2. Match the words (1-7) with the explanations (a-g).

1. board of directors

2. authority

3. CEO

4. structure

5. executive officer

6. ownership

7. chairman

1. the manner of construction or organization

2. legal right of possession; proprietorship

3. a person who presides over an assembly, meeting, etc

4. the power or right to control, judge, or prohibit the actions of others

5. the highest-ranking corporate officer

6. the executive who is responsible for a company's operations

7. governing body of an incorporated firm.

3. Answer the questions before reading the text.

1. What is an organization chart?

2. What purpose does organization chart serve?

3. What is the difference between responsibility and authority?

4. Read the text paying attention to the words in bold and do the tasks after it. What Is Organizational Structure?

What do we mean by the term organizational structure? Consider a simple analogy. In some ways, a business is like an automobile. All cars have engines, four wheels, fenders, and other structural components. They all have passenger compartments, storage areas, and various operating systems (fuel, braking, climate control). Although each component has a distinct purpose, it must work in accord with the others.

Similarly, all businesses have common structural and operating components, each composed of series of jobs to be done and each with a specific overall purpose. From company to company, these components look different and fit together differently, but in every organization, components have the same fundamental purpose – each must perform its own function while working in concern with others. So, organizational structure can be defined as the specification of jobs to be done within an organization and the ways in which these jobs relate to one another.

Although all organizations feature the same basic elements, each must develop the structure that is most appropriate for it. A large manufacturer operating in a strongly competitive environment requires a different structure than a local barbershop or video store.

Large British companies generally have a chairman of the board of directors who oversees operations and a managing director (MD) who is responsible for the day-to-day running of the company. In smaller companies, the roles of chairman and managing director are usually combined. Americans tend to use the term president rather than chairman, and chief executive officer (CEO) instead of managing director. The CEO or MD is supported by various executive officers or vice- presidents, each with clearly defined authority and responsibility (production, marketing, finance, personnel, and so on).

Top managers are reviewed (and sometimes dismissed) by a company’s board of directors. They are supported and advised and have their decisions and performance constituted by the board. The directors of private companies were traditionally major shareholders, but this does not apply to the large public companies with wide share ownership¹.