Management, 15th Edition - Chapter 10: Designing Organization Structure

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key organizational design concepts, vertical structures, departmentalization approaches, horizontal coordination mechanisms, and workflow technologies from Chapter 10 of Richard L. Daft's Management (15th Edition).

Organizing

The deployment of organizational resources to achieve strategic goals.

Organization Structure

The framework comprising the set of formal tasks assigned to individuals and departments, formal reporting relationships, and the design of systems to ensure effective coordination across departments.

Organization Chart

The visual representation of an organization's structure.

Division of Labor

The degree to which organizational tasks are subdivided into separate jobs; also known as work specialization.

Chain of Command

An unbroken line of authority that links all employees in an organization and shows who reports to whom.

Authority

The formal and legitimate right of a manager to make decisions, issue orders, and allocate resources to achieve organizationally desired outcomes.

Responsibility

The duty to perform an assigned task or activity.

Accountability

The mechanism through which authority and responsibility are aligned.

Delegation

The process managers use to transfer authority and responsibility down the organizational hierarchy.

Centralization

The structural approach where decision authority is located near the top of the organization.

Decentralization

The structural approach where decision authority is pushed downward to lower organizational levels.

Span of Management

The number of employees reporting to a supervisor; also referred to as span of control.

Departmentalization

The basis for grouping positions into departments and departments into the total organization.

Functional Structure

An organizational design that groups activities and positions by common function from the bottom to the top based on similar skills, expertise, work activities, and resource use.

Divisional Structure

An organizational structure in which departments are grouped together based on similar organizational outputs, such as products, services, or geography; also known as an M-form or decentralized form.

Matrix Approach

A structural approach that combines functional and divisional designs simultaneously in the same part of the organization, utilizing a dual chain of command.

Two-Boss Employees

Employees in a matrix structure who report to two supervisors simultaneously and must resolve conflicting demands from both matrix bosses.

Matrix Boss

A product or functional supervisor who is responsible for managing one side of the dual hierarchy in a matrix structure.

Top Leader

The executive in a matrix organization who oversees both the product and functional chains of command and maintains responsibility for the entire matrix structure.

Cross-Functional Teams

Teams consisting of employees from various functional departments who meet together to resolve mutual problems.

Permanent Teams

Groups of employees who are organized horizontally in a manner similar to a formal departmental unit.

Team-Based Structure

An organizational structure in which the entire organization is made up of horizontal teams that coordinate their work and collaborate directly with customers.

Outsourcing

The practice of farming out certain organizational activities, such as manufacturing or credit processing, to outside vendors or firms.

Virtual Network Structure

A structural approach where a firm subcontracts most of its major functions to separate companies and coordinates their activities from a small central hub at headquarters.

Coordination

The managerial task of collaborating and synchronizing activities across different departments.

Collaboration

A joint effort between people from two or more departments to produce outcomes that meet a common goal or shared purpose.

Silo Mentality

An organizational attitude in which functional departments do not share knowledge, communicate, or cooperate with other departments.

Task Force

A temporary committee or team designed to resolve a specific problem that involves several departments.

Project Manager

A person responsible for coordinating the activities of multiple departments for the completion of a specific project who is not an official member of any department being coordinated.

Technology-Based Collaboration Tools

Digital systems, including cloud-based services and collaboration or innovation platforms, that facilitate remote teamwork, resource sharing, and meeting management.

Workflow Technology

The knowledge, tools, techniques, and activities used to transform organizational inputs into outputs.

Small-Batch Production

A manufacturing technology category where firms produce goods in batches of one or a few products designed to customer specifications, involving low technical complexity.

Mass Production

A manufacturing technology characterized by standardized production runs of a large volume of identical items, involving medium technical complexity.

Continuous Process Production

A manufacturing technology where the entire workflow is mechanized and operates without stopping, characterized by high technical complexity.

Technical Complexity

The degree to which machinery and automated systems are used in production without the direct involvement of human labor.