Exam 11: Organizational Structure and Controls

The competitive form of the M-form structure is characterized by complete independence among the form's divisions.Unlike the divisions included in the cooperative structure, divisions that are part of the competitive structure do not share common corporate strengths.

A corporation that has several strategic center firms to manage partner firms' multiple cooperative arrangements is using what type of structure?

Firms seeking to compete on the basis of cost leadership particularly tend to focus on the __________ and __________ functions.

Strategic controls allow corporate-level managers to:

Describe the organizational structures used to implement cooperative strategies, giving attention to the role of the strategic center firm.

When a corporation pursues a related constrained diversification strategy, financial controls may not add value to strategy implementation efforts because it is difficult to:

As illustrated by Textron Inc., when a firm uses the __________ structure hierarchy, the headquarters might rely on strategic controls to set rate-of-return targets and financial controls to monitor divisional performance relative to those targets and then allocate cash flow to the different divisions accordingly.

Which of the following statements about implementing corporate-level strategies and effective organizational structures is true?

The strategic business unit (SBU) structure consists of at least three levels: the top level, the corporate headquarters; the next level, the SBUs; and the final level, SBU divisions.

Amos Ball Printing Company was established in 1866.Currently, Amos Ball V is the CEO and chairman of the board.The company has traditionally used a functional structure.Five years ago, the company branched into online publishing and small-batch printing in addition to its regular large-batch operations.Both new businesses are significantly different in technology and marketing from each other and from Ball's traditional business.Despite the hiring of experienced professionals in these new endeavors, performance continues to be poor and is affecting Ball's overall performance.Which of the following statements is true?

The cooperative multidivisional firm:

Discuss the organizational structures used to implement the different business-level strategies.

Megaline, Inc., with five divisions, follows the competitive form of the multidivisional structure.One division has not met the rate-of-return goals for the past year.Another division has exceeded the rate-of-return goals.The other three divisions met the rate-of-return goals.The headquarters office must decide where to allocate capital in the next year.Which of the following scenarios is the MOST likely?

__________ is the degree to which rules and procedures govern work.

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

MirGold uses a related constrained strategy in order to share resources and activities across its many businesses.The multidivisional structure form that is best suited for MirGold is the cooperative form.

Describe the organizational structures used to implement the three international strategies.

It is easiest to identify the company that functions as the strategic center firm in:

The three multidivisional structures that are used to implement a diversification strategy are the competitive form, the strategic business unit form, and the integrated form.

Dilly's Donuts is an active franchiser.It is reasonable to assume that one reason Dilly's pursues this corporate-level strategy is an attempt to create synergy.