Question 1

Wide spans of control allow managers to be much more hands-on with employees.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

Talia formed a technology start-up in her garage, and it has grown more rapidly than she ever imagined. She has always kept tabs on all of her people, and her company has just passed 150 employees. What should she do now?

Accepted Answer

A)  send managers to large corporations to bring back a sense of largeness 
B)  add more structure for communication and decision-making 
C)  decrease structure for communication and decision-making 
D)  increase the number of decisions that only she can make 
E)  eliminate some positions to keep numbers manageable

Question 3

A large pharmaceutical company recently adopted a structure in order to give its top managers more responsibility and flexibility. The company is now structured around five customer groupings: major healthcare provider networks, individual consumers, small and mid-sized pharmacies, military bases and government employee facilities, and public clinics. Which of the following organizational structures has this company created?

Accepted Answer

A)  client-based 
B)  geographic 
C)  functional 
D)  product 
E)  simple

Question 4

At LMNO Creating, employees are grouped according to their expertise in an area. All marketing employees are in one department, all finance employees are grouped in another department, and similarly, all human resources and manufacturing employees are in their respective departments. Which of the following structures does LMNO Creating use?

Accepted Answer

A)  client-based 
B)  geographic 
C)  functional 
D)  product 
E)  simple

Question 5

Formalization refers to

Accepted Answer

A)  where decisions are formally made in organizations. 
B)  the degree to which tasks in an organization are divided into separate jobs. 
C)  how many employees each manager in the organization has responsibility for. 
D)  the answer to the question of "who reports to whom?" and signifies formal authority relationships. 
E)  the degree to which rules and procedures are used to standardize behaviors and decisions in an organization.

Question 6

Ray is employed by Perpetual Products. Recently, Perpetual has grown too broad to be managed the way it always has been, so the company has implemented a matrix structure in response to its changing needs. Define matrix structure. Identify one strength and one weakness of such a structure from Ray's viewpoint.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Ray is employed by Perpetual Products. Recently,...

Question 7

Work specialization refers to

Accepted Answer

A)  where decisions are formally made in organizations. 
B)  the degree to which tasks in an organization are divided into separate jobs. 
C)  how many employees each manager in the organization has responsibility for. 
D)  answering the question of "who reports to whom?" and signifies formal authority relationships. 
E)  the degree to which rules and procedures are used to standardize behaviors and decisions in an organization.

Question 8

In Big Bluff Heirlooms, a furniture manufacturing company, the arrival and departure times to and from work are specified to the minute, with time clocks used to control deviant behavior. It can be said that the company is high in

Accepted Answer

A)  formalization. 
B)  centralization. 
C)  decentralization. 
D)  division of labor. 
E)  work differentiation.

Question 9

Organic organizations are

Accepted Answer

A)  efficient, rigid, predictable, and standardized organizations that thrive in stable environments. 
B)  more complex designs that try to take advantage of two types of structures at the same time. 
C)  flexible, adaptive, outward-focused organizations that thrive in dynamic environments. 
D)  business units grouped around different products that the company produces. 
E)  flat organizations with one person as the central decision-making figure.

Question 10

Shane is the project manager of the organizational development team at Solid Hardwoods. Shane's team has been assigned the task of studying and evaluating Solid Hardwoods' organizational structure. Shane divided the tasks among the team members to collect preliminary information on different elements of Solid Hardwoods' structure. Meg was asked to collect information on the degree to which tasks are divided into separate jobs. Andrea was asked to collect information on formal authority relationships. Francine started looking into how many employees each manager has responsibility for, and Carol was asked to collect evidence on the degree to which rules and procedures are used to standardize behaviors at Solid Hardwoods. Shane decided to personally collect information and evidence on where exactly decisions are formally made at Solid Hardwoods. The team decided to meet with information in two weeks. On which element of organizational structure was Carol asked to collect evidence?

Accepted Answer

A)  centralization 
B)  formalization 
C)  span of control 
D)  chain of command 
E)  work specialization

Question 11

Mazie heads Grass Roots Diversified, a company that started making garden rakes in Oregon and has now diversified into a huge range of areas totally unrelated to gardening. Grass Roots has become impossible to run under its current configuration. How should Mazie redesign the organization?

Accepted Answer

A)  create complete business units in Oregon, Kansas, and Alabama 
B)  group business units by rakes, furniture, shelving, and kitchen goods 
C)  group employees by accounting, marketing, design, production, and so on 
D)  structure business units according to the technology used to create products 
E)  organize the business units around serving the government, gardening stores, and kitchen stores

Question 12

When Lakefront Marine Company groups its business units around the different lines of boats such as the Shark, Bass, and Catfish, which of the following structures is it creating?

Accepted Answer

A)  simple 
B)  product 
C)  functional 
D)  geographic 
E)  client-based

Question 13

The method by which an organization transforms its inputs into outputs refers to its

Accepted Answer

A)  structure. 
B)  technology. 
C)  specialization. 
D)  quality. 
E)  projects.

Question 14

Centralization reflects

Accepted Answer

A)  where decisions are formally made in organizations. 
B)  the degree to which tasks in an organization are divided into separate jobs. 
C)  how many employees each manager in the organization has responsibility for. 
D)  the answer to the question of "who reports to whom?" and signifies formal authority relationships. 
E)  the degree to which rules and procedures are used to standardize behaviors and decisions in an organization.

Question 15

Katarina is the East Coast manager of Boots for You. Other managers are in charge of the West Coast, South, and Great Lakes divisions. Her brother, Jordan is a marketing manager at a different firm who enjoys watching sports with the finance and operations managers from his company. Katarina likely works in a company with a ________ structure, while Jordan most likely works in a company with a ________ structure.

Accepted Answer

A)  product; functional 
B)  geographic; product 
C)  product; client-based 
D)  geographic; functional 
E)  client-based; geographic

Question 16

Which of the following statements about companies that adopt a low-cost producer strategy is True?

Accepted Answer

A)  They believe that people will pay more for a product that is unique in some way. 
B)  They rely on selling products at the lowest possible cost. 
C)  They depend on being able to adjust to changing environments quickly. 
D)  Such companies are more likely to take an organic approach to organizational design. 
E)  They focus on supplying high-quality differentiated products to customers.

Question 17

Describe the three multi-divisional structures. Draw their organizational charts.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe the three multi-divisional structures. Draw their...

Question 18

Decentralized organizational structures tend to concentrate power and authority within a relatively tight group of individuals in the firm.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

In a mechanistic organization, employees are

Accepted Answer

A)  encouraged to engage in lateral communication. 
B)  required to make their own decisions when appropriate. 
C)  given a very narrow view of the tasks they are to perform. 
D)  urged to develop knowledge outside of their specialization. 
E)  asked to think more broadly in terms of where their responsibilities lie.

Question 20

The biggest weakness of a functional structure is that

Accepted Answer

A)  it is not efficient when the organization as a whole has a relatively narrow focus. 
B)  it is not efficient when the organization has fewer product lines or services. 
C)  it cannot operate efficiently in a stable environment. 
D)  employees do not communicate as well across functions as they do within functions. 
E)  employee efficiency is decreased due to a high degree of work specialization.

Exam 15: Organizational Structure

Wide spans of control allow managers to be much more hands-on with employees.

Talia formed a technology start-up in her garage, and it has grown more rapidly than she ever imagined. She has always kept tabs on all of her people, and her company has just passed 150 employees. What should she do now?

Formalization refers to

Work specialization refers to

In Big Bluff Heirlooms, a furniture manufacturing company, the arrival and departure times to and from work are specified to the minute, with time clocks used to control deviant behavior. It can be said that the company is high in

Organic organizations are

Mazie heads Grass Roots Diversified, a company that started making garden rakes in Oregon and has now diversified into a huge range of areas totally unrelated to gardening. Grass Roots has become impossible to run under its current configuration. How should Mazie redesign the organization?

When Lakefront Marine Company groups its business units around the different lines of boats such as the Shark, Bass, and Catfish, which of the following structures is it creating?

The method by which an organization transforms its inputs into outputs refers to its

Centralization reflects

Which of the following statements about companies that adopt a low-cost producer strategy is True?

Describe the three multi-divisional structures. Draw their organizational charts.

Decentralized organizational structures tend to concentrate power and authority within a relatively tight group of individuals in the firm.

In a mechanistic organization, employees are

The biggest weakness of a functional structure is that