Organizing (management)

Term in management

Organizing or organising is the establishment of effective authority relationships among selected works, which often improves efficiency.

Authority is a manager's formal and legitimate right to make decisions, issue orders, and allocate resources to achieve organizationally desired outcomes. A person with authority has the power to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience. Responsibility means an employee's duty to perform assigned task or activities. A person with a responsibility is someone who is being held accountable or to blame for something. Accountability means that those with authority and responsibility must report and justify task outcomes to those above them in the chain of command. Someone with accountability has an obligation to accept responsibility for one's action, and is to blame for any mishaps.

Line authority managers have the formal power to direct and control immediate subordinates. The superior issues orders and is responsible for the result and the subordinate obeys and is responsible only for executing the order according to instructions. Functional authority is where managers have formal power over a specific subset of activities. For instance, the Production Manager may have the line authority to decide whether and when a new machine is needed but the Controller demands that a Capital Expenditure Proposal is submitted first, showing that the investment will have a yield of at least x%; or, a legal department may have functional authority to interfere in any activity that could have legal consequences. This authority would not be functional but it would rather be staff authority if such interference is "advice" rather than "order". Staff authority is granted to staff specialists in their areas of expertise. It is not a real authority in the sense that a staff manager does not order or instruct but simply advises, recommends, and counsels in the staff specialists' area of expertise and is responsible only for the quality of the advice (to be in line with the respective professional standards etc.) It is a communication relationship with management. It has an influence that derives indirectly from line authority at a higher level. Line and Staff Authority is the combination of Line organization and Staff organization. Such organization follows both the principles of scalar chain of command and there is a provision for specialized activities to be performed by staff officers who act in an advisory capacity

Tall A management structure characterized by an overall narrow span of management and a relatively large number of hierarchical levels. Tight control. Reduced communication overhead. Flat A management structure characterized by a wide span of control and relatively few hierarchical levels. Loose control. Facilitates delegation.

Decision making processes are chosen depending on what decision is being made. Centralization The location of decision making authority near top organizational levels. Decentralization The location of decision making authority near lower organizational levels. Formalization The written documentation used to direct and control employees.

Departmentalization is the basis on which individuals are grouped into departments and departments into total organizations. Approach options include:
Functional By common skills and work task. Divisional Common product, program or geographical location. Matrix Combination of Functional and Divisional. Team To accomplish specific tasks. Network Departments are independent providing functions for a central core breaker. Examples of departments in a corporate office may be: production, marketing, finance, human resource, research, development, and more. These departments are sectioned off and organized/managed by the executive of that department. This gives the department more control and efficiency.