MGT- Ch 11
flextime (or flexible work hours)
a scheduling system in which employees are required to work a specific number of hours a week but are free to vary those hours within certain limits
task force (or ad hoc committee)
a temporary committee or team formed to tackle a specific short-term problem affecting several departments
telecommuting
a work arrangement in which employees work at home and are linked to the workplace by computer
cross functional team
a work team composed of individuals from various functional specialities
compressed workweek
a workweek where employees work longer hours per day but fewer days per week
customer departmentalization advantage
customers needs and problems can be met by specialists.
formalization
how standardized an organization's jobs are and the extent to which employee behavior is guided by rules and procedures
individual employees specialize in doing part of an activity rather than the entire activity in order to
increase work output and quality. its also known as division of labor
organizing
management function that involves arranging and structuring work to accomplish the organizations goals
employees would be working below their skill levels except when?
performing the most highly skilled or highly sophisticated tasks
disadvantages of functional departmentalization
poor communication across functional areas, limited view of organizational goals
staff authority
positions with some authority that have been created to support, assist, and advise those holding line authority
once an organization grows past a certain size,
size has less influence on structure
contingent workers
temporary, freelance, or contract workers whose employment is contingent on demand for their services. They are free agents who move from project to project
departmentalization
the basis by which jobs are grouped together
centralization
the degree to which decision making is concentrated at upper levels of the organization
decentralization
the degree to which lower level employees provide input or actually make decisions
work specialization makes efficient use of
the diversity of skills that workers have. in most organizations, some tasks require highly developed skills; other can be performed by employees with lower skill levels
organizational structure
the formal arrangement of jobs within an organization
one popular departmentalization trend is
the increasing use of customer departmentalization.
chain of command
the line of authority extending from upper organizational levels to the lowest levels, which clarifies who reports to whom
unity of command
the management principle that each person should report to only one manager
span of control
the number of employees a manager can efficiently and effectively manage
responsibility
the obligation or expectation to perform any assigned duties
job sharing
the practice of having two or more people split a full time job
process production
the production of items in continuous processes
mass production
the production of items in large batches
unit production
the production of items in units or small batches
authority
the rights inherent in a managerial position to tell people what to do and to expect them to do it
organizational chart
the visual representation of an organization's structure
organizational design is a process that involves decisions about what six key elements?
work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, centralization, and decentralization, and formalization
benefits of open innovation
give customers what they want, allows organizations to respond to complex problems, nurtures internal and external relationships
employee empowerment
giving employees more authority (power) to make decisions
an organization' structure should facilitate
goal achievement
functional departmentalization
groups jobs according to function
geographical departmentalization
groups jobs according to geographic region
product departmentalization
groups jobs by product line
process departmentalization
groups jobs on the bank of product or customer flow
customer departmentalization
groups jobs on the basis of specific and unique custoemrs who have common needs
drawbacks of open innovation
high demands of managing the process, extensive support needed, cultural challenges
what does a matrix structure create?
a dual chain of command because employees in a matrix organization have two managers, their functional area manager and their product or project manager, who share authority
disadvantages of product departmentalization
duplication of functions, limited view of organizational goals
managers try to minimize environmental uncertainty by
adjusting the organization's struture
advantages of product departmentalization
allows specialization in particular products and services, managers can become experts in their industry
virtual organization
an organization that consists of a small core of full time employees and outside specialists temporarily hired as needed to work on projects
boundaryless organization
an organization whose design is not defined by, or limited to, the horizontal, vertical, or external boundaries imposed by a predefined structure
functional structure
an organizational design that groups together similar or related occupational specialities
mechanistic organization
an organizational design that's rigid and tightly controlled
organic organization
an organizational design thats highly adaptive and flexible
simple structure
an organizational design with little departmentalization, wide spans of control, centralized authority, and little formalization
project structure
an organizational structure in which employees continuously work on projects.
team structure
an organizational structure in which the entire organization is made up of work teams
divisional structure
an organizational structure made up of separate, semi autonomous units or divisions
matrix structure
an organizational structure that assigns specialists from different functional departments to work on one or more projects
line authority
authority that entitles a manager to direct the work of an employee
three important concepts in regards to chain of command
authority, responsibility, and unity of command
in a team structure, why is employee empowerment crucial?
because no line of managerial authority flows from top to bottom.
process departmentalization disadvantage
can only be used with certain types of products
because goals are an important part of the organization's strategies, its only logical that strategy and structure are
closely linked
strengths of a functional structure
cost saving advantages from specialization, employees are grouped with others who have similar tasks
organizational design
creating or changing an organization's structure
disadvantages of social departmentalization
duplication of functions, can feel isolated from other organizational areas
research has shown that certain structural designs work best with
different organizational strategies
purposes of organizing
divide work to be done into specific jobs and departments, assigns tasks and responsibilities associated with individual jobs, coordinates diverse organizational tasks
work specialization
dividing work activities into separate job tasks
weaknesses of a divisional structure
duplication of activities and resources increases costs and reduces efficiency.
customer departmentalization disadvantage
duplication of functions
advantages of functional departmentalization
efficiencies from putting together similar specialties and people with common skills, knowledge, and orientations. coordination within functional area, in depth specialization
once an organization grows past a certain size, size has less influence on structure. Why?
essentially, once there are around 2000 employees, its already fairly meechanistic. On the other hand, adding 500 employees to an organization with only 300 people is likely to make it more mechanistic.
in highly formalized organizations, there are
explicit job descriptions, numerous organizational rules, and clearly defined procedures covering work processes
strengths of a simple structure
fast, flexible, inexpensive to maintain, clear accountability
five common forms of departmentalization
functional, geographical, product, process, and customer
strengths of a divisional structure
focuses on results- division managers are responsible for what happens to their products and services
what does a project structure lack? What does it do instead?
formal departments where employees return at the completion of a projection. Instead, employees take their specific skills, abilities, and experiences to other projects.
the most common arrangement for a compressed workweek
four 10 hour days
managers often rely on a contingent workforce to fill in as needed when
full time jobs are eliminated through downsizing and other organizational restructurings
how the chain of command, authority, responsibility, and unity of command changed over times?
information technology has made such concepts less relevant today. employees can access information that used to be available only to managers in a matter of a few seconds. it also means that employees can communicate with anyone else in the organization without going through the chain of command
because getting and keeping customers is essential for success, this departmentalization works because
it emphasizes monitoring and responding to changes in customer's needs.
most managers today continue to see work specialization as important because
it helps employees be more efficient
what are some pieces of evidence that an organizations affects its structure?
large organizations tend to have more specialization, departmentalization, centralization, and rules and regulations than do small organizations
the early management writers distinguished between what two forms of authority?
line authority and staff authority
why are we seeing organizations become more organic?
mechanistic organizations are not equipped to respond to rapid environmental change and environmental uncertainty
difference between mechanistic and organic organizations
mechanistic: high specalization, rigid departmentalization, clear chain of command organic: cross functional teams, cross hierarchial teams, free flow of information
advantages of social departmentalization
more effective and efficient handling of specific regional issues that arise, serve needs of unique geographic markets better
in stable and simple environments, mechanistic designs can be
more effective than an organization with greater uncertainty that needs the flexibility of organic design
process departmentalization advantage
more efficient flow of work activities
the contemporary view of span of control
no magic in number. many factors influence the number of employees a manager can efficiently and effectively manage. these factors include the skills and abilities of the manager and the employees and the characteristics of the work being done
weaknesses of a simple structure
not appropriate as organization grows, reliance on one person is risky
open innovation
opening up the search for new ideas beyond the organization's boundaries and allowing innovations to easily transfer inward and outward
weaknesses of a functional structure
pursuit of functional goals can cause managers to lose sight of what's best for the overall organization; functional specialists become insulated and have little understanding of what other units are doing.
contingency factors affecting structural choice
strategy and choice, size and structure, technology and structure, environmental uncertainty and structure
what are three distinct technologies that had increasing levels of complexity and sophistication?
unit production, mass production, and process production
one of the main issues businesses face with their contingent workers
who qualifies as one