Organisational structures

• An organisational structure is the way a business arranges itself to carry out its activities.
• An organisational chart is a plan showing the roles of, and relationship between, all of employees in a business
• A line manager is an employee's immediate superior or boss
• Authority is the power to control others and to make decisions
• The span of control is the number of employees managed directly by another employee
• Levels of hierachy are the layers of authority within a business
• The chain of command is the line of authority within a business along which communication passes
• Delayering is the removal of one of more levels of hierarchy from a business's organisational structure.
• Delegation is the passing down of authority to the next hierarchy level
• A flat organisational structure has a wide span of control, but fewer levels of hierarchy.

  Eg. smaller businesses
• A tall organisational structure has narrow spans of control and a larger number of levels of hierarchy

  Eg. Large businesses such as banks
• Communication is the exchange of information between 2 or more people
• Downward communication = From CEO -> Director -> Manager -> Supervisor -> Shop-floor
• Upward communication = travels up the hierachy levels
• Decentralisation allows employees working in all areas of the business to take decisions
• Centralisation occurs when a small number of senior managers in a business take all the important decisions