1. Supervision in Organizations
Chapter 4
Organizing an Effective
Department

2. Learning Outcomes After reading this chapter, I will be able to:
Define organizing.
Describe why work specialization should increase economic efficiency.
Contrast line and staff authority.
Differentiate between centralized and decentralized decision making.
Identify the five different ways by which management can departmentalize.

3. Learning Outcomes (cont’d) After reading this chapter, I will be able to:
Contrast the different organizational structures.
Explain what is meant by the term learning organization.
Discuss the value of job descriptions
Identify the four-step process of delegation

4. What is Organizing? Organizing defined:
Arranging and grouping jobs, allocating
resources, and assigning work so that activities can be accomplished as planned (p. 95)

5. What is Work Specialization?
“jobs being broken down into steps, each step being completed by a separate individual”
Example: assembly line production
Challenges:
Boredom
Fatigue
Increased absenteeism
High turnover
Solution:
Allowing workers to complete an entire piece of work
Create Teams

6. What is Span of Control? Span of Control:
the number of employees a supervisor can efficiently and effectively direct (5 – 30 people)
Depends on the following factors:
Experience/Competence of Supervisor
Varied job duties
Employee’s abilities
Complexity of employee’s activities
Department’s formal rules & regulations

7. What is the Chain of Command?
Chain of Command defined:
“The continuous line of authority that extends from upper organizational levels to the lowest levels & clarifies who reports to whom” (p. 98)
Chain of Command Principle:
“Subordinate should have one and only one supervisor to whom he/she is directly responsible.”

8. What is Authority? Authority:
“The rights inherent in a supervisory position to give orders and expect the orders to be obeyed.”
Line Authority – the right to direct the work of his/her employees & make certain decisions w/o consulting others
Staff Authority – supports line authority by advising, servicing, & assisting, but they needn’t be obeyed by the subordinate (ex. Assistant Department Chair)
Functional Authority – represents control over individuals outside one’s own direct areas of responsibility

9. Responsibility vs. Authority
Supervisors are obligated to achieve their unit’s goals, keep costs within budget, follow organizational policies, & motivate their subordinates through obligation
Responsibility must equal Authority!!
Authority = the right to hire, reward, discipline, & fire

10. Where are Decisions Made?
Centralization – the design of any organization requiring top management to make decisions (problems/decision making flow up to senior executives)
Decentralization – people closets to the problems make decision

11. Departmentalization Departmentalization defined:
grouping departments based on work functions (functional), product or service (product), target customer or client (customer), geographic territory (geographic), or the process used to turn inputs into outputs (process) in the attainment of the organization’s objectives.

12. 5 Ways to Departmentalize
Functional departmentalization
The grouping of activities by functions performed
most directly take advantage of work specialization
Activities can be grouped according to function to pursue economies of scale by placing employees with shared skills and knowledge into work-groups.
Tasks can also be grouped according to a specific product, thus placing all activities related to the product under one manager.
Jobs may be grouped according to the type of customer served by the organization.
If an organization’s customers are geographically dispersed, it can group jobs based on geography.
If each process requires different skills, process departmentalization allows homogenous activities to be categorized.
How does the contemporary view of departmentalization differ from the historical view? While most large organizations still use most of the traditional departmental groupings, rigid departmentalization is being complemented by the use of interdepartmental teams. Intense competition has refocused the attention of managers on monitoring the needs of customers and responding to them.

13. 5 Ways to Departmentalize cont…
Product departmentalization
The grouping of activities by product produced where the supervisor, who is a specialist in, has the authority and responsibility for everything to do with his/her product line

14. 5 Ways to Departmentalize cont…
Customer departmentalization
The grouping of activities by common customers
Example: Setting up department to meet special requirement from customers (ex. Continuing Education: Evening/Weekend Classes)

15. 5 Ways to Departmentalize cont..
Geographic departmentalization
The grouping of activities by territory
Advantage: Puts decision-making authority close to where the work is being done

16. 5 Ways to Departmentalize cont..
Process departmentalization
The grouping of activities by work or customer flow

17. Organizational Structural Configuration
Mintzberg’s five-sector logo
Operating core
People who perform basic work (line workers)
Administrative Component
Managers/supervisors (line supervisor)
Strategic Apex
Focus on outside environment (executives)
Techno structure
Specialist/analysts (engineers)
Support staff
Perform tasks that facilitate work (secretaries)

18. Structural Configuration
Simple structure
Two Levels:
Strategic apex
Operating level
Characteristics:
“Mom & Pop Shop’s”
Loose body of empowered employees
Today, more organizations are using this structure
Benefits:
Structure is very flexible & adaptable
One person directs the entire operation
Challenges:
Lack of strategic planning (boss too close to operations)
Authority can block change
only effective in small organization
Risky: decisions depend upon one person

19. Structural Configuration cont…
Functional Structure (Professional Bureaucracy)
Characteristics:
An organization structure in which similar & related occupational specialties are group together
Operating core is larger than other structural parts
Few managerial levels exist between the strategic apex and professors (flat organizational structure)
Examples: Universities (EIU or U of Illinois)
Benefits:
Capitalize on work specialization
Challenges:
organization frequently looses sight of its pursuit of functional goals.
Dealing with incompetence and irresponsibility
Respond slow to change

20. Structural Configuration cont…
Divisionalized Form
Organization made up of self-contained units or divisions
Work accomplished through quasi-autonomous units (multispecialty hospital) serving defined markets
Division heads (presidents) are accountable to the corporate office
As long as the division performs, they have free reign
Benefits:
Division managers have full responsibility for a product or service
Structure frees headquarters of being responsible for day-to-day operations; more focus on strategic planning
Responsive
Challenges:
Headquarters may lose touch with operations
Duplication of activities and resources contributing to higher costs
Example: Marketing Research for each division

21. Organizational Structure cont…
Matrix Organization:
Creates a dual chain of command which explicitly violates the Principle of Chain of Command
Employees in a matrix structure would have two managers:
functional departmental supervisor
their product or project supervisor

22. Organizational Structure cont…
Team-Based:
An organization that consists entirely of work groups or teams
Keys to success
Employees trained to work within a team structure
Receive cross-functional training
Be compensated for their cross-functional roles

23. Organizational Structure cont…
Learning Organization:
An organization that has developed the capacity to continuously adapt and change because all members take an active role in identifying and resolving work-related issues.

24. Organizing Your Employees
How do you Identify the Tasks to be Done?
Identify specific tasks that must be completed by your subordinates
From the list of tasks, combine tasks that need to be accomplished (Work specialization)
Develop job descriptions
Assign jobs/tasks to operative employees
Ensure workloads are balanced

25. Purpose of Job Descriptions
“a written statement of what a jobholder does, how the job is done, and why it is done.”
Why should you write a job description
It provides you with a formal document describing what each employee is supposed to be doing
used in performance appraisal
compare actual performance to desired performance
Helps employee learn their job duties and clarifies the results that you expect them to achieve

26. Empowering other through Delegation
What is Delegation?
a way to accomplish job tasks with each person taking a part of the work and responsibility which best uses and extends her skills.
Four Step Process:
Allocation of duties
Delegation of authority
Assignment of responsibility
Creation of accountability

27. Here are a few good reasons to delegate:
Why Delegate?
Here are a few good reasons to delegate:
To build individual confidence and increase motivation.
To share the power and responsibility.
To provide growth experiences and to model the value of skill development.
To create a sense of importance and belonging for the employee.
To encourage independence, initiative, and creative problem solving.

28. Steps for Successful Delegation
Clearly describe the results you want.
Explain how the results fit into the team’s or organization’s big picture.
Together establish the boundaries and limitations of the work.
State and agree upon the benchmark, checkpoints, and deadlines that will ensure successful accomplishment.
Be sure to give the individual the authority to complete the task.

29. Steps for Successful Delegation cont…
Secure commitment from the individual; ask directly for it.
Specify chain of command for problem solving.
Be specific in detailing what success or failure will look like.
What will be the impact of success in this task for the team, organization, and individual?
What will be the impact of failure in this task for
the team, organization, and individual?