4.1 - organisational structures

• Organisational structure 


  The way a business arranges itself to carry out its activities
• Organisational chart 


  Is a plan showing the roles of, and relationships between all the employees in a business.
• Line manager 


  is an employees immediate superior or boss
• Authority 


  Is the power to control others and to make decisions
• Why do businesses have organisational structures?


  They have to organise themselves to be able to carry out their activities effectively.
• Directors role:

  • establish the businesses overall goals
  • Set long-term plans and targets for the business
• Managers role and responsibilites:

  • Work to achieve the short and long term targets set by the director
  • Use employees and other resources in the best possible ways
• Team leaders role and responsibilities:

  • Help managers to achieve there targets by reporting any problems and passing on instructions
  • Take simple decisions, such as allocting jobs
• Shop floor workers role and responsibilities:

  • To carry out the businesses basic duties or activities
• Span of control


   the number of staff that a manager has responsibility for
• Chain of command


  the route by which instructions and communications flow from the top to the bottom of a business, explaining who is answerable to whom
• delayering 


   a process where a business removes layers of its management to make its structure more flat
• delegation 


  a process where tasks are given to members of staff, where often managers give tasks to employees further down the chain of command

  ~
• suboordinates

  members of staff below a manager in the chain of command
• Levels of hierarchy 


  Layers of authority within a business
• Flat Structure


  A type of organisational structure where there are fewer levels of management, decision-making power is distributed more widely throughout the organisation, typically characterised by a smaller number of hierarchical levels, fewer departments or divisions, and more direct communication and decision-making authority.
• Tall organisational structure - A structure with many levels of management, with each level having a relatively small number of employees.
• Flat organisational structure has a few level of hierarchy, wide span of controland a short chain of command
• Management styles 


  Approaches used by managers within an organisation to make the most productive workforces