What Is Organizational Structure?
1 Identify seven elements of an organization’s structure.
An organizational structure defines how job tasks are formally divided, grouped, and coordinated. Managers should address seven key elements when they design their organization’s structure: work specialization, departmentalization, chain of command, span of control, centralization and decentralization, formalization, and boundary spanning.2 Exhibit 15-1 presents each element as the answer to an important structural question, and the following sections describe them.
Exhibit 15-1
Key Design Questions and Answers for Designing the Proper Organizational Structure
Work Specialization
Early in the twentieth century, Henry ...
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