Exam 15: Foundations of Organization Structure

As compared to a decentralized organization, a centralized organization can act more quickly to solve problems.

The principle of ________ helps preserve the concept of an unbroken line of authority.

For much of the first half of the twentieth century, managers viewed work specialization as ________.

The goal of a boundaryless organization is to break down cultural barriers.

Compare and contrast the three common organizational designs: simple structure, bureaucracy, and matrix structure.

The more scarce, dynamic, and complex the environment, the more organic a structure should be.

You are interested in explaining the different types of organizational designs to students of basic management. These students need to know the advantages and disadvantages of each structure as well as the structure's characteristics. -You explain to your students the structure of a local grocery store situated in your neighborhood. The store employs two full-time employees, a salesperson and a cashier. The owner of the store acts as its manager and makes all the decisions. Which of the following organizational structures is being described by you?

The strength of product departmentalization in the matrix structure is that it facilitates ________.

Mark is the owner of a local shoe business. He has fifteen employees who report directly to him and he makes all the decisions regarding the type and quality of shoes and looks after the shop's finances. Which type of organizational structure does Mark have?

Which of the following is typically a characteristic of the mechanistic model of organization?

Organizations following a(n) ________ strategy try to both minimize risk and maximize opportunity for profit, moving into new products or new markets only after innovators have proven their viability.

You have learned about the traditional and new design options for organizational structures. You have decided that one of the designs developed during the last decade or two is probably the most appropriate for your newly formed organization. -You have recently started your business with a small capital investment. Your business needs a very high degree of flexibility so that you can quickly respond to environmental changes and you are also interested in minimizing costs. Which of the following types of organizations is best suitable for your business?

Volatility refers to the degree of ________ within an environment.

Which of the following statements is true regarding a matrix structure?

The simple structure is most widely practiced in small businesses in which ________.

Elena is the senior manager of a scientific operations team at a well-known clinical research organization. The organization delivers more than 4,000 solutions across more than 18 therapeutic areas. Being a perfectionist, Elena has reached her present position through hard work and dedication. Given that she has also worked effectively with teams in the past, she has recently been assigned to lead a team working on a new project which is critical to the company. Elena refuses to allocate any tasks to her team and decides to put in extra hours and weekends to complete the groundwork herself. Based on the information presented here, which of the following would best explain this contradiction?

Compare and contrast the three primary organizational strategies: innovation, cost-minimization, and imitation.

Describe the five common ways of departmentalization. Give an example of each.

Why is span of control important within an organization, and which common organizational design would most likely have the widest span of control? Explain your answer.

Gordon is a new divisional manager at AskSocrates.com. In reorganizing his division, he must make some decisions regarding the span of control for management within his division. -The question of span of control determines ________.