Cinema: Organizational Overview
Case study pg 218
Majestic Cinemas plc
1. What is the span of control of the film purchase director? [2]
The film purchase director has 3 subordinates which are under his command therefore the span of control is 3.
2. How many levels of hierarchy are there in the cinema buildings department? [2]
There are 4 levels of hierarchy in the cinema buildings department which are the following: Cinema Buildings Director, Regional Buildings Managers, Cinema Managers (in each country) and Cinema Staff.
3. Outline three drawbacks of a centralized structure in this business. [6]
A centralized structure is a management structure where decision making is done at higher levels by those with a strong position that includes having combined considerable knowledge and information about what needs to be done. In a centralized organization, decisions made by higher management are typically communicated to lower organizational levels who are then expected to accept and move forward in a way consistent with those decisions. Centralization is keeping all of the important decision making powers within head office or the centre of the organization. The control in this kind of organization is kept in the centre.
To begin with, a centralized structure may not be very suitable to this business. With a centralized structure, there will be more supervision and less flexibility, therefore managers will have to look for permission from a superior head office if they want to change or do something dissimilar. This will be negative to the cinema since it will delay decision making and make the cinemas less responsive to changes in the market. Moreover, a centralized structure would be a negative aspect to this kind of business (the cinema) since it directly affects managers. Since managers have to follow any instructions given by the command center, there will be very little chance to get managers to make their own decisions and be innovative. This may be a ‘hygiene factor’
Majestic Cinemas plc
1. What is the span of control of the film purchase director? [2]
The film purchase director has 3 subordinates which are under his command therefore the span of control is 3.
2. How many levels of hierarchy are there in the cinema buildings department? [2]
There are 4 levels of hierarchy in the cinema buildings department which are the following: Cinema Buildings Director, Regional Buildings Managers, Cinema Managers (in each country) and Cinema Staff.
3. Outline three drawbacks of a centralized structure in this business. [6]
A centralized structure is a management structure where decision making is done at higher levels by those with a strong position that includes having combined considerable knowledge and information about what needs to be done. In a centralized organization, decisions made by higher management are typically communicated to lower organizational levels who are then expected to accept and move forward in a way consistent with those decisions. Centralization is keeping all of the important decision making powers within head office or the centre of the organization. The control in this kind of organization is kept in the centre.
To begin with, a centralized structure may not be very suitable to this business. With a centralized structure, there will be more supervision and less flexibility, therefore managers will have to look for permission from a superior head office if they want to change or do something dissimilar. This will be negative to the cinema since it will delay decision making and make the cinemas less responsive to changes in the market. Moreover, a centralized structure would be a negative aspect to this kind of business (the cinema) since it directly affects managers. Since managers have to follow any instructions given by the command center, there will be very little chance to get managers to make their own decisions and be innovative. This may be a ‘hygiene factor’