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