Shane is the project manager of the organizational development team at Solid Hardwoods. Shane's team has been assigned the task of studying and evaluating Solid Hardwoods' organizational structure. Shane divided the tasks among the team members to collect preliminary information on different elements of Solid Hardwoods' structure. Meg was asked to collect information on the degree to which tasks are divided into separate jobs. Andrea was asked to collect information on formal authority relationships. Francine started looking into how many employees each manager has responsibility for, and Carol was asked to collect evidence on the degree to which rules and procedures are used to standardize behaviors at Solid Hardwoods. Shane decided to personally collect information and evidence on where exactly decisions are formally made at Solid Hardwoods. The team decided to meet with information in two weeks. On which element of organizational structure is Shane collecting information?

A. formalization
B. centralization
C. span of control
D. work specialization
E. chain of command

Explanation: Centralization or centralization is the mechanism by which an organization's operations, particularly those related to planning and policy-making, framing strategies and regulations, are consolidated within a specific geographic region unit and are handled by some for the individual employees within.

These employees are usually the top managers and executives working in the company and have authority to make decisions that can impact the company as a whole.

Hence from the above we can conclude that the correct option is B.