Structuring a business

Managers need to organise their staff and keep them motivated

As a business grows in size and takes on more staff, managers need to make sure employees understand their role within the company. Organisation is the way a business is structured.

One method of organisation is to set up departments covering the four main areas of business activity:

• finance
• human resources
• marketing
• operations

Organisation charts are diagrams that show the internal structure of the business. They make it easy to identify the specific roles and responsibilities of staff. They also show how different roles relate to one another and the structure of departments within the whole company.

An organisational chart showing the structure of a company

For example, the Marketing Manager in the Midlands can see at a glance that she is in charge of ten subordinates, and that her line manager is the Director of Marketing.