Deck 5: Designing Organizational Structure: Authority and Control

Question 1

When each employee performs only a small part of a total task, identifying the employees individual contribution to the task becomes easy.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

A flat organization has fewer managers and hierarchical levels than a tall organization.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Managers of a flat organization possess relatively less authority and responsibility than those of a tall organization.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

As the number of levels in the hierarchy increases, the relative difference in the authority possessed by managers at each level decreases.

Question 5

As the number of levels in its managerial hierarchy increases, it becomes difficult for the organization to control its members.

Question 6

If tasks are routine and similar so that all subordinates perform the same task, then the span of control should be small.

Question 7

The greater the number of hierarchical levels in an organization, the lower the bureaucratic costs.

Question 8

An organization in which the hierarchy has many levels relative to the size of the organization is known as an organic organization.

Question 9

Horizontal differentiation leads to the emergence of specialized subunits-functions or divisions.

Question 10

Research suggests that the increase in the size of the managerial component in an organization is less than proportional to the increase in size of the organization as it grows.

Question 11

The greater the number of managers the lower the bureaucratic costs.

Question 12

A tall organization has fewer managers to direct and control employees activities than a flat organization with the same number of employees.

Question 13

A manager's span of control includes subordinates he or she supervises directly and subordinates that he or she supervises indirectly (by supervising their direct boss).

Question 14

When subordinates tasks are complex and dissimilar, a manager's span of control needs to be wide.

Question 15

An organization with a tall structure will also experience fewer communication, motivation, and cost problems than a flat organization.

Question 16

Parkinson's law states that "Work expands so as to fill the time available."

Question 17

If the span of control of each manager increases as the number of employee's increases, then the number of managers or hierarchical levels does not increase in proportion to increases in the number of employees.

Question 18

According to the principle of minimum chain of command, an organization should choose the minimum number of hierarchical levels consistent with its goals and the environment in which it operates.

Question 19

The shape of an organization, depicted by its organizational chart, determines how effectively the organization's decision-making and communication systems work.

Question 20

Most organizations have a pyramid-like structure with fewer and fewer managers at each level up in the hierarchy.

Question 21

A manager's ability to supervise and control subordinates' behavior directly is limited by two factors: the complexity and the interrelatedness of subordinates' tasks.

Question 22

Contingent workers are employees who belong to self-managed teams.

Question 23

As an organization grows, ________.

A) an increase in the number of managers is more than proportional to the increase in size
B) an increase in the number of managers is less than proportional to the increase in size
C) an increase in the number of managers is proportional to the increase in size
D) the number of managers remains constant

Question 24

An organization in which the hierarchy has many levels relative to the size of the organization is a(n) ________ organization.

A) tall
B) flat
C) decentralized
D) organic

Question 25

According to Weber, rational-legal authority emerges due to qualities that a person possess, such as charisma or wealth.

Question 26

An increase in the horizontal differentiation leads to an increase in the vertical differentiation.

Question 27

Standardization makes it easier to increase span of control.

Question 28

According to Weber's third principle of bureaucratic structure, a role's task responsibility and decision-making authority and its relationship to other roles in the organization should be clearly specified.

Question 29

Which of the following statements is true regarding direct supervision?

A) Direct supervision allows managers to ensure that subordinate are not hiding any crucial information.
B) The method of direct supervision is more effective in flat rather than tall organizations.
C) Direct supervision is not suitable for on-the-job task learning.
D) The method of direct supervision is more effective in organic rather than in inorganic structure.

Question 30

Role ambiguity occurs when two or more people have different views of what another person should do and, as a result, make conflicting demands on the person.

Question 31

Which of the following statements is most likely to be true regarding a tall organization?

A) A tall organization has few levels in its hierarchy relative to its size.
B) Generally organizations with less than 1000 employees have tall structures.
C) A tall organization has more managers to direct and control employees' activities than does a flat organization with the same number of employees.
D) The taller an organization, the more decentralized are its operations.

Question 32

Decentralization does not eliminate the need for many hierarchical levels in a large and complex organization.

Question 33

Which of the following is most likely to be done by an organization to improve its ability to control its members and influence their behavior?

A) increase the use of self-managed team
B) increase employee empowerment
C) increase the number of levels in its managerial hierarchy
D) increase the extent of decentralization

Question 34

Contingent workers do not receive indirect benefits such as health insurance or pensions.

Question 35

In a bureaucracy, obedience is owed to a person because of the level of authority and responsibility associated with the organizational position the person occupies.

Question 36

In a bureaucratic organization, individuals can be held accountable for what they do, and such accountability reduces the transaction costs.

Question 37

Role conflict occurs when a person's tasks or authority are not clearly defined and the person becomes afraid to act on or take responsibility for anything.

Question 38

Weber's first principle indicates that choices affecting the design of an organization's hierarchy should be based on the needs of the task, not on the needs of the person performing the task.

Question 39

Decentralization enables even a relatively tall structure to be more flexible in its responses to changes in the external environment.

Question 40

The primary advantage of a bureaucracy is that it lays out the ground rules for designing an organizational hierarchy that efficiently controls interactions between organizational levels.

Question 41

As compared to a tall organization, an organization with a flat structure is most likely to experience ________.

A) more communication problems
B) fewer motivation problems
C) fewer benefits of economies of scope
D) higher bureaucratic costs

Question 42

Which of the following is most likely to increase the bureaucratic costs?

A) changing the organization structure from functional to divisional
B) decreasing the number of managers
C) increasing the number of hierarchical levels
D) decreasing the level of standardization

Question 43

Research evidence suggests that an organization with 3,000 employees is most likely to have ________ levels in its hierarchy.

A) five
B) six
C) seven
D) nine

Question 44

According to the principle of minimum chain of command, ________.

A) managers seek to increase the number of their subordinates so as to improve their status in the organization
B) an organization should be kept as flat as possible
C) the use of functional organizational structure improves the speed of decision-making
D) an increase in the number of hierarchical levels leads to an increase in the bureaucratic costs

Question 45

As the number of hierarchical levels increases, ________.

A) the degree of formalization decreases
B) the possibility that the information will be distorted decreases
C) the degree of decentralization increases
D) communication problems get progressively worse

Question 46

Which of the following statements is true regarding organizational structure?

A) As the number of levels in the hierarchy increases, the relative difference in the authority possessed by managers at each level increases.
B) Most organizations have the same number of managers at all levels in the organization.
C) As the number of hierarchical levels increases, the number of communication problems decreases.
D) Most organizations have a pyramid-like structure and fewer and fewer managers at each level up in the hierarchy.

Question 47

An organization that has few levels in its hierarchy relative to its size is known as a ________ organization.

A) tall
B) flat
C) formalized
D) standardized

Question 48

Rose supervises Iris, who in turn supervises Violet and Daisy. Violet has four subordinates and Daisy has six. Which of the following options represents the accurate spans of control for each of these supervisors?

A) Rose 13, Iris 2, Violet 4, Daisy 6
B) Rose 13, Iris 12, Violet 4, Daisy 6
C) Rose 1, Iris 2, Violet 4, Daisy 6
D) Rose 3, Iris 12, Violet 4, Daisy 6

Question 49

Which of the following is one of the ways in which an organization can avoid becoming too tall yet maintain effective control of its workforce?

A) encouraging upward communication but discouraging downward communication
B) conducting 360 degrees appraisal of the employees
C) increasing its managers' span of control
D) increasing the number of levels in the hierarchy

Question 50

Which of the following statements is true regarding a flat organization?

A) A flat organization has more managers than a tall organization.
B) The flatter the organization, the less motivated are the employees.
C) Managers of a flat organization possess relatively more authority than those of a tall organization.
D) A flat organization has more hierarchical levels than a tall organization.

Question 51

Under which of the following situations is it easier to increase the span of control?

A) The tasks are routine.
B) The tasks are complex.
C) The tasks are highly interrelated.
D) The tasks need to be performed by highly skilled professionals.

Question 52

The ________ states that work expands to fill the time available.

A) Parkinson's law
B) principle of the minimum chain of command
C) Gissel doctrine
D) Bradford's law

Question 53

Which of the following observations made by Parkinson led to the development of the Parkinson's law?

A) A division of labor increases efficiency.
B) As the number of levels in the hierarchy increases, the quality of the communication improves.
C) The use of flat organization structure improves the motivation of the employees.
D) Managers seek to increase the number of their subordinates.

Question 54

Adding more managers to a company is most likely to result in ________.

A) increase in the degree of centralization
B) flattening of the organizational structure
C) higher bureaucratic costs
D) decrease in the number of hierarchical levels

Question 55

Which of the following terms refers to the number of subordinates a manager directly supervises?

A) span of control
B) chain of authority
C) degree of standardization
D) level of centralization

Question 56

According to the principle of ________, an organization should choose the minimum number of hierarchical levels consistent with its goals and the environment in which it operates.

A) economies of scope
B) minimum chain of command
C) unity of direction
D) horizontal differentiation

Question 57

It is more difficult to increase the span of control when ________.

A) tasks are routine or similar
B) tasks are highly interrelated
C) the structure of the organization is highly decentralized
D) the organization operates in a stable environment

Question 58

As ________, the relative difference in the authority possessed by managers at each level in the organizational hierarchy decreases.

A) the number of shareholders of an organization decreases
B) the number of levels in the hierarchy increases
C) the total number of employees in the organization decreases
D) the degree of centralization of the organizational structure increases

Question 59

Which of the following is most likely to happen if the span of control is too wide?

A) The speed of decision-making will increase.
B) The number of managers at the higher levels in the hierarchy will be more than the number of managers at the lower levels in the hierarchy.
C) The division of labor will be too low.
D) Subordinates will shirk responsibility.

Question 60

A manager associated with which of the following entities is most likely to have the widest span of control?

A) a plant that produces hammers
B) a science lab that does complex genetic research
C) a plant that manufactures airplanes
D) an R&D department in a drug manufacturing company

Question 61

Which of the following is one of Weber's bureaucratic principles?

A) A tall organization should use a decentralized organizational structure and narrow span of control.
B) In order to decrease environmental complexity, an organization should centralize its operations.
C) Organizational roles are held on the basis of technical competence.
D) Employees should be allowed to participate in decision-making.

Question 62

As the hierarchy of an organization becomes taller, ________.

A) the number of managers decreases drastically
B) the process of coordination gets simplified
C) the complexity of the organization's specific environment increases
D) managers begin to spend more and more time monitoring and supervising their subordinates

Question 63

Which of the following is the most direct effect of decentralization?

A) the time required to make decisions increases
B) the flexibility of the organization decreases
C) the specific environment of the organization gets stabilized
D) the monitoring burden on top managers is reduced

Question 64

Weber's bureaucratic model is based on ________ authority.

A) traditional
B) elected
C) rational-legal
D) charismatic

Question 65

With reference to Weber's principles of bureaucratic structure, which of the following terms refers to the authority a person possesses because of his or her position in an organization?

A) rational-legal authority
B) transactional authority
C) charismatic authority
D) transformational authority

Question 66

Which of the following is most likely to be the effect of standardization?

A) The actions of the employees become predictable.
B) Managers span of control decreases.
C) The number of levels in the hierarchy increases.
D) The need for division of labor decreases.

Question 67

Which of the following terms refers to a form of organizational structure in which people can be held accountable for their actions because they are required to act in accordance with well-specified and agreed-upon rules and standard operating procedures?

A) an organic organization
B) a bureaucracy
C) a matrix organization
D) an autocracy

Question 68

________, a German sociologist, developed bureaucratic organizing principles that underlie effective organizational structure.

A) Frederick Herzberg
B) Abraham Maslow
C) Max Weber
D) Daniel Bell

Question 69

Joe, an accountant, works for Jack and Judy. Jack told Joe to use the straight-line method for calculating depreciation, and Judy told Joe to use the double-declining-balance method to compute depreciation. Joe is experiencing a role ________.

A) divergence
B) ambiguity
C) conflict
D) contravention

Question 70

Which of the following statements is true according to Weber's principles of bureaucratic structure?

A) Classroom training should be given to all the employees to improve their theoretical knowledge.
B) In a stable environment, an organization should use a centralized organizational structure with narrow spans of control.
C) A role's task responsibility and decision-making authority should be clearly specified.
D) A 360 degrees appraisal should be conducted for all the employees at least twice a year.

Question 71

When there are limits on the usefulness of direct, personal supervision by managers, organizations have to find other ways to control their activities. In such a situations, which of the following, typically, is the first step taken by the organizations?

A) decreasing the level of standardization
B) increasing the level of horizontal differentiation
C) increasing the division of labor
D) increasing the span of control

Question 72

According to Weber's principles of bureaucratic structure, the authority a person possesses results from ________.

A) the person's social status
B) the position of the person in the organization
C) the educational qualification of the person
D) the person's charisma

Question 73

When authority is ________, the authority to make significant decisions is delegated to people throughout the hierarchy, not concentrated at the top.

A) standardized
B) formalized
C) decentralized
D) differentiated

Question 74

Which of the following functions will most likely have the tallest hierarchy?

A) Manufacturing
B) Sales
C) R&D
D) Accounting

Question 75

Usually, Sales has a relatively ________ hierarchy because supervisors use ________.

A) flat; centralization
B) flat; standardization
C) tall; centralization
D) tall; standardization

Question 76

Role ________ occurs when two or more people have different views of what another person should do, and as a result, make opposing demands on the person.

A) conflict
B) divergence
C) contravention
D) ambiguity

Question 77

Standardization ________.

A) enables a manager to increase his or her span of control
B) makes it necessary to increase the number of levels in the hierarchy
C) increases the need for direct supervision
D) can be used only in a highly centralized organization

Question 78

Role ________ occurs when a person's tasks or authority are not clearly defined and the person becomes afraid to act on or take authority for anything.

A) conflict
B) ambiguity
C) struggle
D) divergence

Question 79

Which of the following factors is most likely to increase vertical differentiation within an organization because it leads to the creation of many subunit hierarchies within the organization?

A) increasing level of formalization
B) increasing employee empowerment
C) increasing horizontal differentiation
D) increasing upward communication but decreasing downward communication

Question 80

Which of the following actions most likely enables even a relatively tall structure to be more flexible in its responses to changes in the external environment?

A) promoting downward communication and discouraging upward communication
B) increasing the specialization and division of labor
C) increasing vertical differentiation
D) decentralizing authority