Answer:
Advantages of functional departmentation
The advantages of functional departmentation include the following:
(a) It is the most logical and natural form of departmentation.
(b) It ensures the performance of all activities necessary for achieving the organisational objectives.
(c) It provides occupational specialisation which makes optimum utilization of man-power.
(d) It facilitates delegation of authority.
(e) It enables the top managers to exercise effective control over a limited number of functions.
(f) It eliminates duplication of activities.
(g) It simplifies training because the managers are to be experts only in a narrow range of skills.
Disadvantage of functional departmentation
There are some problems associated with functional departmentation. These are mentioned below:
(a) There may be conflicts between departments.
(b) The scope for management development is limited. Functional managers do not get training for top management positions. The responsibility for results cannot be fixed on any one functional head.
(c) There is too much emphasis on specialisation.
(d) There may be difficulties in coordinating the activities of different departments.
(e) There may be inflexibility and complexity of operations.