Deck 3: Organizational Strategy: Managerial Levers

Question 1

In which type of organizational structure is power distributed,and the ideal environment flexible and adaptable?

A) Flat
B) Networked
C) Hierarchical
D) Matrix
E) Hybrid

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Effective,cross-cultural communication in today's global and "flattened" world is:

A) Easy to achieve
B) Difficult to achieve
C) Of little consequence to the organizational strategy
D) Achieved by using the best available technologies
E) No longer an issue for managers

Answer 2

B

Question 3

At Zara,decision rights for ordering have been granted to whom?

A) Regional managers
B) Headquarters
C) Store managers
D) Central production
E) The commercial team

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The organizational structure of Tata Consulting Services (TCS)is a ___________ organizational structure.

A) hierarchical
B) networked
C) matrix
D) flat
E) zero time

Question 5

Organizational design is all about making sure that _________ are properly allocated,reflecting the structure of formal reporting relationships.

A) decision rights
B) business processes
C) values
D) incentives
E) IS

Question 6

Cognizant's organizational structure was ________,but realized as its organization grew and its services became more complicated that a __________ structure for the organization was more appropriate.

A) hierarchical, networked
B) matrix, networked
C) flat, matrix
D) hierarchical, matrix
E) flat, hierarchical

Question 7

Traditional organizations have one of four types of organizational design. What are these four structure types?

A) Traditional, flat, matrix, technology
B) Hierarchical, flat, matrix, networked
C) Matrix, networked, flat, information
D) Matrix, flat, networked, traditional
E) Social, networked, matrix, hierarchical

Question 8

All statements below are true about a matrix organization structure EXCEPT:

A) The design supports both function and purpose.
B) IS reduces operating complexities by easily sharing information among management.
C) Workers are assigned to two or more managers.
D) Worker's jobs are loosely defined.
E) Challenges can arise for managers who have lots of information and attend frequent meetings.

Question 9

IS plays three important roles in management control processes. These processes are data collection,evaluation,and _______________.

A) transformation
B) management
C) communication
D) implementation
E) conversion

Question 10

The negative consequences of monitoring the discrete tasks an employee does include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) The worker is disconnected from the larger business process.
B) There is less of an opportunity for the worker to broaden his/her skills.
C) The worker feels empowered to make significant contributions to the business.
D) The personal freedoms of the worker may be intruded upon.
E) The privacy rights of an employee may be violated.

Question 11

A networked organizational structure feels both like a_______ and a_______ organizational structure because it supports a rigid structure with well-connected communication networks.

A) matrix, flat
B) flat, hierarchical
C) hierarchical, hybrid
D) flat, networked
E) matrix, traditional

Question 12

The dimensions of national culture include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) The distribution of power in society
B) The extent to which society tolerates uncertainty
C) The acceptance of technology by society
D) The minimization of gender discrimination in society
E) The degree to which society engages in future-oriented behaviors

Question 13

Zara's store managers place orders that reflect their localized needs.However,order fulfillment is ultimately the responsibility of the commercial team in headquarters because:

A) Store managers have no real decision rights.
B) The commercial team does not trust the store managers.
C) Store managers do not have visibility into regional demands but the commercial team does.
D) The commercial team has more direct contact with the designers and production.
E) Store managers have no access to sales information for their store.

Question 14

This type of organizational structure is based upon the concepts of division of labor,specialization,and unity of command. Key decisions are made at the top and filter down through the organization.

A) Hierarchical
B) Networked
C) Flat
D) Matrix
E) Social

Question 15

When using information technologies to collect data for the purpose of monitoring workers,a manager should do all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Inform employees when and what is being monitored.
B) Consider the privacy rights of individuals.
C) Ensure monitoring is meaningful to the organization's mission.
D) Capture qualitative inputs in addition to quantitative data.
E) Require workers to complete additional tasks.

Question 16

In which type of organizational design do middle managers do the primary information processing and communication function,telling subordinates what to do and then reporting the outcome to senior management?

A) Flat
B) Networked
C) Hierarchical
D) Matrix
E) Hybrid

Question 17

All of the following help to develop informal networks that play an important role in an organization EXCEPT for:

A) Job rotation
B) Company softball team
C) Virtual communities
D) Performance reviews
E) Attendance at a conference

Question 18

In which type of organizational structure will employees report to two or more supervisors?

A) Hierarchical
B) Networked
C) Flat
D) Matrix
E) Functional

Question 19

This newer organizational design is designed to be highly flexible so that resources can be configured quickly to respond to changing demands.

A) Zero time organization
B) Social networked organization
C) Flat organization
D) Matrix organization
E) T-form organization

Question 20

In which type of organizational structure is power centralized and the type of environment best supported stable and certain?

A) Flat
B) Networked
C) Hierarchical
D) Matrix
E) Traditional

Question 21

Compare and contrast the organizational structures of Cognizant (after restructuring)and that of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

Question 22

How does IS impact the 3 managerial levers: organizational,control and cultural?

Question 23

If a technology is to be successfully implemented into an organization,either the technology must fit the organization's culture or the culture must be shaped to fit the behavioral requirements of the technology.

Question 24

An organization feels hierarchical when IT is used primarily as a communication vehicle.

Question 25

A corporate culture is a firm's set of shared beliefs and ____.

Question 26

________ reduces the operating complexity of a matrix organization.

Question 27

National culture no longer predisposes workers to act in a certain way.

Question 28

This IT-enabled network links individuals together,regardless of location,so that they may locate experts and get to know people.

Question 29

A firm is usually a mix of different organizational structures,known as a hybrid structure.

Question 30

Explain how Cognizant's "10/10/10" program is designed,its cultural impact and the role IS plays in supporting it.

Question 31

The three components of the organizational strategy are organizational design,management control systems and _________.

Question 32

IS makes it possible to evaluate performance by capturing current data in addition to analyzing historical dat
a.Often managers are faced with an overwhelming volume of data and analyzing it becomes very time consuming,a situation known as ____________.

Question 33

A ________ organization allows a firm to concentrate on both function and purpose.

Question 34

Ideally,the person who has the most information about a decision and who is in the best position to understand the relevant issues is the person with __________ for the decision.

Question 35

Different organization structures reflect the different organizational strategies that are used by firms to implement their business strategy.

Resposne: See page 76

Question 36

This term is used to describe a situation where technology ienables individuals from all parts of the organization to reach and communicate with all other parts of the organization.

Question 37

Cognizant moved to a matrix organization to "foster continuous operational implementations and better bottom-line results for clients." Explain how the change of organizational design allowed Cognizant to succeed.

Question 38

Cognizant needed to reinvent its organizational structure many times to make sure that it properly facilitates the flow of information between employees.

Question 39

Differences in organizational and national culture normally do not affect system development and use.

Question 40

The use of performance data by managers is generally welcomed by workers and nonthreatening to workers when the data is used for compensation rather than to improve performance.

Question 41

Give an example of a tool or virtual community that enables a large,global informal network.What is its value to a participant and the participant's firm?

Question 42

Match the organizational structure that you would find supporting the organization strategy of the following firms:

Question 43

Hofstede identified cultural dimensions and researched expected behaviors within that society.Match the cultural dimension to the organizational impact it can have.

Question 44

Match the organizational structure to the statement that best represents it.

Question 45

List some examples of informal networking that occurs in organizations.How can management utilize informal networks to the organization's advantage?

Question 46

Match the organizational structure to the power structure it supports.

Question 47

Assume you are a manager of a local doctor's office.How could you use IS to help monitor the performance of the nurses and doctors? State the benefits as well as the challenges.

Question 48

Match the organizational variable to its description.

Question 49

Match a firm's actions with the cultural layer it helps to define.

Question 50

What recommendations would you give a manager who supports a team of individuals with a multitude of cultural differences?
Matching