Organisational structure

In this part of the task I am going to write about the different business organisational structures.

Depending on the size of the business and its main activity, an organisation may have different organisational structure. All organisations need some type of structure to work productively. Even the smallest businesses need specific job roles for the staff to make sure they know what they are doing. Large organisations employ more staff and organise them into different groups. The organisation structure refers to the way in which workers are arranged in a business.

There are three different organisation structures: hierarchical, flat and matrix.

Hierarchical structure
In an organisation with a hierarchical structure employees are ranked at various levels within the organisation, each level is one above the other. One person has a number of workers directly under them. For example, there is one Chief Executive and under him there are three Managers, under each of them there are Assistant Managers and under them, at the bottom, there is staff. This type of structure may be found in a large retail or manufacturing businesses. In a hierarchical structure the jobs are more specialised and the staff work in a specific functional area.

Flat structure
An organisation with only two or three levels of staff has a flat structure. This is the case with many small businesses or individual units within larger organisations. It is also the preferred structure for many creative businesses where a greater level of independence allows staff to come up with good ideas. The idea is that well-trained workers will be more productive when they are directly involved in the decision making process.

Matrix structure
Within a matrix structure, project groups of workers with different skills are created from across the functions of the business. This type of structure is popular for companies and consultancies. When a task finishes, the team breaks up and the members are assigned to another task. Each project group needs the support of other staff or departments who provide important functions, such as finance, human resources or marketing.

Source used for the charts: www.google.com