Organisational Structure (Starter activity)

Employees at the lowest level of a hierarchy are often called

• Temps

• Newbies

• Operatives

• Trainees

A hierarchical organisation is one that has:

• Few layers of management

• A large number of employees

• Few managers

• A high number of layers of management

What is absenteeism

• Incidence of employees not turning up for work

• Tendency for workers to take unofficial breaks

• Rate of employees who disobey instructions

• A kind of stress brought on by poor rewards

An advantage of a tall hierarchy is that it provides

• Closer links with customers

• Better communication

• Less risk of poor motivation

• More opportunities for promotion

An advantage of a hierarchical structure is:

• Communication is easy so errors are less likely

• Communication is quicker, so the business is more efficient

• It gives opportunity for promotion, which will motivate workers

• It has a wide span of ontrol which means workers feel trusted

An example of delayering would be:

• Removal of middle managers

• Removing responsibilities

• Reducing staff numbers

• Reducing spans of control

The way information is communicated up and down the hierarchy is through the

• Workforce planning system

• Employee newsletter

• Chain of command

• Internal appraisal system

A business where the main decisions are all taken by senior managers in one place is called:

• Director-led

• Autonomous

• Decentralised

• Centralised

The process of flattening organisational hierarchies is known as:

• Team working

• Outsourcing

• Delegating

• Delayering

The number of subordinates reporting to a manager is called the

• Workforce role

• Hierarchy

• Chain of command

• Span of control