Exam 9: Organisational Structure and Design

Custom Leather's competitors typically produce their couches in large batches. This could best be referred to as what kind of production?

In Joan Woodward's study of the relationship between technology and structure, the structure that was the most technically complex was ________.

General Hospital (Scenario) Maha is a registered nurse in charge of a new unit at her hospital. She would like to have a more laid back approach in dealing with her new staff, but the hospital demands that there be strict hierarchical levels and that all decisions must be signed off by Maha. Sometimes this drives Maha crazy the constant filling out of forms, and so forth. She also feels that the numerous levels of hierarchy are unnecessary and place barriers between herself and her staff. She isn't sure why things have to be so "organized" and is thinking about speaking with her boss in an attempt to change her unit so that it has more flexibility and fewer rules. -Maha is required to sign off on all decisions, suggesting the hospital has what kind of decision-making authority?

Work teams composed of individuals from various functional specialties are known as ________ teams.

Several years after the retirement of Mr. Jamal, management at JOC decided to sell off its oil exploration and drilling supply holdings, and instead focus on the more profitable distribution end of the business. In conjunction with this decision, management decided to outsource most of its non core functions, such as accounting, payroll, and human resources. These moves are consistent with what type of contemporary organizational design?

A ________ organization is a small core organization that outsources major business functions such as manufacturing, allowing the firm to concentrate on its core competencies.

Ismail (Scenario) Ismail graduated from college and was hired by a corporation that manufactured parts for the automotive industry. The employees on the assembly line seemed bored, and their motivation was low. Ismail's employer decided to reorganize, in an attempt to increase productivity. -Ismail majored in engineering and really enjoyed the work assigned to him. The reorganization changed some of his work assignments to include working on a team with production workers and marketing specialists, designing the newest products the company will offer. This could be described as a(n) ________.

When managers standardize employee behavior through rules and procedures, the jobs are becoming more ________.

Joan Woodward's study of the relationship between technology and structure is based upon her study of small manufacturing firms in ________.

What factor influences the amount of centralization an organization uses?

A term for increased decentralization is employee empowerment, which is giving employees more authority to make decisions.

Custom Leather (Scenario) Lamia has been hired as a consultant for XYZ Consulting. Her first assignment is to work with one of XYZ's newest clients, Custom Leather, Inc., a manufacturer of high-end leather furniture. Custom Leather was founded over a decade ago with the idea that great looking, comfortable leather furniture could be custom made and delivered to customers in 30 days. Traditionally, retailers stock leather sofas to satisfy the desire to receive new furniture fast limiting the choice of colors and style for the consumer. In stark contrast, Custom Leather offers 13 different styles in over 70 different colors from rich, deep browns to bright, sunflower; sleek, silver grays and bright, ruby red through a select group of retail outlets. Each piece is built to the customer's individual requirements and is shipped within 2-3 weeks. However, the emergence of a new manufacturing technology has enabled a few, traditionally mass-production competitors to offer greater customization, minimizing some of Custom Leather's competitive advantage. As a result, Custom Leather is considering sweeping changes to current work processes and organizational structure. -Many of Custom Leather's 75 employees are highly skilled and experienced artisans. Many long-time employees are stockholders and all participate in the profit sharing plan. While there is division of labor, the jobs most floor employees perform are not highly standardized. Management has found that employees take great pride in their craft, and thus they require minimal formal rules and little direct supervision. These traits are most typical of a(n) ________ organization.

What type of organizational structure is made up of autonomous, self-contained units?

According to Woodward's studies, what type of production works best with a mechanistic structure?

In what type of organizational structure is empowerment most crucial?

The strength of the functional structure is that it focuses on results.

What factor influences the amount of decentralization an organization uses?

Functional departmentalization groups jobs by ________.

Organizational learning can't take place without ________.

An example of ________ is when a hotel, such as Renaissance Dubai Hotel, conducts meetings with employees to gather their suggestions and ideas for implementation.