Exam 8: Structuring Organizations for Todays Challenges

Which of the organization models follows all of Fayol's traditional management rules?

In today's business environment, the trend is to decrease the span of control.

The informal organization is best suited for decision making on big issues.

Line managers issue orders, enforce discipline, and adjust the organization as conditions change.

One of Fayol's principles suggests that managers should have the right to give orders and expect others to follow.

A flat organizational structure is designed to be more responsive to the needs of management.

Which of the following describes an environment in which data is instantly available via the Internet to organizational partners?

Mountain Top Community College is a multi-district college in the Denver area with four campuses. Each campus has one president, two vice presidents, five deans, 12 department chairs, over 100 faculty members, and several persons in support roles. The presidents from each campus report to four vice chancellors and the vice chancellors report to the chancellor. It is clear that Mountain Top has a well-defined ________.

Weber was critical of bureaucrats because he felt they undermined the efficiency of the organization.

In a line organization, there are many specialists who serve as advisors and assistants to the managers who make decisions.

Organizations that utilize functional departmentalization benefit from improved communication between departments.

Which of the following determines the degree of decentralization of a firm?

Which of the following statements most closely identifies the problem with adopting Fayol's principles of organization design for contemporary businesses?

If there are several steps in getting the product to its final state, the company may choose to departmentalize by process.

Within its production department, Sooner Manufacturing has shift leaders, supervisors, assistant plant managers, plant managers, product group managers, assistant division managers, division managers, an assistant vice president for production, and a vice president in charge of production. Given its multiple-layer management structure, Sooner Manufacturing is an example of a(n) ________ organization.

The decision on how to departmentalize should depend on the customer and the product or service the firm is offering.

When Eric Schmidt joined Google he tackled the organization function head-on. In speaking at a large conference with its founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, he commented that Google was running pretty well but "it just needed a little structure." Schmidt was referring to basic organization principles such as division of labor, specialization, and getting the departments running smoothly.

________ refers to the process of dividing organizational functions (sales, production, accounting/bookkeeping) into separate units.

The management of Entertainment Electronics sees itself as a topnotch producer of components used in DVD and Blu-ray players. The outstanding performance of the production department indicates that this activity is one of the firm's

Successful managers will find the balance between promoting the informal organization and maintaining a formalized structure, as well.