Organising and Staffing
What this domain tests
Organising structures and the staffing process: division of work, departmentalisation, delegation, span of control, recruitment, selection and training. Questions test authority-responsibility-accountability chains and span calculations.
Core rules
- Organising is identifying and grouping work, defining authority and responsibility, and establishing relationships.
- Delegation transfers authority; responsibility cannot be delegated; accountability flows upward.
- Span of management: a narrow span creates a tall structure with more levels; a wide span creates a flat structure.
- Staffing: manpower planning, recruitment (internal and external), selection through tests and interviews, induction, training and appraisal.
- Formal organisation is deliberately designed; informal organisation arises from social interaction and is not created by management.
Worked example
A manager has 4 subordinates, each supervising 4 workers. Total positions = 1 + 4 + 16 = 21. With a span of 6 at each level: 1 + 6 + 36 = 43. Wider spans reduce levels but increase each manager's load; the exam wants that trade-off, not just arithmetic.
Traps that cost marks
- Saying accountability can be delegated.
- Confusing recruitment, which attracts candidates, with selection, which chooses.
- Treating informal organisation as harmful or manager-made.
- Assuming a wider span always means better control.