Exam 11: Organisational Structure and Controls

The simple structure, functional structure and multi-divisional structure are three major types of organisational structures that are used to implement strategies.

Chandler found that firms tend to grow in somewhat predictable patterns, first by volume, then by geography, next integration and finally through product and business diversification.

The different forms of the functional organisational structure can be accounted for by three dimensions:

Because firms need to respond quickly to environmental opportunities and threats, the implementation of the differentiation strategy is positively affected when a firm is centralised and formalised.

Organisational structure specifies a firm's formal reporting relationships, procedures, controls, and authority and decision-making processes.

Implementing the multi-domestic strategy requires decentralisation:

________ provides the capacity a firm requires to consistently and predictably manage its daily work routines.

Strategic controls are easy to use when a firm diversifies extensively.

Structural stability is more important than structural flexibility.

The cooperative M-form:

An organisation structure in which controls emphasise competition for corporate capital between separate (usually unrelated) divisions is the definition of the ________ of the multi-divisional structure.

While strategy and structure have reciprocal relationships, the impact of structure on strategy is often stronger than that of strategy on structure.

Describe the four primary tasks of the strategic centre firm in a strategic network.

Firms implementing a low-cost strategy should use a ________ structure.

An organisational structure's effectiveness is determined based on a combination of strategic, operational and financial controls.

The ________ structure is the most appropriate structure for implementing the integrated low-cost/differentiation strategy.

The integrated low-cost/differentiation strategy is difficult to implement mostly because:

A key disadvantage of the multi-domestic strategy/worldwide geographic area structure is:

Functional structures work best for firms with:

Which one of the following is not a benefit of the M-form structure?