Exam 15: Organizational Structure and Design

Classical approaches to organizational design advanced by Weber, Taylor, and Fayol:

Table 15.2 For a management class, a group of students is considering how to structure a proposed company. Their original idea was a design that would give complete responsibility for the development and marketing of a product to one unit. Tax considerations are a concern as well, and they want a structure that would help the accountants track them better through specific cost centers. They decide not to use this design because of the duplication of effort and the probability that it would be difficult to attract and retain talented employees. In their second design they want to stress the opportunity for employees to specialize, gain economies of scale, and conserve resources by eliminating duplication of effort. They reject that design because it is too cumbersome and slow to respond to the changes in the marketplace. Then one member of the group, Jack, suggests that they eliminate chains of command and spans of control and go to empowered teams. He argues that this will increase creativity and responsibility among employees. A fellow student argues that it won't work in the real world because managers won't give up that much authority. "Ok," a third student, Jane, offers, "let's try this idea but build around a hub. The hub will be the core business and the spokes will be groups of specialists that can be added to or subtracted from as the market changes." They settle on a structure with two lines of authority, one by task specialization and the other by product line. This gives them economies of scale and flexibility but some stress over reporting authority. Nevertheless, it gives them the best of what they want. -Refer to Table 15.2. Jack's idea is an example of a:

The configuration of reporting relationships external partners is the organization's structure.

When Garret Memorial Hospital decided to share expenses with Cumberland Memorial Hospital to build and operate an MRI unit, they formed a:

The operating core of a company consists of those employees who perform the basic work related to the company's products or services.

What are the various dimensions of organizational structure, and how do they affect organizational behavior?

Evan works at Burger King. His job is highly specialized and there is a specific procedure for each task that he must perform. Burger King is an example of a(n):

A large organization that consists of sets of autonomous units coordinated by a central headquarters is an example of a ________.

Research found that organizational units were most effective when:

Under some conditions, such as when only a few individuals are in a position to judge what's best for the company, highly centralized authority makes the most sense.

Organic organizations are characterized by:

An example of a staff job in an organization would be the:

What is interorganizational design? Describe three main forms.

Table 15.4 Five organizations in your community are being studied using Mintzberg's perspective on organizational design. One is a high-tech organization with a simple structure, decentralized authority, and support staff is the dominant element in the organization. A second company operates in a stable industry, each employee's work is highly specialized, and decision-making is concentrated at the top of the organization. There is also a family medical practice with three doctors who are partners. The operating core is the dominant element, and decision-making is vested in the doctors. Finally, there is a retail dealer mall for antiques and collectibles, which is dominated by its strategic apex element. -Refer to Table 15.4. The doctor's medical practice is an example of Mintzberg's:

Companies form global strategic alliances to gain several benefits including:

Forming joint ventures with Chinese companies is difficult because ________.

In a dynamic environment, a company with highly skilled professional employees who can perform a variety of tasks, the company would be best served by a mechanistic organizational structure.

If a company wants to pass power down to lower levels within the organization it would increase its centralization.

In Japan, a Keiretsu is:

Research on environmental stability and organizational structure found that: