Ch. 7 Organization Structures

Front

Legitimate power, granted by the organization and acknowledged by employees, that allows an individual to request action and expect compliance.

Back

authority

Front

The degree to which formal authority is concentrated in one area or level of an organization. Top management makes most of the decisions.

Back

centralization

Front

The line of authority that extends from one level of an organization’s hierarchy to the next, from top to bottom, and makes clear who reports to whom.

Back

chain of command

Front

The process of pushing decision-making authority down the organizational hierarchy.

Back

decentralization

Front

The process of grouping jobs together so that similar or associated tasks and activities can be coordinated.

Back

departmentalization

Front

The process of dividing work into separate jobs and assigning tasks to workers

Back

division of labor

Front

The levels of management within an organization; typically includes top, middle, and supervisory management.

Back

managerial hierarchy

Front

A visual representation of the structured relationships among tasks and the people given the authority to do those tasks

Back

organization chart

Front

The complete redesign of business structures and processes in order to improve operations.

Back

reengineering

Front

The number of employees a manager directly supervises; also called span of management.

Back

span of control