Deck 7: Designing Organizational Structure

Question 1

The more skilled its workforce,the less likely an organization is to use a flexible,decentralized structure.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: The more highly skilled its workforce,and the greater the number of employees who work together in groups or teams,the more likely an organization is to use a flexible,decentralized structure and a professional culture based on values and norms that foster employee autonomy and self-control.

Question 2

The first step in organizational design is job design.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: The first step in organizational design is job design,the process by which managers decide how to divide into specific jobs the tasks that have to be performed to provide customers with goods and services.

Question 3

In a quickly changing external environment,decentralizing authority and empowering lower-level employees tend to make organizations less flexible and slow in making decisions.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: To speed decision making and communication and make it easier to obtain resources,managers typically make organizing choices that result in more flexible structures and entrepreneurial cultures.They are likely to decentralize authority,empower lower-level employees to make important operating decisions,and encourage values and norms that emphasize change and innovation;a more organic form of organizing.

Question 4

Increasing the number of different tasks in a job by changing the division of labor is known as job enrichment.

Question 5

Increasing the degree of responsibility that a worker has over his/her job is known as job simplification.

Question 6

The degree to which a manager feels that his/her job is meaningful because of the way that it affects other people is known as the autonomy of the job.

Question 7

A differentiation strategy aimed at increasing the customer's perception of an organization services usually succeeds even with an inflexible structure.

Question 8

The process by which managers set the structure of working relationships among workers in an organization is called organizing.

Question 9

The more nonroutine the technology an organization uses,the easier it is for managers to control and regulate the technology.

Question 10

The job characteristics model explains how managers can make jobs more interesting and motivating.
G.R.Oldham's job characteristics model is an influential model of job design that explains in detail how managers can make jobs more interesting and motivating.

Question 11

The degree to which a job design gives a worker the freedom to schedule his/her tasks and to decide how to carry them out is known as the task identity.

Question 12

The nature of an organization's human resources is an important determinant of the organization's structure.

Question 13

Managers lose control over their different businesses by moving to a more flexible structure.

Question 14

Division of labor among employees is the result of the differentiation process.

Question 15

The extent to which the design of a job requires the worker to perform all of the tasks that are required to complete the job successfully is known as the task significance.

Question 16

Organizational design reflects the organization's mission statement irrespective of the situation.

Question 17

It is easier for managers to monitor and evaluate subordinates' performance in a functional structure than a divisional structure.

Question 18

According to contingency theory,there can be only one best way to design an organization's structure.

Question 19

Routine technologies are characterized by low task variety and high task analyzability.

Question 20

A functional structure is an organizational structure composed of all of the departments that an organization needs to produce its products.

Question 21

A division is a collection of departments that work together within the organization to produce the product.

Question 22

A line manager is someone in the chain of command who has formal authority over people and resources.

Question 23

The number of subordinates who report directly to a manager is known as the hierarchy of authority for that manager.

Question 24

A strategic alliance is a formal agreement that commits two or more companies to exchange or share their resources in order to produce and market a product.

Question 25

The "chain of command" of an organization is the hierarchy of authority for that organization.

Question 26

Too much decentralization has disadvantages for an organization.

Question 27

Liaison roles increase the coordination among the business units of an organization.

Question 28

Using a market structure,managers place each distinct product line or business in its own self-contained division.

Question 29

Decentralization makes an organization flexible as the organization grows and becomes taller.

Question 30

When managers organize divisions according to the types of customer to whom they market their products,they are focusing on a product structure.

Question 31

The lesser the complexity of an organization's structure,the greater is the need for coordination among people,functions,and divisions to make the organizational structure work efficiently and effectively.

Question 32

The more complex an organization,the less important the use of cross-functional teams become to the organization.

Question 33

Team members in a market structure are known as two-boss employees.

Question 34

The idea that top management should design an organization with as few levels of authority as is needed to conduct the business of the organization in an efficient and effective manner is known as the minimum chain of command.

Question 35

When managers group workers both by function and by product within the same structure,they are said to be following the matrix structure.

Question 36

As an organization grows and begins to produce a wider range of products,a functional structure becomes more efficient and effective.

Question 37

To satisfy the needs of diverse customers,a company might adopt a customer structure,which groups divisions according to the particular kinds of customers they serve.

Question 38

A flat organization has fewer levels of authority relative to the size of that organization.

Question 39

A group of managers from different departments working together on an organizational task is known as a cross-functional team.

Question 40

Task forces are often called ad hoc committees because they are temporary.

Question 41

Business-to-business (B2B)network is a company-specific virtual information system that allows workers to share their knowledge and expertise and find others to help solve ongoing problems.

Question 42

A manager increases the number of tasks that a subordinate has to do in order to make the job more interesting for the subordinate.This is known as:

A) job simplification.
B) job enlargement.
C) job enrichment.
D) task identity.
E) task significance.

Question 43

Mr.Pierson reads an article in the newspaper about one of his students who has been appointed to CEO of a multinational corporation.At this moment,Mr.Pierson is experiencing:

A) autonomy.
B) task identity.
C) task significance.
D) skill variety.
E) task enrichment.

Question 44

The degree to which programmed solutions are available to people or functions to solve the problems they encounter is task:

A) uncertainty
B) stability
C) analyzability
D) creativity
E) variety

Question 45

The extent to which a job requires the worker to use a wide range of knowledge and abilities is known as:

A) task identity.
B) task significance.
C) autonomy.
D) skill variety.
E) feedback.

Question 46

The degree to which a manager feels that his/her job is "meaningful" because of the way in which the job affects other people is known as:

A) skill variety.
B) feedback.
C) autonomy.
D) task significance.
E) task identity.

Question 47

A Place for Pizza established a basic division of labor among "chefs" and "food servers" in which chefs perform all tasks involved in actual cooking and food servers carry out all tasks involved in giving food to the customers.A Place for Pizza implemented:

A) a functional structure.
B) job design.
C) a divisional structure.
D) a product structure.
E) a matrix structure.

Question 48

The process by which managers decide how to divide into specific jobs the tasks that have to be performed to provide customers with goods and services is known as job:

A) design.
B) enlargement.
C) simplification.
D) rotation.
E) enrichment.

Question 49

The process by which managers establish the structure of working relationships among workers of the organization is known as:

A) planning.
B) leading.
C) organizing.
D) controlling.
E) directing.

Question 50

According to Charles Perrow,the routineness of technology is determined by task:

A) stability
B) analyzability
C) creativity
D) certainty
E) utility

Question 51

The ability of managers to use outside suppliers and manufacturers to produce goods and services,has led many researchers and consultants to popularize the idea of a boundaryless organization.

Question 52

The number of new or unexpected problems or situations that a person or function encounters in performing tasks or jobs is task:

A) uncertainty
B) stability
C) analyzability
D) creativity
E) variety

Question 53

The Pizza Man combined the jobs of "chef" and "food server" into a single job description.The Pizza Man implemented:

A) a functional structure.
B) a divisional structure.
C) a product structure.
D) job design.
E) a matrix structure.

Question 54

Managers should design flexible structures,characterized by decentralized authority and empowered employees,for their organization when it's:

A) environment is stable.
B) technology is simple.
C) workforce is highly skilled.
D) strategy is well understood.
E) strategy is simple.

Question 55

Managers should choose a structure that fits the circumstances affecting their organization the most,according to the __________________ theory.

A) contingency
B) design
C) agency
D) equity
E) expectancy

Question 56

A manager redesigns the job of a subordinate so that the subordinate has more responsibility over her job.This is the process of:

A) job enlargement.
B) job simplification.
C) job enrichment.
D) job reduction.
E) task identity.

Question 57

A network structure is a series of global strategic alliances that one or several organizations create with suppliers,manufacturers,and/or distributors to produce and market a product.

Question 58

The degree to which a job allows the worker to schedule the tasks of the job and to decide how to carry out these tasks is known as:

A) autonomy.
B) task identity.
C) task significance.
D) skill variety.
E) feedback.

Question 59

The extent to which a job requires a worker to perform all of the tasks that are required to complete the job is known as:

A) skill variety.
B) task identity.
C) task significance.
D) feedback.
E) autonomy.

Question 60

The greater the level of uncertainty in the organization's environment,the:

A) less likely managers are to design a structure and a culture that is innovative.
B) less likely managers are to design a structure and a culture that changes quickly.
C) more likely managers are to design an organizational structure that is formal and controlling.
D) more likely managers are to design a structure and a culture that are flexible.
E) more likely managers are to design an organizational culture that defines how employees should act in particular situations.

Question 61

The manager of the human resources department of a company is a(n)__________________ manager.

A) line
B) product
C) staff
D) task force
E) operations

Question 62

Rusty is a project manager who has 15 executives reporting directly to him.The number 15 is Rusty's:

A) unity of command.
B) span of control.
C) chain of command.
D) unity of direction.
E) hierarchy of authority.

Question 63

Another name for the organization's hierarchy of authority is the:

A) chain of command.
B) span of control.
C) corporate ladder.
D) unity of command.
E) organizational constitution.

Question 64

The extent to which a job gives the worker direct and clear information about how well the worker is performing the job is known as:

A) task identity
B) feedback
C) autonomy
D) task significance
E) skill variety

Question 65

When customers around the world are willing to buy the same kind of product,or slight variations thereof,managers are more likely to pursue a __________________ structure.

A) market
B) customer
C) global geographic
D) global transitional
E) global product

Question 66

Compared to an order taker at a restaurant,a sales executive who is given the authority to choose the prospective customers he will visit on personal sales calls has ________________.

A) less autonomy
B) less task significance
C) less task identity
D) more autonomy
E) less skill variety

Question 67

The relative authority that each manager in the organization has from the CEO down to the lowest-level manager is called the ________________.

A) span of control
B) unity of command
C) corporate ladder
D) unity of direction
E) chain of command

Question 68

The organizational design in which employees are correctly referred to as two-boss employees is a _________________ structure.

A) product
B) matrix
C) geographic
D) functional
E) divisional

Question 69

When designing an organization,if managers are grouped both by function and by product at the same time,the organizational structure being used is the __________________ structure.

A) market
B) geographic
C) functional
D) matrix
E) divisional

Question 70

At Cosmeto & Co. ,Pat is assigned to a team to develop a new kind of shampoo.He reports to both the marketing manager and the personal care product manager.The organization is pursuing a ________________ organizational structure.

A) matrix
B) global product
C) customer
D) geographic
E) market

Question 71

Managers are able to be responsive to the needs of their customers and maintain flexibility in making decisions regarding customers' changing needs with a ________________ structure.

A) market
B) geographic
C) functional
D) matrix
E) transitional

Question 72

In the design of an organization,another name for "market structure" is __________________ structure.

A) product
B) geographic
C) customer
D) functional
E) matrix

Question 73

An organizational structure consisting of all the departments within the company is a(n)________________ structure.

A) autonomous
B) provisional
C) divisional
D) transitional
E) functional

Question 74

The number of subordinates who report directly to a manager is known as the manager's:

A) unity of command.
B) hierarchy of authority.
C) chain of command.
D) span of control.
E) pecking order.

Question 75

The units of Zach Ltd. ,are grouped together such that the functions that work together to produce a product are grouped together.This is an example of a(n)________________ structure.

A) market
B) transitional
C) organic
D) functional
E) divisional

Question 76

At Xen Ltd. ,each product line is managed within a division.In each of these divisions,the division manager is responsible for creating the business-level strategy for the product line.Xen Ltd. ,is utilizing a _________________ structure.

A) geographic
B) market
C) product
D) functional
E) transitional

Question 77

Xpress Delivery Corporation organizes its managers according to the different regions of the world in which the managers work.This is an example of a ________________ structure.

A) market
B) customer
C) product
D) matrix
E) geographic

Question 78

When different managers from different functional areas are brought together to work on an organizational task,they are known as a(n)__________________ team.

A) functional
B) co-dependent
C) cross-functional
D) independent
E) virtual

Question 79

When managers pursue a multidomestic strategy,they most likely use a _________________ strategy.

A) market
B) customer
C) global geographic
D) global transitional
E) global product

Question 80

Compared to a salesperson of a prescription drug store,a doctor who works with people suffering from malignant diseases has _______________.

A) a low degree of feedback
B) less autonomy
C) less skill variety
D) less task identity
E) higher task significance