Q&A Hero

Q: The organic model seeks to maximize ____________________. A) satisfaction, flexibility and development B) efficiency and production C) expressive and significant communication D) organizational growth

Q: __________ described a type of organization that functions in a machine-like manner to accomplish the organization's goals in a highly efficient manner. A) Fayol B) Skinner C) Fielder D) Herzberg

Q: The ______ organization is flexible to changing environmental demands because its design encourages greater utilization of human potential. A) organoleptic B) organic C) optimized D) eco

Q: Scientific management largely focused on methods to implement the principle of ________. A) specialization B) cooperation C) coordination D) totality

Q: What is a virtual organization and what are the form's primary advantages?

Q: The president of a movie studio calls you in to consult on its reorganization. In discussing the various organizational forms that may be suitable you present the virtual organizational design. Why might this form be suited for the movie industry?

Q: List and define the three dimensions that are often used in research and practice to describe structure.

Q: Why should management be concerned with the concept of span of control?

Q: Identify the major advantages of matrix organizational design.

Q: How would you describe the "departmentalization" of your university?

Q: Describe three forms of departmentalization.

Q: Discuss the role of delegation of authority in design decisions.

Q: Define what is meant by the term division of labor.

Q: Identify the choices that must be made in designing an organizational structure.

Q: To achieve the maximum benefits of the bureaucratic design, Max Weber believed that an organization had to have five characteristics. What are they?

Q: Compare mechanistic and organic organizational design.

Q: Departments in Japanese firms are more often based on function and process than on product, customer, or location. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Delegation of authority contributes to vertical differentiation. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Specialization of labor contributes primarily to horizontal differentiation. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Rules and procedures that are not enforced will not affect behavior. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Wide spans of control encourage one-on-one supervision. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Functional departments are made up of jobs with great differences. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: High delegation of authority creates the need for checks on its use. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: "Flattening" an organization decreases the average span of control of each manager. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: The individual who can clearly and concisely communicate with subordinates is able to manage more people than one who can't. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: In general, the greater the inherent ambiguity in an individual's job, the greater the need for supervision to avoid conflict and stress. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: The critical issue in determining a manager's span of control is the number of potential relationships in the unit. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: The number of jobs to be included in a specific group is an issue of span of control. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: A fully-developed matrix organization has product management departments along with the usual functional departments. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: The following reporting relationship may best indicate a functional form of organization. The manager of the Lexington, Kentucky, retail store of a national chain reports to the president, Midwest Division. The Midwest Division reports to the headquarters unit. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Clients or customers should never be a basis for grouping jobs. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: A divisional structure has a notable advantage over other structures in its efficiency. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: A major disadvantage of the departmental basis is that organizational goals may be sacrificed in favor of departmental goals. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: As the number of employees with specialized jobs increases within an organization, it becomes easier for a single manager to coordinate their efforts. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: The cost of formal management training programs is always offset by the benefits. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Span of labor concerns the extent to which jobs are specialized. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: A relatively high delegation of authority discourages the development of management. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Delegation of authority refers specifically to doing work. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: Some organizations have eliminated the hierarchy through which authority flows from the highest-level manager to the lowest-level manager. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: All jobs contain some degree of the right to exact obedience from others. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: In layman's terms, bureaucracy refers to the negative consequences of large organizations, such as excessive red tape and procedural delays. ⊚ true ⊚ false

Q: The viability of a virtual organization as the proper design approach is centered on two major issues. The first is the conclusion that the virtual arrangement results in economic gains of acquiring goals and services from specialized firms. What is the second issue?

Q: Virtual-style organizations have both proponents and critics. Identify some of the advantages and disadvantages cited by each.

Q: Identify three consequences of a virtual organization structure.

Q: In the context of organizational design, what does replication refer to?

Q: What are the dimensions of organizational structure?

Q: It is generally accepted that a manager at a lower organizational level can oversee more subordinates a manager at a higher level. Why is this the case?

Q: What is the most essential feature of a matrix organization?

Q: Why may the cost of a divisional structure sometimes exorbitant?

Q: Why may decentralization lead to duplication of effort?

Q: Why may a manager believe that delegating authority will lead to lower levels of effectiveness?

Q: What is the principal historical reason for the creation of organizations?

Q: Are the right to "extract obedience" and the "right to make decisions" associated with a particular type or class of job?

Q: What are the most distinct differences between the organic and the mechanistic organizational models?

Q: Which of the following statements about boundaryless organizations is false? A) Chains of command are eliminated B) Spans of control are unlimited C) Rigid departments are replaced with empowered teams D) Participative decision making is eliminated

Q: The concept of virtual organizations originated in or at: A) NASA B) Major universities C) Microsoft D) Japan

Q: Work in e-commerce, consulting, marketing, and job searching seems best suited for _______________ organizations. A) virtual B) mechanistic C) geographic D) organic

Q: The typical Japanese manufacturing job has _______________ the typical Western manufacturing job. A) more range than B) less range than C) the same range as D) There is no range in manufacturing jobs.

Q: Departments in Japanese firms are most often based on _______________. A) products B) customers C) function D) location

Q: The Federal Express structure, with regional presidents and their "armies," is modeled after a system made popular by the: A) Romans B) Greeks C) Roman Catholic Church D) United States Postal Service

Q: Thrivent Financial implemented a form of employee compensation termed ______________ to encourage employees to adopt a new work system. A) pay for knowledge B) pay for productivity C) incentive pay D) gainsharing

Q: With _____________, the same organizational structure and operating policies and procedures that exist in the existing domestic organization are used when setting up a foreign subsidiary. A) replication B) projection C) duplication D) nationalizing

Q: The greater the use of ________ departments the _________ the centralization. A) customer; greater B) functional; greater C) functional; less D) geographic; greater

Q: The _______ the specialization of labor, the _________ the complexity. A) greater; greater B) greater; less C) less; greater D) None of the above; the two constructs are not related.

Q: It has become standard practice to use the term _________ differentiation to refer to the number of different units at the same level and _______ differentiation to refer to the number of levels in the organization. A) horizontal; vertical B) vertical; horizontal C) horizontal; status D) job; rank

Q: The concept of organizational complexity refers to: A) The number of distinctly different job titles B) Occupational groupings C) The number of distinctly different units or departments D) All of the choices are correct.

Q: The greater the use of the _______________ basis, the greater the complexity. A) geographic B) customer C) product D) All of the choices are correct.

Q: Wide spans of control ___________ one-on-one supervision. A) necessitate B) discourage C) promote D) None of the above, there is no established relation between the two.

Q: The dimension of _______________ refers to the extent to which expectations regarding the means and ends of work are specified, written, and enforced. A) formalization B) centralization C) complexity D) mechanism

Q: At present, all of the following dimensions are used in research and practice to describe organizational structure except: A) Formalization B) Centralization C) Complexity D) Desirability

Q: High delegation of authority creates the need for _______________. A) corresponding higher salaries B) updated management titles C) checks on its use D) larger spans of control

Q: Managers need to consider how the four design decisions influence the structure of their organizations. In a similar vein, there are three dimensions of organizational structure that interact with these design decisions, namely ______________. A) formalization, centralization, and complexity B) division of labor, delegation of authority, departmentalization, and span of control C) centralization, complexity, and span of control D) formalization, centralization, and delegation of authority

Q: Which of the following is one of the design decisions that management must consider in determining the structure of the organization? A) Span of control B) Delegation of authority C) Departmentalization D) All of the above are correct.

Q: Management can typically combine ________ specialized and similar jobs into relatively _______ departments. A) highly; large B) minimally; small C) highly; small D) minimally; large

Q: Once a task force achieves its objective, the task force _______________. A) dissolves B) transitions into a standing project team C) becomes permanent work group D) splits into smaller groups

Q: Generally, the issue of span of control comes down to how many _______________ a manager can oversee. A) products B) customers C) facilities D) people

Q: Ordinarily, the process of moving to matrix organization is: A) evolutionary B) revolutionary C) immediate D) motivational

Q: A(n) _______________ structure encourages constant interaction among project unit and functional department members. A) organic B) matrix C) mechanistic D) All of the choices are correct.

Q: In a matrix organization, top management is _______________ with day-to-day operations. A) less involved B) never involved C) always involved D) more involved

Q: All of the following were presented as suggestions for enhancing individual success within a matrix organization except: A) Communicate clearly, but as seldom as possible B) Get to know others in the organization before you need their assistance C) Be aware of deadlines and manage your time been projects appropriately D) Keep management abreast of your activities