Exam 8: Structuring Organizations for Todays Challenges

During the past six years,the marketing department manager at Creative Concepts International made a strong push to hire mover/shaker professionals that had superior performance records prior to joining this company.It didn't take long for these enthusiastic marketers to recognize the many talents within their department.They marveled at how much they were like each other and how they seemed to agree with each other's work styles and ideas.After a while,it became difficult for others in the organization to present to this group.If the idea did not originate within the marketing department,marketers did not give it much credence.Management counselors would describe this phenomenon as ______.

In order to encourage more interdepartmental communication and cooperation,Angelica is thinking about setting up groups of workers from different departments to work together on a long-term basis.She is even thinking about asking people from some of Mucho Dinero's suppliers,customers and distributors to join these groups.The type of group that Angelica is considering is known as an):

In the Crescent City manufacturing plant of the Granite Works Corporation,a foreman supervises workers.The foreman reports to the shift supervisor who reports to the head of the production department,who then reports to the assistant plant manager,who reports to the plant manager.The plant manager,in turn,reports to a district manager,who then reports to a product group manager,who reports to an assistant vice president of operations,who keeps in close touch with an executive vice president.The layers of management indicate that Granite Works Corporation is a tall organization.

Departmentalization by function groups employees based on similar skills,expertise,or resource use.

The Nutmeg Soccer Club outsourced its accounting work.This suggests that management at Nutmeg does not believe that accounting is one of the firm's core competencies.

Fayol's principle of the division of labor says that functions should be divided into areas of specialization such as production,marketing,and finance.

The concept of ____________ suggests that as a firm produces more,the average cost of goods produced goes down.

As a result of rapidly changing markets and global differences in consumer tastes,more firms are considering centralized authority.

Some companies have created hybrid versions of departmentalization,where they combine two or more traditional ways of departmentalizing.

Douglas Pick began making and selling ear plugs out of his home near the University of Southern Californi A.According to the Spotlight on Small Business box titled,"When Your Workers Work for Someone Else":

One disadvantage of the matrix style of organization is that it is more difficult to keep development projects on schedule.The model slows down the time from design,to production,and then to market.

An)__________ consists of one person at the top of the organization and many levels of managers who are responsible to that person.

New technology such as the Internet has opened up opportunities for firms to sell to new markets.

At Dilly-Dally Sportswear Store a manager needs to be called to the front of the store and sign-off on every return that a cashier performs.The CEO continues this policy because he wants every manager to "look those customers right in the eye" and "stake their job on taking those items back." Clearly,Dilly-Daly empowers its employees to make decisions at their jobs.

All organizations have two organizational systems:

If there are several steps in getting the product to its final state,the company may choose to departmentalize by process.

Which of the following determines the degree of decentralization a firm might use?

As a response to a rapidly changing marketplace,Idea Electronics found it necessary to reorganize,including a significant downsize of its middle management.This action will likely result in ___________.

Which of the following factors help determine a manager's span of control?

In today's fast-paced business environment,Weber's bureaucratic ideas work well.These principles permit business to respond quickly to customer changes.