Exam 11: Organizational Structure and the Implementation of Strategy

Most organizational behavior is highly routinized in order to increase efficiency and reduce variability.

The benefit of highly routinized policies and procedures is that they can make a firm very responsive to changes in its competitive environment.

Without responsibility for generating revenue, employees in profit centers can develop morale and motivation problems.

___________ is the tendency for cross-functional team members to believe that every decision needs to be made as a group.

Learning and experience is reflected in an effective set of policies, procedures, and systems that influence, guide, and monitor firm performance.

_______________ integrated firms require a high degree of centralization.

Why do organizations rarely have more than eight hierarchical levels?

Functional structures are best suited to firms competing in undifferentiated markets.

Multidivisional structures are based on the reality that many firms consist of several distinct operating segments or businesses, or geographical regions.

Organizational structure has taken on added importance because of the changing nature of work.

An organization's culture or its "informal structure" can be just as important as, if not more important than, its formal hierarchical structure.

List five conditions under which a functional structure is well suited for a firm.

List three arguments for outsourcing as a value chain restructuring alternative for firms.

List three advantages of the multidivisional structure for large, diversified firms.

Discuss why structuring an organization for specialization can be detrimental to the management of knowledge workers.

________________ strategies rely heavily on centralization.

When employees internalize their company's success and view themselves as "winners" who work for a "winning" organization, there is no need for a strong company culture.

Why is a decentralization of decision making in organizations likely to lead to better decisions?

Organizational structure is a powerful tool for achieving competitive advantage.

Explain what is meant by the statement that "almost all organizational structures tend to produce false images in the decision maker."