...Question: The vast majority of corporations are decentralized to a considerable degree. What kinds of organizations are best run in a largely centralized manner and why? Robbins and Coulter describe a company is centralized ‘if the managers make the organization’s key decisions with little or no input from below’. Thus, small businesses are the kinds of organizations that are best run in a largely centralized manner. There are numerous reasons why small organizations suit to run in a centralized manner. Usually, small organizations are typically controlled by the owner or the partners who develop the organization’s vision and mission and ultimately set the objectives for the business operations. In small businesses, the owners possess the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to run the business smoothly. Since they share the common goals and objectives, the decision making process can be done in a more effective manner as they do not have to consult their subordinates. On top of that, with centralized organizational structure, conflicts and long-stretch arguments with subordinates could be avoided and this will not distort the business operations. Centralized business structure is most suitable for small organization because of its small number of employees and capital to run the business. To implement decentralized organization it requires more employees and higher cost will have to be incurred. This is something that small organizations cannot afford to have. Furthermore...
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...Centralisation & Decentralisation models within an Organisation In a centralised organisation head office (or a few senior managers) will retain the major responsibilities and powers. Conversely decentralised organisations will spread responsibility for specific decisions across various outlets and lower level managers, including branches or units located away from head office/head quarters. Centralisation The main decisions are made by senior management, where little authority is passed down the organisation. Advantages • Decisions are made by experienced people with an overview of the company. • Ensures policies are consistent throughout the company. • Ensures quick decisions can be made without consultation. • Procedures such as ordering and purchasing can be standardised throughout the company, leading to economies of scale. • In times of crisis the firm may need strong leadership by a central group of senior managers. Disadvantages (mainly advantages of decentralisation) • Centralisation reduces the input of the day to day experts, e.g., the shop floor staff, into the firms’ decision making. • It risks demoralising branch managers who may feel mistrusted or powerless. Decentralisation Decisions are made by junior management as authority is passed down the organisation, thereby accepting less uniformity in how things are down. There has been a trend in the 1980s and 1990s is to decentralise to provide greater flexibility....
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...country where the decentralisation policy started in 1997 which comes under the Local government act of 1997 . There had been lot of changes took place since the policy was initiated which was classified into four amendments in future . Uganda was one of the centralized state which is transforming into a decentralized one with the initiation of new decentralisation programmes . Decentralisation is one the main aspects in uganda which makes it a developing country in lot of aspects such as private , civil and public institutions by improving decision making participation among people , making the government regularities more transparent and convenience so that people can understand what was going through the government and also improving the basic service access . This paper mainly discusses about a current decentralisation programme happening in uganda. The paper also explain how the decentralisation policy helps in improving the service delivery in Uganda . HEADINGS TO BE USED * Introduction * Characteristics of Decentralisation in Uganda * Challenges and Oppourtunities of Decentralisation * The Legal Framework * Uganda’s Local government Structure * Service Delivery * Conclusion INTRODUCTION The first decentralisation policy of Uganda was all started in 1997 under Local Government Act of 1997 which had since undergone four amendments. The introduction part of the essay mainly focus on an outline about general decentralisation and few points...
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...Definitions of Decentralisation According to Henry Fayol, "Everything that goes to increase the importance of the subordinate’s role is decentralisation, everything that goes to reduce it is centralisation." According to Louis Allen, "decentralisation refers to the systematic effort to delegate to the lowest levels all authority except that which can only be exercised at central point." This definition makes it clear that even in decentralisation, delegation to the lowest levels is not complete as the basic functions in the management process are centralized. level of standardization—both within and across markets—the greater the possible level of global efficiency Globalization 3.0, major software advances have allowed an unprecedented number of people worldwide to work together with unlimited potential. Advantages / Importance of Decentralization 1. Decentralisation helps to improve the quality of decisions/decision-making at the top level management : Decentralisation of authority among other executives at all levels in the Organisation relieves the top executive of the excessive burden saving his valuable time, which he can devote to more important and long-term problems. This is bound to improve the quality of his decisions regarding such problems. 2. Decentralisation facilitates diversification of activities : It is a matter of common experience that an Organisation with departmentation on the basis of products facilitates diversification of products...
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...The Decentralisation policy in Zambia has not performed to expected standards in the recent past. This is according to a baseline survey that was conducted by the Southern Africa Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD). The survey was conducted in four target districts namely: Choma, Itezhi-tezhi, Sesheke and Solwezi though the survey was conducted in two of the target districts (Sesheke and Solwezi). Our staffer ALVIN CHIINGA looks at the survey which focused on identifying actual activities, progress and challenges of decentralisation. ONE of the main aims of the survey was to capture the public’s knowledge, attitudes, practices and perceptions about local governance and decentralisation. This survey took place between February 6 and February 15, 2011. Among some of the observations of the survey were that decentralisation is not reflected as a priority in most instances. It is also not reflected in the current council plans of action. In fact, the research was informed that councils had been waiting for instructions, directives and resources to begin undertaking activities that have been stated in documents such as the Decentralisation Implementation Plan (DIP). According to SACCORD, beyond the structural issue, the survey was able to establish considerable levels of uncertainty among local bureaucratic and political elites on the issue of decentralisation. This was evident in the degree of divergence of perspectives on the subject matter concerning...
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...AUTHORITY, DELEGATION AND DECENTRALISATION What is an authority? Authority is the cement of organisation structure in which various units of organisation are integrated. Without authority a manager cesses to be a manager. It is the authority that gives managers power to act. Authority is glue that holds organisation together. It is impossible to have an organisation unless some persons have the authority to command action of others. The word Authority is derived from the Latin word “auctoritas” meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' connotes power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area (someone can be an authority on a subject) Weber defined domination (authority) as the chance of commands being obeyed by a specifiable group of people. Legitimate authority is that which is recognized as legitimate and justified by both the ruler and the ruled. Authority sometimes refers to;- 1) The Institutionalized and legal power inherent in a particular job, function, or position that is meant to enable its holder to successfully carry out his or her responsibilities. 2) An agency or body created by a government to perform a specific function, such as environment management, power generation, or tax collection is an authority. 3) Judgment of a court or judicial opinion quoted in support of a legal argument. In management field, the concept authority can be defined as:- 1. The right to guide and direct the actions...
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...essay aims at discussing decentralization, types of decentralisation, decentralization in Zambia and Uganda and it will discuss the most progressive decentralization between Zambia and Uganda. Decentralisation has various comprehensive definitions. The UNDP (United Nations Development Program) (1998) defines decentralisation as “the restructuring or reorganization of authority so that there is a system of co-responsibility between institutions of governance at the central, regional and local levels according to the principle of subsidiarity, thus increasing the overall quality and effectiveness of the system of governance, while increasing the authority and capacities of sub-national levels”. The UNDP definition emphasises two critical aspects of decentralisation – its practical outworking in restructuring of Government functions and its aim – increased efficiency. Similarly, the concept is defined as a transfer of competences from central government level to elected authorities at the sub national level. Rondinelli. (1992) defines decentralisation as the transfer of responsibility for planning, management, and resource raising and allocation from the central government to sub units. In this definition, units listed include field units of central government ministries or agencies, semi-autonomous public authorities or corporations, and other authorities such as Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Basically decentralisation is the act of distributing power and authority to lower...
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...the top level of the organisation while decentralisation means dispersal of authority throughout the organisation According to Allen Centralisation is systematic and consistent reservation of authority at central points within an organisation. Decentralisation applies to the systematic delegation of authority in an organisation context. Advantages of Decentralisation Decentralisation reduces the workload of top executives. It improves job satisfaction and morale of lower level managers by satisfying their needs for independence, participation and status. Decision making is quicker. It facilitates growth and diversification. As each product division is given sufficient autonomy for innovation and creativity. It gives opportunity to subordinates to exercise their own judgment. They develop managerial skills which will be useful to the organisation in the longer run. Decentralisation requires wider span of control and fewer levels of organisation. It speeds up communication. Decentralisation increases the administrative expenses and each division or department has to be sufficient in terms of physical facilities and trained personnel. As each department or division enjoys substantial autonomy it might lead to co-ordination problems. There might be lack of uniformity and inconsistent procedures as each department might have the authority to formulate its own policies and procedures. Disadvantages of Decentralisation Decentralisation increases the administrative expenses...
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...Décentralisation au Burkina-Faso : une approche en économie institutionnelle Thèse présentée à la Faculté des sciences économiques et sociales de l’Université de Fribourg (Suisse) par Abraham KY du Burkina-Faso pour l’obtention du grade de Docteur ès sciences économiques et sociales Acceptée par la Faculté des sciences économiques et sociales le 18.02.2010 sur proposition de Monsieur Prof. Bernard Dafflon (premier rapporteur) et Monsieur Prof. Thierry Madiès (deuxième rapporteur) Fribourg 2010 « La faculté des sciences économiques et sociales de l’Université de Fribourg (Suisse) n’entend ni approuver, ni désapprouver les opinions émises dans une thèse : elles doivent être considérées comme propres à l’auteur (Décision du Conseil de Faculté le 23 janvier 1990). » Dédicace A feue Sima Catherine, ma chère maman qui est partie dix jours exactement après la soutenance publique de cette thèse. Naan, tu peux reposer en paix, ta foi et ta générosité naturelle, ton humilité et ton intégrité forment un legs incommensurable. Ce legs-là, constituera pour moi un horizon indépassable tout au long de ce pèlerinage sur cette terre d’exil ! Remerciements Pour deux raisons au moins, je me dois d’adresser mes premiers mots, chaleureux et de grande reconnaissance, au Prof. Bernard Dafflon, titulaire de la Chaire de finances publiques et de gestion des politiques publiques. La première raison tient en l’éthique de ce dernier, son éthique de l’humain d’où qu’il vienne. En effet, alors qu’il...
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...THE SIERRA LEONE CHAPTER OF THEPUBLIC SECTOR MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAMME (CLASS OF 2013) 1. DUGBA NGOMBU 12024487 2. MUSA SAIDU 12024474 3. SAMUEL SESAY 12024513 4. GIBRILLA JUSU 12024494 5. ANTHONY DOMAWA 12024476 6. HENRY TALUVA 12024496 7. DOROTHY ADEOLA 12024486 INTRODUCTION Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with unicameral parliamentary system (GoSL, 2009). The President is the Head of State, the supreme executive authority of the Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Sierra Leone. He is the Fountain of Honour and Justice and the symbol of national unity and sovereignty. The President is also the guardian of the Constitution and the guarantor of national independence and territorial integrity, and shall ensure respect for treaties and international agreements (GoSL, 1991). Under the constitution (1991), no person shall hold office as President for more than two terms of five years each whether or not the terms are consecutive. The legislature of Sierra Leone, the Parliament consists of the President, the Speaker and Members of Parliament (GoSL, 1991). There are 124 Members of Parliament, 112 of whom are elected by a universal adult suffrage to represent their constituencies. The 12 are Paramount Chief Representatives to Parliament who are voted for by their fellow PCs and the chiefdom councilors, each PC representing a provincial district. The MPs (not as in the case of the president)...
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...‘’bottom’’ and spatial dispersion refers to the spread of facilities and personnel globally within a company. The second component is formalisation, which refers to the amount of standardized jobs and procedures. A high degree of formalisation means an employee has many organisational rules to follow. Selection of employees, setting role requirements, creating rules, procedures and policies, socialisation, training and rituals are methods that can be used to promote standardisation. The third component is centralisation. The degree of centralisation defines whether decisions are made by a small number of top managers (centralisation) or divided over more people organisation-wide (decentralisation). Decentralisation is often necessary to avoid putting too much pressure on too few people. Also, decentralisation can often result in quicker and more accurate decisions. It motivates employees to be able to have a say in the decision-making and it is a good way to train lower-level managers. Coordination means integrating the objectives and activities of small units within an organisation in order to achieve organisation-wide goals in an efficient way. There are three kinds of coordination; programmed, individual and informal. There are five basic parts to any organisation. Those are the operation core, the strategic apex, the middle line, the technostructure and the support staff. Firstly...
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...Organisation structure Structure relates to a skeletal framework of activities and processes in an organisation and specifies the roles of these in achieving goals and objectives of the organisation. According to (Mullins, 2009), a good structure is highly important due to the fact that decisions on structure are primary strategic decisions which can make or break an organisation. One important aspect of a good structure is the human element. Organisation structure should be designed so as to encourage employees and increase the morale and job satisfaction of organisation members which will result to overall organisation efficiency. (Mullins, 2006) describes nine basic considerations in the design of organisation structure. The fundamental step is to define organisational objectives to enable further analysis and comparisons of other forms of structure. Clarification of objectives A clear definition of objectives is vital to provide a framework for the design of structure of an organisation. Organisation objectives provide fundamental schemes for division of labour and creation of group units and sub units. Clearly stated aims and objectives will assist in decisions on the strategy and structural dimension to employ to achieve organisational objectives. Task and element functions Certain functions must be performed in order to produce a good or service, from the development of the good or service to finance of resources used in the complete processing. These functions...
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...Gokhale and Ranade were heavily shaped by western liberal movements and the British Whigs while he was able to provide Indian liberalism with its own distinct ideas. Gandhi heavily emphasised features of negative liberty in his agenda for the political, social and economic transformation of India. He favoured a government which was minimalistic in nature and occupied itself with maintaining law and order. He strongly believed in the maximum freedom of the individual as well. One distinctive feature of his thinking was his firm belief that the process of law making and legislation should not be abstruse but simple and intelligible to the general public. Reflecting on his thinking, we realise that Gandhi’s post-independence agenda was decentralisation. He visualised India as an agglomeration of self-sufficient villages (the economic unit) that operate in a three tier system from the local to the national...
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...Introduction Organisations are structured in a variety of ways, dependant on their objectives and culture. The structure of an organisation will determine the manner in which it operates and it’s performance. Structure allows the responsibilities for different functions and processes to be clearly allocated to different departments and employees. The wrong organisation structure will hinder the success of the business. Organisational structures should aim to maximize the efficiency and success of the Organisation. An effective organisational structure will facilitate working relationships between various sections of the organisation. It will retain order and command whilst promoting flexibility and creativity. Internal factors such as size, product and skills of the workforce influence the organizational structure. As a business expands the chain of command will lengthen and the spans of control will widen. The higher the level of skill each employee has the more the business will make use of the matrix structure to maximize these skills across the organization. Span of Control This term is used to describe the number of employees that each manager/supervisor is responsible for. The span of control is said to be wide if a superior is in charge of many employees and narrow if the superior is in charge of a few employees. Different Structures The most common organisation structures are: TALL STRUCTURE In its simplest form a tall organisation has many levels of management...
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...Henri Fayol (Istanbul, 29 July 1841 – Paris, 19 November 1925) was a French mining engineer and director of mines who developed a general theory of business administration that is often called Fayolism.[1] He and his colleagues developed this theory independently of scientific management but roughly contemporaneously. Like his contemporary, Frederick Winslow Taylor, he is widely acknowledged as a founder of modern management methods. ------------------------------------------------- Biography [edit] Fayol was born in 1841 in a suburb of Istanbul, Ottoman Empire. His father (an engineer) was appointed superintendent of works to build Galata Bridge, which bridged the Golden Horn.[1] The family returned to France in 1847, where Fayol graduated from the mining academy "École Nationale Supérieure des Mines" in Saint-Étienne in 1860. In 1860 at the age of nineteen Fayol started the mining company named "Compagnie de Commentry-Fourchambault-Decazeville" in Commentary as the mining engineer. In 1888 he became managing director, when the mine company employed over 10,000 people, and held that position over 30 years until 1918. By 1900 the company was one of the largest producers of iron and steel in France and was regarded as a vital industry.[1] Based largely on his own management experience, he developed his concept of administration. In 1916 he published these experience in the book "Administration Industrielle et Générale", at about the same time as Frederick Winslow Taylor published...
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