Has an organizational structure with few or no levels of middle management between staff and executives. (also known as horizontal organization)

An organizational design in which the firm is broken into traditional departments, each with its own set of responsibilities and activities.

An organizational structure that establishes its divisions based on geography.

The process of planning, staffing, leading, and organizing the employees of the business.

People who work to produce goods and services.

Line authority flows down the chain of command. For example, line authority gives a production supervisor the right to direct an employee to operate a particular machine, and it gives the vice president of finance the right to request a certain report from a department head.

Top management has complete control, and the chain of command is clear and simple. Examples of this structure are small businesses in which the top manager, often the owner, is positioned at the top of the organizational structure and has clear "lines" of distinction between him and his subordinates.

A position in the direct chain of command that is responsible for the achievement of an organization’s goals.

Combines the line organization with staff departments that support and advise line departments. Most medium and large-sized firms exhibit line-and-staff organizational structures.

The divisions of an organization that are based around markets, industries, or customer types.

A type of organizational management in which people with similar skills are pooled for work assignments, resulting in more than one manager to report to (sometimes referred to as solid line and dotted line reports, in reference to traditional business organization charts).

An organizational structure that is often created when one company works with another to share resources -- or if your company has multiple locations with different functions and leadership. 

Staffing tasks that must be performed when a new employee joins the company.

A graphical representation of the flow of authority within an organization.

The process of structuring a business’s people, information, and technology to enable the business to achieve its goals and to be successful; also called organizational structure.

The end result of the process of setting medium and long term objectives for an organization and then developing a strategy to accomplish those goals.

The company’s configuration of employees for accomplishing specific business tasks; how the business is organized.

Authority and responsibility officially assigned to an individual who holds a position and/or a title on an organizational chart; formal authority.

An organizational structure designed around the end-to-end flow of different processes, such as "Research & Development," "Customer Acquisition," and "Order Fulfillment."

The division of an organization that is comprised of multiple, smaller functional structures (i.e. each division within a divisional structure can have its own marketing team, its own sales team, and so on).

The right to advise or counsel those with line authority. For example, human resource department employees help other departments by selecting and developing a qualified workforce.

A position intended to provide expertise, advice and support for the line positions.

All the people employed by a particular organization.

Pyramid-type organization that has relatively large number of levels in its hierarchy of authority.

Organizational structures made of teams working towards a common goal while working on their individual tasks.