Exam 7: Creating a Flexible Organization

When a manager has few subordinates, a narrow span of management exists.

Ford and Xerox are two companies that have begun moving away from strict job specialization to alleviate employee motivation problems. Each company has adopted a job design alternative that involves workers in a wider variety of tasks. The method they have employed is known as job

The human resource manager of one of Hershey Foods' production facilities has been noticing an increase in absenteeism among assembly-line workers in the chocolate bar plant. Switching to a job rotation system would probably significantly decrease the amount of absenteeism.

Cross-functional teams are not very effective structures to use when developing a new product or service.

A locally owned and operated bakery with just one location is likely to have

It is important for managers to be aware of the informal groups that exist in an organization.

The number of layers, or levels, in a firm is referred to as the firm's

Mr. Kerr will manage employees throughout the northwestern region of the United States. His employees will consist of most major nationalities and both males and females. In determining his span of control, you should consider which of the following span factors?

Janet is a runner for a large law firm. Her duties include purchasing supplies for the copy room. Janet was given permission by the office manager to sign credit-card receipts when making purchases. Janet has been given ____ to use the firm's credit card.

The employees at the Ford production facility in Michigan work on an assembly line where each employee performs a specific task. This method of assembly-line production is a good example of job specialization.

Cory is at the top of her company's organization chart. Which of the following is most likely to be her job title?

Job specialization is the separation of all organizational activities into distinct tasks and the assignment of different tasks to different people.

Identify and briefly describe the decisions involved that management must make in organizing a business.

Workers at the U.S. Nissan subsidiary plants are less likely to become bored or dissatisfied with their jobs because Nissan practices job

The number of layers in the organizational structure of Dayton Hudson Corporation indicates the company's

The span of control is the number of subordinates who report directly to one manager.

Grouping jobs into manageable units according to some reasonable scheme is known as

Describe each of the three primary types of committees that exist in business firms. Offer one specific example of each.

George Brown is a regional sales manager for Unisys, a large manufacturer of computer systems. As such, George is responsible for salespeople throughout the region, and he must interact with them frequently to solve problems. Which of the following descriptions is most characteristic of Unisys and its sales managers?

When the matrix structure is used, employees report to more than one supervisor.