Exam 14: Organizational Structure

What are the main components of an organization's external environment? Which of these components may contain or influence interest groups which are relevant to your college or university? Cite examples.

Functional departmentation works best in

________ is the process by which top executives seek to cope with the constraints and opportunities posed by an organization's environment.

Networks allow organizations to ________ in what they do best.

Gordon Wong is VP of Human Resources at Zeta Manufacturing.In a recent confidential meeting with the company's president,he was given a special assignment: develop a plan to improve coordination between departments without restructuring the company.Gordon understood the president's concerns,since he too had observed several coordination-related problems at the last executive meeting.In one instance,the VP of Marketing complained to the VP of Production that the company was losing market share due to low production capacity and late shipments.The VP of Production fired back,accusing the marketing department of "overly aggressive promotional tactics" which were resulting in unrealistic production expectations and low profit margins.In another instance,the VP of Marketing requested increased expense budgets for sales managers,who were complaining about the lack of funds available for sales promotion activities with customers.The VP of Finance told the VP of Marketing that his sales managers needed a "reality check" and that,if anything,expenses would need to become "tighter,not looser," in the future.Then,the VP of Research and Development stunned everyone by introducing detailed plans for a totally new product which would move the company into new markets.The VPs of Production and Marketing both demanded to know why they had not been informed about the new product concept sooner.As Gordon reflected on these events,he wondered,"How can I get these departments to work together in a more integrated manner?" Use your knowledge of organizational structure to 1)identify the type of departmentation at Zeta; 2)explain the advantages and disadvantages of this type of structure; and 3)recommend three methods to improve coordination across these departments without restructuring the organization.

A(n)________ organization is one that can simultaneously exploit current competencies and explore emerging opportunities.

In the text,organizational structure,degree of vertical integration,and strategic alliances were examples of

Under high differentiation,various organizational units tend to operate more autonomously.

Because formalization through strict,impersonal rules may lead members to adopt the minimum acceptable level of performance,it is evident that

The grouping together of the basic tasks that must be performed for the organization to achieve its goals is called

What is the relationship between resource dependence and environmental uncertainty?

As ________ increases,cause-and-effect relationships become less clear.

Mutual adjustment is useful for coordinating ________ divisions of labour.

The word "ambidextrous" means

Most organizations have a single structure.

The matrix departmentation method means that employees are members of both a functional department and a special product team.

A key advantage of the network form is its flexibility and ________.

The classical organizational theorists tended to favour ________ structures.

The concept of resource dependence shows how organizations are totally at the mercy of their environments.

The structural characteristic of ________ is most obvious when we see all decisions made at the top of an organization.