Details

26 mins, 2004

You can’t see it, but it’s probably the most important thing in a business – its structure. This film offers a comprehensive guide to business structures with a range of examples, including Daimler Chrysler, Easy Jet and Stena Line.
FUNCTIONS: The most common business structure is by function – such as marketing and production. But some companies also organise themselves around particular products or geography. Tall organisations have layers of managers structured in a hierarchy. Flatter companies have fewer layers – which they claim gives them more flexibility.

CHAIN OF COMMAND: A tall company has a long chain of command, but managers have a narrow span of control. Everybody knows what they’re supposed to be doing – but are tall hierarchies too rigid? Meanwhile, in multinational drugs company Eli Lilly, staff work in teams with different team leaders – a matrix structure.

HUMAN COSTS: Companies flatten their structures by cutting out layers of managers. But what about the human cost – large-scale redundancies and stress at work?

Key Topics

• Organisational Types
• Ways Of Working
• Hierarchies
• People In Organisations