6.3.2
Organisational Design
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Organisational Design
Organisational design involves making sure that an organisation is designed appropriately to increase its chances of meeting its aims and objectives. When leaders are planning the design of their organisation, they will consider several factors:
Authority
- Authority is linked to delegation. Delegation involves passing authority to employees further down in the hierarchy.
- Authority can motivate and empower employees and therefore increase productivity.
Spans of control
- Spans of control are the number of people who report directly to a supervisor or manager.
- Businesses with tall hierarchies have narrower spans of control so employees can be monitored more closely.
- Businesses with flat hierarchies have wider spans of control and it can be harder to monitor employees as closely as each manager will manage and lead a larger group of employees than in a business with a tall hierarchy.
Hierarchies
- Hierarchies are the levels and layers of management. Tall hierarchies have many layers of management and flat hierarchies have few levels.
- Communication can be more difficult in a tall hierarchy as there are more layers for the communication to pass through.
- Tall hierarchies provide promotional opportunities for employees as there are more layers and therefore a greater number of promotional opportunities throughout the business.
- Delayering involves reducing the number of layers in the hierarchy of a business, usually by removing middle managers.
Delegation
- Delegation refers to a manager passing responsibility or authority to an employee below them in the hierarchy.
- Delegation can reduce the workload of managers which allows them to focus on their own tasks.
- Delegation can empower and motivate employees and prepare them for promotional opportunities in the future.
- Delegation may require a business to invest in and provide employee training to ensure that employees have the necessary skills to complete a task.
Centralisation and decentralisation
- Centralisation and decentralisation refer to the decision making power within the business and how this power is held by different individuals in the business.
- In centralised businesses, decision making power is held by a small number of people who make decisions and then share these with other staff.
- In decentralised businesses, decision making power is distributed throughout the business to staff with appropriate skills and expertise.
1What is Business?
1.1Understanding the Nature of Business
1.2Understanding Different Business Forms
1.3External Environments
2Managers, Leadership & Decision Making
2.1Understanding Management
2.2Understanding Management Decision Making
2.3Understanding Stakeholders
3Decision Making to Improve Marketing Performance
3.1Decision Making to Improve Marketing Performance
3.2Understanding Markets & Customers
3.3Market Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning
3.4Marketing Mix
3.4.1Marketing Mix3.4.2Product Decisions3.4.3Pricing Decisions & Price Skimming3.4.4Pricing Decisions & Price Penetration3.4.5A-A* (AO3/4) - Pricing & Competition3.4.6Promotional Decisions3.4.7Promotional Decisions 23.4.8Promotional Decisions 33.4.9Distribution Decisions3.4.10Distribution Decisions 23.4.11Digital Marketing3.4.12Evaluating Digital Marketing3.4.13A-A* (AO3/4) - The Marketing Mix & Promotion
4Decision Making to Improve Operational Performance
4.1Setting Operational Objectives
4.2Analysing Operational Performance
4.3Increasing Efficiency & Productivity
4.4Improving Quality
4.5Managing Inventory & Supply Chains
5Decision Making to Improve Financial Performance
5.1Financial Objectives
5.2Analysing Financial Performance
5.3Sources of Finance
5.4Improving Cash Flow & Profit
6Improving Human Resource Performance
6.1Human Resource Objectives
6.2Analysing Human Resource Performance
6.3Improving Organisational Design
6.4Improving Motivation & Engagement
6.5Improving Employer-Employee Relations
7Analysing the Strategic Position of a Business
7.1Mission, Corporate Objectives, Strategy
7.2Financial Ratio Analysis
7.3Overall Performance
7.4Political & Legal Change
7.5Economic Change
7.6Social & Technological Environment
7.7Competitive Environment
7.8Investment Appraisal
8Choosing Strategic Direction
8.1Choosing Areas of Competition
8.2Choosing How to Compete
9How to Pursue Strategies
9.1Change in Scale
9.2Assessing Innovation
9.3Assessing Internationalisation
9.4Digital Technology
10Managing Strategic Change
10.1Managing Change
10.2Managing Organisational Culture
10.3Managing Strategic Implementation
10.4Problems with Strategy
Jump to other topics
1What is Business?
1.1Understanding the Nature of Business
1.2Understanding Different Business Forms
1.3External Environments
2Managers, Leadership & Decision Making
2.1Understanding Management
2.2Understanding Management Decision Making
2.3Understanding Stakeholders
3Decision Making to Improve Marketing Performance
3.1Decision Making to Improve Marketing Performance
3.2Understanding Markets & Customers
3.3Market Segmentation, Targeting & Positioning
3.4Marketing Mix
3.4.1Marketing Mix3.4.2Product Decisions3.4.3Pricing Decisions & Price Skimming3.4.4Pricing Decisions & Price Penetration3.4.5A-A* (AO3/4) - Pricing & Competition3.4.6Promotional Decisions3.4.7Promotional Decisions 23.4.8Promotional Decisions 33.4.9Distribution Decisions3.4.10Distribution Decisions 23.4.11Digital Marketing3.4.12Evaluating Digital Marketing3.4.13A-A* (AO3/4) - The Marketing Mix & Promotion
4Decision Making to Improve Operational Performance
4.1Setting Operational Objectives
4.2Analysing Operational Performance
4.3Increasing Efficiency & Productivity
4.4Improving Quality
4.5Managing Inventory & Supply Chains
5Decision Making to Improve Financial Performance
5.1Financial Objectives
5.2Analysing Financial Performance
5.3Sources of Finance
5.4Improving Cash Flow & Profit
6Improving Human Resource Performance
6.1Human Resource Objectives
6.2Analysing Human Resource Performance
6.3Improving Organisational Design
6.4Improving Motivation & Engagement
6.5Improving Employer-Employee Relations
7Analysing the Strategic Position of a Business
7.1Mission, Corporate Objectives, Strategy
7.2Financial Ratio Analysis
7.3Overall Performance
7.4Political & Legal Change
7.5Economic Change
7.6Social & Technological Environment
7.7Competitive Environment
7.8Investment Appraisal
8Choosing Strategic Direction
8.1Choosing Areas of Competition
8.2Choosing How to Compete
9How to Pursue Strategies
9.1Change in Scale
9.2Assessing Innovation
9.3Assessing Internationalisation
9.4Digital Technology
10Managing Strategic Change
10.1Managing Change
10.2Managing Organisational Culture
10.3Managing Strategic Implementation
10.4Problems with Strategy
Practice questions on Organisational Design
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