Not having a formal structure in place may prove difficult for certain organizations. For instance, employees may have difficulty knowing to whom they should report. That can lead to uncertainty as to who is responsible for what in the organization. Having a structure in place can help with efficiency and provide clarity for everyone at every level. That also means each and every department can be more productive, as they are likely to be more focused on energy and time.
An organizational structure is either centralized or decentralized. Traditionally, organizations have been structured with centralized leadership and a defined chain of command.
The military is an organization famous for its highly centralized structure, with a long and specific hierarchy of superiors and subordinates. In a centralized organizational system, there are very clear responsibilities for each role, with subordinate roles defaulting to the guidance of their superiors.
There has been a rise in decentralized organizations, as is the case with many technology startups. This allows companies to remain fast, agile, and adaptable, with almost every employee receiving a high level of personal agency. As a large company with over business units and brands that function in sometimes very different industries, each operates autonomously. Even in decentralized companies, there are still usually built-in hierarchies such as the chief operating officer operating at a higher level than an entry-level associate.
However, teams are empowered to make their own decisions and come to the best conclusion without necessarily getting "approval" from up top. Four types of common organizational structures are implemented in the real world. The first and most common is a functional structure. This is also referred to as a bureaucratic organizational structure and breaks up a company based on the specialization of its workforce.
Most small-to-medium-sized businesses implement a functional structure. Dividing the firm into departments consisting of marketing, sales, and operations is the act of using a bureaucratic organizational structure. The second type is common among large companies with many business units. Called the divisional or multidivisional structure, a company that uses this method structures its leadership team based on the products, projects, or subsidiaries they operate.
With thousands of products and lines of business, the company structures itself so each business unit operates as its own company with its own president. Flatarchy, a newer structure, is the third type and is used among many startups. As the name alludes, it flattens the hierarchy and chain of command and gives its employees a lot of autonomy.
Companies that use this type of structure have a high speed of implementation. The fourth and final organizational structure is a matrix structure. It is also the most confusing and the least used. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do? The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition.
But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. Einstein's theory of time dilation suggests that if you looked forward toward the black hole's center, you'd see every object that has fallen into it in the past.
Behind you, you'd see everything that will ever fall into it in the future. If Earth had another species as tech-savvy as us, we would probably be locked in a constant battle for supremacy.
If after hundreds of thousands of years, no one won, we would start to adapt to require separate resources, and would come to ignore one another.
If Earth's diameter were doubled to about 16, miles, the planet's mass would increase eight times, and the force of gravity on the planet would be twice as strong. All the plants and animals that currently exist would collapse under their own doubled weight, and new, stockier species would arise.
If that asteroid hadn't struck, the dinosaurs would in all likelihood still rule the Earth. When referring to present or future circumstances, we also use these structures to introduce suggestions in a rather tentative way.
If you would like more practice more please visit our Message Board in the You, Me and Us part of our website. This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving. You are in:. Pattaraporn from Thailand writes: I would like to know the meaning of what if and how to use it.
Roger Woodham replies:. We use what if at the beginning of a question when we are asking about the consequences of an action, particularly one that is undesirable.
We refer in this way to present or future circumstances: What if I am made redundant and have no work?
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