Q&A Hero

Q: One of the strengths of a simple structure is that it is flexible.

Q: Eric the Redd (Scenario)Eric Redd graduated from college and was hired by a corporation that manufactured parts for the automotive industry. The employees on the assembly line seemed bored, and their motivation was low. Eric's employer decided to try to reorganize to increase productivity. During his career, Eric will see his job change from an engineer to a more complex job assignment.Eric, who is trained as an engineer, is now in a group with production workers and marketing specialists from different departments designing a new product that the company plans to offer. This situation could be described as a(n) ________.A) alternative assignmentB) collective assignmentC) advanced assignmentD) project assignment

Q: A building contractor follows the network organization model when he does which of the following?A) does the framing and tiling by himselfB) hires three workers to help with framingC) gives orders to workersD) farms out the plumbing to a plumbing firm

Q: A ________ subcontracts part of a project to outside suppliers. A) virtual organization B) boundary organization C) matrix structure D) network organization

Q: How does a virtual organization save on costs? A) by hiring people who specialize in what they do B) by hiring fewer people than they need and making them work much longer hours C) by eliminating all administrative duties D) by keeping only a small permanent staff for administrative purposes only

Q: A virtual organization is essentially ________ who come together for a particular project. A) a group of employees from a single company B) a group of free agents C) a team of employees from different departments of a company D) a group of top managers and CEOs

Q: Boundaryless organizations try to eliminate ________ within their organization. A) horizontal specialization and vertical hierarchy B) horizontal specialization only C) vertical hierarchy only D) vertical specialization only

Q: Which of the following is the biggest concern when doing work at anytime and anywhere? A) employee payroll B) security C) employee accountability D) customer satisfaction

Q: Which of the following areas has opened up new possibilities for how and where employees work? A) information technology B) human resources C) organizational design D) global competition

Q: In a project structure, when employees finish a project they ________. A) return to their department B) return to a different division C) move on to another project D) return to their regular work

Q: A key difference between a team structure and a matrix structure is that a team structure ________ while a matrix structure does not. A) empowers group members B) works on projects C) has fairly permanent groups or teams D) holds group members accountable

Q: By giving employees two direct superiors, a matrix structure violates this key element of organizational design. A) unity of command B) chain of command C) span of management D) decentralization

Q: When a group member in a matrix structure finishes a project, he or she ________. A) returns to his or her functional department B) stays with the group to take on a new project C) enters a pool of available employees from the entire organization D) starts looking for a new job

Q: In a matrix structure, a group member will typically report to ________. A) a project manager only B) both a project manager and functional department head C) a functional department head only D) Group members are fully autonomous in a matrix structure, so they don't report to anyone.

Q: In a ________, employees are recruited from functional departments to work on a specific project for a limited time period. A) team structure B) divisional structure C) product structure D) matrix structure

Q: All of the following are necessary for successful team structure EXCEPT ________. A) well-trained team members B) team members with cross-functional skills C) team members with years of management experience D) a fair and well-run team-based pay plan

Q: In a team structure, team members ________. A) are subject to decisions made by their supervisors B) can influence decisions made by top managers C) make decisions and are accountable for their decisions D) make decisions only after first checking with management

Q: In a team structure, ________. A) there is a clear line of managerial authority B) there is no clear line of managerial authority C) authority comes from top managers only D) no one has the authority to make decisions

Q: Looking for ways to make their organization more flexible and innovative, today's managers may choose this kind of structure. A) simple B) divisional C) functional D) team

Q: As the number of employees in an organization grows, structure tends to become more ________. A) bureaucratic B) informal C) decentralized D) relaxed

Q: Having separate payroll departments in each division of a divisional structure is an example of which of the following? A) efficiency, because payroll departments compete B) duplication, because a single payroll department could do the job C) effectiveness, because separate payroll departments create jobs D) efficiency, because separate payroll departments can share methods of operation

Q: A media company that has separate, autonomous companies for movies, TV, Internet, and print journalism is most likely a ________ structure. A) divisional B) functional C) simple D) matrix

Q: In a ________ structure each business unit has complete autonomy to reach its goals. A) simple B) functional C) divisional D) matrix

Q: Avoiding redundancy is a strength of which structure? A) simple B) divisional C) functional D) corporate

Q: This is a weakness of a functional structure. A) favoring functional goals over organizational goals B) favoring organizational goals over functional goals C) failing to attain functional goals D) overemphasizing organizational goals

Q: This is a key characteristic in an organization with a functional structure. A) adaptability B) departmentalization C) flexibility D) little specialization

Q: What is a weakness of a simple structure? A) Duplication of activities and resources increases costs and reduces efficiency. B) Functional specialists become insulated and have little understanding of what other units are doing. C) Pursuit of functional goals can cause managers to lose sight of what is best for the overall organization. D) Reliance on a single person is risky.

Q: What is a strength of a simple structure? A) Employees are grouped with others who have similar tasks. B) Power and authority are widely distributed. C) Accountability is clear. D) There are cost-saving advantages from specialization.

Q: A simple structure is ________ like a mechanistic organization, but ________ like an organic organization. A) centralized; informal B) informal; decentralized C) decentralized; formal D) centralized; formal

Q: Traditional organizational designs tend to be more mechanistic and include ________. A) simple, complex, and divisional structures B) simple, functional, and dysfunctional structures C) functional, divisional, and vertical structures D) simple, functional, and divisional structures

Q: The stability of a mechanistic structure seems to work best in today's dynamic and uncertain business environment.

Q: Woodward and more recent studies have concluded that mass production worked best with an organic organizational structure.

Q: Joan Woodward attempted to view organizational structure from a technological perspective.

Q: As organizations become larger, they tend to become more organic.

Q: Innovators need the efficiency, stability, and tight controls of a mechanistic structure rather than an organic structure.

Q: An organic organization tends to be flexible and have few formal rules.

Q: A mechanistic organization is bureaucratic and hierarchical.

Q: The two prevalent organizational structure models in today's world are the organic organization and the inorganic organization.

Q: In Woodward's study, this type of production was the most complex and the most sophisticated. A) unit production B) mass production C) process production D) technological production

Q: Woodward concluded that the least complex of the technologies was ________. A) unit production B) mass production C) process production D) quality production

Q: Recent studies on Woodward's initial research found that if the technology was nonroutine, this structure worked best. A) mechanistic B) traditional C) inorganic D) organic

Q: Joan Woodward conducted pioneering studies on how this affected the structure of companies. A) ethics B) technology C) values D) corporate culture

Q: As an organization grows to a size of over 2,000 employees, it finds it hard to avoid becoming more ________. A) mechanistic B) organic C) informal D) adaptable

Q: Larger organizations tend to have ________ than smaller organizations. A) more specialization B) less departmentalization C) less centralization D) fewer rules and regulations

Q: A company that is trying to be a leader in innovation within its industry would be most likely to have this kind of structure. A) mechanistic B) organic C) simple D) functional

Q: Together, contingency variables determine the ________. A) success of an organization B) culture of an organization C) structure of an organization D) size of an organization

Q: Strategy, size, technology, and the degree of uncertainty in the environment together make up what are called ________. A) contingency variables B) control factors C) structure variables D) probable factors

Q: Which word best characterizes a mechanistic organization? A) bureaucracy B) collaborative C) adaptable D) informal

Q: Which term best describes an organic organization? A) hierarchical B) pyramid-shaped C) flexible D) fixed

Q: A(n) ________ organization is able to change rapidly as needs require. A) organic B) hierarchical C) vertical D) mechanistic

Q: Which of the following would likely be found in mechanistic organizations? A) wide span of control B) empowered employees C) decentralized responsibility D) standardized jobs

Q: A(n) ________ organization has a high degree of specialization, formalization, and centralization. A) organic B) horizontal C) learning D) mechanistic

Q: In a short essay, list and discuss three common forms of departmentalization.

Q: In a short essay, list and explain three key elements in designing an organization's structure.

Q: Traditional organizations are structured in a pyramid, with the power and authority located in the pyramid's broad base.

Q: When decisions tend to be made at lower levels in an organization, the organization is said to be centralized.

Q: Power is a right that a manager has when he or she has a higher rank in an organization.

Q: Unity of command prevents an employee from trying to follow two conflicting commands at once.

Q: Line authority can be exerted only after a manager checks with his or her superior.

Q: In a short essay, discuss environmental scanning and competitive intelligence.

Q: Buying a competitor's product for evaluation is a form of environmental scanning.

Q: Which of the following is NOT something that a company would be likely to do as a part of a competitive intelligence program? A) buy competitors' products B) attend trade shows C) have employees evaluate competing products D) buy stock in a competitor's company

Q: A cell phone company might ask managers to do some environmental scanning of blogs that deal with electronics as a way to ________. A) obtain new customers B) identify emerging trends C) obtain new advertisers D) identify potential rivals

Q: In the twenty-first century, managers increasingly need to consider their plans as ________. A) highly explicit recipes that must be scrupulously followed B) a vague philosophy that should not interfere with actions C) flexible road maps with destinations that may change D) rigid road maps with a single destination

Q: In a short essay, define and discuss management by objectives (MBO).

Q: In a short essay, compare specific plans and directional plans.

Q: In a short essay, compare strategic plans and tactical plans.

Q: In general, upper-level managers focus on tactical or operational planning.

Q: Directional plans leave no room for interpretation.

Q: A six-month plan qualifies as a short-term plan.

Q: Long-term plans used to refer to plans that covered a period of over three years, but now it refers to any time period over one year.

Q: Goals typically should be reserved for managers only. Goals should not be shared with subordinates.

Q: The key to MBO, or management by objectives, is that managers and subordinates mutually agree on goals.

Q: Traditional goal setting requires top managers to set goals that are carried out by the organizational levels below.

Q: Goals are documents that outline how plans are to be carried out.

Q: Most managers feel that formal, top-down plans created by corporate planning departments are ________. A) very useful B) usually unsatisfactory C) very detailed D) excellent

Q: The commitment concept states that plans should ________. A) always stake out a longer time period than is estimated B) always stake out a shorter time period than is estimated C) stake out a time period that is neither too long nor too short D) not include time periods because they are too confining

Q: The more uncertain a situation is, the more ________ plans must be. A) unspecific B) long term C) flexible D) short term

Q: Top managers, for the most part, focus on this type of planning. A) operational B) strategic C) tactical D) short term

Q: Standing plans typically can be used ________. A) only once B) only in conjunction with specific, long-term plans C) twice at most D) repeatedly