Hierarchy refers to a system of organization that respects the chain of command whereby each agency is under supervision of a higher office. In many organizations, a group of managers is always above other employees in terms of knowledge and experience and is placed at the top while others follow based on their experience and the understanding of the organizational functions. Hierarchy is mostly present in government and other governmental institutions whereby each unit has its own powers, authority, and levels of management. Based on the chain of command, an individual communicates or reports to the immediate supervisor or the authority above him. Hierarchy was adopted mainly because it allows information flow given the fact that a junior officer cannot surpass the authority above him or her to report to the senior manager, unless it is necessary. Hierarchy plays an important role in any organization because it benefits the company Continue reading
Management Principles
Organizational Chart – Meaning, Definition, Features, Types, Advantages and Limitations
Organizational structure of a company can be shown in a chart. Such chart indicates how different departments are interlinked on the basis of authority and responsibility. It is a simple diagrammatic method of describing an Organizational structure. It indicates how the departments are linked together on the basis of authority and responsibility. Such organizational chart provides information of the organizational structure at a glance. Organizational chart is like a blue print of a building. It indicates the number and types of departments, superior-subordinate relationship, chain of command and communication. According to George Terry, organizational chart is “a diagrammatical form which shows important aspects of an organization, including the major functions and their respective relationships, the channels of supervision and the relative authority of each employee who is in-charge of each respective function”. Features of Organizational Chart The definition noted above indicates the following features of Organizational charts: Organizational chart is a Continue reading
Span of Management -Meaning and Factors Determining
An organization is characterized by the presence of a number of levels and departments. But more the levels are created, more will be the administrative cost due to additional staff required and more will be the difficulties to be encountered in communication and controlling. If this is so, why create departments and levels? Answer to this question is provided by the principle of span of management. This is basically the problem of deciding the number of subordinates to report directly to each manager. The principle states that there is a limit to the number of subordinates that each manager can effectively supervise. The term “span of management” is often referred to as span of control, span of supervisions, span of responsibility or span of authority. But the term “span of management” should preferably be used since span is one of management and not merely or control which is just important Continue reading
Role of Leadership in Times of Crisis
A crisis is the truth of today’s fast-paced business world. Rapid organizational change, changing economic conditions, problems with personnel, unexpected technological changes, and political effects cause instability in today’s business world. This instability appears out of state control as economic disruptions that result in crisis. The process approach to crisis management builds on the concept of crisis incubation, that crises evolve within organizations, they do not simply appear, and they are not divorced from the actions of those managers who may ultimately be required to deal with the management of such events. The role of the leader, especially in crisis cannot be diminished, due to all of the responsibilities being on the shoulders of the leader and the cost of loss being too high. In a period of crisis, a leader should not only be a person who leads and inspire people but a person who can efficiently fix a Continue reading
Formalization – Meaning, Advantages, and Disadvantages
Formalization is the process of creating structures that govern operations within an organization. In a formalized organization, work activities are often controlled by a set of accepted rules and procedures. In addition, a formalized structure has a hierarchical and clear reporting structure that runs from bottom to top. To a large extent therefore, a formalized organization is managed through several levels of supervision. The extent of formalization, however, varies from one organization to another and is mainly determined by the size of the organization. As opposed to informational organizational structures where individuals are esteemed higher than the job positions, a formal organizational structure is made up of rules that unmistakably state how work should be done at the various levels in the hierarchy. Since rules that guide the holder of a position are static, no confusion arises when the holder of the position changes. This thus implies that the transition Continue reading
Process of Team Building
Team building attempts to improve effectiveness of the team by having team members to concentrate on: Setting goals and priorities for the team. Analyzing how team’s goals and priorities are linked to those of the organization. Analyzing how the work is performed. Analyzing how the team is working, and Analyzing the relationships among the members who are performing the job. The process of team building is a collection of steps which lead to a specific change in the approach among people, to make effective teams. Various steps of team building process are not one-shot action, rather, they are repetitive and cyclical. 1. Problem Sensing There are a number of ways in which problems of a team can be obtained. Often the team itself defines which aspects of team building it wishes to work on. This problem can better be identified in terms of what is hindering group effectiveness. At this Continue reading