Structure and Authority in Management

In this course, we will discuss the fundamental characteristics of organizing and explain division of labor, chain of command, span of management, and centralization versus decentralization. Let’s explore structure and authority in management.

Organizing is the deployment of organizational resources to achieve strategic goals; involves assigning tasks, grouping tasks into departments, and allocating resources. The organizing process leads to the creation of organization structure, which defines how tasks are divided and resources deployed.

The chain of command is an unbroken line of authority that links all employees in an organization and shows who reports to whom. Authority is he formal and legitimate right of a manager to make decisions, issue orders, and allocate resources to achieve outcomes desired by the organization. Responsibility is the flip side of the authority coin. Responsibility is the duty to perform the task or activity that one has been assigned. Accountability is the mechanism through which authority and responsibility are brought into alignment.

The chain of command, authority, responsibility and accountability are critical factors in the success of managers within their organizational structure.