Exam 8: Structuring Organizations for Todays Challenges

Weber believed that employees should be empowered to make their own decisions.

Managing a growing business often requires managers to create departments to accomplish various tasks.

When management structures the organization, it clarifies who gets to make decisions, how many people report to one manager, and how many different departments the company needs in order to operate effectively.

Jason is a self-employed patent attorney. These days he is seldom without work. Large corporations hire him on an as-needed basis to review prospective ideas and help with securing patents for a variety of inventions including surgical instruments, medicines, and high-tech gadgets. Once he secures a contract, Jason knows approximately how many weeks or months he will work. Jason works for virtual corporations.

Fayol's ____________ principle says that workers' attitudes can create an environment of pride and loyalty within an organization

In open organizations the informal organization can be:

One of Javier's coworkers was recently promoted to a middle management position at their company. He seems to have quickly distanced himself from Javier and their other coworker, Carlos. In fact, yesterday Carlos described the situation by saying, "He's gone to the dark side." Javier understands what Carlos means because management keeps themselves removed from other employees, and seldom seriously solicits ideas for improvements or change from those in the trenches. The disadvantage in continuing this type of organizational culture is:

Sarah is a designer for a business that installs underground sprinkler systems for residential and commercial customers. Tom and Bill share the ownership responsibilities of the business. Tom is in charge of commercial accounts and Bill is in charge of residential accounts. Sometimes Tom and Bill double book Sarah's time, creating frustration and animosity. Since they share supervisory responsibility, there is no clear way to decide whose accounts are most important. This type of situation represents a violation of Fayol's ____________ principle

Mini-Case Angelica Canizales is the CEO of Mucho Dinero Enterprises. Sales have declined for four consecutive years and the firm's accountants have reported net losses in each of the last two years. Employees appear demoralized and frustrated. Recently, Angelica met with managers from marketing, production, and finance to listen to their views regarding the company's problems. The managers unanimously agreed that the main problem was a lack of communication among the several functional areas of the business. Each manager felt that the firm could increase quality and customer satisfaction with better interdepartmental communication. Angelica also met with marketing and production employees to get their respective opinions on the problems of the firm. One employee from the production department observed, "We have so many layers of management that it takes forever to make decisions." An employee from marketing complained, "This place is so bogged down with rules and regulations that there is no opportunity to be creative." Several employees shared their opinions regarding their bosses. Specifically, one employee said, "My boss never pays attention to my ideas. He just issues orders and expects me to obey them." Angelica decided, after listening to many comments from managers and employees and also suppliers and customers, that the only way to end Mucho Dinero's slide was to completely rethink the firm's structure and to make radical changes in its organization. She presented her ideas to the board of directors, promising to voluntarily resign if her efforts to reorganize did not return the firm to profitability. -Employee complaints that there are too many layers of management and too many rules and regulations suggest that Mucho Dinero is a(n):

Line organizations often experience the problem of employees reporting to more than one boss.

Mini-Case Angelica Canizales is the CEO of Mucho Dinero Enterprises. Sales have declined for four consecutive years and the firm's accountants have reported net losses in each of the last two years. Employees appear demoralized and frustrated. Recently, Angelica met with managers from marketing, production, and finance to listen to their views regarding the company's problems. The managers unanimously agreed that the main problem was a lack of communication among the several functional areas of the business. Each manager felt that the firm could increase quality and customer satisfaction with better interdepartmental communication. Angelica also met with marketing and production employees to get their respective opinions on the problems of the firm. One employee from the production department observed, "We have so many layers of management that it takes forever to make decisions." An employee from marketing complained, "This place is so bogged down with rules and regulations that there is no opportunity to be creative." Several employees shared their opinions regarding their bosses. Specifically, one employee said, "My boss never pays attention to my ideas. He just issues orders and expects me to obey them." Angelica decided, after listening to many comments from managers and employees and also suppliers and customers, that the only way to end Mucho Dinero's slide was to completely rethink the firm's structure and to make radical changes in its organization. She presented her ideas to the board of directors, promising to voluntarily resign if her efforts to reorganize did not return the firm to profitability. -From her discussions with employees, Angelica learned quickly that production workers put their trust in 20-year veteran Willie McClaren. Many people told her that if you wanted something done, Willie was the person to see. Willie appears to be an important part of the:

A tall organization structure consists of multiple levels of management.

Introducing change into an organization is an easy task for a manager.

The __________ is the system of relationships that develop spontaneously as employees meet and form power centers

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

Bull's-Eye, a regional discount retailer, carefully watches and compares its operations with the operations of its closest rivals. This firm does:

While most organizations have a formal organization structure, only poorly managed firms also have an informal organization.

As Brett prepares to open his new business, he has identified the tasks that need to be accomplished and has assigned employees to each task. This illustrates:

The optimum number of subordinates a manager should supervise is referred to as the span of control.

Traditional organizational models such as a line model or a line-and-staff model provide the flexibility demanded in a changing business environment.