Organisational structures

An organisational structure shows the roles, responsibilities and relationships in a business, often drawn as an organisation chart.
A hierarchical (tall) structure has many layers of management and narrow spans of control. There are clear promotion routes, but communication can be slow.
A flat structure has few layers and wide spans of control. Communication is faster and staff have more responsibility, but managers may be overstretched.

Key terms

The chain of command is the line of authority from the top of a business to the bottom.
The span of control is the number of people a manager directly supervises.
Delegation is passing authority to someone lower in the organisation.

Centralised: senior managers at head office make the decisions. This gives consistency, but decisions can be slower and lack local knowledge.
Decentralised: decisions are delegated to branches or local managers. This is faster, uses local knowledge and can motivate staff, but there is less consistency.

Good communication is clear, two-way and uses the right method (face to face, email, meetings or video calls).
Barriers include too many layers, jargon, information overload and poor attitudes.

Organisation chart: A diagram showing the roles and relationships in a business.
Hierarchy: The levels of management in a business.
Chain of command: The line of authority from the top of a business to the bottom.
Span of control: The number of people a manager directly supervises.
Delegation: Passing authority to someone lower in the organisation.
Centralised: Decisions are made by senior managers at head office.
Decentralised: Decisions are delegated to local managers or branches.
Flat structure: A structure with few layers of management.