An organization's structure is the sum of all the ways it divides its work into distinct tasks and thus achieves coordination between them. (Mintzberg, 1979). An organization can be structured in many ways depending on its objectives. An organizational structure consists of activities such as task assignment, coordination, and supervision that are directed at achieving organizational objectives. (www.wikipedia.org) When an organization grows beyond the smallest operation, management divides work vertically, as those at the top delegate more of their work to those below them. The vertical hierarchy dictates what decisions people at each level can make. Centralization occurs when those at the top make most of the decisions, with managers at the divisional level ensuring that those at the operational level follow policy, while decentralization occurs when a relatively large number of decisions are made at lower levels of the organization. (Boddy,2008). Transferring decision-making power and assigning responsibility and accountability for results. It is accompanied by the delegation of proportionate authority to individuals or units at all levels of an organization, even those far from headquarters or other centers of power. (www.businessdictionary.com)An organization is structured a certain way based on some factors. Size is an important factor because the larger the organization, the more complex its structure. If the company is small, the design is usually simple. A small business does not have to undergo a formal structure. Larger organizations rely more on delegation of authority and formal job responsibility, because a larger company is more difficult to manage. Another factor is the life cycle of the organization. An organization is subjected to… middle of paper decision making because all decisions are made by a few people at the top of the organization. Therefore organizations must find the perfect balance between these two structures and in this age of hypercompetition many of them are adopting a more decentralized structure to respond more quickly to the ever-changing market and threats from both new and existing competitors. Works Cited* Grace Ferguson, 2010. www.suite101.com “ Factors Determining Organizational Structure; Identification of the key components of an organizational project”.* www.wiikipedia.org*Ian Palmer et al, 2001. Journal of Organizational change management, volume14 number 2 - Changing forms of organization: duality in the use of remote collaboration technologies in film production.* www.businessdictionary.com*David Boddy, 2008. Management; An introduction. Chapter 10, p322 - 324