Deck 8: Organization Structure

Question 1

The organization chart depicts the types of products the company sells and to which customers they are sold.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: The organization chart depicts the positions in the firm and the way they are arranged. The chart provides a picture of the reporting structure (who reports to whom) and the various activities that are carried out by different individuals.

Question 2

The number of subordinates who report directly to an executive or supervisor is called the span of control.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: The number of people under a manager is an important feature of an organization's structure. The number of subordinates who report directly to an executive or supervisor is called the span of control.

Question 3

Alignment refers to the procedures that link the various parts of the organization to achieve the organization's overall mission.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: Coordination refer to the procedures that link the various parts of an organization for the purpose of achieving the organization's overall mission.

Question 4

The board of directors selects and assesses the CEO.

Question 5

The optimal span of control is five subordinates, according to Napoleon Bonaparte.

Question 6

Integration is achieved through division of labor.

Question 7

When there are many subunits and many kinds of specialists who think differently in an organization, differentiation is high.

Question 8

Mallory wants to open a retail bakery and imagines that she will employ a staff of about 10 people including bakers and clerks. Mallory should attempt to create a tall rather than a flat organization.

Question 9

Angela is one of three managers at Sensible Cleaning, and she supervises 32 full- and part-time employees who perform cleaning services. She reports to the owner. Sensible Cleaning would be considered a flat organization.

Question 10

Traditionally, authority resides in people and not in positions.

Question 11

The three broad authority levels of the organizational pyramid are commonly called corporate governance.

Question 12

The numerous tasks that must be carried out in a large organization make specialization a necessity.

Question 13

Currently the public's trust in corporate governance is as strong as it has ever been.

Question 14

Few stockholders are directly involved in managing the organization.

Question 15

Delegation is the assignment of authority and responsibility for a task to another employee who holds an equivalent position within the firm.

Question 16

Delegation occurs at all hierarchical levels.

Question 17

It is generally accepted that fewer hierarchical levels create greater operating efficiency.

Question 18

Ben works on a television assembly line. His job is to do final assembly of the screen for each television that is on the line. The job is quite defined, and he has been highly trained. Ben is most likely supervised using a wide span of control.

Question 19

There is no specific ideal number of subordinates that a manager should supervise.

Question 20

Differentiation means that the organization is composed of many different units that work on different kinds of tasks, using different skills and work methods.

Question 21

In times of rapid growth, organizations may respond by decentralizing decision making.

Question 22

A clear advantage of the functional form of departmentalization is that technical specialists are relatively free of administrative work.

Question 23

In a centralized organization, decisions are made based on a founding document, much as the Constitution is used in the United States.

Question 24

The first step in effective delegation is selecting the person to whom you will delegate.

Question 25

Delegation of work responsibilities is most effective when the manager does not delegate authority also.

Question 26

Functional departmentalization is common in both large and small organizations.

Question 27

Line departments include research, accounting, and human resources departments.

Question 28

The three basic approaches to departmentalization are line, staff, and matrix.

Question 29

One disadvantage of delegation is that it usually results in the manager losing touch with the status of the work to be accomplished.

Question 30

The divisional organization has departmentalization that groups units around products, customer, or geographic regions.

Question 31

Oxford Networking Solutions has its global headquarters in North Carolina, where companywide departments such as marketing, accounting, and research are housed. Oxford is thus a divisional organization.

Question 32

If Tatiana, a manager at Rockway Shoes, delegates responsibility for reorganizing the stockroom to a subordinate, she is relieved of the responsibility and accountability for that task. Tatiana's manager has no right to hold her accountable for her subordinate's actions.

Question 33

Robin is a new product designer for a furniture manufacturer. Therefore, Robin works in a line department rather than a staff department.

Question 34

Accountability means the subordinate's manager has the right to expect the subordinate to perform the job, and the right to take corrective action if the subordinate fails to do so.

Question 35

Some tasks, such as disciplining subordinates and conducting performance reviews, should not be delegated by managers.

Question 36

Macy's Group has different divisions for its operations serving particular states or areas of the United States. Macy's therefore uses a customer division.

Question 37

The functional structure would be most appropriate in complex and changing environments.

Question 38

One advantage of the product form of departmentalization is that task responsibilities are clear, leading to more independence and accountability among managers.

Question 39

A basic characteristic of decentralized organizations is the delegating of authority to people at lower hierarchical levels to make decisions and take action.

Question 40

One advantage of delegation is that it helps develop effective subordinates.

Question 41

Carlos, the operations manager of Douglas Architecture, requires all seven branch offices to use the same type of computers and operating systems. This simplifies both the communication and training processes for employees who frequently transfer between offices. Here Carlos can best be described as coordinating the offices using plans.

Question 42

The reporting structure and division of labor in an organization are conveyed by the

A) Organization chart.
B) Span of control.
C) Organization hierarchy.
D) Span of management.
E) Managerial assets.

Question 43

Coordination by mutual adjustment involves feedback and discussions to jointly figure out how to approach problems and devise solutions that are agreeable to everyone.

Question 44

A written dress code for the workplace is an example of formalization.

Question 45

The unity-of-command principle states that a person should make decisions based on personal ethics, regardless of contradictory messages from managers.

Question 46

A network organization makes heavy use of the informal grapevine to run the firm.

Question 47

To cope with high uncertainty and heavy information demands, managers can act to reduce the need for information.

Question 48

Coordination by plan affords managers more latitude in accomplishing their work than does coordination by standardization.

Question 49

Which of the following depicts the positions in the firm and how they are arranged?

A) Span of control.
B) Departmentalization.
C) Division of labor.
D) Organization chart.
E) Value chain.

Question 50

A disadvantage of coordination by plan is that it may limit flexibility and prevent timely action to address a problem.

Question 51

An organization chart conveys which of the following?

A) The reporting structure.
B) The maximum number of people that should be supervised.
C) How decisions are made.
D) Which products appeal to which groups of customers.
E) How the organization will interact with the external environment.

Question 52

When organizations differentiate their structures, they also need to be concerned about integration and coordination.

Question 53

The most expedient approach to coordination is by mutual adjustment.

Question 54

________ within an organization is created through division of labor and job specialization.

A) Integration
B) Coordination
C) Differentiation
D) Span of control
E) Managerial competence

Question 55

Another name for a virtual corporation is a dynamic network.

Question 56

Standardization, plans, and mutual adjustment are methods of coordination.

Question 57

A matrix organization is a hybrid form of organization in which functional and divisional forms overlap.

Question 58

The primary advantage of both the product and customer/regional approaches to departmentalization is the ability to focus on customer needs and provide faster, better service.

Question 59

In a network, the role of a manager becomes more like that of a broker, someone who assembles and coordinates participants.

Question 60

Employees who function poorly in ambiguous, and sometimes conflict-ridden, circumstances may not thrive in a matrix organization.

Question 61

Top management includes which of the following?

A) Chief financial officer.
B) Frontline manager.
C) Operational supervisor.
D) Division supervisor.
E) Personnel supervisor.

Question 62

The procedures that link the various parts of the organization for the purpose of achieving the organization's overall mission are called

A) Job specialization.
B) Diversification.
C) Coordination.
D) Dynamism.
E) Complexity.

Question 63

Which of the following is among the major duties of a board of directors?

A) Approving the overall advertising message for the firm.
B) Ensuring legal and ethical conduct.
C) Assessing and conducting reviews of all employees.
D) Selecting frontline managers.
E) Lobbying on behalf of the firm.

Question 64

__________ is most closely related to the division of labor within an organization.

A) Integration
B) Specialization
C) Departmentalization
D) Coordination
E) Hierarchy

Question 65

A powerful trend for U.S. businesses over the past few decades has been

A) Decreasing the number of hierarchical layers.
B) Minimizing corporate governance.
C) Decreasing the span of control.
D) Increasing formalization.
E) Increasing standardization.

Question 66

Corporations have boards of directors that are elected by

A) Employees.
B) Managers of all levels.
C) Stockholders.
D) Top managers.
E) All stakeholders.

Question 67

The board of directors overseeing an organization is responsible for

A) Selecting the CEO.
B) Determining the firm's strategic direction.
C) Ensuring ethical and legal conduct.
D) Reviewing financial performance.
E) All of these.

Question 68

In the study by Lawrence and Lorsch, successful companies in complex, dynamic environments developed ________ levels of differentiation and ________ levels of integration.

A) low; low
B) intermediate; high
C) high; high
D) low; high
E) high; low

Question 69

Authority is defined as

A) The legitimate right to tell other people what to do.
B) The procedures that link the various parts of the organization to achieve the organization's overall mission.
C) The assignment of new or additional responsibilities to a subordinate.
D) The expectation that staff will take corrective action when necessary.
E) A person being assigned a task that he or she is supposed to carry out.

Question 70

The three levels of the organizational hierarchy include

A) Top, middle, and employee levels.
B) Top, middle, and operational levels.
C) First, middle, and lower levels.
D) First, selected, and delegated levels.
E) Top, operational, and employee levels.

Question 71

The operational level of the organization includes

A) The CEO, president, and vice presidents.
B) The plant and departmental managers.
C) All levels of middle management.
D) Frontline managers, supervisors, and employees.
E) Stockholders and the board of directors.

Question 72

The assignment of different tasks to different people or groups in the organization is known as the

A) Strategic plan.
B) Organization structure.
C) Division of labor.
D) Activity diagram.
E) Value chain.

Question 73

The oversight of the firm by its executive staff and board of directors is called corporate

A) Control.
B) Maintenance.
C) Power.
D) Governance.
E) Strategy.

Question 74

The legitimate right to make decisions and to tell other people what to do is referred to as

A) Accountability.
B) Delegation.
C) Specialization.
D) Responsibility.
E) Authority.

Question 75

Corporate boards hire ________ directors to provide different information and perspectives and to prevent big mistakes.

A) outside
B) dual
C) cooperating
D) authoritative
E) inside

Question 76

Coordination refers to

A) The division of labor within an organization.
B) The performance of specific tasks by specific people.
C) The procedures that link the various parts of the organization to achieve the organization's overall mission.
D) The need for specific tasks in the functional fields.
E) The way the positions in the firm are organized.

Question 77

The three broad levels of the organizational pyramid are called the

A) Chain of command.
B) Organization structure.
C) Hierarchy.
D) Span of management.
E) Span of control.

Question 78

The process by which different individuals and units perform specific parts of the larger task is called

A) Accountability.
B) Authority.
C) Responsibility.
D) Specialization.
E) Differentiation.

Question 79

The organizational pyramid composed of authority levels is commonly called the

A) Corporation.
B) Hierarchy.
C) Structure.
D) Bureaucracy.
E) Framework.

Question 80

Several top executives of Waterton Corporation also sit on the corporation's board, so they are called

A) Outside directors.
B) Dual directors.
C) Cooperating directors.
D) Authoritative directors.
E) Inside directors.