Organisational Structures Flashcards
All 20 cards in this deck
What is an organisational structure?
The internal arrangement of staff within a business, representing the different layers of management.
What is a span of control?
The number of staff a manager has management responsibility for.
What is the chain of command?
The route by which instructions and communications flow from the top to the bottom of a business, showing who is answerable to whom.
What is a subordinate?
A member of staff below a manager in the chain of command.
Give two features of a flat organisational structure.
Few layers of management (short chain of command) and wide spans of control.
True or false? A hierarchical (tall) structure has managers with narrow spans of control.
True. Many layers of management mean each manager is responsible for fewer staff.
Give two reasons why a business has an internal organisational structure.
It shows who is answerable to whom (clear chain of command) and makes clear each employee's job role and responsibilities.
What is delayering?
Removing layers of management from a business to make its structure more flat.
State two reasons why a business uses delayering.
To reduce costs (fewer managers/supervisors employed) and to improve communication (it reduces the chain of command).
What effect does delayering have on managers' spans of control and on delegation?
Spans of control get wider and there is more opportunity for delegation from senior management.
What is delegation?
Giving tasks to members of staff, often by managers to employees further down the chain of command.
What is one benefit to a manager of delegating tasks to subordinates?
It reduces the manager's workload, freeing time for other decisions.
What is a centralised management structure?
A structure where decisions are made at the top of the business or in head office and passed down the chain of command.
What is a decentralised management structure?
A structure where decisions are made by managers and subordinates further down the chain of command.
Give one benefit and one drawback of centralised decision making.
Benefit: consistency and clear direction/accountability across the business. Drawback: it can demotivate employees and be slow to respond to change.
Give one benefit and one drawback of decentralised decision making.
Benefit: decisions suit the local area and can be made quickly. Drawback: less consistency and a risk of ineffective decisions by lower-level managers.
How does a long chain of command affect communication in a business?
Messages are slower to travel and can be distorted as they pass through many layers.
True or false? A flat organisational structure offers many opportunities for promotion.
False. Few layers of management mean fewer promotion opportunities; tall structures offer more.
Give one argument in favour of a business creating a taller structure by adding supervisor/assistant manager roles.
It rewards existing staff with promotion and higher pay, helping staff retention, and allows closer monitoring of employees.
Name the typical levels of job role from the top to the bottom of an organisational structure.
Directors, then managers, then supervisors, then operatives/employees.