Organizational Structure and Employee Motivation Flashcards

Flashcards about organizational structure, motivation, and employee engagement. Terms and definitions are based on lecture notes.

Organisational chart

A diagram showing job titles, lines of communication and responsibility within a business

Organisational structure

The way the jobs, responsibilities and power within a business are organised

Levels of hierarchy

The number of layers of management and supervision existing in an organisation

Chain of command

The lines of authority within the business

Lines of communication

How information is passed up, down and across a business

Span of control

The number of subordinates, one job / post holder is responsible for

Work load

How much work one employee, department or team have to complete in a given period of time

Job role

The tasks involved in a particular job

Delegation

Passing the authority to make specific decisions to somebody further down the organisational hierarchy

Communication flows

How information is passed around an organisation, including through the grapevine

Workforce role

The tasks involved in a particular level or grade of job within an organisation

Motivation

The factors that inspire an employee to complete a task at work

Employee engagement

When an employee is fully absorbed by and enthusiastic about their work and take positive actions to meet the organisations goals.

Motivation

The factors that inspire an employee to complete a task at work.

Financial methods of motivation

Using monetary rewards to motivate employees.

Non-financial methods of motivation

Improving job design (changing the nature of a job role)

Piece rate

Paying employees based on the number of units they produce.

Commission

Payment based on the number of units sold

Profit sharing scheme

A percentage of the company’s profits are distributed to employees

Performance related pay

Where some part of the employees pay is linked to achievement of targets at work

Job enlargement

Including a wider variety of tasks within a job description. This is sometimes called horizontal loading and involves giving people more jobs to do that require the same level of skill

Job enrichment

Increasing the depth of the job by increasing the amount of discretion and authority for decision-making the job holder has

Job rotation

Movement between different jobs. Leads to multi-skilling.

Team working

Exists when an organisation breaks down its production processes into large units instead of relying upon the use of the division of labour.

Appraisal systems

The process of considering and evaluating the performance of an individual employee

Quality related bonus scheme

Salary is reviewed based on the contribution made in terms of the standards achieved