Exam 9: Organization Size, Life Cycle, and Decline

Small companies are standardized, often mechanistically run, and complex.

If Max Weber were living in the United States today, and observing the push away from bureaucracy, what do you think he would say? Would he defend the use of bureaucracy today, or are there different environmental factors that would cause him to abandon bureaucracy?

The life cycle phenomenon is a powerful concept used for understanding problems facing organizations and how managers can respond in a positive way to move an organization to the next stage.

Small organizations have a flat structure and an organic, free-flowing management style that encourages entrepreneurship and innovation.

All of the following are factors that cause organizational decline except:

Large organizations are characterized by all of these except:

Compare and contrast the three types of organizational control strategies.

Increased training can substitute for bureaucratic rules and procedures.

A form of organization called ____ has emerged that is made up completely of professionals.

It is impossible for companies to find ways to be both big and small.

The manager of an established small manufacturing plant said, "We can't compete with large organizations because they have the advantage of economies of scale." Draw from the chapter on organization size to discuss his position, explaining any factors that might counter his position to some extent. How should he manage in order to take advantage of the firm's small size?

Ninety-nine percent of businesses that make it past the first year still fail within five years because they can't make the transition from the entrepreneurial stage.

In the elaboration stage, an organization's growth is rapid, and employees are excited and committed to the organization's mission.

Departments emerge and are established, along with a beginning division of labor, in a newly established hierarchy at which stage in the life cycle?

Discuss how an organization can help smooth the downsizing process and ease tensions for employees who leave and remain.

Discuss the causes for organizational decline. List and define the stages of organizational decline.

____ percent of businesses that make it past the first year still fail within five years because they can't make the transition from the entrepreneurial stage.

In the ____ stage, denial occurs despite signs of deteriorating performance.

In which stage the organization faces serious problems, and indicators of poor performance cannot be ignored?

The use of ____ control requires that outputs be sufficiently explicit for a price to be assigned and that competition exist.