Corporate structure

A normal corporate structure consists of various departments that contribute to the company's overall mission and goals. Common departments include Marketing, Finance, Accounting, Human Resource, and IT. These five divisions represent the major departments within a publicly traded company, though there are often smaller departments within autonomous firms. There is typically a CEO, and Board of Directors composed of the directors of each department. There are also company presidents, vice presidents, and CFOs. There is a great diversity in corporate forms as enterprises may range from single company to multi-corporate conglomerate. The four main corporate structures are Functional, Divisional, Geographic, and the Matrix. Realistically, most corporations tend to have a “hybrid” structure, which is a combination of different models with one dominant strategy.

The kind of differentiation and diversity among corporations is of importance to corporate law (for example such difference in corporation type that has impact on corporate structure is the difference between public owned and proprietary companies). Choosing a structure for a company is an important decision and must be strategically thought out because it could either aid or harm the making of business. The structure must also be a good fit for the type of activities, goals, and vision of the company. The organizational structure is a reflection of how convenient business is conducted.

This model is commonly used in single-program organizations. It is basically the standard structure mentioned earlier, which is organized around departments. This structure is most appropriate for all small organizations.

Divisional structures are also called product structures because they are based on a certain product or project. This structure is most common in multi-service organizations. Normally, it's based on the departments divided in the firm.

...
Wikipedia