[Solution] Building Blocks of Organizations
Created at:
Author: Sarah Bennett
The way managers build an organizational structure is analogous to choosing certain building blocks and then deciding how to put them together.
The Six Building Blocks
Organizing is deciding how to arrange and assemble certain elements so an organization will be as successful as possible. Managers have many options for how they build an organizational structure. The activity of organizing can be thought of as having two stages: selecting elements and then deciding how to put them together.
When determining organizational structure, managers make decisions about six elements:
- Designing jobs
- Grouping jobs
- Establishing reporting relationships between jobs
- Distributing authority among jobs
- Coordinating activities among jobs
- Differentiating among positions
Six Building Blocks of Organizational Structure
Job Design
Determining tasks and responsibilities
Job Grouping
Combining jobs into departments
Reporting Relationships
Establishing supervisory lines
Authority Distribution
Allocating decision-making power
Activity Coordination
Integrating work across units
Position Differentiation
Distinguishing roles and statuses
Select the term that best completes the following sentence.
When managers put together the elements of the organization to build a successful enterprise, they are engaged in .
View Explanation
Organizing is the building of an organization through the selection and assembling of various elements.
Strategic management is a thorough process for developing and implementing the organization's overall plan. Planning is determining the action steps needed to reach goals. Controlling is monitoring and correcting organizational activities so that goals are achieved.
Select the correct response(s) to the following question.
Which of the following are elements that managers make decisions about when they build the organization's structure? Check all that apply.
- Job design
- Reporting relationships
- Coordination of activities among jobs
- Environmental threats
View Explanation
Managers work with six elements in building the organizational structure:
- Designing jobs
- Grouping jobs
- Establishing reporting relationships between jobs
- Distributing authority among jobs
- Coordinating activities among jobs
- Differentiating among positions
Environmental threats would be identified in an analysis of the organization's situation and might inform decisions around organizational structure, but they are not elements within the organization that the manager makes decisions about.
