1.1

• Organizational structure: the internal, formal framework of a business that shows the way in which management is organized, linked together and how authority is passed through the organization
• Organizational structure is the internal, formal framework of a business that shows how management is organized, linked together, and how authority is passed through the organization
• Organizational structure chart displays:

  • Chain of command; who is answerable and who reports to whom
  • Authority and accountability
  • Formal relationship between people
  • Overall responsibility for decision making
  • Formal channels of communication: vertical/horizontal
  • Span of control
  • Level of hierarchy: a stage of the organizational structure where personnel have equal status and authority
• Tall (vertical) organizational structure has many levels of hierarchy and narrow spans of control, leading to communication issues and a sense of remoteness between higher and lower levels of the organization
• Span of control is the number of subordinates reporting directly to a manager
• Flat (horizontal) structure has few levels of hierarchy and wide spans of control, encouraging delegation and shortening the chain of command
• Delegation is passing down authority in the organizational structure, giving managers more time to focus on important issues, but can be unsuccessful if sufficient authority isn't given or if the person is inadequately trained
• Self-actualization is drawing fulfillment through work, encouraging staff accountability, training for senior posts, and promoting motivation
• Accountability is the obligation to account for activities and disclose results transparently
• Delayering is the removal of one or more levels of hierarchy from an organizational structure, reducing business costs but potentially leading to redundancy and a sense of insecurity
• Bureaucracy is an organizational system with standardized procedures and rules
• Centralization keeps important decision-making powers within the head office, while decentralization empowers subordinates and regional/product managers
• Organizational Structures:

  • Hierarchical structure: power and responsibility are clearly specified and allocated based on standing or position in the hierarchy
  • Hierarchical structure can be divided based on product, region, or function
• Factors influencing organizational structure include new technology, business size, leadership style, corporate objectives, and retrenchment
• Matrix structure creates project teams cutting across functional departments, encouraging communication and specialist knowledge but may lead to conflicts of interest
• Handy's Shamrock organization divides workers into core, outsourced, and flexible workers, each with different roles and expectations
• Effective communication is the exchange of information between people or groups with feedback, aiding in motivation, generating new ideas, coordinating between departments, and speeding up decision-making
• Feedback is the response to a message by the receiver
• Cultural differences impact communication, such as high context vs low context culture and sequential vs synchronic culture
• Technology impacts communication by requiring training, addressing security issues, initial costs, reduced social costs, and information overload
• Intranet is an internal computer network built on internet technologies
• Organizational structure chart displays:

  • Chain of command;
  • Formal relationship between people
  • Who has overall responsibility for decision making
  • Formal channels of communication: vertical/horizontal
  • Span of control