Exam 14: Organizational Structure

Jennifer currently is a sales manager for the regional operation of a large,diversified,national corporation.She also participates in the strategic planning as liaison between the region and head office.Many of the discussions she has had with the head office executives had to do with finding a balance between fully leveraging current competencies and opportunities today,and developing opportunities on the horizon for which the organization does not currently have the capability.Jennifer seems to be working for a(n)________ organization.

Define differentiation as it relates to the division of labour.What is the connection between differentiation and integration?

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

Organizational customers are likely to prefer functional departmentation rather than product departmentation.

Modular organizations are made up of self-managing and cross-functional teams.

The least formal means by which divided labour is coordinated is

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

A manufacturing company had myriad rules,regulations,and procedures,all detailed in thick operations manuals.Structurally,it was highly ________.

Flatter structures push decision-making powers downward in the organization.

Holding organizational size constant,taller organizations have larger spans of control.

The larger the span of control,the more potential there is for coordination by direct supervision.

The acquisition of one firm by another could be an example of vertical integration but not an example of a strategic alliance.

The Smelly Cheese Company has decided to get into a new line of business-smelly cheese sticks for children.Compared to the rest of the company,what kind of structure is best for this new unit?

Bob is an engineer whose full-time job it is to serve as a technical interface between production and R&D.He "translates" between the two groups and helps them solve problems.His role is that of as a(n)________.

Events in various components of the environment provide both ________ and opportunities for organizations.

Under functional departmentation,all the chemists employed by the organization will likely be in the same department.

________ is the extent to which organizations divide labour vertically,horizontally,and geographically.

The process of coordinating differentiated departments is called ________.

Legal regulations are most likely a part of which environmental component faced by a business firm?

Under high differentiation,various organizational units tend to operate more