Organisational Structures Flashcards

All 33 cards in this deck

What is a hierarchical organisational structure?

A structure with many layers of management and a long chain of command, where each manager has a small span of control.

What is a flat organisational structure?

A structure with few layers of management and a short chain of command, where each manager has a wide span of control.

Give one disadvantage to a business of a flat organisational structure.

One manager may be responsible for many subordinates, so they have too much work and costly mistakes may be made.
Or: employees may lack self-discipline and exploit the lack of supervision, so productivity falls.

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 centralised management structure?

A structure where decisions are made at the top of the business or in a 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, rather than at the top.

Give one advantage of a centralised structure.

It gives consistency across the whole business and clear accountability.

Give one advantage of a decentralised structure.

Employee motivation improves and local branches can respond quickly to local changes.

True or false? A decentralised structure always makes decision-making better for a business.

False. It can reduce consistency across the business and lead to ineffective decisions by less experienced staff.

Give one impact on a business of insufficient communication with employees.

Employees are unsure what to do, so they make mistakes and the quality of the good or service falls.

Give one barrier to effective communication.

Any one of: jargon or technical language that confuses employees; too many layers in the hierarchy; noise or distance between sender and receiver; using the wrong method of communication.

Why can having too many layers in the hierarchy be a barrier to effective communication?

Messages must pass through too many employees, so the business responds slowly to change.

True or false? Giving employees too much communication can harm a business.

True. Excessive communication wastes time and employees may miss the important information, reducing efficiency.

What are flexible hours as a way of working?

An arrangement where employees' working hours vary to suit the business's demand or the employee's other commitments.

Give one benefit to a business of offering flexible hours.

It makes the business a more desirable place to work (staff can fit work around childcare), so it can attract better quality employees.

Give one advantage to a business of flexible hours rather than full-time contracts.

It can minimise wage costs by only paying staff during busy times and sending them home when it is quiet.

What is a permanent contract?

A contract with no fixed end date, so the employee stays with the business until they or the employer end it.

Give one benefit to a business of giving employees permanent contracts.

Workers feel secure and are less likely to leave, so the business saves money on recruiting and training new staff.

Give one advantage to a business of temporary contracts rather than permanent ones.

Flexibility — it can choose not to renew contracts if demand turns out to be lower than expected.

What is a freelance worker?

A self-employed person hired by a business to do specific work or projects, rather than being employed by it.

True or false? 'Freelance' is a type of organisational structure.

False. Freelance is a way of working (a type of contract); hierarchical and flat are organisational structures.

What is remote working?

Employees working away from the business's premises, usually from home, using technology to communicate.

Give one benefit to a business of allowing remote working.

It attracts talented workers who want to work flexibly and who do not live within commuting distance of the office.

Give one drawback to a business of remote working.

Any one of: communication is harder because teams are not in the same place, so mistakes or delays happen; staff may feel isolated, so motivation falls; it is harder to supervise staff.

True or false? Remote working has no set-up costs for a business.

False. Buying computer equipment and broadband access for employees can be expensive and may reduce profit.

True or false? A part-time employee cannot be on a permanent contract.

False. Part-time describes the hours worked, so a part-time worker can still have a permanent contract.

What is span of control?

The number of employees who report directly to one manager.

Give one advantage to a business of a flat organisational structure.

Any one of: messages pass through fewer layers, so communication is quicker; fewer managers' salaries to pay, so costs are lower; the business can adapt more quickly to change.

Give one advantage to a business of a hierarchical organisational structure.

Any one of: each manager has a small team, so they can supervise and control it closely; the many layers give employees a clear path to promotion, which can motivate them.

Give one disadvantage of a centralised structure.

Any one of: decisions take longer because they must come from head office; local managers cannot react to their own customers' needs; staff lower down may feel less trusted, so motivation falls.

What is delayering?

Removing one or more layers of management from a business's hierarchy, often to cut costs and speed up communication.

What is a temporary contract?

An employment contract that ends on a set date, or when a particular job or season is over.

Give one drawback to a business of employing staff on temporary or flexible contracts.

Without long-term job security, staff may feel less loyal to the business, so they may work less hard or leave for a more secure job.