Improving Organisational Design Flashcards
What does organisational design show?
Structure and Hierarchy
What does an organisational chart set out?
Who has authority and responsibility to make decisions
What does an organisational chart show?
Who individual employees are accountable to and who employees are responsible for
What is a ‘tall’ structure?
Organisations with lots of levels
What do tall structures have?
Long chains of command
What is the chain of command?
The path of communication and authority up and down the hierarchy
Why can tall structures affect communication? 2 reasons
Messages can take a long time to get from each side of the hierarchy.
Decisions take a long time to make.
What is a ‘flat’ structure?
Organisations with only a few levels in their hierarchy
What can flat structures lead to?
Managers getting overwhelmed by too many people reporting to them.
What is the span of control?
The number of people who report directly to a manager
What can happen if the span of control is too wide?
Managers can find it hard to manage effectively
What kind of span of control do tall structures have?
Narrow
What can happen if the span of control is too narrow?
Workers can become demotivated
What is delayering?
Removing parts of the hierarchy
What can delayering do? 3 benefits
Create a flatter structure with wider spans of control.
Lower costs
Improve communication
What is 2 disadvantages of delayering?
Can cost businesses money and managers can end up stressed If you overdo it.
What does delegation rely on?
Trust between the 2 parties
What is delegation?
Giving responsibility for decision-making to people below you
What is the amount of delegation influenced by?
The nature and culture of the business
What do centralised structures keep?
Authority for decisions at the top
What is a centralised structure?
All decisions are made by senior managers at the top of the business
What are 3 advantages of centralisation?
Managers have experience
Consistent decisions are made
No consultation
What are 3 disadvantages of centralisation?
Not many people are expect in all aspects
Excluding employees can be demotivating
Slow to notice consumer trends
What are decentralised structures?
Authority shared out to more junior employees
What are 3 advantages of decentralisation?
Motivates employees
Can use knowledge of their sector
Quick
What are 3 disadvantages of decentralisation?
Not enough experience
Inconsistencies
May not be able to see overall situation and needs of a business
What can affect whether a business uses a centralised or decentralised approach? 4 points
Size
Nature
Culture
Objectives of a business
Why may business centralise? 2 reasons
Save money in a more competitive market and can result in a flat and wide structure
Why may businesses decentralise? 2 reasons
Creates more levels of authority
Increase amount of delegation
