Exam 8: Structuring Organizations for Todays Challenges

Managers near the top of an organization have the broadest span of control.

When management structures the organization, it makes decisions about which products and services it will offer and how it is going to finance the company.

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.

As a manager of a retail clothing store, Lance favors detailed job descriptions, formal rules and regulations, detailed records, and standardized procedures. He also believes that staffing and promotion decisions should be based strictly on the qualifications of the people under consideration. Lance's attitudes suggest that he is strongly influenced by the ideas of:

Which of the following describes a group of employees from different departments working together on a long-term basis?

Jessica found at a job at a bank, after losing her insurance company job when the firm went bankrupt. Although she has only been with this firm for a couple of weeks, she senses a rather austere climate where not too many people take the time to get to know one another. Several of her coworkers seem to get very nervous when managers walk by and breathe sighs of relief when the VP is away for the day. When she asked her supervisor why people seemed afraid of the VP, the supervisor quoted an old Tennyson poem, "Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die." Jessica realizes the bank does not operate as an open organization. It lacks a thriving informal organization. It is unlikely that Jessica will feel an allegiance to this company.

In a line-and-staff organization, staff positions are temporary jobs to train new line managers.

Which of the following is considered to be a disadvantage of functional departmentalization?

JayLo Corporation has experienced rapid growth during its five years of existence. While still relatively small, JayLo is now big enough that Jennifer, the firm's CEO, has decided to organize the firm into functional departments. Jennifer can likely expect which of the following to occur?

The success of the firm often depends on assigning the right tasks to the right person.

Whirlpond, a manufacturer of home appliances, has historically produced the components for their products. However, Whirlpond now contracts with other firms to produce these components. This strategy of is a current trend among U.S. manufacturers.

Max Weber used the term to describe middle managers whose job was to implement the orders of top management:

Cross-functional teams work well when leadership of the team is shared.

The matrix organization model brings together experts from different functional units of the firm to work on specific projects.

Which of the following correctly identifies the explanation behind the unity of command principle of management?

Fayol's principle says that tasks should be divided into areas of specialization.

Fayol's principles suggest that the goals of the firm are less important than the goals of individual workers.

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.

The line of authority that moves from the top of a hierarchy to the lowest level is called the:

A serious disadvantage of the matrix organization is the temporary nature of the teams.