Exam 9: Organization Size, Life Cycle, and Decline

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?

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

Compare and contrast the three types of organizational control strategies.

The primary reason that the CEO of a large company such as McDonald's would push decisions as far down the hierarchy as he can is to:

Which of the following characterizes the formalization stage of the life cycle?

Large organizations are characterized by all of these except:

Carson is the manager of Cutter's Consulting, a consulting company composed of professionals from different fields. In such a company, Carson would be wise to:

Weber believed that a well-managed bureaucracy would ensure efficient organizational functioning in both government and business settings.

Government organizations often seem to be more bureaucratic than for-profit organizations such as the Ansel Adams Gallery, a family business that markets beautiful photography of the Sierras. Could this partly be the result of the type of control used in the respective organizations? Explain.

Market control occurs when price competition is used to evaluate the output and productivity of an organization or its major departments and divisions.

High formalization is most closely associated with which of the following?

Explain the relationship between organizational size and at least three specific structural characteristics.

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

Which of the following is not one of the organizational control strategies?

Research on personnel ratios has found that:

The following organization is in its collectivity stage: Employees at Ace identify with the company mission and goals, and they typically put in 55-hour workweeks. Ace is established in the marketplace, and is concentrating on getting more and more dealers to sign on. Ace does not have a written policies and procedures manual for its own employees.

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?

A condition in which a substantial, absolute decrease in an organization's resource base occurs over a period of time is referred to as:

Identify an organization in which you have worked. Analyze its management as related to size of the organization.

Describe the organizational characteristics associated with each stage of the life cycle.