How are traditional organizational structures and departments designed?

"organization organization chart problem-solving teams process departmentalization product departmentalization reengineering self-managed work teams span of control specialization staff positions virtual corporation work groups work teams The order and design of relationships within a firm; consists of two or more people working together with a common objective and clarity of purpose. A visual representation of the structured relationships among tasks and the people given the authority to do those tasks. Usually members of the same department who meet regularly to suggest ways to improve operations and solve specific problems. Departmentalization that is based on the production process used by the organizational unit. Departmentalization that is based on the goods or services produced or sold by the organizational unit. The complete redesign of business structures and processes in order to improve operations. Teams without formal supervision that plan, select alternatives, and evaluate their own performance. The number of employees a manager directly supervises; also called span of management. The degree to which tasks are subdivided into smaller jobs. Positions in an organization held by individuals who provide the administrative and support services that line employees need to achieve the firm’s goals. A network of independent companies linked by information technology to share skills, costs, and access to one another’s markets; allows the companies to come together quickly to exploit rapidly changing opportunities. The groups that share resources and coordinate efforts to help members better perform their individual jobs. Like a work group but also requires the pooling of knowledge, skills, abilities, and resources to achieve a common goal. Summary of Learning Outcomes 7.1 Building Organizational Structures 1. What are the traditional forms of organizational structure? Firms typically use traditional, contemporary, or team-based approaches when designing their organizational structure. In the traditional approach, companies first divide the work into separate jobs and tasks. Managers then group related jobs and tasks together into departments. Five basic types of departmentalization are commonly used in organizations: • Functional: Based on the primary functions performed within an organizational unit • Product: Based on the goods or services produced or sold by the organizational unit • Process: Based on the production process used by the organizational unit • Customer: Based on the primary type of customer served by the organizational unit • Geographic: Based on the geographic segmentation of organizational units"