Organizing for Success: Chapter 7 Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering organizational structures, management principles, and strategies for organizational agility based on Chapter 7.

Organization Chart

The reporting structure and division of labor in an organization.

Mechanistic Organization

A form of organization that seeks to maximize internal efficiency.

Organic Structure

An organizational form that emphasizes flexibility.

Differentiation

An aspect of the organization’s internal environment created by job specialization and the division of labor.

Integration

The degree to which differentiated units work together and coordinate their efforts.

Division of labor

The assignment of different tasks to different people or groups.

Specialization

A process in which different individuals and units apply their specific skills to perform different tasks.

Coordination

Procedures linking various parts of an organization for the purpose of achieving its overall mission.

Vertical Structure

A firm’s structure consisting of authority, span of control, delegation, and centralization that shapes reporting relationships, responsibility, and accountability.

Authority

The legitimate right to make decisions and tell other people what to do.

Span of Control

The number of subordinates who report directly to an executive or supervisor.

Tall organization

An organization with narrow spans of control and many reporting levels.

Flat organization

An organization with wide spans of control and fewer reporting levels.

Delegation

The assignment of new or additional responsibilities to a subordinate.

Responsibility

A task that a person is assigned to carry out.

Accountability

The right of a subordinate’s manager to expect performance and to take corrective action if the subordinate fails.

Centralized Organization

An organization in which high-level executives make most decisions and pass them down to lower levels for implementation.

Decentralized Organization

An organization in which lower-level managers make important decisions.

Line departments

Units that deal directly with the organization’s primary goods and services.

Staff departments

Units that support line departments, including research, legal, accounting, public relations, and human resources.

Functional Structure

Departmentalization around specialized activities such as production, marketing, and human resources.

Divisional Structure

Departmentalization that groups units around products, customers, or geographic regions.

Matrix Structure

An organization composed of dual reporting relationships in which some managers report to two superiors—a functional manager and a divisional manager.

Unity-of-command principle

A management principle which the matrix structure violates by having employees report to two superiors.

Network Organization

A collection of independent, mostly single-function firms that collaborate on a good or service.

Modular Network

Temporary arrangements among partners that can be assembled and reassembled to adapt to the environment; also called a virtual network.

Broker

A role that assembles and coordinates participants in a network, including designing, process engineering, and nurturing.

Standardization

Establishing common routines and procedures that apply uniformly to everyone.

Formalization

The presence of rules and regulations governing how people in the organization act and interact.

Coordination by plan

A method where interdependent units create deadlines and objectives that contribute to a common goal.

Coordination by mutual adjustment

A flexible method where units interact with one another to make accommodations to achieve coordination.

Slack resources

A strategy to reduce the need for information by providing extra resources so that departments do not need to share them.

Self-contained tasks

A strategy to reduce the need for information by creating tasks that do not depend on other units.

Agility

Being able to act fast to meet customer needs and respond to other outside pressures.

Total Quality Management (TQM)

An integrative approach that supports attainment of customer satisfaction through tools and techniques resulting in high-quality goods and services.

Six Sigma

A quality approach that analyzes defects.

ISO 9001

A series of voluntary quality standards developed by a committee working under the International Organization for Standardization.

Technology

The systematic application of scientific knowledge to a new product, process, or service.

Mass customization

The attempt by organizations to produce both high-volume and high-variety products at the same time.

Computer integrated manufacturing (CIM)

Technology that helps make mass customization possible.

Lean manufacturing

An approach that strives for highest possible productivity and total quality by eliminating unnecessary steps.

Just-in-time (JIT)

A system that calls for subassemblies and components to be manufactured in very small lots and delivered just as they are needed.

Simultaneous engineering

A process that can speed up research and product development by involving multiple functions at once.