Deck 3: Fundamentals of Organization Structure

Question 1

The overall design of organization structure indicates all of the following except:

A) Work activities.
B) Reporting relationships.
C) Departmental groupings.
D) Information systems.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following is not a component in the definition of organization structure?

A) It includes the design systems to ensure effective communication, coordination, and integration of effort across each position
B) It identifies the tasks and processes for each position within the organization
C) It identifies the grouping together of individuals into departments and of departments into the total organization
D) It designates formal reporting relationships, including the number of levels in the hierarchy and the span of control of managers and supervisors

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A liaison role exists when:

A) there is direct contact between managers affected by a problem.
B) there is an exchange of paperwork about a problem.
C) a temporary committee composed of representatives form each department affected by a problem is formed.
D) a person located in one department had the responsibility for communicating and achieving coordination with another department.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Horizontal linkage mechanisms:

A) cause employees to experience the confusion of not having unity of command.
B) must be added to a divisional structure to coordinate across functional areas.
C) should be avoided because they confuse vertical linkages.
D) enable people in different functional departments to exchange information.

Question 5

Which of the following terms would best be linked with "full-time integrator?"

A) Brand manager
B) Task force
C) Direct contact
D) Vertical control

Question 6

The ____ should be an unbroken line of authority that links all persons in an organization and shows who reports to whom.

A) vertical linkage
B) horizontal linkage
C) chain of command
D) task force

Question 7

Reference Organization Chart 3.1. Which of the following is correct?

A) The structure is divisional.
B) The structure is primarily functional.
C) The customer accounts section should be dissolved and made to report to marketing.
D) Hierarchical referral is the best means for coordination in this organization.

Question 8

A ____ is a temporary committee composed of representatives from each organizational unit affected by a problem.

A) top management team
B) virtual team
C) task force
D) functional team

Question 9

Which of the following is made up of organizationally or geographically dispersed members who are linked primarily through advanced information and communications technologies?

A) Virtual teams
B) Task forces
C) Full-time integrators
D) Information systems

Question 10

____ means decision making authority is pushed down to lower organizational levels.

A) Centralized decision making
B) Horizontal linkage
C) Decentralized decision making
D) Vertical linkage

Question 11

Which of the following is not a structural device used to achieve vertical linkages?

A) Rules and plans
B) Task forces
C) Vertical information systems
D) Hierarchical referral

Question 12

____ are used to coordinate activities between the top and bottom of an organization and are designed primarily for control of the organization.

A) Vertical linkages
B) Functional groupings
C) Horizontal linkages
D) Divisional groupings

Question 13

A full-time integrator:

A) improves vertical linkage of the organization.
B) has a title such as product manager.
C) reports to one of the functional departments being coordinated.
D) has the responsibility of coordinating only one department.

Question 14

When problems and decisions are funneled to top levels of the hierarchy for resolution, ____ is being used.

A) centralized decision making
B) functional structure
C) horizontal linkage
D) full-time integration

Question 15

Which of the following is another strategy for increasing vertical information capacity and includes periodic reports, written information, and computer-based communications?

A) Systematic integration of systems
B) Vertical information systems
C) Horizontal linkages
D) Vertical linkages

Question 16

Reference Organization Chart 3.1. Which of the following is correct?

A) To lower fixed costs, this organization should change to a divisional structure with customer account executives heading each major division.
B) To improve the communications flow, it is recommended that this company should add a full-time integrator between each account executive and operations head.
C) It has lost the advantages of economies of scale within the operations departments.
D) The customer account executives can be considered to be integrators.

Question 17

Which of the following is true concerning information in an organization?

A) Information should flow horizontally, but not vertically.
B) Information should flow vertically, but not horizontally.
C) Structure should fit the information requirements of the organization.
D) It is not possible to give people too much information.

Question 18

If Brian Ramsaur is the Gaterade product manager at Fencelink, then he is:

A) a liaison.
B) a full-time integrator.
C) head of a task force.
D) in charge of all aspects of its production and sales, with full line authority.

Question 19

Which of the following mechanisms does not provide an improved degree of horizontal coordination and control?

A) Information systems
B) Task forces
C) Hierarchical referral
D) Teams

Question 20

____ refers to communication and coordination horizontally across organizational departments.

A) Horizontal linkage
B) Full-time integration
C) Horizontal information system
D) Vertical grouping

Question 21

Which of the following is not a weakness of a matrix organization structure?

A) Causes participants to experience dual authority.
B) Determining core processes is difficult and time consuming.
C) Will not work unless participants understand it and adopt collegial rather than vertical type relationships.
D) Requires great effort to maintain power balance.

Question 22

Riya is the vice president of marketing for her company. Other officers in the company include the vice presidents of engineering, production, finance, and human resource management. The structure of this small company is likely to be:

A) product.
B) matrix.
C) functional.
D) hybrid.

Question 23

A company that wishes to maintain the basic functional structure, but is having difficulty coordinating across departments because of growth:

A) should install horizontal linkages.
B) should realize that the functional structure cannot work and abandon it for a matrix.
C) may find it necessary to abolish liaison roles.
D) can profit most by adding more functional departments.

Question 24

All of the following are characteristics of a horizontal structure except:

A) self-directed teams are the basis of the organizational design and performance.
B) people on the team are given the skills, tools, motivation, and authority to make decisions central to the team's performance.
C) the culture is one that is closed, untrustworthy, and non-collaborative, focused on individual accomplishments.
D) teams have the freedom to think creatively and respond flexibly to new challenges that arise.

Question 25

Reference Organization Chart 3.2. The structure would bring strengths such as:

A) product responsibility is clear and simple.
B) economies of scale
C) suitability for an unstable environment.
D) determining total cost of any given product is a straightforward hierarchical matter.

Question 26

What is likely to be the result if a domestic company that manufactures four different types of products changes from a functional structure to a divisional structure?

A) Lower fixed costs
B) Better coordination within a product area between different functional areas
C) More technical development within functional areas
D) More centralized decision making

Question 27

The matrix structure is the correct structure when three conditions are met. Which of the following is one of these three conditions?

A) Pressure exists to share scarce resources across product lines.
B) Technical quality is not very important.
C) The environmental domain of the organization is simple.
D) The environmental domain of the organization is certain and stable.

Question 28

Potential weaknesses of the horizontal structure include:

A) it is considered inflexible and slow in response to rapid changes in customer needs.
B) determining core processes to organize around is often difficult.
C) there is a failure to promote teamwork.
D) views of organizational goals by employees focuses into too narrow of a perspective.

Question 29

____ means the redesign of a vertical organization along its horizontal workflows and processes.

A) Vertical linkages
B) Vertical network grouping
C) Process
D) Reegineering

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a strength of a functional organization structure?

A) Allows economies of scale within functional departments.
B) Is best with only one or a few products.
C) Enables in-depth knowledge and skill development.
D) Leads to customer satisfaction because product responsibility and contact points are clear.

Question 31

The matrix structure:

A) always keeps dual-authority relationships.
B) should be considered only in a stable environment.
C) is designed for use within a bureaucracy.
D) is known for its quality of centralization of key decisions for organizational control.

Question 32

All of the following are strengths of a divisional organization structure, except:

A) Allows units to adapt to differences in products, regions, customers.
B) Involves high coordination across functions.
C) Centralizes decision making.
D) Best in large organizations with several products.

Question 33

Reference Organization Chart 3.2. This structure:

A) has caused high levels of bureaucracy.
B) should be changed immediately to a horizontal grouping if the company is growing.
C) would have increased the span of control for the General Manager when the Assistant Manager position was added.
D) could have a weakness of slow response to environmental changes that require coordination across functional areas.

Question 34

Which of the following is true of a functional structure?

A) It reacts quickly to environmental changes.
B) It diminishes economies of scale compared to the divisional structure.
C) It often results in hierarchy overload.
D) It cannot work in small organizations.

Question 35

With a ____, the firm subcontracts most of its major functions or processes to separate companies and coordinates their activities from a small headquarters organization.

A) virtual network structure
B) matrix structure
C) divisional structure
D) functional structure

Question 36

In a ____ matrix, the project/product managers have primary authority and functional managers simply assign technical personnel to projects and provide advisory expertise as needed.

A) functional
B) virtual
C) divisional
D) product

Question 37

In the horizontal structure, it is said that:

A) the process owner is responsible for coordinating the core process in its entirety.
B) because team members become recognized experts in a single area, cross-training that characterizes other organizational forms is limited.
C) boundaries between departments are clearly defined to ensure functional expertise.
D) if the organization has been rooted in strict vertical, hierarchical structure, it is ready for immediate and rapid implementation of the horizontal structure.

Question 38

Reference Organization Chart 3.2. We can accurately conclude that:

A) there should be no assistant manger.
B) the company has a divisional structure.
C) the company has a functional structure.
D) the general manager has a span of control of five.

Question 39

Which of the following means employees are organized around core work processes, the end-to-end work, information, and material flows that provide value directly to customers?

A) Departmental grouping
B) Horizontal grouping
C) Divisional grouping
D) Multifocused grouping

Question 40

The product or divisional structure:

A) is not suited to fast change in an unstable environment.
B) centralizes decision making.
C) facilitates integration and standardization across product lines.
D) allows units to adapt to differences in products, regions, and clients.

Question 41

Managers create information linkages to facilitate communication and coordination among organizational elements.

Question 42

A strength of the divisional structure compared to the functional structure is that it tends to decentralize decision making.

Question 43

A horizontal structure is characterized by coordination around geographical areas.

Question 44

An advantage of the divisional structure is that coordination of functional matters relative to any one given product is maximized.

Question 45

Functional grouping places employees together who perform similar work processes and typically have similar knowledge and skills.

Question 46

Two types of hybrid structures are common today. The approaches combine:

A) product and matrix structures; product and horizontal structures.
B) functional and divisional structures; functional and horizontal structures.
C) marketing and sales; marketing and logistics.
D) horizontal and teams; vertical and authority.

Question 47

It would be logical for a full-time integrator to have no direct subordinates.

Question 48

All of the following, except ____, are symptoms of structural deficiency.

A) decision making is delayed or lacking quality
B) the organization does not respond innovatively to a changing environment
C) too much conflict is evident
D) employees lack motivation

Question 49

Grouping by output means that people are organized by similar functions or work processes, with similar knowledge and skills.

Question 50

A weakness of the functional structure is that it results in a slow response time to environmental change.

Question 51

Divisional structure may be organized by product, services, major projects or programs, or profit centers.

Question 52

A task force is located in one department but has the responsibility for communicating and achieving coordination with another department.

Question 53

Horizontal linkages are used to coordinate activities between the top and bottom of an organization and are designed primarily for control of the organization, whereas vertical linkages refers to the amount of communication and coordinate across organizational departments.

Question 54

Which type of structure tends to be used in rapidly changing environments because they offer the organization greater flexibility?

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

Question 55

Centralized decision making means decision-making authority is pushed down to lower organizational levels.

Question 56

Integrator roles require excellent people skills.

Question 57

Project teams can be thought of as permanent task forces.

Question 58

The organization chart is the visual representation of a whole set of underlying activities and processes in an organization.

Question 59

A full-time integrator such as a project manager has the various functional managers--finance, engineering, marketing--reporting to him or her.

Question 60

Rules and plans are lower on the ladder of mechanisms for vertical linkage than is adding positions to the hierarchy.

Question 61

Explain when a horizontal structure is dominant and when a vertical structure is dominant.

Question 62

Most companies combine characteristics of multiple structures to take advantage of the strengths and avoid some of the weaknesses.

Question 63

Horizontal grouping means to contract out certain tasks or functions.

Question 64

The horizontal structure organizes employees around core processes.

Question 65

There are two variations of matrix structure: the functional matrix and the divisional matrix.

Question 66

Describe the three components in the definition of organization structure.

Question 67

Explain the information processing perspective relative to the study of organizational structure.

Question 68

Pressure for innovation is sufficient cause for adopting the matrix structure.

Question 69

A hybrid structure is rarely preferred over the pure functional, divisional, horizontal, and virtual network structure.

Question 70

What qualifications would be expected for the position of full-time integrator? Why?

Question 71

How can rules and plans serve as an information linking mechanism in organizations?

Question 72

The matrix structure is best when environmental change is high and when goals reflect a dual requirement.

Question 73

List and explain the structural devices to achieve vertical linkage.

Question 74

Explain why departments are created.

Question 75

Draw and label a functional structure. Then draw a divisional structure, and take the same job titles you placed in the previous structure and label where they would be in the divisional structure. The resulting two diagrams should illustrate differences between the functional and divisional structure.

Question 76

List and explain two of the departmental grouping options.

Question 77

Contrast the following structural alternatives to achieving horizontal integration: task force, liaison, and full-time integrator.

Question 78

What are the similarities and differences between a functional structure with horizontal linkages and a divisional structure?

Question 79

Vertical control is appropriate when the organization has a high need for coordination among functions to achieve innovation and promote learning.

Question 80

Explain in a general sense what about structure we can and cannot learn from an organization's flow chart. What structural and contextual variables that we study in organization theory appear on the organization chart?