Here are the organizational principles generally followed by organizations. The principle of unity of command requires that each employee report to only one boss. When there are two bosses, you can often get two conflicting messages. Chain of command, also known as the Scalar Principle, is the clear line of authority from the top to the bottom of an organization, forming a hierarchy, which is illustrated in the organization chart.

All members of the firm should know whom they report to and who, if anyone, reports to them. The chain of command is clearer and more closely followed in mechanistic organizations. The span of management (or span of control) refers to the number of employees reporting to a manager. The fewer employees supervised, the smaller or narrower the span of management, and vice versa. The trend is to increase the span.

In a tall organization, there are many levels with narrow spans of management. In a flat organization, there are few levels with wide spans of management. Mechanistic organizations tend to be taller. With division of labor, employees have specialized jobs. Related functions are grouped together under a single boss. Employees generally have specialized jobs in a functional area such as accounting, production, or sales.

Coordination and collaboration ensure that all departments and individuals within an organization work together, and coordination increases both team and firm performance. With balanced responsibility and authority, the responsibilities of each individual in the organization are clearly defined in mechanistic firms. Responsibility is the obligation to achieve objectives by performing required activities. When objectives are set, the people responsible for achieving them should be clearly identified.