Deck 8: Organizational Structure and Design

Question 1

Given a clear mission,core values,objectives and strategy,organizing begins the process of strategy implementation by clarifying jobs and working relationships.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Three common types of traditional organizational structures are functional,divisional,and matrix.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Organizing is the process of arranging people and other resources to work together to accomplish a common goal.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The informal structure is a "shadow' organization made up of the unofficial,but often critical,working relationships between organizational members.

Question 5

Departmentalization is the process of grouping work positions into formal teams or departments and then linking them together in a coordinated fashion with the larger organization.

Question 6

The purpose of an organization structure is to divide up and coordinate resources and tasks in order to achieve performance success.

Question 7

The purpose of an organization structure is to design titles for different workers and to assign daily work tasks to them.

Question 8

An organization's ability to implement its strategy is greatly helped by a structure that allocates tasks through a division of labour and provides for the coordination of performance results.

Question 9

When problems occur between functions,they should immediately be referred up to a higher level for resolution.

Question 10

An organization chart shows positions and job titles,lines of authority,and formal communication channels for a company.

Question 11

The formal structure of the organization represents the way the organization is intended to function in terms of division of work,supervisory relationships,communication channels,major subunits,and levels of management.

Question 12

Advantages of functional structures include the support of in-depth training and reduced accountability for total product or service delivery.

Question 13

Social network analysis identifies the informal structures and their embedded social relationships that are active in an organization.

Question 14

Informal structures always work against the achievement of high productivity.

Question 15

Organization structure is the system of tasks,workflows,reporting relationships,and communications channels that link together the work of diverse individuals and groups.

Question 16

Peter Drucker described Edward Jones as "a confederation of highly autonomous entrepreneurial units bound together by a highly centralized core of values and services."

Question 17

In the management process of organizing,the strategic leadership challenge is to choose the best organizational form to fit the strategy and other situational demands.

Question 18

When an organization chart shows vice presidents of marketing,manufacturing,finance,and human resources reporting directly to the president of a company,the top management group is organized as a divisional structure.

Question 19

A functional structure is a form of organization in which people who have similar skills and who perform similar tasks are grouped together in work units.

Question 20

Informal structures always serve the best interests of the organization.

Question 21

Members of matrix organizations experience task confusion and encounter power struggles because of reporting to both a "project team boss" and a "functional boss."

Question 22

Workers in a matrix structure belong to at least two formal groups at the same time.These two groups are a functional group and a product,project,or program group.

Question 23

A cross-functional team brings together members from different areas of work responsibility.

Question 24

Included among the potential advantages of divisional structures are having expertise focused on specific customers,products,or regions,as well as greater ease in changing size by adding or deleting divisions.

Question 25

A divisional structure groups together people who work on the same product or process,serve similar customers,or work in the same geographic region.

Question 26

Divisional structures can create healthy rivalries as divisions compete for available resources.

Question 27

Customer structures are particularly appealing because they can best serve the special needs of different customer groups.

Question 28

Team structures improve communication and decision making as well as help to break down barriers between operating departments.

Question 29

A work process is a group of tasks related to one another that collectively creates something of value to a customer.

Question 30

A project team is set up for a particular task or project and disbands once it is completed.

Question 31

A potential disadvantage of functional structures concerns difficulties in pinpointing responsibilities for cost containment,product or service quality,timeliness,and innovation.

Question 32

Team meetings in the matrix can take lots of time,and the teams may develop "groupitis."

Question 33

The matrix structure makes use of permanent cross-functional teams to integrate functional expertise in support of a clear divisional focus on a product,project,or program.

Question 34

Process structures group together jobs and activities that are part of the same processes.

Question 35

Included among the potential advantages of divisional structures are more flexibility in responding to environmental changes and clear points of responsibility for product or service delivery.

Question 36

Geographical structures group together jobs and activities being performed in the same location or region.

Question 37

Product structures group together jobs and activities that serve the same customers or clients.

Question 38

Customer structures group together jobs and activities dealing with a single product or service.

Question 39

A potential disadvantage of the matrix structure is that problem solving is forced down the hierarchy to where the best information is available.

Question 40

The functional chimneys problem can slow decision-making,diminish cooperation and commitment to a common purpose,and interfere with coordination across functions.

Question 41

The key to organizational success is finding the one best organization design to fit all problems and opportunities.

Question 42

In a network structure,the entire system suffers if one part of the network breaks down or fails to deliver.

Question 43

The potential disadvantages of the network structure are due primarily to the demands of flexibility in responding to changing conditions,having fewer full-time employees to help build the supervisor's managerial empire,and the need to operate across great distances.

Question 44

Tom Burns and George Stalker found that the mechanistic organizations thrived when the environment was unstable and changing because it provided a necessary counterbalancing sense of order.

Question 45

A bureaucracy is a form of organization based on logic,order,and the legitimate use of formal authority.

Question 46

Team members' effective utilization of the time they spend together is independent of the quality of their interpersonal relations,group dynamics,and team management.

Question 47

In addressing the potential disadvantages of team structures,managers should manage time effectively but need not promote effective interpersonal relations,group dynamics,and team management.

Question 48

A virtual organization is a special form of a boundaryless organization.

Question 49

Key requirements for a boundaryless organization are the absence of hierarchy,empowerment of team members,technology utilization,and acceptance of impermanence.

Question 50

Boundaryless organizations eliminate internal boundaries among parts and external boundaries linking with the external environment.

Question 51

Boundaryless sourcing refers to the contracting of business functions to outside suppliers.

Question 52

The advantages of network structures include
a)staying cost competitive through reduced overhead and increased operating efficiency,and
b)operating with fewer full-time employees and less complex internal systems.

Question 53

A clear-cut division of labour,a strict hierarchy of authority,formal rules and procedures,and promotion based on competency are features that characterize bureaucracy.

Question 54

Network organizations own only the support functions and outsource core functions.

Question 55

Network structures consist of a central business core that that is linked through networks of relationships with outside contractors and suppliers of essential services.

Question 56

Due to the absence of structural barriers,boundaryless organizations have few communication and coordination problems.

Question 57

Organizations face widely varying problems and opportunities that affect how they are structured and managed.

Question 58

Organizational design is the process of choosing and implementing organizational structures that best arrange resources to accomplish the organization's mission and objectives.

Question 59

Bureaucracies tend to be rigid and formal,may be slow to respond to change,and may become unwieldy by relying too heavily on rules and procedures.

Question 60

A virtual organization operates in a shifting network of external strategic alliances that are engaged as needed,and typically are supported by extensive information technology utilization.

Question 61

Adaptive organizations promote narrow spans of control and tall structures.

Question 62

The line of authority that vertically links each position

Question 63

As organizations grow,they get taller as more levels are added to the chain of command.

Question 64

A subsystem is a work unit or department headed by a manager and that operates as a smaller component of a larger and total organizational system.

Question 65

Rules and procedures,matrix organizations,liaison roles,planning,direct contact among managers,hierarchical referral,are teams are different ways of improving subsystems integration in organizations.

Question 66

Organic designs are loose systems in which a lot of work gets done through informal structures and networks of interpersonal contacts.

Question 67

In their study of systems and subsystems design,Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch found that subsystems in the successful firms worked well together,even though some had very different structures.

Question 68

Differentiation refers to the degree of difference that exists among subsystems in an organization.

Question 69

If the manufacturing subsystem in a business firm has shorter-term action horizon than the research and development group,thus making it difficult for the two units to work together,they are experiencing differences in time orientation.

Question 70

Span of control refers to the number of subordinates reporting directly to a manager.

Question 71

Adaptive organizations operate with a minimum of bureaucratic structure and with cultures that encourage worker empowerment and participation.

Question 72

Decentralized authority,fewer rules and procedures,and personal means of coordination are characteristics of organic designs.

Question 73

According the research findings of Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch,successful firms operating in certain environments had more organic designs,whereas successful firms operating in uncertain environments had more mechanistic designs.

Question 74

Mechanistic designs are tight structures with a horizontal form.

Question 75

The mechanistic design is characterized by decentralization,wider spans of control,and few rules and procedures.

Question 76

An organization with narrow spans of control will have fewer managers and more subordinates per manager,whereas an organization with wide spans of control will have more managers and fewer subordinates per manager.

Question 77

Dynamic environments and changing conditions call for more organic designs.

Question 78

The organizational design that is highly bureaucratic in nature is called the organic design.

Question 79

A basic problem in organizations that particularly affects subsystem design is that as differentiation increases,the need for integration increases but it becomes more difficult to accomplish.

Question 80

In a mechanistic organization,an employee works in an orderly and disciplined environment,adheres to many rules and procedures,and is closely supervised.