Exam 4: The External Environment

Which of the following occurs when leaders from important sectors in an organization's environment are asked to join that organization?

When differentiation is high, integration should be high if the level of environmental uncertainty is high.

List and give examples of each of the general environment sectors.

The growing importance of the international sector means that the environment of all organizations is becoming extremely simple and extremely stable.

Which of the following is the best application of the framework for assessing environmental uncertainty?

How can an organization change its domain most directly?

A company in a highly uncertain environment is more likely to need a formal integrator.

What is an organization's "domain"?

What term is used to refer to high quality collaboration between departments?

Boundary spanners can prevent the organization from stagnating by keeping top managers informed about environmental changes.

What term is used for sectors of the environment that have direct impact on the organization?

List and describe three organizational adaptations to environmental uncertainty.

The learning organization is an organic structure.

Organizations must cope with and manage uncertainty to be effective.

The greatest uncertainty for an organization occurs in the simple, unstable environment.

Which of the following includes those sectors that might not have a direct impact on the daily operations of a firm but will indirectly influence it?

Case 4.0 AligatorAde, a regional soft drink bottling plant, produces according to the forecast it receives from corporate headquarters. The company uses the focus strategy, designating a market of persons involved in athletic sports. AligatorAde sponsors a local lacrosse team and has a reputation for positive support of sports activities. On the few occasions when production exceeds demand, corporate warehousing juggles the distribution so that the regional producers such as AligatorAde experience no significant loss. Although competitors have switched formulas several times, AligatorAde has not changed its formula because market demand for its product is stable. (Top management at corporate headquarters is considering adding a more fruity-flavoured drink to its product line, but a final decision has not yet been made.) On the line, the manufacturing department produces large batches of its drink. The product is prepared for distribution in both cans and bottles. Occasionally at the end of a run, some bottles will have special team labels affixed by machine; profitability on those few special runs is particularly high. The plant's organizational chart shows that there is a plant manager with four department heads reporting to her: manufacturing manager, administrative manager, marketing manager, and warehousing and distribution manager. The purchasing function is carried out in manufacturing, and what little R&D takes place at the regional plant is done in marketing. -Refer to Case 4.0. Would you recommend that AligatorAde switch from its current strategy to a differentiation strategy that it markets to the public in general? Why or why not?

In which of the following types of industries would organizations face the greatest amount of environmental uncertainty? Evaluate

Explain how the international context of organizations is bringing the international sector more and more into the task environment of organizations today.

Explain how an organization could change its domain, and why it might want to do so.