Authority and responsibility authority the rights a

with general manager abilites and increases problem of top management control.
Authority and Responsibility
Authority: the rights a manager has to give out orders and expect those orders to be
obeyed.
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MANAGEMENT EXAM NOTES
Responsibility: an obligaton to perform assigned dutes
Chain of command : the line of authority extending from upper organisatonal levels to lower
levels which clarifes who reports to whom
Line authority: authority the allows the manager to delegate the work to an employee
Staf authority: positons with the same authority that have been created to support, assist
and advise those holding line authority
Types of Power
Coercive power – power based on fear
Reward power – power based on the ability to distribute something that others value
Legitmate power – power based on one’s positon in the formal hierarchy
Expert power – power based on one’s expertse, special skill or knowledge
Referent power – power based on identfcaton with a person who has desirable resources
or personal traits
Span of Control: A number of employees a manager can efciently and efectvely supervise
Centralisaton: the degree to which decision making takes place at upper levels of an
organisaton
Decentralisaton: degree to which lower managers provide input or actually make decisions
Formalisaton: how standardized an organisatons jobs are and the extent to which
employee behaviour is guided by rules and procedures.
2.
Identfy the contngency factors that favour either the mechanistc model or
the organic model of organisatonal design
Mechanistc model: a structure that is high in specialisaton, formalisaton & centralisaton
Organic Model: A structure that is low in specialisaton, formalisaton & centralisaton
Contngency factors and structural choice:
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MANAGEMENT EXAM NOTES
Strategy
- Research shown certain structural designs work best with diferent organisatonal
strategies
- Flexibility and free fowing informaton in organic structure works well when
organisaton is pursuing meaningful and unique innovatons
Size
- Large organisatons tend to have more specialisaton, formalisaton, centralisaton,
rules and regulatons than small organisatons
- Once organisaton grows past a certain size, size has less infuence on a structure
- Adding 500 employees to an organisaton that has 2000 wont impact the structure
much, but adding 500 employees to a organisaton that has 50 is likely to make it more
mechanistc
Culture
- In organisatons with a strong culture, culture can substtute for formal rules and
regulatons
- The stronger the organisatons culture, the less managers need to worry about rules
and regulatons
- If organisatons culture is weak, it has a less evident efect on structure
Technology
- Every organisaton uses technology to convert inputs into outputs
- The technology an organisaton has determines which organisatonal structure
Environment
- Mechanistc structure most efectve in sable environments
-