Business Organisational Structure, Functions and Governance Flashcards

Fill-in-the-blank practice flashcards covering informal/formal organisations, Mintzberg components, organisational structures, span of control, Porter's Value Chain, Anthony's hierarchy, functional departments, and Schein and Handy cultural models.

An informal organisation always exists alongside the formal one and consists of social relationships, informal communication networks, behavioural norms, and power/influence structures, all of which may __________ formal organisational arrangements.

bypass

The informal communication network that bypasses formal reporting channels and routes is often referred to as the __________ or 'bush telegraph'.

grapevine

Every limited company must have at least one director, while public limited companies (plcs) must have at least __________ directors.

two

Directors are appointed by the shareholders, strictly known as __________, to run the company on their behalf.

members

Directors have an equitable __________ duty, which is defined as a duty of the utmost good faith, to look after the interests of the company.

fiduciary

In Henry Mintzberg's organigram shown below, the component located at the top that ensures the organisation follows its mission is the __________.

Strategic Apex

In Mintzberg's five components, the __________ consists of the people directly involved in the production of the goods and services that the organisation produces.

operating core

According to Mintzberg, the __________ component contains analysers who determine the best way of doing a job and personnel analysts who standardise skills.

technostructure

In Mintzberg's five components, ancillary services such as public relations, legal counsel, and the cafeteria fall under __________.

support staff

An __________ organisational structure is a fluid structure with little or no formality suitable for small start-up companies, dominated by a central owner/entrepreneur.

entrepreneurial

A functional structure groups employees by specialism, but one of its main disadvantages is that it creates __________ barriers to information and work flow.

vertical

A __________ organisation crosses a functional structure with a product, customer, or project structure, breaking the classical management principle of unity of command.

matrix

The number of employees who report directly to one manager in an organisational hierarchy is referred to as the __________.

span of control

A tall organisation is characterised by a long scalar chain and a __________ span of control.

narrow

In Michael Porter's Value Chain diagram, activities are divided into primary activities and __________ activities.

support

In Porter's Value Chain, the primary activity concerned with receiving, handling, and storing inputs to the production system is __________.

inbound logistics

In Porter's Value Chain, the excess that the customer is prepared to pay over the cost to the firm of obtaining resource inputs and providing value activities is called the __________.

margin

In a __________ organisation, people and activities are split between core and non-core competencies, and all non-core processes are outsourced.

hollow

In Robert Anthony's hierarchy, decisions made at the __________ management level typically have time frame implications of three to five years.

strategic

Under Anthony's hierarchy of roles, the tactical level includes the Guardian and __________ roles.

Coordinator

Under Anthony's hierarchy of roles, the operational roles are Provider and __________.

Customer

In Research and Development, __________ research is undertaken for a specific application, whereas pure research has no immediate commercial advantage.

applied

The four unique characteristics of service operations that differentiate them from goods are that services are simultaneous, heterogeneous, intangible, and __________.

perishable

The traditional Marketing Mix consists of the 4 Ps: Product, Price, Place, and __________.

Promotion

In service industries, three additional Ps are added to the marketing mix: People, Processes, and __________.

physical evidence

The promotion model known as AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and __________.

Action

Key techniques of treasury management include cash budgeting, arranging bank overdraft facilities, repaying borrowed sums, and comparing actual cash flows against __________.

budget

Edgar Schein defines organisational culture as the set of shared, taken for granted implied __________ that a group holds.

assumptions

In the culture iceberg model shown below, the elements visible above the water level are __________ and attitudes.

behaviour

The five observable aspects of culture can be memorised using the acronym CRABS, which stands for Customs, Rituals, Artefacts, Beliefs and values, and __________.

Symbols

In Charles Handy's cultural stereotypes, a __________ culture is represented by a spider's web and is associated with the god Zeus.

power

In Charles Handy's cultural stereotypes, a role culture is controlled by well-established rules and procedures and is represented by a Greek temple associated with the god __________.

Apollo

In Charles Handy's cultural stereotypes, power in a __________ culture derives from expertise, featuring multiple reporting lines like a matrix or net structure.

task

In Charles Handy's cultural stereotypes, individuals in a __________ culture believe themselves superior to the organisation, as seen in barristers' chambers or university professors.

person