Read the following passage and answer the following questions.

Progress Ltd. which deals in stationery has been registered with a share capital of ₹1000 crores in New Delhi. The company has a manufacturing unit in Madhya Pradesh and a marketing department in Nashik. The company divided its activities into different departments. The company assigned duties and powers without creating formal authority-responsibility relationship. The entire business started working on gossip and based on personal relations.

Which of the following is a step of the organising process that is discussed in the above passage?

Departmentalisation

The correct answer is option 2- Departmentalisation.

The passage mentions that the company divided its activities into different departments, indicating the process of departmentalisation.

The following steps emerge in the process of organising:

(i) Identification and division of work: The first step in the process of organising involves identifying and dividing the work that has to be done in accordance with previously determined plans. The work is divided into manageable activities so that duplication can be avoided and the burden of work can be shared among the employees.

(ii) Departmentalisation: Once work has been divided into small and manageable activities then those activities which are similar in nature are grouped together. Such sets facilitate specialisation. This grouping process is called departmentalisation. Departments can be created using several criteria as a basis.

(iii) Assignment of duties: It is necessary to define the work of different job positions and accordingly allocate work to various employees. Once departments have been formed, each of them is placed under the charge of an individual. Jobs are then allocated to the members of each department in accordance to their skills and competencies. It is essential for effective performance that a proper match is made between the nature of a job and the ability of an individual. The work must be assigned to those who are best fitted to perform it well. While the passage also mentions assigning duties, it mentions that this was done without creating formal authority-responsibility relationships, suggesting a lack of structured assignment of duties. Thus, this assignment process did not follow typical organizational practices, making Option 3 less fitting as a step of the organizing process described in the passage.

(iv) Establishing authority and reporting relationships: Merely allocating work is not enough. Each individual should also know who he has to take orders from and to whom he is accountable. The establishment of such clear relationships helps to create a hierarchal structure and helps in coordination amongst various departments.