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1.4.3 Organisational design GapFill
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Organisational structures often develop over time into tall but this structure does not suit every business so there are some variations.
The tall organisational structure has a long chain of , which means that decision-making can be very slow within the organisation. An advantage of having so many layers is that staff may be motivated as there is lots of scope for promotion, which ultimately may help with employee retention. The disadvantage is this kind of structure can easily become very large, inflexible and . This makes it hard for a business to respond to dynamic markets and changing consumer .
Some organisations prefer a flat structure, which is where there is a shorter of command, speeding up decisions. This kind of structure will have a very wide of control so is only really suitable for small staff teams or smaller companies. Harvester restaurants works this way with the waiting staff and kitchen staff on the same level, and with just a manager and a coach above them. Staff are responsible for many branch decisions, including rotas, while main decisions such as menus are decided at head office to ensure consistency across the brand. The obvious disadvantage is that flat organisations have few opportunities for , and after a while staff will leave to seek better employment elsewhere.
As a third option, companies that are mostly project-based may seek to have a team framework called organisational structure. Its flexibility means that staff from different departments can sit on more than one team, leading to job enrichment and enlargement and more staff. The main disadvantages are the possible problems with co-ordination and conflict between departments.