GMS 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Organizational Chart, Informal Learning, Strategic Management

• School: Ryerson University
• Department: Global Management Studies
• Course: GMS 200
• Professor: Ado Abdoulkadre

Document Summary

Organization structure: the system of tasks, workflows, reporting relationships, and communication channels that link together diverse individuals and groups, organizing controlling leading planning. Informal structures: a shadow organization made up of the unofficial, but critical, working relationships between organization members: potential disadvantages of informal structures: Informal learning: potential disadvantages of informal structures: May work against best interests of entire organization. Potential advantages of functional structures: economies of scale, assignments consistent with expertise and training, high-quality technical problem solving. Potential disadvantages of functional structures: difficulties in pinpointing responsibilities, narrow view of performance objectives, excessive upward referral of decisions. Divisional structures are based on product, geography, customer and process: potential advantages of divisional structures: More flexibility and clear points of responsibility. Expertise focused on specific customers, products and regions. Greater ease in restructuring: potential disadvantages of divisional structures. Duplication of resources and efforts across divisions. Emphasis on division goals at expense of organizational goals.