Organisational structure

Definitions to learn Organisational structure: levels of management and division of responsibilities within an organisation. Job description: outlines the responsibilities and duties to be carried out by someone employed to do a specific job. Delegation: giving a subordinate the authority to perform particular tasks. It is very important to remember that it is the authority to perform a task which is being delegatednot the final responsibility. Advantages of delegation for the manager y Managers cannot do every job themselves. y Managers are less likely to make mistakes if some of the tasks are being performed by their subordinates. y Managers can measure the success of their stuff more easily. They can see how well they have done in performing the tasks delegated to them. Advantages of delegation for the subordinate y The work becomes interesting and rewarding. y The employee feels more important and believes that trust is being put in them to perform a job well. y Delegation helps to train workers and they can then make progress in the organisation. It gives them career opportunities. Delegation must mean y A reduction in direct control by supervisors and managers once tasks are done by workers. y Increasing trust of workers by supervisors and managers.

Advantages of an organisation chart y Shows how everybody is linked together in the organisation. All employees are aware of which communication channel is used to reach them with messages and instructions.

y Every individual can see their own position in the organisation. They can identify who they are accountable to and who they have authority over. Employees can see who they should take orders from. y Shows the links and relationships between different departments within the organisation. y Everyone is in a department and this gives them a sense of belonging. Definitions to learn Chain of command: structure in an organisation which allows instructions to be passed down from senior management to lower levels of management. Span of control: number of subordinates working directly under a manager. The longer chain of command, the taller will be the organisational structure and the narrower the span of control. When the chain of command is short, the organisation will have wider spans of control. De-layering: removing a whole level of management. Advantages of short chains of command y Communication is quicker and more accurate. Each message has fewer levels to pas through before reaching the intended person. y Top managers are less remote from the lower level of hierarchy. These top managers should be more in touch with people below them as there are fewer management levels to get to know. y Spans of control will be wider. Each manager is responsible for more subordinates. Why? - If superiors have more people to manage, it will encourage managers to delegate more. This is because, as their department is larger, they cannot possibly do all the important work by themselves. - Less direct control of each worker and they will feel more trusted. They will be able to take more decisions by themselves. More job satisfaction. Definitions to learn Line managers: have direct authority over subordinates in their department. They are able to take decisions in their department area. Staff managers: specialist advisers who provide support to line managers and to the Board of Directors. Advantages and disadvantages of employing staff managers as well as line managers 3 Staff managers can provide advice to line managers on particular issues, such as new computer systems or how economic changes may affect the Marketing department. 3 This will help give line managers more time to concentrate on their main tasksorganising their department and taking decisions. 2 There may be conflict and frustration between the 2 groups because they may have different points of view on important matters.

2 Line employees may be confused about who to taker orders or instructions from the line or the staff manager.

Decentralisation
Definitions to learn A decentralised management structure means that many decisions are not taken at the centre of the business at all but are delegated to a lower level of management. A centralised management structure means that most decisions are taken at the centre, or higher levels of management. There is, therefore, little effective delegation. Advantages of a decentralised management structure y Decisions are taken by managers who are closer to the action. y As decentralisation is a form of delegation, managers who are now able to take decisions will feel more trusted and will have more satisfaction from their work. y Decisions can be made much more quickly than if the Board of Directors or senior managers have to be given all the information before making a decision. When the environment in which a business operates is changing very quickly, for example because of new competitors, then it is very important to be able to take speedy decisions.