Deck 7: Manufacturing and Service Technologies

Question 1

Using Perrow's framework, in which category would you most likely find the public relations department-i.e., the outreach arm for all media and community relations?

A) craft
B) nonroutine
C) engineering
D) routine

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Woodward's classification of technology (into three clusters of organizational technologies) was based on a scale. What did that scale measure?

A) the number of employees in the span of control
B) the interdependence of tasks
C) the technological complexity of the organization's technical core
D) the variety and analyzability of tasks within each department

Answer 2

C

Question 3

What kind of technology is employed by an oil explorer using a divining rod to decide where to begin drilling operations?

A) routine
B) craft
C) engineering
D) high analyzability

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which term is used to refer to the frequency of unexpected and novel events that occur in the conversion process?

A) service technologies
B) non-routine technologies
C) task variety
D) analyzability

Question 5

Jane works for a college that offers correspondence courses. She works in the mailroom stuffing envelopes with the replies of professors to students. She then seals the envelopes and puts them in an outgoing bin. She finds that on this job she has a lot of time for daydreaming. What would you expect the organizational structure in her department to be?

A) mechanistic
B) organic
C) high in variety
D) unanalyzable

Question 6

When work does not flow between units and each unit works independently, the units are said to have which of the following types of interdependence?

A) pooled interdependence
B) grouped interdependence
C) sequential interdependence
D) high interdependence

Question 7

What sort of organization is a retail store such as HBC an example of?

A) customer service
B) product and service
C) product focused
D) product consuming

Question 8

According to the general pattern in technology research, what is advisable when technologies are routine, analyzable, independent, and well defined?

A) Organic structures with less control, fewer procedures, decentralized decision making, and face-to-face communications should be used.
B) A sociotechnical approach should be used.
C) Mechanistic structures with tighter control, formalized procedures, centralized decision making, and written communications are appropriate.
D) Coordination must be achieved through CIM.

Question 9

Suppose that VW is considering changing its production operations from an assembly line in which each employee adds one piece as a car chassis goes by to an operation in which several employees work as a team to build the complete car, with the team deciding who does what tasks. If VW implements the change, how would interrelationships change?

A) from pooled interdependence on the line to reciprocal interdependence between the teams
B) from reciprocal interdependence on the line to sequential interdependence between the teams
C) from sequential interdependence on the line to pooled interdependence between the teams
D) from routine tasks to mediating technology

Question 10

Which type of system links manufacturing components that previously stood alone?

A) continuous process systems
B) flexible manufacturing systems
C) advance technological systems
D) computerized process systems

Question 11

Which term means providing exactly the service each customer wants and needs?

A) service complexity
B) customized output
C) mass customization
D) CAM

Question 12

Which kind of production represents mechanization and standardization one step beyond those in an assembly line?

A) continuous process
B) large-batch
C) technical complexity
D) small-batch

Question 13

Which of the following is based on employee involvement?

A) mass customization
B) FMS
C) lean manufacturing
D) CAD

Question 14

What are the three subcomponents of computer-integrated manufacturing?

A) CAD, CAM, and integration information network
B) people, hardware, and software
C) information, computers, and procedures
D) CIM, ADC, and software

Question 15

Judy has 300 employees reporting to her, whereas 25 employees report to Fred. Which of the following statements provides the best comparison of the two?

A) Judy has a more narrow span of control than Fred.
B) Judy's organization has less formalization than Fred's.
C) Judy's employees are less skilled than Fred's.
D) Judy has a wider span of control than Fred.

Question 16

The verification department of the federal tax department checks the mathematics on returns and notes any discrepancies. Which of Perrow's quadrants would this department fit into?

A) craft
B) routine
C) engineering
D) nonroutine

Question 17

Which of the following is Perrow most concerned with?

A) two aspects of technology: variety and analyzability
B) two types of structures that seem to determine which technology is best
C) two aspects of environment that call for a particular structure
D) two types of structures that seem to determine which environment should be enacted

Question 18

Which type of process is used in the production of an intangible product?

A) service technology
B) flexible manufacturing systems
C) lean manufacturing
D) non-core departmental technology

Question 19

Which of the following is one important advantage of flexible manufacturing systems

A) It requires little training to use.
B) There is little employee involvement.
C) One product can be produced at a time, making it easier for employees to operate.
D) Products of different sizes, types, and customer requirements freely intermingle on the assembly line.

Question 20

How can service organizations achieve their greatest economies?

A) through centralization of services
B) through geographic decentralization
C) through dividing into smaller units close to customers
D) through centralized decision making

Question 21

An integrated information network refers to a computerized system with a common database linking all areas of the organization such as accounting, inventory control, design, marketing, production, etc.

Question 22

Failing to adopt appropriate technologies to support strategy, or adopting a new technology and failing to realign strategy to match it, can lead to poor performance.

Question 23

Which of the following includes the assignment of goals and tasks to be accomplished by employees?

A) job rotation
B) job coordination
C) job exchange
D) job design

Question 24

Perrow's study is about organization-level technology, while Woodward's study is classified as pertaining to department-level technology.

Question 25

Which of the following has resulted from the impact of technology on job design?

A) job simplification
B) greater division of labour
C) jobs requiring higher-level skills
D) lower compensation because of the financial emphasis on equipment

Question 26

What is the goal of the sociotechnical systems approach?

A) to design the organization for joint optimization
B) to design the organization for re-engineering
C) to design the organization for self-regulation of advanced technology
D) to design the organization for strong organization culture

Question 27

A building contractor is constructing 35 "tract homes" on small, adjoining parcels. The crew knows that the many subcontractors must complete their work in a proper order. What is your recommendation regarding the level of coordination required?

A) Because this is pooled interdependence, rules from the construction industry should suffice, since everyone on the job can learn the rules for the proper ordering of subcontractors.
B) Because this is reciprocal interdependence, cross-functional teams among all the subcontractors will be essential.
C) Because this is sequential interdependence, regularly scheduled meetings and planning will be needed to coordinate the ordering of the work.
D) Because this is a sociotechnical system, it is most important to design the coordination to improve efficiency, ignoring human needs.

Question 28

For which of the following would baseball be a close analogy?

A) sequential interdependence
B) pooled interdependence
C) reciprocal interdependence
D) the highest level of team interdependence

Question 29

Which term means that an organization functions best only when the social and technical systems are defined to fit the needs of one another?

A) job design
B) joint optimization
C) coordination
D) task variety

Question 30

A company can adopt CAD in one department and/or CAM in another, and make improvements in efficiency and quality, but the results of implementing all three improvements are breathtaking.

Question 31

"Technology" could be considered to be the tools, techniques, and actions that are used to transform organizational inputs into outputs.

Question 32

What form of interdependence would apply to a game of football?

A) pooled because management must select individual players and develop their skills
B) sequential because plays are run sequentially and events during the plays occur sequentially
C) reciprocal because mutual adjustments must be made by the players
D) sporadic, because it is really a game of individual talents

Question 33

Which of the following means that the job provides greater responsibility, recognition, and opportunities for growth and development?

A) job enrichment
B) job rotation
C) job design
D) job simplification

Question 34

What is the core principle underlying the sociotechnical systems approach that refers to the iterative process of design?

A) incompletion
B) reciprocal interdependence
C) support congruence
D) variance control

Question 35

The management systems in both unit production and continuous process are characterized as mechanistic, whereas mass production is seen as organic.

Question 36

What is the purpose of the sociotechnical systems approach?

A) to apply the theory of job enlargement
B) to provide qualified management to an organization in a turbulent environment
C) to offer the most advanced information technology possible to maximize organizational competitiveness
D) to combine human needs with technical efficiency in job design

Question 37

What impact have advanced technologies had on job design?

A) job simplification
B) no change
C) job enrichment
D) lowered wages

Question 38

Products of different sizes, types, and customer requirements freely intermingling on the assembly line is an advantage of lean manufacturing.

Question 39

Large-batch production is considered to have greater technical complexity than small-batch production on Woodward's scale.

Question 40

Mass customization refers to the separation of one product from the mass production line so that it can be adapted to the needs of a particular market.

Question 41

Since decision-making, communication, and coordination problems are greatest for reciprocal interdependence, reciprocal interdependence should receive last priority in organization structure.

Question 42

Routine technologies are characterized by little task variety and the use of objective, computational procedures, whereas engineering technologies tend to be complex because there is substantial variety in the tasks performed.

Question 43

Research suggests that FMS can become a competitive burden, rather than a competitive advantage, unless organizational structures and management processes are redesigned to take advantage of the new technology.

Question 44

Engineering technologies tend to be low in analyzability and high in variety.

Question 45

Advanced technology does not always have a positive effect on employees, but research findings in general are encouraging, suggesting that jobs for workers are enriched rather than simplified, engaging their higher mental capacities, offering opportunities for learning and growth, and providing greater job satisfaction.

Question 46

A baseball team is an example of pooled interdependence.

Question 47

Service technologies are considered to be labour- and knowledge-intensive, while manufacturing technologies tend to be capital-asset-intensive.

Question 48

Intensive technologies refers to "the combination in one organization of successive stages of production; each stage of production uses as its inputs the production of the preceding stage and produces inputs for the following stage."

Question 49

Job simplification means that jobs are made less difficult and with fewer tasks.

Question 50

Boundary roles are used extensively in manufacturing firms, but rarely used in service organizations.

Question 51

More advanced technology tends to cause job enrichment.

Question 52

Sequential interdependence exists when the output of operation A is the input of operation B, and the output of operation B is the input back again to operation A.

Question 53

Span of control is the number of employees who report to a single manager or supervisor and is normally influenced by departmental technology.

Question 54

The production of tangible outputs from service technology, rather than intangible ones from manufacturing technology, is the most obvious difference between the two technologies.

Question 55

A mediating technology provides products or services that mediate or link clients from the external environment and, in doing so, allows each department to work independently.

Question 56

With services technologies, the organization should generally be centralized.

Question 57

Sociotechnical systems design requires detailed design specifications.

Question 58

Job enrichment refers to the expansion of the number of different tasks performed by an employee.

Question 59

E-commerce entails the customer's landing on the home page.

Question 60

Compared with traditional mass production technologies, FMS has a narrow span of control; few hierarchical levels; adaptive tasks, low specialization, and decentralization; and an overall environment characterized as organic and self-regulative.

Question 61

Extend the framework of Woodward's research findings to today, adding in whatever important technology did not exist at the time she did her research.

Question 62

John Davis just decided to quit his job with General Motors where he worked in an assembly plant. He is going to open his own shop that will install customized mufflers on cars. Using Woodward's framework, explain the differences in the technologies of these two types of organizations. What resulting differences in organization structure should there be?

Question 63

Discuss the six questions employees are normally asked to show how departmental technology can be analyzed for determining its placement on Perrow's technology framework.

Question 64

Do you agree with a top executive who claimed that top-level management is a craft technology? Based on your answer, what can be taught in the classroom about top-level management?

Question 65

How is organization structure related to technology? Explain.

Question 66

List the differences between manufacturing and service technologies. Provide three examples of service technologies, product and service technologies, and product technologies.

Question 67

Using Woodward's findings, compare the structures that are appropriate for each of the technologies she identified. Use at least the following elements of structure: supervisor span of control, worker skill level, centralization, and number of management levels.

Question 68

If interdependence is now pooled, should efforts be made to force the entities into greater interrelationship? Defend your position.

Question 69

Using your program or college/university department as your focal organization, place it in the quadrants of Perrow's framework. What two factors did you use to determine placement in a quadrant?

Question 70

Contrast the axes on Perrow's framework for department technologies.

Question 71

Discuss the impact technology has on job design.

Question 72

Discuss each of the categories of Perrow's framework. Give examples of each.

Question 73

Discuss the three basic technology groups of Woodward's Study.

Question 74

Describe an organization in which a mechanistic structure would be the most appropriate and explain why. Describe an organization in which an organic structure would be the most appropriate and explain why.

Question 75

What is a flexible manufacturing system (FMS)? Describe the three subcomponents of flexible manufacturing.

Question 76

Case 7.0
Toyz, a seven-year-old manufacturing company in a small valley town, produces three plastic toy lines that it judges will be "hot" items for children. In their first two years, even though start-up costs were high, the company did well because it judged the unpredictable market well and even set the pace within its region for popularity of a new bubble maker. By the third year, however, similar, cheaper bubble makers were commonly imported from Taiwan, and the owner's judgments on other "hot" items were not on target; consequently, Toyz operated at a loss for two years. Three years ago Toyz added a small new product line that it thought might bring some stability to the company. In addition to the "hot" items, Toyz added a small "cash cow" line of plastic furniture for children. Last year the furniture line constituted 25% of total revenue, and Toyz would like to keep the line at about 25% of total revenues.
The design department consists of five employees who are highly educated and held responsible for safe engineering of a product that can realistically be manufactured. Toyz designers gear up annually in January for that year's Christmas season. As professionals, they make a point of keeping informed of government standards that are occasionally issued.
Some organization leaders feel that marketing is missing the boat by catering more to Toyz's end users rather than to the company's wholesale buyers. Toyz deals with only two major distributors to handle all warehousing and distribution. Frequently their orders are not filled correctly because sufficient quantity cannot always be produced on time.
Although top management is giving some consideration to outsourcing part of its manufacturing operations overseas (where labour is less costly), at present 80% of employees are in manufacturing. The manufacturing area is kept very clean, but the odour on the premises is so bad that many people in town will not accept jobs there even though entry-level pay is somewhat above minimum wage.
Refer to Case 7.0. Classify Toyz in the organizational framework for manufacturing technology. Explain. Then make recommendations to management for an appropriate structural response based on that analysis.

Question 77

If several of a bank's departments are considered to be sequentially interdependent, how should their interrelationship be managed?

Question 78

Case 7.0
Toyz, a seven-year-old manufacturing company in a small valley town, produces three plastic toy lines that it judges will be "hot" items for children. In their first two years, even though start-up costs were high, the company did well because it judged the unpredictable market well and even set the pace within its region for popularity of a new bubble maker. By the third year, however, similar, cheaper bubble makers were commonly imported from Taiwan, and the owner's judgments on other "hot" items were not on target; consequently, Toyz operated at a loss for two years. Three years ago Toyz added a small new product line that it thought might bring some stability to the company. In addition to the "hot" items, Toyz added a small "cash cow" line of plastic furniture for children. Last year the furniture line constituted 25% of total revenue, and Toyz would like to keep the line at about 25% of total revenues.
The design department consists of five employees who are highly educated and held responsible for safe engineering of a product that can realistically be manufactured. Toyz designers gear up annually in January for that year's Christmas season. As professionals, they make a point of keeping informed of government standards that are occasionally issued.
Some organization leaders feel that marketing is missing the boat by catering more to Toyz's end users rather than to the company's wholesale buyers. Toyz deals with only two major distributors to handle all warehousing and distribution. Frequently their orders are not filled correctly because sufficient quantity cannot always be produced on time.
Although top management is giving some consideration to outsourcing part of its manufacturing operations overseas (where labour is less costly), at present 80% of employees are in manufacturing. The manufacturing area is kept very clean, but the odour on the premises is so bad that many people in town will not accept jobs there even though entry-level pay is somewhat above minimum wage.
Refer to Case 7.0. Place Toyz's manufacturing, marketing, and design departments in Perrow's framework for departmental technology. Then, on the basis of your analysis, make recommendations to management on any differences in how each of those departments should be managed.

Question 79

What organizational changes begin to appear as service organizations take on characteristics of "mass production?" Give an example to support your explanation.

Question 80

You work for a large company that has just installed a flexible manufacturing system (FMS). You have been eagerly sharing this news with one of your relatives, who says to you, "I don't like computers, because they remove the companies so much from the demands of the customer." Based on your readings in organization theory, how would you reply?