Definition of management structure

A management structure is how a company organizes its management hierarchy. In

egalitarian countries, such as Sweden, companies tend to have a flatter, less
hierarchical organizational structure.

Types of management structure

There are many alternative types of management structure in use today,

each with its advantages and disadvantages

At one end of the scale of structures is the mechanistic structure which is

characterized by the following:

Rigid task definition

Vertical communication
High degrees of formalization
Authority-based influence
Centralized control
Complex differentiation
High degree of co-ordination

Management structure and organisation

Managers are people who steer an organization towards meeting its' business
objectives. Management has been described as: 'the process of planning, organizing,
leading and controlling the efforts of organization members and of using all
organizational resource to achieve stated organizational goals.' A manager's job is to
maintain control over the way an organization does things, and at the same time to lead,
inspire and direct the people under them. In a company the shareholders will elect a
board of directors to represent their interests. A Managing Director will be appointed
who has overall responsibility for running the company. The managing director with help
from other directors will appoint senior managers to run the company. The type of
managers appointed will depend on the structure of the company. Possible structures
will include:

Managers are typically responsible for:

Establishing , prioritizing, and making sure that objectives are met

Establishing a framework for communications, and patterns of work within their area of
responsibility e.g. department.
 Communicating targets, goals and results to people that work for them
Motivating employees
Setting out the administrative arrangements for their area of responsibility
Creating, monitoring, and making sure that budgets are achieved.

The management structure of an organization clearly outlines the roles of the top
management, which consists of the CEO and the board, the middle management, which
is made up of the department heads and heads of divisions, and the lower
management, which is comprised of the line managers, team leaders and supervisors.
This is the basic management structure used by most organizations, but according to
Business Case Studies, a company's shareholders are also a part of the management
structure of a company.

The objectives of a company determine its management structure. Large companies

like Proctor & Gamble, that manufacture numerous products, prefer to organize their
company into subdivisions for various product lines. The company has organized its
management structure according to the various regions where it operates and also
according to all the different products it manufactures.