Exam 11: Organizational Structure and Controls

The BEST multidivisional structure to use

Which organizational structure will emphasize financial controls for headquarters' evaluation of operating units while the operating units will emphasize strategic controls within their units' performance?

Andermeyer Jewelers has been in existence since the 1870s. It specializes in high-end jewelry using both colored precious stones and diamonds. Generations of wealthy families have patronized Andermeyer. Andermeyer has been owned and managed by the Andermeyer family since its founding, and has never had more than 20 designers and jewelers in its shop. Andermeyer Jewelers should use the ____ structure.

Alliances of organizations in the same position on the value chain are known as vertical alliances.

Megaline, Inc., follows the competitive form of the multidivisional structure. It has five divisions. One division has not met the rate-of-return goals for the past year. One division has exceeded the rate-of-return goals. The other three divisions met the rate-of-return goals. The headquarters office is making decisions about where to allocate capital in the next year. Which scenario is the MOST likely?

The fewest integrative devices are used in the ____ structure.

Strategic controls are largely subjective criteria intended to verify that the firm is using appropriate strategies for the conditions in the external environment and the company's competitive advantages.

To properly execute strategic controls in firms using related diversification, the executives must have a deep understanding of each unit's business-level strategy.

In an SBU structure, ____ is/are evaluated using strategic controls, whereas ____ is/are evaluated using financial controls.

Organizational controls guide the use of strategy, indicate how to compare actual results with expected results, and suggest corrective actions to take when the difference is unacceptable.

____ controls are objective criteria that allow corporate managers to evaluate the returns earned by individual business units.

A strategic network can be characterized as a loose federation of partners revolving around a strategic center firm.

Describe the organizational structure associated with a firm that pursues an unrelated diversification strategy.

The integrated cost-leadership/differentiation strategy needs structural features that are partially centralized and partially decentralized, jobs that are semi-specialized, and rules and procedures that call for some formal and some informal job behavior.

Discuss the difference between strategic and financial controls.

The cooperative form is an M-form structure in which horizontal integration is used to bring about interdivisional cooperation.

Leslie is a newly-graduated certified public accountant with a specialty in corporate tax. She wishes to join an organization (not an accounting firm) that will allow her to concentrate on corporate tax and become deeply proficient in this area. Leslie should look for a position in a firm with a ____ structure.

One reason why a long-tenured top-level manager may hesitate to conclude the firm's structure is a problem is that doing so

As shown in the Chapter Opening 11 Case, Borders was able to structure its operations in ways that allowed it to manage the different businesses in each country and market effectively.

____ is the degree to which decision making authority is retained at higher managerial levels.