Organising

What is organising?
It is bringing together and coordinating human
and material resources to accomplish the
objectives established in the planning process.
Organising involves developing a structure to
coordinate the efforts of the different people.
The outcome of the organising function is the
creation of an organizational structure.

Organising
The process includes the following basic steps:
1. Identify activities that need to be performed to
achieve
organisational goals.
2. Group these activities into workable units
(departmantalisation)
3. Assign duties and responsibilities to subordinates
4. Create authority reporting relationships
5. Delegate authority
6. Coordinate activities

Organisation Structure
What is an organisational srtucture?
This is the formal pattern of interactions and
coordination designed by management to link
the tasks of the individuals and groups in
achieving organisational goals.

The organisational structure is represented

primarily by means of graphic illustration called
organisational charts.

Organisational chart
What is an organisational chart?
It is a line diagram that depicts the broad outlines of an
organisations structure.
Typically they show the major positions or departments
in the organisation.
They also show the way the positions are grouped into
specific units, the reporting relationships from lower to
higher levels and the official channels of communicating
information.
Some charts show titles associated with the positions as
well as the current position holders.

Departmentation and formal

structure
What is departmantation?

It is used to describe the various ways in

which the work of an enterprise can be carried
our by means of grouping its tasks or
functions.
Departmentation can be functional,
geographical, by product/service, or by
customer type

Departmentalisation and formal

structure
Functional departmentalisation

Functions are typically divided into the major

categories of marketing, production, finance,
accounting, operations etc.

Product / Service departmentalisation

Product / Service

This type of departmentalisataion involves

organising individual productive units for each
product or service the enterprise is involved
in.

Geographical departmentalisation
Geographic departmentalization group
business activities on the basis of geographic
region or territory, enabling a firm to adapt to
local customers and laws and to service
customers more quickly.

Customer departmentalisation

Under customer departmentalization, the

organisation structures its activities to
respond to and interact with specific
customers or customer groups.

Establishing authority relationships

Another element of organising is the
establishment of reporting relationships among
positions. In establishing reporting relationships
we clarify the:
1. The chain of command and

2. The span of management/span of control

The chain of command

Represents a clear and distinct lines of
authority established among all positions in
the organisation.
The chain of command has two components:
unity of command and the scalar principle.

The chain of command

1. Unity of command
Each person within the organisation must have a
clear reporting relationship to one and only one
boss.
2. Scalar principle
There must be a clear and unbroken line of
authority that extends from the lowest to the
highest position in the organisation.

Span of management/control?
What is span of management/control?
This refers to the number of subordinates a
manager can effectively manage. This defines
the span of management or span of control.
This varies from one situation to another.
There is no magical number.

Responsibility
What is responsibility?
Responsibility is the obligation to perform assigned
duties.

Responsibility is the obligation to carry out duties

and achieve goals related to a position.
It is assumed commitment to handle a job to the
best of ones ability.

Authority
What is Authority?
Authority refers to the rights inherent in a
managerial position to give orders and expect the
orders to be obeyed.
Authority is the right to command subordinates
action. It is the ability to exact compliance from
subordinates.

Authority
What is formal authority?

It is the power that we associate with

organisational structure and management.
It is based on the recognition of the legitimacy
of managers attempt to exert influence.

Authority
Views on formal authority in organisations
1. The Classical view
Authority originates at some very high level and then is
lawfully passed down from level to level. This view holds
that management has the right to give lawful orders and
employees have an obligation to obey.

2. The Acceptance view

This view starts with the observation that not all legitimate
commands are obeyed in all circumstances. Some are
accepted by the receiver of the order and some are not

Line and Staff authority

1. Line Authority
Managers with line authority are those people in the
organisation who are directly responsible for
achieving organisational goals.
Line authority is represented by the standard chain
of command, starting from the board of directors
and extending down through various levels in the
hierarchy to the point where the basic activities of
the organisation are carried out.
Line authority is based primarily on legitimate power.

Line and Staff authority

2. Staff Authority
Belongs to those individuals or groups in an
organisation who provide services and advice to line
managers.
The concept of staff includes all elements of the
organisation that are not classified as line. Staff
provides managers with varied types of expert help
and advice.
Staff authority is based primarily on expert power.

Delegation of Authority
What is delegation?

Delegation is the process of assigning various

degrees of decision-making authority to
lower-level employees.
Authority may be passed along to people at
lower levels, but ultimate responsibility
cannot be passed along.

Delegation of authority
Importance of delegation
Terry identifies three reasons why managers must delegate:
I. First, he is in charge of more work than he personally can
do. This brings up the questions of the degree to which he
should delegate authority
II. Second, delegating authority is the cardinal step in
developing subordinates. All the benefits of executive
training programmers, seminars and workshops go for
naught if authority delegation is ignored.
III. Third, managers are taken out of an organisation through
promotion, resignation, illness and business trips. Others
must be able to carry on if the need arises, and this suggests
that they are participating in the work.

Delegation of Authority
Advantages of delegation
I.

Managers stand to gain a great deal by adopting the habit of

delegating. By passing along well-defined tasks to lowerlevel people, managers can free more of their time for
important chores like planning and motivating.

II.

In addition to freeing valuable managerial time, delegating

is also a helpful management training and development
tool.

III. Moreover lower-level managers who desire more challenge

generally become more committed and satisfied when they
are given the opportunity to tackle significant problems.

Delegation of Authority
Barriers to delegation

Belief in the fallacy If you want it done right, do it yourself

Lack of confidence and trust in lower level employees
Low self confidence
Fear of being called lazy
Vague job definitions
Fear of competition from below
Reluctance to take the risks involved in depending on others
Lack of controls to provide early warning of problems with
delegated duties
Poor examples set by bosses who do not delegate

Delegation of Authority
How to delegate effectively
I. Clarify the assignment
II. Specify the employees range of discretion
III. Inform others that delegation has occurred
IV. Establish feedback channels: