Chapter 8: Structuring Organizations for Today’s Challenges Flashcards
benchmarking
Comparing an organization’s practices, processes, and products against the world’s best.
bureaucracy
An organization with many layers of managers who set rules and regulations and oversee all decisions.
centralized authority
An organizational structure in which decision-making authority is maintained at the top level of management at the company’s headquarters.
chain of command
The line of authority that moves from the top of a hierarchy to the lowest level.
core competencies
Those functions that the organization can do as well as or better than any other organization in the world.
cross-functional self-managed teams
Groups of employees from different departments who work together on a long-term basis.
decentralized authority
An organizational structure in which decision-making authority is delegated to lower-level managers more familiar with local conditions than headquarters management could be.
departmentalization
The dividing of organizational functions into separate units.
digital natives
Young people who have grown up using the Internet and social networking.
economies of scale
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.
flat organizational structure
An organizational structure that has few layers of management and a broad span of control.
formal organization
The structure that details lines of responsibility, authority, and position; that is, the structure shown on organization charts.
hierarchy
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.
informal organization
The system that develops spontaneously as employees meet and form cliques, relationships, and lines of authority outside the formal organization; that is, the human side of the organization that does not appear on any organization chart.
inverted organization
An organization that has contact people at the top and the chief executive officer at the bottom of the organization chart.
line organization
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 personnel
Employees who are part of the chain of command that is responsible for achieving organizational goals.
matrix organization
An organization in which specialists from different parts of the organization are brought together to work on specific projects but still remain part of a line-and-staff structure.
networking
The process of establishing and maintaining contacts with key managers in one’s own organization and other organizations and using those contacts to weave strong relationships that serve as informal development systems.
organizational (or corporate) culture
Widely shared values within an organization that provide unity and cooperation to achieve common goals.
organization chart
A visual device that shows relationships among people and divides the organization’s work; it shows who is accountable for the completion of specific work and who reports to whom.
real time
The present moment or the actual time in which something takes place.
restructuring
Redesigning an organization so that it can more effectively and efficiently serve its customers.
span of control
The optimum number of subordinates a manager supervises or should supervise.
