Chapter 8 Key Terms
Terms
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- chain of command
- the line of authority that moves from the top of a hierarchy to the lowest level
- inverted organization
- an organization that has contact people at the top and the chief executive officer at the bottom of the organization chart
- span of control
- the optimum number of subordinates a manager supervises or should supervise
- real time
- the present moment or the actual time in which something takes place
- organizational (or corporate) culture
- widely shared values within an organization that provide unity and cooperation to achieve common goals
- departmentalization
- the dividing of organizational functions into separate units
- virtual corporation
- a temporary networked organization made up of replaceable firms that join and leave as needed
- transparency
- a concept that describes a company being so open to other companies working with it that the once-solid barriers between them become see-through and electronic information is shared as if the companies were one
- matrix organization
- an organization in which specialists from different parts of the organization are brought together to work on specific projects but still remain part of a line-and-staff structure
- line personnel
- employees who are part of the chain of command that is responsible for achieving organiztional goals
- tall organization structure
- an organizational structure in which the pyramidal organization chart would be quite tall because of the various levels of management
- flat organization structure
- an organization structure that has few layers of management and a broad span of control
- centralized authority
- an organization structure in which decision-making authority is maintained at the top level of management at the company's h
- decentralized authority
- an organization structure in which decision-making authority is delegated to lower-level managers more familiar with local conditions than headquarters management could be
- benchmarking
- comparing an organization's practices, processes, and products against the world's best
- core competencies
- those functions that the organization can do as well as or better than any other organization in the world
- economies of scale
- the situation in which companies can reduce their production costs if they can purchase raw materials in bulk; the average cost of goods goes down as production levels increase
- cross-functional self-managed teams
- groups of employees from different departments who work together on a long-term basis
- restructuring
- redesigning an organization so that is can more effectively and efficiently serve its customers
- staff personnel
- employees who advise and assist line personnel in meeting their goals
- networking
- using communications technology and other means to link organizations and allow them to work together on common objectives
- informal organization
- the system of relationships and lines of authority that develops spontaneously as employees meet and form power centers; that is, the human side of the organization that does not appear on any organization chart
- line organization
- an organization that has direct two-way lines of responsibility, authority, and communication running from the top to the bottom of the organization, with all people reporting to only one supervisor
- formal organization
- the structure that details lines of responsibility, authority, and position; that is, the structure shown on organization charts
- bureaucracy
- an organization with many layers of managers who set rules and regulations and oversee all decisions
- hierarchy
- a system in which one person is at the top of the organization and there is a ranked or sequential ordering from the top down of managers who are responsible to that person