Key to go
with Organizational Chart Lesson
Student
Handout: Working with Organizational Charts Name:
The earliest civilization to use organization charts were the Egyptians.
These charts were used to control and manage labor and supervise construction of the pyramids. The earliest design was that of a tree—the roots and trunk held the “organization” together
providing strength and stability. The branches represented the departments and
the leaves the individual employees. Today’s design is quite different—the
design is that of a pyramid with policy makers at the top. Management and division
of labor spreads horizontally and down to middle and finally entry level management.
Visit the following sites and answer the questions relating to the content found in each. Upon completion of your research, you will create an organizational chart using either the Word or PowerPoint chart feature.
See instruction sheet accompanying activity for specific guidelines.
Step 1: Student review
of selected research related to organizational charts.
Reference 1: History of Org Charting http://www.orgchart.net/charting-history.htm —read/review the content of this page and answer the following questions as a base point of your knowledge
on organizational charts.
1. What does the term “chart” mean?
Maps that navigate through patterns.
2. Charts help
organize
the workplace.
3. What civilization first used charts to illustrate the division
of labor with an organization?
Ancient Egyptians
4. Who was Daniel C. McCallum?
American who first is credited with introducing American businesses to the organizational charts as we know them today
5. In what industry did he use the organizational chart as a management
tool?
Railroad industry
6. Why did he use an organizational chart in this industry?
The railroad industry was facing financial crisis and falling productivity.
McCallum used the charts to visually illustrate the division of labor as a method to correct the financial crisis and
falling productivity—his idea was very successful.
Reference 2: Organizational
Chart
http://www.smartdraw.com/encyclopedia/org-chart.htm
1. Explain in your own words,
using complete sentences, what an organizational chart is intended to show. Remember
to check for spelling errors.
The intent of today’s organizational chart is to show the structure within a company. This structure shows the levels of management, positions within the organization, and the direct lines
of authority to each subordinate. The authority of the organization is pictured
at the top of the “tree” design with subsequent levels of subordinates and branches or departments below. Co-workers and or assistants are placed horizontally
2. How is this done/accomplished?
As described above and as pictured here.
Senior Vice President
Marketing |
Senior Vice President
Research |
Senior Vice President
Operations |
Reference 3: Organization Chart http://12manage.com/methods_organization_chart.html
1. Organizational charts represent the formal structure/organization_ of a business in terms of authority, (who gives orders and to whom the orders are given—superior to subordinate,
etc.), function (the product, department, customer type, etc.), and the relationships within the company (various connections
within the organization).
2. According to the site, organizational charts are sometimes
referred to by different names. Give two other names for organizational charts
as given in this article:
__organigram_______________ and ___organogram____________
3. Reading this article should help you better understand
the intent of an organizational chart’s design, that is, the chart is generally designed to explain or illustrate what
should happen within the management organization of a company. List below the
four designs given in this article.
Hierarchical Structure
Line & Staff Structure
Functional or Departmental Structure
Matrix Structure
