Key Terms For S3 2 Organizational Structure

Front 1

Boundaryless organization

Back 1

An organization that seeks to eliminate the chain of command, have limitless spans of control, and replace departments with empowered teams.

Front 2

Bureaucracy

Back 2

- An organizational design with highly routine operating tasks achieved through specialization; formalized rules and regulations; tasks that are grouped into functional departments; centralized authority; narrow spans of control; and decision making that follows the chain of command.

Front 3

Centralization

Back 3

The degree to which decision making is concentrated at a single point in the organization.

Front 4

Chain of command

Back 4

The continuous line of authority that extends from upper organizational levels to the lowest level and clarifies who reports to whom.

Front 5

Cost-minimization strategy

Back 5

A strategy that emphasizes tight cost controls, avoidance of unnecessary innovation or marketing expenses, and price cutting.

Front 6

Decentralization

Back 6

he degree to which decision making is distributed to lower-level employees.

Front 7

Delegation

Back 7

- Assignment of authority to another person to carry out specific duties, allowing the employee to make some of the decisions.

Front 8

Departmentalization

Back 8

The basis on which jobs are grouped together.

Front 9

Environment

Back 9

Those institutions or forces outside the organization that potentially affect the organization’s performance.

Front 10

Formalization

Back 10

The degree to which jobs within the organization are standardized.

Front 11

Imitation strategy

Back 11

A strategy of moving into new products or new markets only after their viability has already been proven.

Front 12

Innovation strategy

Back 12

A strategy that emphasizes the introduction of major new products and services.

Front 13

Matrix structure

Back 13

An organizational design that combines functional and product
departmentalization; it has a dual chain of command.

Front 14

Mechanistic model

Back 14

A structure characterized by extensive departmentalization, high
formalization, a clear chain of command, narrow spans of control, a limited information network, and centralization.

Front 15

Modular organization

Back 15

A small core organization that outsources major business functions.

Front 16

Organic model

Back 16

- A structure that is flat, uses cross-functional and cross-hierarchical teams, possesses a comprehensive information network, has wide spans of control, and has low formalization.

Front 17

Organizational structure

Back 17

How job tasks are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated.

Front 18

Simple structure

Back 18

An organizational design characterized by a low degree of
departmentalization, wide spans of control, authority centralized in a single person, and little formalization.

Front 19

Span of control

Back 19

The number of employees that report to a manager.

Front 20

Team structure

Back 20

The use of teams as the central device to coordinate work activities.

Front 21

Technology

Back 21

The way in which an organization transfers its inputs into outputs.

Front 22

Virtual organization

Back 22

A continually evolving network of independent companies — suppliers, customers, even competitors — linked together to share skills, costs, and access to one another’s markets.

Front 23

Work specialization

Back 23

The degree to which tasks in the organization are subdivided into separate jobs.