Organisations and Behavior

(1.1) The organisational structure used in a company is intended to form relationships, motivate, increase productivity, co ordinate and provide direction between employees. According to the business dictionary (2013), an organisational structure is the hierarchical arrangement of lines of authority, communications, rights, and duties of an organisation. It determines how roles, power and responsibilities are assigned, controlled and coordinated and how information flows between different levels of management. A structure depends on the organisation’s objectives and strategy. There are many influences on an organisation’s structure, some of which are: its size, task, staff, age, its culture and management style and its legal, commercial, technological and social environment. The most common organisational structures which managers consider are the contemporary structure and the traditional structure. The contemporary structure allows for the movement of information to all parts of the organisation, this enables the organisation to respond to rapidly changing markets at a faster pace than the traditional structure. The contemporary structure takes into consideration the employees needs. According to business case studies Elton Mayo’s theory illustrates that if the company or managers took an interest in employees and cared for them, it had a positive effect on their motivation. The employees felt more valued and empowered. His work also showed that employees often work best in teams. It is the more flexible structure compared to the traditional design. According to the BPP learning media (2010) some attributes of the contemporary organisation structure includes: the flat structure which has a small number of hierarchical levels which implies a wide span of control. The chunked or ‘unglued’ structure which means team working and decentralisation, or empowerment, creating smaller and more flexible units within the overall structure. The jobless