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Functional Structure.

All material, financial and human resources.

Relief to top management. 

No, I do not agree with this. A manager can assign duties and delegate authority to his subordinates. However, he cannot turn a blind eye to how the delegate authority is being exercised. Manager remains accountable for the performance of work that he had delegated to his subordinates.

Decentralization of authority.

Facilitation of growth.

Delegation of authority.

Informal organization originates as a result of personal interaction among employees and not deliberately planned and created by management. 

Functional structure: Functional structure refers to that organizational structure which is formed by grouping the objectives and people on the basis of function. 

Advantages:-

i. Occupational specialization: A functional structure leads to occupational specialization since emphasis is placed on specific functions. This promotes efficiency is utilization of manpower as employees perform similar takes within a department and are able to improve performance. 

ii. Promote control and coordination: It promotes control and coordination within a department because of similarity in the tasks being performed. 

iii. Increase in efficiency: It helps in increasing managerial and operational efficiency and this result in increased profit. 

iv. Minimize duplication: It leads to minimal duplication of effort which results in economics of scale and this lowers cost. 

v. Ease in training: It makes training of employees easier as the focus is only on a limited range of skills. 

vi. Ensures attention: It ensures that different function get due attention. 

Informal organization. Its features are:- 

i. Formation: It emerges on its own in a natural manner within the formal organization as a result of social interactions among people. 

ii. Standards of behavior and performance: Standards of behavior and performance are determined by group norms which are evolved by mutual consent among members rather than officially laid down rules and regulation.

iii. Independent channel of communication: In this organization, relations among different people are not defined because a person at the lower level of rank can have direct contact with the person at the highest level of rank. So, the flow o communication cannot be specified. 

iv. Emerges spontaneously: It emerges spontaneously and is not deliberately created by the management. 

v. No definite structure: It has any definite structure or form because it is a complex network of social relationships among members.

Functional structure are:- 

i. Functional structure refers to that organizational structure which is formed by grouping the activities and people on the basis of function. 

ii. It is an organizational design that groups similar or related jobs together. All related work of one kind is placed in one department under one controlling head. Each major function of business is organized as a separate department. 

iii. A major department can further be divided into minor departments. A minor department can further be divided into sections and sub-sections within each section. Work can be organized from top to bottom by assigning the work to low levels.

Authority can be delegated. Responsibility cannot be entirely delegated but accountability cannot be delegated at all.

Decentralisation implies extension of delegation.

 An important fact regarding delegation of authority is that only the authority can be delegated and not the responsibility. An officer can delegate some of his authorities to his subordinates and get their help in his work but ultimate responsibility of work will remain with him. If the enterprise suffers any loss on his account, he will be held responsible. Thus, it may be concluded that authority can be delegated but not the responsibility.

In first example, marketing manager cannot escape from liability. He will be fully responsible for the failure of sales managers in achieving their targets. He can delegate his authority but not the responsibility. In second example also, manager will remain responsible for the quality of work that he has delegated to his subordinates.

The manager can take help from his subordinate through the process of ‘Delegation of Authority’. The three important things which should be kept in mind while taking such help are: (i) Authority (ii) Responsibility; and (iii) Accountability.

The given statement is correct. A manager can delegate his authority but not the accountability. Even after delegating the authority, the manager remains accountable to his own superior for the tasks which he may have assigned to his subordinate. For example, if a foreman fails to get the required units produced by the works on any day, then the foreman is responsible to his superior.