in a sequential fashion
chain of command
A clear and distinct line of authority among the positions in an organization
conglomerate design
Used by an organization made up of a set of unrelated businesses
Product departmentalization
Grouping activities around products or product groups
Job enlargement
An alternative to job specialization that increases the total number of tasks that workers perform
divisional design
Based on multiple businesses in related areas operating within a larger organizational framework
situational view of organization design
Based on the assumption that the optimal design for any given organization depends on a set of relevant situational factors
bureaucracy
A model of organization design based on a legitimate and formal system of authority
