Ch.7 MGMT
task force
A committee of managers from various functions or divisions who meet to solve a specific mutual problem.
knowledge management system
A company-specific virtual information system that allows workers to share their knowledge and expertise and fin others to help solve ongoing problems.
organizational structure
A formal system of task and reporting relationships that coordinates and motivates organizational members so that they work together to achieve organizational goals.
cross-functional team
A group of managers brought together from different departments to perform organizational task.
network structure
A series of strategic alliances that an organization creates with suppliers, manufacturers, and/or distributors to produce and market a product.
strategic alliance
An agreement in which managers pool or share their organization's resources and know-how with a foreign company and the two organizations share the rewards and risks of starting a new venture.
boundaryless organization
An organization whose members are linked by computers, faxes, computer-aided design systems, and video teleconferencing and who rarely, if ever, see on another face-to-face.
hierarchy of authority
An organization's chain of command, specifying the relative authority of each manager
functional structure
An organizational structure composed of all the departments that an organization requires to produce its goods or services.
divisional structure
An organizational structure composed of separate business units within which are the functions that work together to produce a specific product for a specific customer.
market structure
An organizational structure in which each kind of customer is served by a self-contained division; also called customer structure.
product structure
An organizational structure in which each product line or business is handled by a self-contained division.
geographic structure
An organizational structure in which each region of a country or area of the world is served by a self-contained division.
product team structure
An organizational structure in which employees are permanently assigned to a cross-functional team and report only to the product team manager or to one of his or her direct subordinates.
matrix structure
An organizational structure that simultaneously groups people and resources by function and by product.
job enrichment
Increasing the degree of responsibility a worker has over his or her job.
job enlargement
Increasing the number of different tasks in a given job by changing the division of labor.
integrating mechanisms
Organizing tools that managers can use to increase communication and coordination among functions and divisions.
line manager
Someone in the direct line or chain of command who has formal authority over people and resources at lower levels.
staff manager
Someone responsible for managing a specialist function, such as finance or marketing.
authority
The power to hold people accountable for their actions and to make decisions concerning the use of organizational resources.
hybrid structure
The structure of a large organization that has many divisons and simultaneously uses many different organizational structures.
outsource
To use outside suppliers and manufacturers to produce goods and services.
span of control
the number of subordinates who report directly to a manager.
job design
the process by which managers decide how to divide tasks into specific jobs.
organizational design
the process by which managers make specific organizing choices that result in a particular kind of organizational structure.
job simplification
the process of reducing the number of tasks that each worker performs