- A.Assigning authority and responsibility to lower-level employees — multiplies leadership capacity and develops talent, but requires trust and clear accountability.
- B.The number of direct reports a manager can effectively supervise — narrow span (3-5) for complex work; wide span (15-20) for routine work.
- C.Applying Maslow's five-tier hierarchy to employee motivation — physiological (pay), safety (job security), belonging (team), esteem (recognition), self-actualization (purpose).
- D.Functional, divisional, matrix, network, and team structures — each with different trade-offs in coordination, accountability, and adaptability. ✓
Organizational Structure Types is functional, divisional, matrix, network, and team structures — each with different trade-offs in coordination, accountability, and adaptability. The other options describe related but distinct concepts in Management & Organization — see the deep-dive guide for the full distinction.
How to think about questions like this
Structure shapes information flow, decision speed, and accountability. Questions like this test whether you can distinguish Organizational Structure Types from neighboring concepts. The most common trap is choosing a closely-related concept that sounds similar but applies in a different context.
When you see a definition question on an exam, do two things: (1) translate the question into your own words, then (2) generate the answer in your own words before reading the options. This avoids the cognitive bias of recognizing a familiar phrase as correct just because it is familiar.