Deck 4: The Dynamics of Alternative Organizational Forms

Question 1

Most organizations today discourage managers to delegate authority to the lower levels given the challenges to meet customer needs and adapt to the environment.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Certainty in the environment is usually associated with decentralization.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Despite the apparent advantages of specialization, many organizations are moving away from this principle.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Line departments perform tasks that reflect the organization's primary goal and mission.

Question 5

The number of employees reporting to a supervisor is his or her span of management.

Question 6

Many hierarchical levels and a correspondingly narrow span of management refers to a flat structure.

Question 7

A organizational map is a visual representation of an organization's structure, showing communication and lines of power.

Question 8

Organizing defines what to do while strategy defines how to do it.

Question 9

The right to advise, recommend and counsel in the staff specialists' area of expertise is included in staff authority.

Question 10

Authority is the right to use resources, make decisions and issue orders in an organization.

Question 11

A tall structure is a management structure characterized by an overall narrow span of management and a relatively large number of hierarchical levels.

Question 12

The duty to perform the task or activity an employee has been assigned is called accountability.

Question 13

The trend in recent years has been toward narrower spans of control as a way to facilitate delegation.

Question 14

The acceptance theory of authority argues that managers have authority because employees do not have a choice in choosing to accept their commands.

Question 15

The deployment of organizational resources to achieve strategic goals refers to organizing.

Question 16

The principle of unity of command suggests that managers within an organization should reach agreement on the goals and objectives of the organization.

Question 17

For companies to operate effectively, the amount of centralization or decentralization should fit the firm's strategy.

Question 18

The framework in which the organization defines how tasks are divided, resources are deployed and departments are coordinated is called organizational structure.

Question 19

The basis for grouping positions into departments and departments into the total organization is referred to as departmentalization.

Question 20

Traditional views of organizational design recommend a span of management of about 7 to 10 subordinates per manager.

Question 21

A project manager is a person responsible for coordinating the activities of several departments for the completion of a specific project.

Question 22

The modular approach is similar to virtual networking.

Question 23

Because the chain of command converges at the top, the functional structure provides a way to decentralize decision making and provide unified direction from all managers.

Question 24

The divisional structure fosters excellent coordination within divisions, but coordination across divisions is often poor.

Question 25

In the divisional approach, coordination across divisions is great whereas coordination within divisions is often poor.

Question 26

Aspects of both functional and divisional structures simultaneously in the same part of the organization are combined in the virtual network approach.

Question 27

The confusion and frustration caused by the dual chain of command is a major problem of the matrix structure.

Question 28

One major disadvantage of the virtual network approach is the lack of hands-on control.

Question 29

The overseer of both the product and functional chains of command, responsible for the entire matrix is the matrix boss.

Question 30

In a geographic-based structure, all functions in a specific country or region report to the same division manager.

Question 31

Reengineering is the outcome of information and cooperation.

Question 32

With a matrix structure, the entire organization is made up of horizontal teams that coordinate their work and work directly with customers to accomplish the organization's goals.

Question 33

Quick response to external changes is an advantage of vertical functional structure.

Question 34

The horizontal structure provides traditional control within functional departments, and the vertical structure provides coordination across departments.

Question 35

The matrix approach can be highly effective in a complex, rapidly changing environment in which the organization needs to be flexible and adaptable.

Question 36

At Fox End, people are grouped together in departments by common skills and work activities, including a sales department and a production department. This is an example of vertical functional approach.

Question 37

Divisions are created, in functional structures, as self-contained units with separate functional departments for each division.

Question 38

Coordination refers to the managerial task of adjusting and synchronizing the diverse activities among different individuals and departments.

Question 39

The functional structure offers a way to decentralize decision making and provide direction from the teams in the field.

Question 40

The divisional structure encourages decentralization.

Question 41

Organizational structure includes which of these

A) The set of formal tasks assigned to individuals
B) The set of formal tasks assigned to departments
C) The design of systems to ensure effective coordination of employees across departments
D) Formal reporting relationships
E) All of these are part of organizational structure.

Question 42

Which of the following refers to the degree to which organizational tasks are subdivided into individual jobs

A) Multitasking
B) Lines of authority
C) Work specialization
D) Autonomy
E) Team structure

Question 43

_____ is also referred to as work specialization.

A) Division of labour
B) Unity of command
C) Scalar chain
D) Esprit de corps
E) Virtual network approach

Question 44

Strategy defines _____ to do (it) while organizing defines _____ to do (it).

A) how; what
B) how; why
C) what; how
D) what; why
E) when; what

Question 45

A rigid, vertical structure in an uncertain environment prevents the organization form adapting to change.

Question 46

Unity of command and the scalar principle are both closely related to the:

A) amount of work specialization in an organization.
B) degree of formalization.
C) chain of command.
D) amount of bureaucracy in the organization.
E) matrix structure.

Question 47

When an organization uses a differentiation strategy, it strives for internal efficiency.

Question 48

Reengineering basically means preserving the past by establishing the sequence of activities by how work was done.

Question 49

The radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, service and speed is called reengineering.

Question 50

A manager was looking at the company's organization chart in an attempt to discover who reports to whom. The manager is studying the organization's:

A) degree of formalization.
B) amount of differentiation.
C) degree of centralization.
D) chain of command.
E) division of labour.

Question 51

The organization chart:

A) shows the characteristics of the organization's vertical structure.
B) is a visual representation of the organization's structure.
C) details the formal reporting relationships that exist within an organization.
D) all of these.
E) None of these.

Question 52

The pure functional structure is appropriate for achieving internal efficiency goals.

Question 53

Which of the following refers to the deployment of organizational resources to achieve strategic goals?

A) Planning
B) Controlling
C) Organizing
D) Leading
E) Strategic management

Question 54

The functional structure is appropriate when the primary goal is innovation and flexibility.

Question 55

The distinctive feature of the project manager position is that the person is not a member of one of the departments being coordinated.

Question 56

Small-batch production is distinguished by standardized production runs.

Question 57

The _____ delineates the chain of command, indicates departmental tasks and how they fit together, and provides order and logic for the organization.

A) management chart
B) employee directory
C) structural table
D) administrative chart
E) organizational chart

Question 58

When work specialization is extensive:

A) employees perform a single task.
B) employees perform many tasks.
C) employees are often highly challenged.
D) employees are often inefficient.
E) jobs tend to be large.

Question 59

Organization structure is defined as the:

A) visual representation of the organization.
B) framework in which the organization defines how tasks are divided, resources are deployed, and departments are coordinated.
C) division of labour.
D) unbroken line of authority that links all individuals in the organization.
E) none of these.

Question 60

A worker is employed in a manufacturing department where the work is low in task specialization. As a result, the employee:

A) usually performs a single task.
B) does a variety of tasks and activities.
C) is often bored.
D) is rarely challenged.
E) generally goofs-off.

Question 61

To help employees learn more about the different roles within a company, a manager regularly assigns the employees tasks that are not part of their normal routine. This is an example of:

A) irresponsibility
B) delegation
C) authority
D) chain of command
E) irrational decision making

Question 62

A manager wishes to transfer authority and responsibility to subordinates. This process is known as:

A) accountability.
B) coordination.
C) delegation.
D) departmentalization.
E) passing the buck.

Question 63

The people with authority and responsibility are subject to reporting and justifying task outcomes to those above them in the chain of command. This is called _____.

A) delegation
B) line authority
C) staff authority
D) accountability
E) hierarchy

Question 64

How does managerial authority flow through the organizational hierarchy

A) Vertically
B) Sporadically
C) Horizontally
D) Circular
E) Periodically

Question 65

Which of the following departments for a clothing company can be considered a line department?

A) Finance department
B) Human Resources department
C) Research and development department
D) Manufacturing department
E) Marketing department

Question 66

Which of the following characteristics distinguishes authority?

A) It is vested in people, not positions.
B) Subordinates accept it.
C) It flows across the horizontal hierarchy.
D) It emerges from the organizational values.
E) Individuals are born with this power.

Question 67

Which of the following five organizations should have a flatter structure than the others?

A) Organization A with 2 hierarchical levels
B) Organization B with 4 hierarchical levels
C) Organization C with 6 hierarchical levels
D) Organization D with 8 hierarchical levels
E) Organization E with 10 hierarchical levels

Question 68

Which of the following refers to the number of employees reporting to a supervisor?

A) The line of authority
B) The span of management
C) The chain of command
D) The management chain
E) Delegation

Question 69

_____ departments include all of those employees that provide specialized skills in support of _____ departments.

A) Line; staff
B) Staff; line
C) Primary; functional
D) Functional; primary
E) Line; functional

Question 70

The formal and legitimate right of managers to make decisions is called their _____.

A) delegation
B) responsibility
C) authority
D) span of management
E) leadership

Question 71

The employees of Manager A are highly trained and all perform similar tasks in the same location. The employees of Manager B are spread over three or four locations. In addition, Manager B provides almost no support systems to many of these employees. Which of the following statements is most correct?

A) Manager A's span of management can be larger than Manager's B span of management.
B) Manager B's span of management can be larger than Manager A's span of management.
C) Manager A can have more problems with unity of command than Manager B.
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 72

_____ means that each employee is held accountable to only one supervisor.

A) Management principle
B) Unity of command
C) Work specialization
D) Division of labour
E) Span of management

Question 73

Compared to a flat organizational structure, a tall structure has a _____ span of management and _____ hierarchical levels.

A) wide; fewer
B) narrow; fewer
C) narrow; wider
D) narrow; more
E) wide; more

Question 74

Which of the following typically is NOT considered a staff department

A) Strategic planning
B) Accounting
C) Manufacturing
D) Human resources
E) Research and development

Question 75

_____ is a recent trend in organizational structure.

A) Greater work specialization
B) Less delegation
C) Wider spans of management
D) Narrower spans of management
E) Tall structure

Question 76

Which department performs those tasks that reflect the organization's primary goals and mission

A) Line
B) Staff
C) Primary
D) Functional
E) Strategic planning

Question 77

_____ refers to a clearly defined line of authority in the organization that includes all employees.

A) Scalar principle
B) Unity of command
C) Work specialization
D) Division of labour
E) Span of management

Question 78

Which of the following factors is NOT associated with larger span of control?

A) Work performed by subordinates is stable and routine.
B) Subordinates perform similar work tasks.
C) Subordinates are located at any number of different locations.
D) Subordinates are highly trained and need little direction.
E) Rules and procedures defining task activities are available.

Question 79

Traditionally, a span of management of about _____ employees has been recommended.

A) 3
B) 5
C) 15
D) 7
E) 20

Question 80

An employee works for a company that has clearly defined lines of authority. Employees should know that they have authority and responsibility for distinct sets of tasks. Employees should also be aware of the company's reporting structure and its successive management levels all the way to the top. The company follows which principle

A) Specialization principle
B) Unity of command principle
C) Scalar principle
D) Authority principle
E) Responsibility principle