Chapter 8 Flashcards
The situation in which companies can reduce their production costs if they can purchase raw materials in bulk; the average cost of goods goes down as production levels increase
Economies of Scale
A system in which one person is at the top of the organization and there is a ranked or sequential ordering from the top down of managers who are responsible to that person
Hierarchy
The line of authority that moves from the top of a hierarchy to the lowest level
Chain of Command
An organization with many layers of managers who set rules and regulations and oversee all decisions
Bureaucracy
An organization structure in which decision-making authority is maintained at the top level of management
Centralized Authority
An organization structure in which decision-making authority is delegated to lower-level mangers more familiar with local conditions than headquarters management could be
Decentralized Authority
The optimal number of subordinates a manager supervises or should supervise
Span of Control
An organization structure in which the pyramidal organization chart would be quite tall because of the various levels of management
Tall Organization Structure
An organization structure that has few layers of management and a broad span of control
Flat Organization Structure
The dividing of organizational functions into separate units
Departmentalization
An organization that has direct two-way lines of responsibility, authority, and communication running from the top to the bottom of the organization, with all people reporting to only one supervisor
Line Organization
Employees who are part of the chain of command that is responsible for achieving organizational goals
Line Personnel
Employees who advise and assist line personnel in meeting their goals
Staff Personnel
An organization in which specialists from different parts of the organization are brought together to woe on specific projects but still remain part of a line-and-staff structure
Matrix Organization
Groups of employees from different departments who work together on a long-term basis
Cross-functional Self-managed Teams
Using communications technology and other means to link organizations and allow them to work together on common objectives
Networking
The present moment or the actual time in which something takes place
Real Time
A temporary networked organization made up of replaceable firms that join and leave as needed
Virtual Cooperation
Comparing an organization’s practices, processes, and products against the world’s best
Benchmarking
Those functions that the organization can do as well as or better than any other organization in the world
Core Competencies
Young people who have grown up using the internet and social networking
Digital Natives
Redesigning an organization that has contact people at the top and the chief executive officer at the bottom of the organization chart
Inverted Organization
Widely shared values within an organization that provide unity and cooperation to achieve common goals
Organizational (or Corporate) Culture
The structure that details lines of responsibility, authority, and position; that is, the structure shown on organization charts
Formal Organization
The system that develops spontaneously as employees meet and form cliques, relationships, and lines of authority outside the formal organization
Informal Organization
