Exam 8: Structuring Organizations for Todays Challenges

Alicia dreams of opening her own restaurant and knows that she will need to organize her business.Organizing begins with determining the work to be done.

In its effort to reorganize its floor space,Backstreet Books decided to eliminate seating space in its stores in order to make room for bookshelves due to growing interest in books about how to "go green".This company's effort is an example of how a firm may reduce its emphasis in one product line in order to serve customer preferences and trends.

If a particular function is one of a firm's core competencies,it typically performs this function itself rather than outsourcing it to another organization.

Julio is the owner of Celebration,Inc.a small party supply company.The company provides tents,tables,chairs,and related paraphernalia for wedding,Bar Mitzvah,Bot Mitzvah,graduation,birthday,and other celebratory events.As sales have increased,the organization has hired more personnel and departmentalized to more efficiently handle purchasing,sales,service,and accounting.Everyone is still responsible for achieving company goals.Upon seeing Celebration's organization chart,you agree it uses a line organization model.

Julie is an attorney that works for Worldwide Food Science,Inc.that provides legal advice and assistance to the firm's managers.Julie's job with WFS,Inc.would be classified as a staff position.

Which of the organization models follows all of Fayol's traditional management rules?

Cross-functional teams consist of employees from different departments who work together on a long-term basis.

Weber was a strong proponent of bureaucracy.

Organizing the structure of the company means deciding how many jobs need to be done and who is responsible for doing them.

In a _____________ organization,specialists from different parts of the organization are brought together on a temporary basis to work on specific projects.

Samad accepted a managerial position at City Bank.In order to be more effective in his new position,he should try to learn who the important people are in City's informal organization.

Which term describes a company being so open to other companies working with it that electronic information is shared as if the companies were one?

Although a firm may experience better cost controls through departmentalization,it may not increase its responsiveness to customer needs.

Fayol's principle of esprit de corps says that employees should be divided into small groups that can be directed efficiently by a single manager.

Staff personnel perform functions such as production and sales that contribute directly to the primary goals of the organization.

Which of the following statements best describes the evolution of organization design?

Organizational culture can produce either a positive or negative impact on an organization.

Organizing a business begins with:

Some business organizations still follow the 1940s organizational theory of Max Weber.

An organization chart shows who is accountable for the completion of specific work and who reports to whom.