Chapter 7- Designing Organizational Structure
Knowledge Management System
A company -specific virtual information system that allows workers to share their knowledge and expertise and find others to help solve the problems
Business to Business (B2B) network
A group of organization that join together and use IT to link themselves to potential global suppliers to increase efficiency and effectiveness
Network Structure
A series of strategic alliances that an organization creates with suppliers, manufactures, and distributors to produce and market a product. Allows firms to bring resources together in a boundary-less organization
Strategic Alliance
An agreement in which managers pool or share firm's resources and know-how with a foreign company and the two firms share in the rewards and risks of starting a new venue
Boundary Less Organization
An organization whose members are linked by computers, faxes, computer-aided design systems, and video-conferencing and who, rarely, if ever, see one 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 and 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
Matrix Structure
An organizational structure that simultaneously groups people and resources by function and product
Market Structure
Each kind of customer is served by a self-contained division, also called customer structure
Global Product Structure
Each product division, not the country or regional managers, takes the responsibility for deciding where to manufacture its products and how to market them in a foreign countries
Product Structure
Each product line or business is handled by self-contained division
Geographic Structure
Each region of a country or area of the world is served by a self-contained division
Autonomy
Employee has freedom to schedule tasks and carry them out
Skill Variety
Employee use a wide range of skills
Organizational Structure
Formal system of task and reporting relationships that coordinates and motivates organizational members so that they work together to achieve organizational goals
Decentralizing Authority
Giving lower-level managers and non-managerial employees the right to make important decisions about how to use organizational resources
Cross-Functional Team
Group of managers brought together from different departments to perform organizational tasks
Job Enrichment
Increasing the degree of responsibility a worker has over a job
Job Enlargement
Increasing the number of different tasks in a given job by changing the division
Global Geographic Structure
Managers locate different divisions in each of the world regions where the organization operates. Generally, occurs when managers are pursuing a multi-domestic strategy
Product Team Structure
Members are permanently assigned to cross-functional team and report only to the product team manager or to one of his subordinates
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
Staff Manager
Someone responsible for managing a specialist function, such as function, such as finance or marketing
Technology
The combination skills, knowledge, tools, equipment, computers and machines used in the organization
Span of Control
The number of subordinates that report directly to a manager
Authority
The power to hold people accountable for their actions and to make decisions concerning the use of organizational resources
Job Design
The process by which managers decide how to divide tasks into specific jobs
Organizing
The process by which managers establish the structure of working relationships among employees to achieve goals
Organizational Design
The process by which managers make specific choices that result in a particular kind of organizational structure
Job Simplification
The process of reducing the number of tasks that each worker performs
The Organizational Environment
The quicker the environment changes, the more problems face managers. Structure must be more flexible (i.e., decentralized) when environmental change is rapid
Hybrid Structure
The structure of a large organization that has many divisions and simultaneously uses many different organizational structures
Outsource
To use outside suppliers and manufactures to produce goods and services
Task Significance
Worker feels the task is meaningful to organization
Feedback
Worker gets direct information about how well the job is done
Task Identity
Worker is involved in all tasks of the job from beginning to end of the production process
Flat Structures
fewer levels and wide spans of control
Tall Structures
many levels of authority and narrow spans of control
