Describe the four basic forms of organizational structure.

Describe the four basic forms of organizational structure.




There are four basic forms of organizational structure.

1. The line structure is the oldest and simplest structure, in which the chain of command moves in a straight line from person to person down through the levels of management.

2. The line-and-staff structure is similar to the line structure, but adds specialists called staff managers to assist the line managers in decision making.

3. The line structure works most efficiently for smaller organizations, whereas the line-and-staff structure is used by medium- and large-sized organizations.

4. The matrix structure may be depicted as product departmentalization superimposed on functional departmentalization. With the matrix structure, an employee on a cross-functional team reports to both the project manager and the individual's supervisor in a functional department.

In an organization with a network structure, the primary function performed internally is administration, and other functions are contracted out to other firms.


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