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Interpreting Simple Organizational Charts

The document discusses key concepts for interpreting simple organizational charts including: [1] Chain of command which shows lines of responsibility from senior to junior staff represented by vertical lines. [2] Span of control which refers to the number of direct reports for each individual. [3] Leadership refers to motivating and influencing others to work towards organizational success. [4] Characteristics of a good leader include honesty, flexibility, focus, trustworthiness, and ability to make intelligent decisions. [5] There are three main leadership styles - autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire - each with advantages and disadvantages depending on the situation.

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Ejaz Yusuff
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21 views8 pages

Interpreting Simple Organizational Charts

The document discusses key concepts for interpreting simple organizational charts including: [1] Chain of command which shows lines of responsibility from senior to junior staff represented by vertical lines. [2] Span of control which refers to the number of direct reports for each individual. [3] Leadership refers to motivating and influencing others to work towards organizational success. [4] Characteristics of a good leader include honesty, flexibility, focus, trustworthiness, and ability to make intelligent decisions. [5] There are three main leadership styles - autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire - each with advantages and disadvantages depending on the situation.

Uploaded by

Ejaz Yusuff
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Interpreting simple organizational charts

Chain of command
The chain of command shows the lines
of responsibility in an organization, for
example from senior manager at the
top, to middle manager, to junior, to
operatives at the bottom.
The chain of command in the diagram
above is represented by vertical lines.

Span of control
The span of control of an individual is the number of people that he
or she manages or supervises directly. The diagram below shows an
organization with a narrow span of control.
Choosing the best span of control means finding a balance between
having control over people below you (subordinates) and being able
to trust them. There is a limit to the number of people who can be
supervised well by one person. A narrow span of control makes it
possible to control people and to communicate with them closely.

The difference between the chain of command


and the span of control is that the chain of
command shows lines of responsibility, and
the span of control, shows how many people
someone in an organization is responsible for
Leadership - the action of leading
The term leadership refers to the ability of a person to motivate or
influence others to work constructively towards the effectiveness
and success of the organization in which they are involved.

A good leader tends to be people – oriented, with their main aim


being to motivate others (guiding people) to achieve goals.

Essential characteristics of a good leader


A good leader is someone who can get things done on time to a high
standard by motivated employees.

Focus Honesty

Characteristics
of a good leader
Ability to Flexibility
make
intelligent
decisions
Trustworthiness

Honesty – A leader needs to have followers, so it is important that there


is a belief in the integrity of the leader. A leader should be seen to make
fair decisions, and should not be tainted by dishonesty or corruption. An
honest person is seen by followers as being worthy of following.
With honesty comes trust and inspiration.

Flexibility - Good leaders will show a willingness to change their plans


or their ideas if they prove to be wrong. They will respond to changes in
the business environment and move the organization into new areas or
directions when the need arises.

Focus - Good leaders will focus intensely on the tasks to be achieved.


rather than being distracted away from the central purpose of the
organization, the plan and the needs of each situation. They will also
encourage focus from other members of the organization. A good leader
is able to focus on the key objectives of the organization.

Trustworthiness - Good leaders will seek to build and maintain trust.


This involves doing what they say they will do. It also involves
supporting others in appropriate situations.

Ability to make intelligent decisions - The business world is a complex


one, so good leaders need to be able to make intelligent decisions which
are best for the organization and for all of Its stakeholders. Intelligent
decisions involve taking into account different stakeholder interests

Leadership styles
Leadership styles refers to a leader’s pattern of behaviour, and the ways in
which leaders take decisions, manage change and deal with their staff.
There are three main styles:
Autocratic means making decisions by oneself.
Autocratic leaders make decisions on their own,
and then tell staff what to do and how to do it.
This tightly controlled approach is sometimes called ‘tell and do ‘. The
autocratic manger will often provide clear instructions, but staff may be
demotivated because there is little opportunity to share their own ideas.
Autocratic leaders are usually inflexible and often operate by using
threats, instilling fear and intimidating employees.

Advantages
Rapid decision making – no time is wasted
Good for the armed forces and emergency services, as there is fast one –
way communication
in times of raid change or crisis, decisive action might be needed by the
leader to limit damage to the business

Disadvantages
Demotivates workers who want to contribute and accept responsibility
Decisions do not benefit from workers ‘knowledge and experience

Democratic: means making decisions after


considering everyone’s ideas. In persuasive
democratic management, a leader will make
decisions and persuade the followers that these
are the right decisions. In consultative
democratic management, the followers will have
a lot of input into the discussion (i.e., they are
“consulted “), even if the leader makes the final
decisions. Democratic leaders are often referred
to as participatory leaders. They often impact employees by giving job
satisfaction, empowerment and a sense of teamwork.
Advantages
Makes use of many ideas; involves consultation about decision – making
Two-way communication is used, which allows feedback from workers
Job enrichment is more likely to be achieved
Disadvantages
Consultation with staff can be time – consuming and limits quick
decision – making
Some issues might be too sensitive to discuss democratically

Laissez – faire: is a French phrase


which means “let (them) do (it) “,
and it is used to describe a loose
management style. Managers create
guidelines and objectives, but then
leave staff to carry out the tasks
themselves. This can be successful if
the employees are motivated and
are good decision – makers.
However, it can lead to chaos if staff
need strong direction from the
manager and are unable, for various
reasons, to make decisions themselves.

Advantages
Employees have freedom to manager their own work within given
guidelines
Little (if any) management supervision; provides job enrichment
Feedback on progress towards agreed targets helps to motivate
workers
Used when teams include very experienced and self – motivated staff
and when creativity is crucial to success. E.g., scientific research or
advertising agencies.

Disadvantages
In effective if is used as a result of weak managers not exerting
control when it might be needed
Lack of clarity can lead to low motivation and disagreements

Two further styles of leadership are


charismatic and transformational.
A charismatic leadership style: is where the
leader has strong personality or charisma, and
can influence others to follow.

Advantages
Employees develop loyalty to the leader

Disadvantages
The leader's strong personality may Influence employees to commit
illegal activities or breach operating guidelines.

Transformational leadership: is where employees are inspired to embrace


changes in the organization regardless of the consequences.
Advantages
Team work is encouraged as everyone works towards a common goal

Disadvantages
The decision-making process may be slow and time consuming.
Good leaders match their style to the needs of different situations. They may
be autocratic when urgent action is required, and democratic when it is
advantageous to involve others in the decision – making process.
Some organizations are more suited to particular styles. For example, in an
advertising agency, it is helpful to share ideas between lots of people, so
democratic or laissez -faire styles can be best. Where decisions have to be
made quickly and to set pattern , a more autocratic style is more useful .

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