Summary
Summary A2 Section 2: Human Resource Management
- Course
- Institution
- Book
A2 summary of Section 2: Human Resource Management
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
More summaries for
-
9609 Business AS Level Key Terms
-
A2 Section 1: Business and Its Environment
-
AS Section 5: Finance and Accounting
Seller
Follow
victoriadv2909
Content preview
Unit 2: Human Resource ManagementChapter 13: Organisational Structure
Organisational Structure= the internal, formal framework of a business that shows the way in which
management is organised & linked together, & how authority is passed through the organisation.
Allows:
1. Clear division of tasks & responsibilities.
2. Workers understand which manager they are responsible to.
This Structure Indicates:
- Who has responsibility for decision-making.
- Formal relationships between staff %
departments.
- Position of individuals & their line managers.
- How accountability & authority passed down.
- Number of subordinates reporting to each
senior manager.
- Formal channels of communication.
- Identify supervisor/manager to whom each worker is accountable.
Changes in Organisational Structure:
1. New competitors enter the industry will require quicker-acting & more flexible structure.
2. As firm expands, its internal structure must change.
3. Business objectives change (creation of departments).
4. Intrapreneurship being encouraged:
- Creation of task forces from different departments & divisions.
- High levels of delegation & trust shown with only minimum direct management.
- Flexibility of team membership.
Functional Structure= departments have clearly defined roles & responsibilities in a specialist area
such as marketing, finance, HR or operations.
Functional Manager= senior employee who has authority over a complete organisational unit.
Pros:
- Employee displays of departamental loyalty & pride.
- Encourages employees to become specialists & increases efficiency & productivity.
- Departments led by managers who are specialists in functional areas.
Cons:
- As vertical doesn't allow for good - Employees may feel remote from
connections between departments. senior management.
- Coordination is therefore difficult. - Competition between departments.
Hierarchical Structure= a structure consisting of multiple levels in which all members of the
organisation, apart from one, are subordinate to someone else.
Pros:
- The role of each individual will be clear & well-defined.
- Clearly identifiable chain of command.
Cons:
- One-way communication is standard.
- No horizontal links between departments.
- Managers only focused on their division.
Features:
- Level of Hierarchy= a stage of the organisational structure where all personnel have equal status &
authority. Three main problems:
1. Slow communication.
1
, 2. Span of control likely to be narrow from clear relationship between number of levels &
average span of control.
3. Lower levels feel remote to decision-making power at top.
- Span of Control= the number of subordinate employees directly accountable to a manager.
Benefits of a Wide Span of Control:
1. Each worker delegated more authority.
2. Employee empowerment is a motivational force.
3. Better communications from short chain of command.
4. Few levels of hierarchy so fewer managers, reducing business costs.
- Chain of Command= this is the route through which authority from the chief executive & the board of
directors is passed down through an organisational.
Divisional Organisational Structure= a structure that organises the activities of a business around
geographical areas or product groups.
Product Structure Pros:
1. Focus on specific market segments.
2. Quick response to consumer needs & market changes.
3. Measures performance & profitability of each division separately.
Product Structure Cons:
1. Duplication of roles (each division has own sales team).
2. Rivalries between divisions.
3. Loss of overall central control over each division.
Delayering= removal of one or more of the levels of hierarchy from an organisational structure.
Pros:
1. Reduces costs.
2. Shortens chain of command, improving communication.
3. Increases span of control & opportunities for delegation.
4. Increase workforce motivation from less remoteness.
Cons:
1. One-off cost of redundancies.
2. Increased workloads on managers.
3. Reduced sense of security.
Matrix Structure= an organisational structure that creates project teams that cut across traditional
functional departments.
Pros:
- Good communication.
- Less chance of staff only focusing on
their division.
- Cuts across traditional boundaries
between departments in a hierarchy.
- Creates more successful & innovative
solutions.
- New project teams created quickly.
Cons:
- Less direct control.
- Difficult for senior managers to pass down authority.
- Reduced bureaucratic control.
- Conflict of interests, employees having 2 managers to respond to.
Delegation= passing authority down the organisational hierarchy.
Pros:
1. Gives senior managers more time to focus on important strategic roles.
2. Shows trust to subordinates, motivation & challenges.
2
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller victoriadv2909. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $13.48. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
66579 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now