Unit 4. Organization Introduction

2. Read the text. What does it say about the questions in the introduction? Find the answers as quickly as you can.

Whenever individuals come together for a common purpose, their separate activities must be coordinated to achieve maximum effectiveness.

The term “organization” has come to acquire a number of meanings. An organization of people who meet and have some sort of formal relationship, such as a civic club, a political party, or an athletic team, may be called an organization. A business enterprise, with all its resources, personnel, equipment, and methods or production and distribution, is typically called an organization. The term ‘organization’, however, has its most proper meaning in a managerial context when it refers to the outcome of the organizing function.

In the organizing process, management sets up the structure and rules that control the way a company’s resources will interact to reach objectives. The resulting internal structure is the organization: this structure prescribes the tasks and activities to be carried out, the relationship between these activities, and the role each individual in the company will play in meeting planned objectives. Thus management is responsible for the organizing function or process and the organization itself.

Organizational relationships within a business may be formal or informal. Formal organizations are consciously planned. They are arranged according to rational principles which are usually set down in writing. The purpose of formal organizations is to control the routine activities and decisions that keep the company running. Informal organizations exist without specific planning. The informal organization develops from social likes and dislikes of the employees.

Every business firm has its unique organization requirements. There are, however, certain principles that help to establish a sound internal structure. By following these principles, management creates an organization that is planned, suitable to purpose, well-defined, and as uncomplicated as possible. The principles are: a) organization follows planning; b) the structure of organization should fit its size and function; c) duties and relationships should be clearly defined and specified; d) to achieve effective supervision, the number of subordinates should be limited.

Organizations can also vary in the extent to which authority is distributed down the chain of command to middle and lower level of management. A centralized organization is one in which almost all of the authority is concentrated in a few positions at the top. In a company with centralized organization, nearly all important operating decisions will be made by top management. The main task of those below is to carry out their decisions efficiently. A decentralized organization delegates much more authority to the managers who are closer to actual operations.

In the long history of business management, three kinds of internal structures have evolved: line, line-and-staff, and functional. Most companies use one or more of these forms today.

An internal business structure in which every employee is a member of a direct chain of command from the top executives down through the levels of management is called line organization. It is called a line organization because authority flows in a direct line from the top of the organization to any individual worker at any level.

The line organization has a distinct advantage in its simplicity; every employee can understand the organization and know where he or she stands. The direct supervisor-subordinate relationship makes it easier to maintain discipline and quality of work.

A great disadvantage of the line organization is that it is sometimes not capable of handling the complex management and technical needs of a large, modern company. Another disadvantage is that there are often insufficient formal means for communication and coordination between departments. Also, since managers are responsible for all of the work of their subordinates, they are often burdened with decisions about details.

As the complexity and size of a company increase, managers usually find it necessary to modify the line organization by adding staff specialists to handle certain specific duties. This is called line-and-staff organization. It is the most common internal structure today, especially for large companies. The staff specialists perform technical services and provide expert guidance to line managers.

The great advantage of the line-and-staff organization is that it allows specialists to handle highly technical or complex functions while the company retains many of the benefits of line organization.

The disadvantage of a line-and-staff organization is that conflict often arises between line positions and staff positions. Line managers and workers may consider staff specialists as expensive extra baggage. Staff workers may resent managers who do not take their advice.

An alternative way to organize a business is to assign managers the responsibility for all activities and decisions in certain defined functional areas of operation. This is called functional organization. This structure, for example, might have five managers supervising the workers in a manufacturing plant. The personnel manager would directly handle all personnel matters, the production manager would concentrate exclusively on production etc.

The main advantage of functional organization is that it allows managers to specialize in one particular area of operations. Their expert guidance becomes directly available to all workers without an intervening line manager. The fact that every worker has more than one supervisor is a great disadvantage of functional organization, however. This can cause conflicting commands and loss of discipline and can make it difficult to put down the responsibility for decisions. For this reason, most businesses that choose a functional organization try to clearly restrict the degree of authority certain functions can exercise over other functions.

A fourth kind of organization is used by firms that must manage a number of one-time projects – such as road, dam, or bridge building, or a research investigation. These firms use a matrix organization, which allows a project manager to exercise temporary authority over a number of specialists who also must report to different line managers for supervision in their specialties. This enables specialists to be assigned to projects where they are needed. It has the disadvantage, however, of asking an employee to report to two different bosses.

Vocabulary Focus

3. a) Study the meaning and use of the following words. Then fill in the gaps with these words.

authority (n): power or right to give orders and make others obey; a person or a group of persons, having authority

objective (n): object aimed at, purpose

retain (v): keep, continue to have or hold

internal (adj): of or in the inside

handle (v): manage, deal with, control

informal (adj): irregular, without ceremony or formality

subordinate (n): a person junior in rank or position, working under another person

dissatisfaction (n): the state of being not satisfied

b) Complete these sentences with words from the list above.

1. 
   The … structure of a business determines the relationships between a company’s activities and personnel.
   
2. 
   The internal structure proscribes the role each individual in the company will play in meeting planned … .
   
3. 
   … is delegated to employees to allow them to meet their responsibilities.
   
4. 
   The great advantage of the line-and-staff organization is that it allows specialists to … highly technical or complex functions.
   
5. 
   A poor organization causes confusion, waste and … .
   
6. 
   Personal friendships and conflicts are another force in the … organization.
   
7. 
   Centralized organizations usually give managers a limited but tighter span of control, with each manager having fewer … .
   
8. 
   A company with line-and-staff organization can … many of the benefits of line organization.
   

4. Express in one word.

1) The right to take certain actions and to require subordinates to perform duties they are assigned – … .

2) The duties an employee is obligated to fulfil while performing the job – … .

3) An internal business structure in which every employee is a member of a direct chain of command from the top executive down through the levels of management – … .

4) The modification of the line organization by adding staff specialists to handle certain specific duties – … .

5) An internal business structure in which managers are assigned the responsibility for all activities and decisions in certain functional areas of operating – … .

6) An organization which is consciously planned and which is arranged according to rational principles – … .

words for reference: responsibility, line organization, authority, line-and-staff organization, formal organization, functional organization

5. Match the English and the Russian equivalents.

a. to meet the objectives	1. ограничить полномочия
b. to handle duties	2. подчинённый
c. to retain benefits	3. сохранить преимущества
d. to restrict the authority	4. вмешиваться
e. expert guidance	5. назначать, поручать
f. to modify	6. доступный, имеющийся в наличии
g. to assign	7. достигнуть целей
h. available	8. выполнять обязанности
i. to intervene	9. видоизменять
j. subordinate	10. профессиональное руководство

6. Match the words from the text with their synonyms.

to modify	1 to allow, to authorize
to handle	2 to absorb, to contain
to assign	3 to accept, to acquire
to restrict	4 to alter, to change, to convert
to enable	5 to appoint, to choose
objective	6 benefit, convenience.
sufficient	7 to control, to direct, to guide, to operate
to retain	8 to keep within bounds, to limit
advantage	9 aim, ambition, goal, n.
to assume	10 adequate, competent

7. a) Give the derivatives of the following words.

Verb	Noun	Adjective
1. modify
2.		authoritative
3. delegate
4.	production
5. assume
6. enable
7.	guidance	–
8.		restrictive
9.	benefit
10. serve		–

b) Complete the following sentences using forms of the words from the table above.

modify

1. They tried to make … in the training programme. 2. The industrial revolution … the whole structure of the English society.

authoritative

1. I … him to act for me while I am abroad. 2. An officer exercises … over the soldiers under him. 3. He was reprimanded for his … manner of speaking.

delegate

1. The chairman … his rights to his depute. 2. Entrusting one’s duties to another person is called ….

production

1. … labour is our economic value. 2. The … of manufactured goods rose by 10% at the end of the year. 3. We must … more food ourselves and import less.

assume

1. Their … that the war would end quickly was proved wrong. 2. You should … the direction of the business.

enable

1. He is a man of great …. 2. The collapse of the strike … the company to resume normal bus service. 3. I wasn’t … to come to the office because I felt bad yesterday.

guidance

1. ... missiles are rockets which are directed to their destination by electronic devices. 2. … is a kind of leadership. 3. Your sense of what is right or just must … you.

restrictive

1. Is the consumption of alcohol … by law in your country? 2. … practices in industry are practices that hinder the most effective use of labour, technical resources and tend to damage productive efficiency. 3. The government placed … on foreign trade.

benefit

1. Fresh air and good food are … to the health. 2. Did you get much … from your holiday? 3. The new railway will … the district.

serve

1. The gardener … the family for ten years. 2. His … to the state have been immense. 3. The dinner is … at 6 o’clock.

Comprehension

8. Answer the questions basing on the text.

1. 
   What are the two meanings of the word ‘organization’?
   
2. 
   What is meant by the internal organization of a business?
   
3. 
   How does formal organization differ from informal organization?
   
4. 
   What are some of the principles of organization mentioned in the text?
   
5. 
   What is the difference between a centralized and decentralized organization?
   
6. 
   What is the main advantage of a line-and-staff organization over a line organization?
   
7. 
   What is the main disadvantage of a functional organization?
   
8. 
   From what two superiors is a person employed in a matrix organization likely to receive orders or instructions?
   

9. Expand the sentences.

1. 
   In the organizing process, management sets up … .
   
2. 
   Formal organizations are … .
   
3. 
   Informal organizations exist … .
   
4. 
   By following the four principles, management creates an organization that is … .
   
5. 
   The three major kinds of internal structures are … .
   
6. 
   A line organization is an internal business structure in which every employee … .
   
7. 
   The staff specialists perform … .
   
8. 
   An organization in which managers are assigned the responsibility for all activities and decisions in certain defined functional areas of operations is called … .
   

10. Put the following key sentences in the order according to the text.

1. 
   Advantages and disadvantages of each organization structure.
   
2. 
   The four principles of good organization.
   
3. 
   The three basic organization structures.
   
4. 
   The difference between organizing and organization.
   
5. 
   Distinguishing between formal and informal organizations.
   

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