Question 1

Firms primarily exist because larger organisations utilising specialisation and division of labour can be much more efficient in producing goods and services.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

Some of the main bases for grouping employees within an organization are tasks, products, geography, and process because these make natural sense in terms of the need for employees to interact.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

Tasks, products geography, and processes are:

Accepted Answer

A) Dimensions that serve as a basis for grouping employees into organizational units 
B) Strategic dimensions for building the strategic formula at the corporate level 
C) Dimensions used to define organizational units 
D) Dimensions used to build international structures

Question 4

The multidivisional and the divisional structures are the same

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

The agency problem refers to:

Accepted Answer

A) The risk that the agent does not behave in the principal's interest 
B) Problems that occur between a corporate headquarters and its branches or heads of divisions 
C) Top managers' unethical and fraudulent behaviors 
D) The problem with using outside contractors.

Question 6

The shift to shared service organizations, the use of alliances and partnerships, and the delayering of hierarchies were aimed at improving:

Accepted Answer

A) Market share and reputational assets 
B) Speed and decentralization 
C) Responsiveness and flexibility 
D) Flexibility and lower costs

Question 7

How can we define an organizational structure?

Accepted Answer

The answer of How can we define an organizational structure?...

Question 8

Human resources management systems are used to incentivize and monitor employees so that they are aligned with and capable of achieving the firm's goals.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

To chose a coordination mechanism, managers must look at:

Accepted Answer

A) The types of activity and the intensity of collaboration needed 
B) The level of complexity of the task and the general level of prices in the market 
C) The intensity of collaboration required and the willingness of employees to support their use 
D) The types of activities and the size of the market

Question 10

According to Burns and Stalker's two organizational forms, mechanistic and organic, their relative merits:

Accepted Answer

A) Depend on the activities at stake and the stability of the environment 
B) Are unclear and depend largely on top managers 
C) Are immaterial, since there is no choice involved. 
D) Depend on the technologies employed in the industry

Question 11

Apple and General Motors have both shifted:

Accepted Answer

A) From a divisional structure to a functional structure 
B) From a functional structure to a divisional structure 
C) From a bureaucracy to an organic structure 
D) From a matrix structure to a divisional structure

Question 12

The Standard Oil (US), Mitsui, and the British South Africa companies were organized under a:

Accepted Answer

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

Question 13

Most strategists agree that strategy implementation and management can be even more important than strategy formulation

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

For firms organized around functional structure, the real problems arise when:

Accepted Answer

A) Top managers must envision their succession 
B) The firm grows its range of products and businesses 
C) Divisions cannot communicate to each other 
D) The economy is in bad shape

Question 15

Are financial incentives always positive for a firm?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Are financial incentives always positive for a...

Question 16

Corporate culture

Accepted Answer

A) Can be manipulated over time by the CEO and the HR department 
B) Is a property of the organization, which may or may not be of use as a mechanism for assisting co-operation. 
C) Is determined by careful psychometric evaluation at the recruitment stage. 
D) "Eats strategy for lunch".

Question 17

Strategic planning systems are in fact embedded in top managers' minds because of the complexity and the confidentiality of the topic

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

Adaptability, as one advantage of hierarchy, requires:

Accepted Answer

A) Flexibility 
B) Some degree of decomposability 
C) Manager commitment 
D) Financial resources

Question 19

At the "reciprocal" level of interdependence:

Accepted Answer

A) Individuals are mutually dependent 
B) Individuals operate independently 
C) The output of one individual is the input of the next 
D) Individuals expect to be assisted in return if they assist a colleague

Question 20

Organizational design is about:

Accepted Answer

A) Selecting the right people at the right place 
B) Determining the best criteria for department groupings 
C) Developing unique structures for matching capabilities to external opportunities 
D) Selecting structures, systems, and management styles that can best implement strategies

Exam 7: Organization Structure and Management Systems: the Fundamentals of Strategy Implementation

Firms primarily exist because larger organisations utilising specialisation and division of labour can be much more efficient in producing goods and services.

Some of the main bases for grouping employees within an organization are tasks, products, geography, and process because these make natural sense in terms of the need for employees to interact.

Tasks, products geography, and processes are:

The multidivisional and the divisional structures are the same

The agency problem refers to:

The shift to shared service organizations, the use of alliances and partnerships, and the delayering of hierarchies were aimed at improving:

How can we define an organizational structure?

Human resources management systems are used to incentivize and monitor employees so that they are aligned with and capable of achieving the firm's goals.

To chose a coordination mechanism, managers must look at:

According to Burns and Stalker's two organizational forms, mechanistic and organic, their relative merits:

Apple and General Motors have both shifted:

The Standard Oil (US) , Mitsui, and the British South Africa companies were organized under a:

Most strategists agree that strategy implementation and management can be even more important than strategy formulation

For firms organized around functional structure, the real problems arise when:

Are financial incentives always positive for a firm?

Corporate culture

Strategic planning systems are in fact embedded in top managers' minds because of the complexity and the confidentiality of the topic

Adaptability, as one advantage of hierarchy, requires:

At the "reciprocal" level of interdependence:

Organizational design is about: