Exam 5: Organizational Structure and Design

Which type of organization structure assigns specialists from different functional departments to work on one or more projects led by a project manager?

The stability of a mechanistic structure seems to work best in today's dynamic and uncertain business environment.

List and discuss the four contingency variables that should be considered in determining an appropriate structure in organizational design.

In less than two years,Eric is promoted to a management position with five subordinates reporting directly to him.What about Eric's position has changed?

In 1996,WestJet Airlines began operations with only three aircraft and 220 employees.Today it has a large fleet and employs over 4800 employees.Based on the known relationship between size and structure,we would expect WestJet's structure today to have become more ________.

Decision-making authority at Prairie is highly ________.

List six factors that influence the amount of centralization (or decentralization)in an organization.

Electronic Arts Canada produces popular sports and action video games.Its Vancouver studio is famous for its informal atmosphere and employee amenities.There is a division of labour,but the work is not standardized.There are few formal rules and little direct supervision.EA's structure is best described as ________.

________ departmentalization groups jobs on the basis of product flow through the organization.

As organizations become more flexible and responsive,there is a distinct trend toward ________.

The strength of the functional structure is that it focuses on results.

Employees in an organization with a matrix design can have two bosses for the same job.

The inspiration for the virtual organization structure came from the film industry.

Unity of command prevents an employee from trying to follow two conflicting commands at once.

Which of the following would likely be found in mechanistic organizations?

Which of the following best describes the type of organizational design at the small community hospital where Joyce worked as a nurse?

To deal with workload in a more effective manner,AGEC's executives assigned specialists from the different functional departments to work on one or more work groups led by project managers.This contemporary design is called a ________ structure.

In addition to his duties in the engineering department,Eric is also assigned to work on a team with production workers and marketing specialists to design new products for the company.This additional assignment is an example of a(n)________.

The assembly line jobs are changed to allow each worker to perform more tasks so they don't get bored as quickly.This results in a reduction in ________.

Refer to the Scenario below to answer the question that follows. Departmentalization at Art & Craft Depot (Scenario) John is president of a chain of stores called Art & Craft Depot.He is aware that the structure of his organization must change in order to compete more effectively in today's global marketplace.However,he is not sure which structure would work best for his company.His company is currently organized under the following departments: accounting,human resources,sales,purchasing,and distribution.However,there are other choices available.He has considered reorganizing around their primary product groups: silk flowers,art supplies,craft supplies,pottery,and fabric.However,equally important are the different types of clients they serve,including homemakers,artists,interior decorators,industrial display contractors,and art schools.The business is growing,and they now have stores in six provinces across Canada.Furthermore,his customers seldom shop for just one type of item.For example,a customer who buys flowers will frequently purchase a vase and other supplies that are required to create a full floral arrangement.This means that individual customers often shop in several merchandise areas of the store. -If Art & Craft Depot based its structure on silk flowers,art supplies,craft supplies,pottery,and fabric,it would be using ________ departmentalization.