Organisational structures and ways of working

Overview

Tall and flat structures, span of control, chain of command, authority and delegation, and full-time, part-time, flexible, temporary, home, mobile and self-employed working.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is an organisational structure?

   Model answer

   An organisational structure shows how a business is arranged, who does which job and who reports to whom.

2. 2

   What is the difference between a tall and a flat organisational structure?

   Model answer

   A tall structure has many layers of management and narrow spans of control. A flat structure has few layers and wide spans of control.

3. 3

   What are the advantages of a flat structure?

   Model answer

   Communication is faster because messages pass through fewer layers. Wage costs are lower because there are fewer managers.

4. 4

   What are the disadvantages of a tall structure?

   Model answer

   Messages pass through many layers, so communication is slow and can be distorted. Decisions take longer and staff may feel remote from senior managers.

5. 5

   What is meant by span of control?

   Model answer

   Span of control is the number of subordinates a manager is directly responsible for.

6. 6

   What is the chain of command?

   Model answer

   The chain of command is the line of authority through which instructions pass from the top of a business to the bottom.

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