Deck 17: Organizational Design

Question 1

Which of the following is true about organizational design?

A) Organizational design refers to the way managers structure their organization to reach the organization's goals.
B) Organizational design elements include reporting relationships and the number of levels in the organization's hierarchy.
C) Whatever the organizational design chosen, they are hierarchies that depend on authority relationships.
D) All answers are true about organizational design.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is false about organizational design?

A) The allocation of duties, tasks, and responsibilities among departments and individuals is an organizational design element.
B) Other structural and design elements include reporting relationships and the number of levels in the organization's hierarchy.
C) Organizational design has little effect on managers reaching organizational goals.
D) Some modern organizational designs rely on computer and communication technologies.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following can occur when an organization's design is not right?

A) Decision makers may not get the information needed to make effective decisions.
B) Managers may not react quickly enough to problems.
C) The design may not let managers effectively monitor the external environment.
D) Each answer describes an event that can occur when an organization's design is not right.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is not a contingency factor of organizational design?

A) Size.
B) Human resources.
C) External environment.
D) Strategy.

Question 5

Which of the following is not part of an organization's external environment?

A) Mission.
B) Suppliers.
C) Culture.
D) Government regulators.

Question 6

Which of the following views is correct?

A) Organizational structure does not help create strategy.
B) Strategy does not lead to organizational structure.
C) Strategy and organizational structure are unrelated.
D) Strategy and organizational structure affect each other.

Question 7

Part of an organization's new strategy is to become more customer oriented. The organization decides to remove several management levels and decentralize decision-making processes. This example is consistent with which of the following views?

A) Organizational structure follows strategy.
B) Strategy follows organizational structure.
C) Strategy and organizational structure are unrelated.
D) None of the answers are consistent with the example.

Question 8

An organization's environment that has the lowest uncertainty is

A) Complex and static.
B) Complex and dynamic.
C) Simple and static.
D) Simple and dynamic.

Question 9

An organizational environment that slowly changes and has many dissimilar elements has

A) Low uncertainty.
B) Moderately low uncertainty.
C) Moderately high uncertainty.
D) High uncertainty.

Question 10

An organizational environment that slowly changes and has a few similar elements has

A) Low uncertainty.
B) Moderately low uncertainty.
C) Moderately high uncertainty.
D) High uncertainty.

Question 11

An organizational environment that changes fast and has a few similar elements has

A) Low uncertainty.
B) Moderately low uncertainty.
C) Moderately high uncertainty.
D) High uncertainty.

Question 12

An organizational environment with dissimilar elements and that changes fast has

A) Low uncertainty.
B) Moderately low uncertainty.
C) Moderately high uncertainty.
D) High uncertainty.

Question 13

Which of the following is a type of technical process?

A) Mental.
B) Mechanical.
C) Service.
D) Each answer lists a type of technical process.

Question 14

Which of the following technical process characteristics affect the behavior of those who work in it?

A) Interdependence within the process.
B) Work pace and worker control.
C) Degree of routine.
D) Each answer is a technical process characteristic that can affect behavior.

Question 15

Reviews of the research literature describe several conclusions about the relationships between an organization's technical process and its organizational design. Which of the following is not a conclusion?

A) Routine technologies feature centralized decision making using written rules and procedures to guide decisions.
B) Organizations use fewer formal procedures when there are many professional employees within the routine technologies.
C) Centralization of decision making within routine technologies is less likely in small than in large organizations.
D) Organizations using complex technologies have more decision-making participation than organizations using routine technologies.

Question 16

Which of the following statements is false about organization size?

A) Large organizations have more structured work activities than small organizations.
B) Technical process is more strongly associated with organizational design in large organizations than in small organizations.
C) Large organizations have more management levels than small organizations.
D) Small organizations have a narrower span of control than large organizations.

Question 17

Which of the following is not characteristic of a mechanistic organization?

A) Clearly specified tasks.
B) A tendency for vertical interaction and communication.
C) Reliance on individual commitment to the organization's goals.
D) Clearly defined duties and responsibilities.

Question 18

Which of the following is not characteristic of an organic organization?

A) Continual redefinition of tasks through interaction with organizational members.
B) Highly defined roles.
C) Decentralized control and decision making.
D) Fast decision-making processes.

Question 19

Which of the following is a maladaptive organizational form because it adapts poorly to environmental changes?

A) Analyzer.
B) Defender.
C) Reactor.
D) Prospector.

Question 20

Which of the following organizational forms succeed in stable environments with well-defined market segments for their products and services?

A) Analyzer.
B) Defender.
C) Reactor.
D) Prospector.

Question 21

Which of the following is not a feature of the defender organizational form?

A) Centralization.
B) Low rate of environmental change.
C) High flexibility.
D) Formal procedures.

Question 22

Which of the following organizational forms succeed in dynamic environments that feature unpredictable, fast change?

A) Analyzer.
B) Defender.
C) Reactor.
D) Prospector.

Question 23

Which of the following is not a feature of the prospector organizational form?

A) Little flexibility.
B) Decentralization.
C) Few management levels.
D) High unpredictability.

Question 24

Which of the following organizational forms features both stability and change, where one part is centralized and another part is decentralized?

A) Analyzer
B) Defender
C) Reactor
D) Prospector

Question 25

Which of the following organizational forms does not have a balanced configuration between external environment, strategy, technical process, and organizational design?

A) Analyzer
B) Defender
C) Reactor
D) Prospector

Question 26

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Analyzer organizations have formal and centralized designs in some parts of the organization and decentralized designs in other parts.
B) Reactor organizations have clear strategies and usually are well adapted to environmental demands.
C) Prospector organizations have flexible technical processes that let them introduce new products or services quickly.
D) Analyzer organizations feature both change and stability.

Question 27

The organizational design that divides the organization into major units such as accounting, finance, and manufacturing is a(n) ______________ design.

A) Divisional.
B) Functional.
C) Matrix.
D) Hybrid.

Question 28

An organization designed by function has all the following characteristics except

A) The external environment is stable with little uncertainty.
B) It has few competitors.
C) The strategy is to produce a few products for a well-defined market.
D) The technical process is nonroutine and highly interdependent.

Question 29

Which of the following is not a strength of an organization designed by function?

A) Supports in-depth skill development.
B) Allows for specialization.
C) Adaptable to external environment changes.
D) Supports career paths for specialists.

Question 30

All the following are strengths of an organization designed by function except

A) It gives high visibility to products and services.
B) Specialists can form collegial relationships.
C) It emphasizes specialization within the organization.
D) It brings focus to each function's goals.

Question 31

Which of the following is a weakness of an organization designed by function?

A) Lose economies of scale.
B) Slow response to environmental changes.
C) Redundancies in functions.
D) Potential for high administrative overhead.

Question 32

An organization designed by function tends to reward which of the following?

A) Behavior associated with the technical contribution of the function.
B) Behavior that is consistent with decentralization.
C) High levels of interpersonal skills.
D) No answers are correct.

Question 33

The organizational design that is highly decentralized and is structured around products, services, or technical processes is the ______________ design.

A) Divisional.
B) Functional.
C) Matrix.
D) Hybrid.

Question 34

All but one of the following statements describes a divisional organization characteristic.

A) It uses decentralization as its basic approach.
B) The organization's strategy focuses on specific products or services.
C) The external environment is stable and relatively certain.
D) The external environment has moderate to high uncertainty.

Question 35

Which of the following is not a divisional organization's strength?

A) They adapt to differences in products or services and external environment changes.
B) Products can differ in how they are manufactured and how they are marketed.
C) Employees have more information about the total project.
D) High visibility is given to products, services, and customers.

Question 36

Which of the following is false about a divisional organization's weaknesses?

A) Can lose economies of scale.
B) Technical specialization loses focus.
C) It duplicates functions.
D) It is difficult to uniformly apply personnel and purchasing policies.

Question 37

The divisional organization tends to reward which of the following sets of behavior?

A) Behavior associated with the function's technical contribution.
B) Behavior that is consistent with decentralization.
C) High levels of interpersonal skills.
D) No answers are correct.

Question 38

Which of the following is a divisional organization's strength?

A) It can adapt to differences in clients, location, and technical process.
B) Products can differ in how they are manufactured and how they are marketed.
C) High visibility of products, services, and customers is possible.
D) All answers are correct.

Question 39

The organizational design that gets the benefits and reduces the weaknesses from other designs is the ______________ design.

A) Divisional
B) Functional
C) Matrix
D) Hybrid

Question 40

A hybrid organization has all the following characteristics except

A) Adapts to external environment changes.
B) The size of the organization is large.
C) The technical process is usually routine with little interdependence.
D) It has many products or services.

Question 41

Which of the following is not a hybrid organization's strength?

A) Efficient use of expensive, shared resources.
B) High administrative overhead.
C) High visibility of products and services.
D) Design adapts well to complex environments.

Question 42

Which of the following is false about a hybrid organization's weaknesses?

A) Organizational policies are not applied uniformly.
B) There is easy coordination across decentralized units.
C) There is potential for high administration overhead.
D) There is potential conflict between decentralized divisions and centralized headquarters.

Question 43

The hybrid organization tends to reward which of the following sets of behavior?

A) Behavior associated with the function's technical contribution.
B) Reaching division goals.
C) High levels of interpersonal skills.
D) Both answers A and B are correct.

Question 44

When two sectors of the external environment require management attention, the organization may adopt a ______________ organizational design.

A) Divisional.
B) Functional.
C) Matrix.
D) Hybrid.

Question 45

Matrix organizations have all the following features except

A) Low conflict levels.
B) A changing external environment with high uncertainty.
C) Their strategy often recognizes the need to focus on both market and technology.
D) Encourages sharing scarce resources.

Question 46

All the following are matrix organization strengths except

A) It is responsive in the face of changing demands.
B) It supports in-depth skill development.
C) It pools expensive resources and uses them on several projects.
D) It creates potentially high employee motivation.

Question 47

Which of the following is not a matrix organization weakness?

A) There are high levels of ambiguity.
B) Dual authority relationships contribute to confusion and power struggles.
C) It focuses on the specialized goals of the division.
D) There are high levels of conflict potential.

Question 48

The organizational design most correct for organizations in stable environments is

A) Matrix.
B) Functional.
C) Hybrid.
D) Divisional.

Question 49

The organization design most correct for highly uncertain product and technology environments is

A) Matrix.
B) Functional.
C) Hybrid.
D) Divisional.

Question 50

The organization design with the slowest response to environmental change is

A) Matrix.
B) Functional.
C) Hybrid.
D) Divisional.

Question 51

Which of the following is a condition under which an organization may choose a matrix design?

A) High uncertainty within multiple sectors of the external environment.
B) Constraints on human and physical resources.
C) Pressures from the external environment for a dual focus.
D) All answers are correct.

Question 52

An organization that has pressure from the external environment for a dual focus and constraints on human and physical resources should use which organizational form?

A) Hybrid.
B) Functional.
C) Matrix.
D) Divisional.

Question 53

The type of organizational design with high conflict potential is

A) Divisional.
B) Functional.
C) Matrix.
D) Hybrid.

Question 54

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Functional organizations emphasize employees' technical duties.
B) The matrix design is the least complex of the organization designs available to managers.
C) Divisional organizations can respond to customer needs.
D) The hybrid organization design tries to use the strengths of a functional and divisional design.

Question 55

Which of the following statements is true about self-managing teams?

A) Building self-managing teams uses decentralization to move decision making to the teams.
B) Teams usually use people from different functional areas of an organization.
C) Self-managing work teams let managers flatten their organizations by removing management levels.
D) All statements are true.

Question 56

The evolving forms of organizational design include all the following except

A) Process view.
B) Virtual organization.
C) Self-managing teams.
D) Matrix form.

Question 57

The form of organizational design that views organizations as a series of interconnected processes that cross multiple functions is

A) Self-managing work teams.
B) Virtual organization.
C) Process view.
D) Functional form.

Question 58

Which of the following statements is false about the process view of organizational design?

A) It does not segment the organization into functions.
B) Tasks are packaged based on process.
C) People do not have decision authority to act within their process.
D) People use multiple skills.

Question 59

A temporary network of companies or individuals that focuses on reaching a specific target or responding to new opportunities is a

A) Self-managing work team.
B) Virtual organization.
C) Process view.
D) Divisional forms.

Question 60

Members of a virtual organization need which of the following skills or characteristics?

A) High trust in members.
B) Conflict management skills.
C) Negotiation skills.
D) All answers are correct.

Question 61

Which of the following statements is false about virtual organizations?

A) A company that lacks a particular resource enters an agreement with a company that has that resource.
B) Companies in a virtual organization have high control over functions done by other network members.
C) The number of members of a virtual organization is defined by skills and resources needed to reach the goal of the network.
D) There is high interdependence among members of the network.

Question 62

The international context of organizations increases the complexity of their external environments. Which of the following are parts of the external environment that add to environmental complexity?

A) Buying and selling traditions.
B) Consumer preferences.
C) Labor laws.
D) All answers are correct.

Question 63

Functional and divisional organizational designs are most likely congruent with cultures that are

A) High uncertainty avoidance and high power distance.
B) High uncertainty avoidance and low power distance.
C) Low uncertainty avoidance and high power distance.
D) Low uncertainty avoidance and low power distance.

Question 64

Functional and divisional organizational designs are most likely to be accepted in all the following countries except

A) Japan.
B) Mexico.
C) Brazil.
D) Sweden.

Question 65

Matrix organizations are likely unacceptable to all the following countries except

A) France.
B) Italy.
C) Canada.
D) Belgium.

Question 66

Which of the following is an ethical issue related to organizational form that managers must face?

A) Matrix organizations often produce conflict and ambiguity.
B) Organizational change required by some organizational forms can induce stress in employees.
C) Changes to the technical process can also induce stress.
D) All answers are correct.

Question 67

The allocation of duties, tasks, and responsibilities among departments and individuals is an organizational design element.

Question 68

Modern organizational designs do not rely on computer and communication technologies.

Question 69

Whatever the organizational design chosen, they are hierarchies that depend on authority relationships.

Question 70

An organizational chart accurately shows an organization's design.

Question 71

The two goals of organizational design are coordination and getting information to decision makers.

Question 72

The design of an organization can often constrain new strategy development.

Question 73

The phrase "structure follows strategy" suggests that changes in organizational design can follow new strategic choices.

Question 74

The phrase "strategy follows structure" implies that an organization's existing design is the environment within which managers form strategy.

Question 75

Organizations that use routine technologies can have a more centralized organizational form than organizations that use nonroutine technologies.

Question 76

Large organizations have more management levels and more structured work activities than small organizations. They also often use a decentralized form.

Question 77

Complexity and dynamism are two elements that affect environmental uncertainty.

Question 78

The different parts of an organization's environment are either all complex and dynamic or all simple and static.

Question 79

An organization's technical process converts an organization's inputs (material, human, monetary) into its outputs.

Question 80

Mechanistic organizations fit highly uncertain environments.