This is the term used to describe how your firm is set up.
This shows who is in charge and what they are responsible for and who they are
responsible to.
It also shows who staffs have to report to.
a) Responsibility: Who you are in charge of.
b) Accountability: Who you report to.
It is important to have a structure that shows accountability and responsibility to ensure
the company runs efficiently.
This structure provides the:
I. The authority.
II. The hierarchy-> The structure.
III. Clarity -> Know who you have to go to.
IV. Chain of command->Who is in charge.
V. Shows communication channels-> Who
you have to speak to get stuff done.
Chain of Command: This is the term used to describe
how authority in the business is structures, it shows
who is in charge and how authority flows in the
company, and it also shows how communication should normally work in a company and
how it should pass through the company.
Span of Control: This is how many people/ how much responsibility one person has. If you
have a wide span of control this means you have a lot of people to look after/control. This
means that a manager would have to give their staff more responsibility as they cannot
supervise all the time.
Wide Span of Control
Advantages Disadvantages
Motivate staff->not watched all the time- feel trusted. The manager may be stretched as they have too much to
look after due to the wide span of control and this may
de-motivate the manager and reduce efficiency.
As they have more responsibility the challenge provided The manager/employees may not have the necessary
motivates them as they have been trusted with a high skills to take on additional workload and responsibility
amount of responsibility. which will increase inefficiency and a rise on the amount
of wrong decisions made.
Saves the business money as they need fewer managers Employees many not want the extra responsibility and
as the current manager has a wide span of control and may become de-motivated and despondent as they feel
this saves a managerial salary. they are being forced into the extra work.