Deck 7: Organizing

Question 1

Organizational design involves making decisions about four fundamental principles of organization.Which of the following is NOT one of those for principles? (A) division of labor
(B) hierarchy
(C) span of control
(D) unity of direction
(E) line and staff

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following does an organization chart clarify LEAST well? (A) how work is divided into components
(B) the levels of management
(C) who is whose supervisor
(D) the nature of work performed by each component
(E) line and staff positions

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Which of the following principles states that authority and responsibility should flow in a direct line vertically from the highest level to the lowest level?

A)Scalar principle
B)Line and staff principle
C)Systems structure
D)Division of labor
E)Mosaic

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Many refer to the worldwide reform agenda to "reinventing government" as (A) leading-edge public administration
(B) the new new PA
(C) postmodern public management
(D) the new public management
(E) entrepreneurial governance

Question 5

Besides the United States, which three countries were cited in the textbook for their efforts in reinventing government?

A)Norway, Sweden, and Denmark
B)Argentina, Brazil, and Chile
C)South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan
D)New Zealand, United Kingdom, and Australia
E)Germany, France, and Switzerland

Question 6

Define each of the following principles of organization and then discuss their strengths and weaknesses: division of labor, hierarchy, span of control, and line and staff.

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT a principle of reinventing government? (A) catalytic
(B) command-and-control
(C) customer-driven
(D) mission-driven
(E) competitive

Question 8

According to Keidel, Drucker, and other management experts, which of the following types of organization is particularly well suited to serve as a kind of model for work in the information revolution?

A)Football team
B)Baseball team
C)Basketball team
D)Symphony orchestra
E)Hospital emergency room team

Question 9

In what kind of organization is a person likely to report to two superiors?

A)Pyramid
B)Conglomerate
C)Mosaic
D)Matrix
E)Pluralist

Question 10

Which of the following is NOT considered a disadvantage of the team approach? (A) conflicts and dual loyalties
(B) over decentralization
(C) failure to see the big picture
(D) increased administrative overhead
(E) increase cost of meetings

Question 11

"After federal marshals seize drug dealers' homes, they are allowed to sell them and use the money to help finance the war on drugs.To sell the houses, they must keep them presentable, which includes keeping the lawns mowed.In Atlanta, most organizations would hire neighborhood teenagers to mow a lawn for $10.But procurement regulations require the U-S.Marshal Service to bid out all work competitively, and neighborhood teenagers don't compete for contracts.So the federal government pays $40 a lawn to professional landscape firms.Regulations designed to save money waste it, because they take decisions out of the hands of those responsible for doing the work.And taxpayers lose $30 for every lawn mowed." The paragraph above came from where?

A)The majority opinion in O'Connor v.Ortega (1987)
B)Congressional testimony given after the issuance of Executive Order 11063
C)Congressional Budget Office, Annual Report
D)Report of the National Performance Review
E)Federal Register

Question 12

According to Peter Drucker, four factors -- futurity, reversibility, impact, and rarity -- are helpful in (A) determining where a decision belongs
(B) re-examining the final organizational form
(C) determining what are the key activities in an organization
(D) deciding whether an organization is mechanistic or organic
(E) providing the rationale for reorganization

Question 13

Weber identified three types of legitimate authority.What are they and how do they differ?

Question 14

Executive branch organizations tend to lack coherence primarily because of (A) budgetary shortfalls
(B) White House micromanagement
(C) congressional committees
(D) the relative inexperience of political appointees
(E) internalization of subgoals

Question 15

When is the matrix type of organization best used?
I)When work is applied to standardized services with high volumes
II)When work is for narrowly defined projects
III)When the organization has a large number of specialists

A)I
B)II
C)III
D)land II
E)I, II, and III

Question 16

According to the text, what matters most in determining the span of control is not how many people report to the manager but

A)the level of maturity of the subordinates.
B)the length of time the subordinates have been in the organization.
C)how many people who have to work with each other report to the manager.
D)the experience of the manager.
E)the organization's environment.

Question 17

List the key features of a bureaucracy.

Question 18

"The central problem is that government bureaucracy is not subject to disciplines as those that operate in the private sector are." This statement is most associated with which of the following scholars? (A) Robert K.Merton
(B) Anthony Downs
(C) Peter Drucker
(D) Henry Mintzberg
(E) Max Weber

Question 19

Which of the following is the best example of a network organization? (A) NASA's Orbitor Project Office
(B) the Naval Aviation Depot
(C) the Executive Office of the President
(D) Kentucky's City Work
(E) military industrial complex

Question 20

Which of the following features is NOT associated with Weber's ideal of bureaucracy?

A)A division of labor based on functional specialization
B)An ill-defined hierarchy of authority
C)A system of rules covering the rights and duties of employment
D)Impersonality of interpersonal relations
E)Promotion and selection based on technical competence

Question 21

Defined a network organization and give an example.

Question 22

Briefly explain the seven traits of an effective organization.

Question 23

According to the text, at least for critical questions must be addressed in designing an organization.What are they?

Question 24

The text identified two types of teams: cross-functional and permanent.Given example of each.

Question 25

Explain the sports metaphor that Keidel uses to describe the kinds of interaction, communication, and chemistry at work in certain organizations today.

Question 26

What do organization charts show? What are their limitations?

Question 27

What are some of the reasons that governments reorganize?

Question 28

How does the team form of organization differ from a mere group of people with a common assignment?

Question 29

What is the root problem of government according to the Report of the National Performance Review and the many studies that preceeded?

Question 30

How does a matrix organization operate.What are its strengths and weaknesses?

Question 31

List and discuss some of the common characteristics of the reinventing government movement.

Question 32

What are the critical factors that determine the level at which a decision should be made with the in an organization?