HROB 2090 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: Human Relations Movement, High Tech, Flat Organization

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Human Resources and Organizational Behaviour
• Course: HROB 2090
• Professor: Thomas Sasso

Document Summary

There are a number of characteristics that summarize the structure of organizations. Span of control is the number of subordinates supervised by a manager. The larger the span, the less potential there is for coordination by direct supervision. As the span increases, the attention that a supervisor can devote to each subordinate decreases. Spans at the upper levels of an organization tend to be smaller. A flat organization has relatively few levels in its hierarchy of authority. A tall organization has relatively many levels in its hierarchy of authority. Flatness vs. tallness is an index of the vertical division of labour. Flatness and tallness are associated with the average span of control. Flatter structures tend to push decision-making powers downward in the organization. Flatter structures generally enhance vertical communication and coordination. Formalization is the extent to which work roles are highly defined by an organization. A very formalized organization tolerates little variability in the way members perform their tasks.