Glossary
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Chapter 10
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Accountability
| Means that people with authority and responsibility are subject to reporting and justifying task outcomes to those above them in the chain of command.
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Authority
| The formal and legitimate right of a manager to make decisions, issue orders, and allocate resources to achieve outcomes desired by the organization.
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Centralization
| Means that decision �authority is located near top organization levels.
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Chain of command
| An unbroken line of authority that links all individuals in the organization and specifies who �reports to whom.
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Collaboration
| A joint effort between people from two or more departments to produce outcomes that meet a common goal or shared purpose.
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Continuous process production
| Involves mechanization of the entire workflow and nonstop production, such as in chemical plants or petroleum refineries.
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Coordination
| The managerial task of adjusting and synchronizing the diverse activities among different individuals and departments.
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Cross-functional team
| A group of employees from various functional �departments that meet as a team to �resolve mutual problems.
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Decentralization
| Means that decision authority is pushed down to lower organization levels.
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Delegation
| When managers transfer authority and responsibility to positions below them in the hierarchy.
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Departmentalization
| The basis for grouping individual positions into �departments and departments into the total organization.
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Divisional structure
| An organizational structure that groups employees and departments based on similar organizational outputs (products or services), such that each division has a mix of functional skills and tasks.
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Flat structure
| An organizational structure characterized by an overall broad span of management and relatively few hierarchical levels.
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Functional structure
| An organizational structure in which activities are grouped together by common function from the bottom to the top of the organization.
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Line authority
| The formal power to direct and control immediate subordinates.
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Mass production
| Characterized by long production runs to manufacture a large volume of products with the same specifications.
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Matrix approach
| A structural approach that uses both functional and divisional chains of command simultaneously, in the same part of the organization.
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Matrix boss
| A functional or product supervisor responsible for one side of the matrix.
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Modular approach
| An approach in which a manufacturing company uses outside suppliers to provide large chunks of a product such as an automobile, which are then assembled into a final product by a few employees.
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Organization chart
| A visual representation of an organization’s structure.
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Organization structure
| The framework in which an organization defines how tasks are divided, resources are deployed, and departments are coordinated.
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Permanent team
| A group of employees from all functional areas permanently assigned to focus on a specific task or activity.
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Reengineering
| The radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, service, and speed.
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Relational coordination
| Frequent horizontal coordination and communication carried out through ongoing relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect.
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Responsibility
| The duty to perform the task or activity that one has been assigned.
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Service organization�
| An organization that produces nonphysical outputs that require customer involvement and cannot be stored in inventory.
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Service technology
| Characterized by intangible outputs and direct contact between employees and customers.
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Small-batch production
| A type of manufacturing technology that involves the production of goods in batches of one or a few products designed to customer specification.
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Span of management
| The number of employees reporting to a supervisor. Sometimes called span of control.
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Staff authority
| The right to advise, counsel, and recommend in the manager’s area of expertise.
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Tall structure
| An organizational structure characterized by an overall narrow span of management and a relatively large number of hierarchical levels.
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Team-based structure
| A structure in which an entire organization is made up of horizontal teams that coordinate their activities and work directly with customers to accomplish organizational goals.
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Technical complexity
| The degree to which complex machinery is involved in the production process to the exclusion of people.
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Top leader
| In a matrix structure, the person who oversees both the product and the functional chains of command and is responsible for the entire matrix.
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Two-boss employee
| In a matrix structure, a person who reports to two supervisors simultaneously.
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Virtual network structure
| An organizational structure in which the organization subcontracts most of its major functions to separate companies and coordinates their activities from a small headquarters organization.
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Work specialization
| The degree to which organizational tasks are subdivided into individual jobs. Sometimes called division of labor.
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