Answer - 1 : - Informal organisation is referred to as the social relationship network that arises naturally as a result of interaction at work. Emergence of informal organisation is from social interaction and free flow of communication between the employees of the organisation.

Question - 2 : - What does the term ‘span of management’ refer to?

Answer - 2 : -

The term span of management refers to the number of subordinates a manager is able to handle efficiently. It determines the nature and structure of an organisation. There are two types of span of management 1) Narrow 2) Wide

Span of management is dependent on various factors such as leadership, control, decentralisation extent in organisation, nature of work and the working ability of the subordinates.

Question - 3 : - State any two circumstances under which the functional structure will prove to be an appropriate choice?

Answer - 3 : -

Functional structure requires grouping and organising activities that are of similar nature. Under functional organisation each group functions separately and specialise in their work. Financial structure is suitable for organisations that are large and which have various functions.

Here are two circumstances that under functional structure is appropriate

1. Large sized organisations need to have a functional structure in order to operate smoothly. There will be many departments within the organisation and making differentiation based on departments is very much helpful for a organisation. It helps in improving efficiency of the managers so that the work progresses smoothly.

2. A high degree of coordination is required for managing various functions. It is done to improve efficiency. If an organisation is having a clear division of work, a functional structure helps in promoting coordination between the various departments and thereby ensures all functions go on smoothly.

Question - 4 : - Draw a diagram depicting a functional structure.

Answer - 4 : -

Question - 5 : - A company has its registered office in Delhi, manufacturing unit at Gurgaon and marketing and sales department at Faridabad. The company manufactures the consumer products. Which type of organisational structure should it adopt to achieve its target?

Answer - 5 : -

For this company the type of organisation structure that needs to be followed is functional organisation. This can be justified using the following points

1. Being a large organisation it requires proper departmentalisation. It helps in increasing efficiency of the managers and also provides a great degree of control over the activities of the organisation.

2. Organisation like this is managing multiple functions simultaneously where coordination of high degree is required. It can be achieved in a smooth way by arranging a proper division of activities among various departments under functional structure.

3. Specialisation will be promoted under functional structure and it will help in performing all the diverse functions effortlessly.

Question - 6 : - What are the steps in the process of organising?

Answer - 6 : -

Following steps are involved in the process of organising

1. The first step that is involved in organising is identifying the number of activities and accordingly dividing them as per the plan. Actions are taken as per the defined objectives. Having a clear division of work keeps duplicity at bay.

2. Actions that are fixed earlier are now arranged in groups based on similarity. This ensures that the department specialising in the work has access to it.

3. The next step in organising is assigning the roles and responsibilities to the person best suited for the job. Work is allocated as per the skills of the members.

4. The next part in organising is the presence of a hierarchy in an organisation. It is very helpful when a person is aware of his immediate superior. A defined organisation structure helps in ensuring successful functioning of the activities of the organisation.

Question - 7 : - Discuss the elements of delegation.

Answer - 7 : -

Delegation is the process of transferring of authority and responsibility to subordinates in an organisation. Following are the elements of an organisation

1. Delegation provides an individual with the power to direct or command a subordinate. This enables them to make decisions regarding what needs to be done and who will be doing that. The chain of command starts from top level of management and ends in lower level of management. As authority is delegated, it helps in maintain discipline and obedience.

2. Responsibility is the part where the subordinate has to adhere to the given task. The duty provided should be performed by the subordinate properly. Responsibility of a subordinate is towards his superior

3. The superior must be accountable for the outcome of the work that has been assigned by him to his subordinate. The superior should keep a track of the work done by subordinate and must see to that it is done satisfactorily.

Question - 8 : - How does informal organisation support the formal organisation?

Answer - 8 : -

The network of relations that is created from the social interactions taking place outside of the office is called as informal organisation. It traces its origin from the formal organisations and are not created at will by management. These relationships are built on friendship that develops between co-workers. It supports the formal organisations in following ways

1. A free flow of communication is established in an informal organisation which leads to communication channels outside the organisation. In this way communication spreads easily and assists the formal organisation.

2. In informal organisations people develop good bonding among themselves and thus towards organisation. It helps in increasing coordination among the members and also promotes mutual trust and respect. The result of such bonding is it lowers the level of conflicts.

3.Informal organisations help in fulfilling organisational objectives. Managers can get to know about the workers issue and ask for suggestions on improving the work conditions. Happy workers will be more contributing towards organisation.

4. It helps in building a harmonious work environment by encouraging cooperation among workers and managers. A peaceful work environment is more productive.

5. An informal organisation helps in increasing efficiency among the workers. The workers understand their importance and actively contribute towards organisation growth.

Question - 9 : - Can a large sized organisation be totally centralised
or decentralised? Give your opinion.

Answer - 9 : -

Any organisation regardless of the size will be finding it difficult to function properly either as centralised or decentralised as because there needs to be a balance between the two systems in order to make the best possible utilisation.

In centralisation the decision-making capacity or authority is restricted to the people sitting at the top level of management. All the decisions regarding the organisation are being taken by the top-level management. In a stark contrast to this system, the decentralisation works by delegating the decision-making capacity to the managers at lower level. There is distribution of decision-making capabilities which is spread evenly.

For an organisation to perform at the best it has to follow a mix of centralisation and decentralisation. A growing organisation cannot rely on centralisation to manage all the functions. It would slow down the decision-making process for the organisation. Hence a decentralised system helps ease the load on decision making. Also, an organisation cannot let all the decisions to be made by the lower level management as it will be a risk to the integrity of the organisation.

Therefore, there should be a balance between centralisation and decentralisation in an organisation.

Question - 10 : - Decentralisation is extending delegation to the lowest level. Comment.

Answer - 10 : - Decentralisation and delegation are similar in nature. Both are about transferring of responsibility and authority. In case of delegation authority is shared among two individuals i.e. superior delegating authority to subordinate whereas in decentralisation the authority is shared at multiple levels. Therefore, it can be said that the act of delegating authority at each level of management is promoting decentralisation while the act of decentralisation is helping promote delegation in the lowest level.

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