Organisation Design

Question 1

Organisational design

Answer 1

Organisational design is the process of aligning the structure of an organisation with its objectives, with the ultimate aim of improving efficiency and effectiveness.

Question 2

Authority

Answer 2

Authority is defined as the right to give orders, supervise the work of others and make decisions. It is linked with the managerial position to give orders and expect others to follow the orders

Question 3

Chain of command

Answer 3

These are the paths along which communication takes place and instructions or orders are passed down

Question 4

Why have an organisational structure

Answer 4

Clear chain of command
Clear span of control
Clarify job role
Clarify functional area

Question 5

Span of control

Answer 5

The span of control is the number of subordinates that a superior/manager has direct responsiblity

Question 6

Hierarchy

Answer 6

A hierarchy refers to the ranking of the workforce in terms of importance and power, whereby people at the top of the organisational structure have the most power/importance and those at the bottom have the least power/importance

Question 7

Centralisation

Answer 7

Centralisation refers to when decision-making is kept to the top level of an organisational structure and there is little or no delegation to the lower levels. It is commonly associated with a tall structure, with many layers, and a narrow span of control.

Question 8

Decentralisation

Answer 8

Decentralisation refers to when decision-making is spread throughout the organisation and is delegated to lower levels of the hierarchy. It is commonly associated with a flat structure, with few layers, and a wide span of control.

Question 9

Delegation

Answer 9

Delegation involves the assignment to others of the authority for particular functions, tasks, and decisions. For example, a manager might delegate a task to one of their subordinates. This means the subordinate has authority to complete the task and means the manager’s time is freed up to do other things.

Question 10

Empowerment

Answer 10

Empowerment refers to giving someone the power/responsibility/authority to perform various acts, carry out specific duties or make certain decisions.

Question 11

Delayering

Answer 11

Delayering is the action or process of reducing the number of levels in the hierarchy of employees in an organisation. This is often through making redundancies and usually involves taking out a layer of management. The result of delayering is a flatter organisational structure and a wider span of control.

Question 12

Tall hierarchical structures

Answer 12

many more layers in the hierarchy. The span of control is narrow at the top, but will widen somewhat at the bottom, where supervisors’ key role is to monitor performance.

Question 13

Flat hierarchal structure

Answer 13

The span of control is wider, the chain of command is shorter and there are fewer layers in the hierarchy.