Question

Elements of Organizational Structure

This activity is important because as a manager elements of your organization's structure will affect how work tasks and decision making are accomplished. One way to understand differences in organizational structures is to evaluate its specific elements, which can affect organizational performance 

The goal of this activity is to demonstrate your knowledge of organizational structure elements by matching each element to the corresponding scenario. Consider that Alex is a full-time employee who is pursuing his MBA on nights and weekends. For an assignment, he must describe elements of his own organization's structure. Match his descriptions to the element of structure that he is describing.

50 employees- alex is one of over 50 employees who report directly to the vice president of marketing.

 

Final Say- alex and his coworkers are given the freedom to make the final decisions that are within their job scope.

 

Discretion- Although there is a set of guidelines for his job, Alex has a lot of discretion.

 

Many Responsibilities- Alex takes on many responsibilities in the office he's technically a market analyst, but often involved in designing campaigns and managing accounts.

 

Reporting- Alex reports to the marketing director,regardless of what project he is working on.

Answer 1

Answer to Q 1:

50 employees- Alex is one of over 50 employees who report directly to the vice president of marketing. – Span of control

Explanation: Span of control refers to the number of employees report to the superior. In the description, it is mentioned that Alex is one of over 50 employees who report to the VP. In this 50 employees report to VP, which is a wide span of control.

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Final Say- Alex and his coworkers are given the freedom to make the final decisions that are within their job scope. – Centralization

Explanation: Centralization refers to the extent of decision-making authority rests with top management. In this explanation, Alex has the freedom to make decisions, which shows that organization is less centralized.

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Discretion- Although there is a set of guidelines for his job, Alex has a lot of discretion. – Formalization

Explanation: Formalization refers to the extent of discreation an employee has in the job. Discretion refers to the ability to make decisions. Here, the formalization is lower in the organization.

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Many Responsibilities- Alex takes on many responsibilities in the office he's technically a market analyst, but often involved in designing campaigns and managing accounts. – Work specialization

Explantion: Work specialization refers to the extent job is created based on the similarities of activities.

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Reporting- Alex reports to the marketing director, regardless of what project he is working on. – Chain of command

Explanation: Chain of command refers to the line of authority that connects lower level employees to the top management. It shows who reports whom in organizational chart.