Exam 15: Foundations of Organization Structure

The simple structure becomes increasingly inadequate as an organization grows.

A virtual organization is also known as a(n) ________ organization.

What is a virtual organization? What elements of organizational structure are important to create and sustain a successful virtual organization? Explain your answer.

Organizations following a(n) ________ strategy try to both minimize risk and maximize opportunity for profit, moving into new products or new markets only after innovators have proven their viability.

Narrow spans of control increase the speed of decision making.

The matrix structure breaks the unity-of-command concept.

Who coined the term "boundaryless organization?"

According to a 2011 survey, many workers in Qtopia Inc. are dissatisfied with their jobs. The survey revealed that most of the dissatisfied workers believe that they have very little control over their job assignments. Therefore, to increase workers' job satisfaction, Boris, a production manager, feels they need to only concentrate on changing the dissatisfied workers' beliefs regarding the degree of control they have over their job assignments. Which of the following, if true, would weaken the conclusion made by Boris?

A ________ is consistent with recent efforts by companies to reduce costs, cut overhead, speed up decision making, increase flexibility, get closer to customers, and empower employees.

Harald is opening a manufacturing plant with a mechanistic and centralized structure. Employees from which of the following countries will be least comfortable with this type of a structure?

Which of the following is a characteristic of a simple structure?

________ is a systematic effort to make an organization leaner by selling off business units, closing locations, or reducing staff.

Volatility refers to the degree of ________ within an environment.

A plant manager organizes a plant by separating engineering, accounting, manufacturing, personnel, and purchasing into departments. The plant is departmentalized on the basis of ________.

The ________ refers to the number of subordinates that a manager directs.

Why is span of control important within an organization, and which common organizational design would most likely have the widest span of control? Explain your answer.

Mark is the owner of a local shoe business. He has fifteen employees who report directly to him and he makes all the decisions regarding the type and quality of shoes and looks after the shop's finances. Which type of organizational structure does Mark have?

________ refers to the degree to which decision making is concentrated at a single point in the organization.

Elena is the senior manager of a scientific operations team at a well-known clinical research organization. The organization delivers more than 4,000 solutions across more than 18 therapeutic areas. Being a perfectionist, Elena has reached her present position through hard work and dedication. Given that she has also worked effectively with teams in the past, she has recently been assigned to lead a team working on a new project which is critical to the company. Elena refuses to allocate any tasks to her team and decides to put in extra hours and weekends to complete the groundwork herself. Based on the information presented here, which of the following would best explain this contradiction?

Which of the following statements is true about the simple structure?