13 Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1.
All organiza organizationa tionall structures structures have the followin following g two fundamenta fundamentall requireme requirements: nts: A. flatter span of control and decentralization B. division of labour and and coordination C. decentralization and divisionalization D. coordination and decentralization decentralization E. centralization and outsourcing outsourcing
2.
Dividi Dividing ng work work into into more more spec special ialize ized d jobs jobs tends tends to: to: A. increase training costs. B. reduce work efficiency. C. reduce the opportunity to match people people with appropriate jobs. D. do all of these these things. E. do none of these things.
3.
To increase increase work work efficiency efficiency and and make it it easier easier to match employ employee ee compete competencies ncies with with job require requirements ments,, companies tend to: A. divide work into more specialized specialized jobs. B. rely on formal hierarchy as a coordinating mechanism. mechanism. C. rely on a narrow span span of control. D. centralize decision decision making. E. rely on formal hierarchy AND a narrow span of control.
4.
Coordi Coordinat nation ion of work work activi activitie tiess is requir required: ed: A. whenever there is division division of labour. B. only in team-based organizations. C. whenever the organization has more than approximately 100 employees. employees. D. only when organizations operate operate in complex environments. E. never; coordination of work activities is not found in organizations. organizations.
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All All orga organi niza zati tion onss hav have: e: A. a formal hierarchy that includes supervisors and non-supervisory employees. employees. B. a divisionalized structure. C. some form of coordinating coordinating mechanism. D. a mechanistic structure. E. formal team-based structures
6.
When When people people divid dividee work amon among g themse themselve lves, s, they they need need to: to: A. centralize. B. decentralize. C. form a team-based organizational organizational structure. D. rely increasingly on a simple structure. E. rely on one or more coordinating mechanisms. mechanisms.
7.
Which Which of of the foll followi owing ng is a coord coordina inatin ting g mechan mechanism ism?? A. Standardization B. Formal hierarchy C. Informal communication D. All of these are coordinating mechanisms. mechanisms. E. None of these is a coordinating mechanism. mechanism.
8.
As organiza organizations tions grow, which of the following following does does NOT NOT typically typically occur? occur? A. Informal communication becomes more prevalent as a coordinating mechanism. mechanism. B. There is increasing division of labour. C. More coordination through standardization standardization occurs. D. The organization becomes becomes more formalized. E. There is increasing job specialization. specialization.
9.
In organi organizatio zational nal structures structures,, integra integrator tor roles serve mainly mainly as: as: A. a form of standardization standardization B. an informal communication coordinating coordinating mechanism C. a form of direct supervision supervision D. one of four types of technology technology E. the main element in divisionalized structures
10. Integrator Integrator roles roles do which which of of the followin following? g? A. They increase formalization and centralization. centralization. B. They support informal communication as a coordinating mechanism. C. They reduce the need for virtual corporations. corporations. D. They increase the amount amount of formal hierarchy. E. They do none of these things. 11. Encouraging coordination through informal communion by by organizing employees from several departments into temporary teams is called: A. Integrating B. Informal team shaping shaping C. Skunkworking D. Concurrent engineering E. Asynchronous social social engineering 12. ______________ ______________ involves organizing employees employees from several several departments departments into a temporary temporary team for the purpose of developing a product or service. A. Formalization B. Standardization C. Synergizing D. Team building E. Concurrent engineering engineering 13. Which of the followin following g is NOT a coordinatin coordinating g mechanism? mechanism? A. Job descriptions B. Informal communication C. Centralization D. Sales targets E. Extensive training 14. Coordinati Coordination on through through formal formal hierarchy hierarchy relies relies mainly on: on: A. informal communication. B. job descriptions. C. bureaucratic procedures procedures and policies. D. assigning legitimate power to individuals, individuals, who then use this power to direct the work of others. E. none of these. these. 15. An organizational organizational chart mainly illustrates which type of coordinating mechanism? A. Formal hierarchy B. Informal communication C. Standardization of of skills D. Standardization of output E. None of these these
16. Standardiz Standardizing ing work through through job descriptions descriptions and procedures procedures:: A. is a form of coordination. B. is more common when the work is complex and and ambiguous. C. tends to reduce quality and consistency. consistency. D. is unnecessary in large organizations. organizations. E. is more common in organic rather than mechanistic mechanistic structures. 17. Which coordinating mechanism is typically most important among people working in hospital surgical surgical operations? A. Direct supervision B. Integrator roles C. Job descriptions D. Standardized skill through extensive extensive training E. People working in surgical operations do not use any coordinating mechanism. 18. When work activities activities are too complex to standardize through through procedures or goals, companies companies often coordinate work effort: A. through direct supervision. supervision. B. by extensively training training employees. C. by giving one employee most of the tasks previously divided among many people. D. through further division of labour. labour. E. through formal hierarchy. hierarchy. 19. Many of the best-performing production production plants are able to widen their span span of control to more than 70 employees per supervisor by: A. teaching supervisors how how to more efficiently monitor employees. B. giving up on the idea that all employees must must perform their fair share of work. C. hiring supervisors who intimidate employees employees more often. D. relying on self-directed work teams and other coordinating coordinating mechanisms. E. introducing video cameras and other technologies to help supervisors to monitor more employees. 20. A wider wider span of of control control is possibl possiblee where: where: A. employees manage themselves themselves rather than being coordinated through close supervision. B. the company has a high degree of formalization and operates in a complex environment. C. the organization has few employees employees and a tall hierarchy. D. all of these conditions exist. E. none of these conditions conditions exist. 21. The trend toward toward flatter organizational organizational structures (delayering) (delayering) has occurred because because this action: action: A. tends to reduce overhead costs. costs. B. narrows the span of control for supervisors. supervisors. C. puts decision makers closer closer to front-line staff and information about customer needs. D. does all of these things. things. E. reduces overhead costs AND puts decision makers closer to front-line staff and information about customer needs. 22. Candoo Ltd. will soon flatten its hierarchy by by removing two of the five layers layers of management. management. If the number of employees in the organization remains constant, which of the following must also occur? A. It must adopt a matrix form of departmentalization. departmentalization. B. It must widen the span span of control. C. It must rely more on direct supervision than standardization to coordinate the resulting structure. D. It must centralize decision making. E. All of these must occur. occur.
23. Which of the following is NOT a potentially negative negative long-term consequence of excessive excessive delayering of middle management? A. It undermines managerial managerial functions. B. It restricts managerial career career development. C. It increases management management workloads D. It sends a signal that managers are no longer longer valued. E. All of the above apply. apply. 24. Organizational and environmental complexity push organizations towards: A. formalization. B. a more mechanistic mechanistic structure. C. decentralization. D. a simple structure. E. all of these structural forms. 25. Which of these these statements statements about about decentraliza decentralization tion is FALSE? FALSE? A. Organizations decentralize as as they grow larger. B. Different degrees of decentralization can occur simultaneously simultaneously in different parts of the organization. C. Organizations operating in diverse environments are more effective when they centralize decision making. D. Large organizations should worry about having too much decentralization. E. Large organizations that remain centralized tend to become less responsive to the external environment. 26. Decentrali Decentralizatio zation n is more likely likely to occur occur when: when: A an organization becomes so complex that senior executives cannot process all the decisions that . significantly influence the business. B. corporate leaders want more consistent decisions across all work units. C. corporate leaders want to increase consistency and reduce costs costs across the organization. D. all of these occur. E. none of these occur. occur. 27. Which organizational organizational design element element is most closely related to standardization standardization as a coordinating mechanism? A. Departmentalization B. Span of control C. Formalization D. Centralization E. Division of labour labour 28. As organiza organizations tions grow grow older, older, they they tend to: to: A. become more formalized. B. become more centralized. centralized. C. move towards a simple form of departmentalization. departmentalization. D. shift from a mechanistic to an organic structure. E. do none of these things. 29. Employees are most likely to experience job dissatisfaction and and work stress when the organization organization has: A. high centralization. B. high formalization. C. an organic structure. D. low formalization. E. a divisionalized structure.
30. Formalizat Formalization ion in organizatio organizational nal structures structures tends tends to: A. reduce organizational organizational flexibility. B. undermine organizational organizational learning and creativity. C. make rules and procedures the focus of attention rather than serving stakeholders. D. have all of these outcomes outcomes E reduce organizational flexibility AND make some employees feel alienated and powerless, but doesn't . usually make rules and procedures the focus of attention. 31. Mechanist Mechanistic ic structure structuress operate operate best: best: A. in stable environments. environments. B. where employees dislike hierarchy hierarchy and status. C. in rapidly changing environments. D. where knowledge management management is a competitive advantage to the organization. E. where employees perform tasks tasks with high variety and low analyzability. 32. Communication flows in all all directions with little concern concern for the the formal hierarchy hierarchy in: A. a mechanistic structure. B. a centralized structure. C. a formalized structure. structure. D. a functional structure. E. an organic structure. structure. 33. An organi organicc structu structure re has: has: A. a narrow span of control and low formalization. B. centralized decision making making and a wide span of control. C. decentralized decision decision making and low formalization. D. a high degree of formalization and a wide span of control. control. E. functional departmentalization and and a high degree of formalization. 34. Organizations tend tend to form two clusters based based on their span span of control, control, centralization, and and formalization. The two clusters represented by these organizational design features are called: A. hierarchical versus delayered. delayered. B. networked versus team-based. C. biological versus synthetic. synthetic. D. organic versus mechanistic. mechanistic. E. diverse versus integrated. integrated. 35. Which organizational organizational design element element determines how employees employees and their their activities are grouped grouped together? A. Span of control B. Formalization C. Centralization D. Departmentalization E. Organizational grouping 36. Departmen Departmentaliza talization tion does does all of the following following EXCEPT: EXCEPT: A. Departmentalization establishes a system of common supervision. supervision. B. Departmentalization discourages discourages coordination through informal communication. C. Departmentalization creates common measures measures of performance among employees in the unit. D. Departmentalization typically determines which positions and units must share resources. resources. E. Departmentalization establishes interdependencies interdependencies among employees and subunits. 37. ____________ ____________ establishes the chain of command, that is, the system system of common common supervision among positions and units within the organization. A. Span of control B. Formalization C. Workflows D. Job specialization E. Departmentalization
38. Simple structures usually rely on which of the following to coordinate work work activities? A. Direct supervision B. Standardization through through formal instructions C. Formal training (standardizing (standardizing skills) D. Standardization of product or service outputs outputs E. None; simple structures are so-called because they have no coordinating mechanism mechanism 39. Which form of departmentalization departmentalization organizes organizes employees employees around specific skills or other resources? resources? A. Divisional structure B. Functional structure C. Simple structure D. Matrix structure E. Network structure 40. One of the defining characteristics of a functional functional organizational organizational structure is that it: A. has a narrow span of control and high degree degree of formalization and centralization. B. is the only structure that organizes employees around specific knowledge or other resources. C. overlays two organizational structures in order to leverage the benefits of both types of structure. D. uses self-directed work teams rather than individuals as the basic building block of organizations. E. is an alliance of several organizations for for the purpose of creating a product or serving a client. 41. A wholesale grocery business business operates in one city and provides one service-stocking service-stocking retailers with with fresh produce. The company wants to ensure that employees develop expertise in their skill specialization and that these specializations are used efficiently. What form of departmentalization would be most appropriate here? A. Simple structure B. Matrix structure C. Geographic divisional divisional structure D. Functional structure E. Product divisional structure 42. Which of the following is NOT typically typically a problem with a functional structure? A. It tends to increase dysfunctional conflict conflict across work units. B It requires higher levels of interdependence than simple or divisionalized forms, thereby increasing . potentially dysfunctional conflict. C. It is more difficult to directly supervise employees within each department. department. D. Employees are less likely to develop a broader understanding of the business. E. It puts more emphasis on subunit goals than than on organizational goals. 43. One problem problem with with a functional functional structu structure re is that: A. it is more difficult to directly supervise employees within each department. department. B. it emphasizes subunit goals goals more than organizational goals. C. it makes it difficult to permit greater specialization of skills. D. it prevents companies from creating economies economies of scale in their pool of talent. E. employees have difficulty creating career paths within their area of knowledge. 44. Compared with divisionalized divisionalized structures, structures, functional functional structures are known known to: A. create better economies economies of scale. B. be more responsive to local markets or or clients. C. encourage employees employees to focus on the organization's superordinate goals. D. reduce conflict and coordination problems problems across work units. E. do all of the these things. things.
45. A consumer products firm with a functional structure structure is expanding expanding from a single product product line into several several diverse product groups, with most sales within the one country. What form of departmentalization should it eventually adopt to manage the new conditions most effectively? A. Divisional geographic geographic structure B. Network structure C. Matrix structure D. Divisional product structure E. Keep the functional structure structure 46. The current trend is for companies companies to shift shift their divisionalized divisionalized structures away from: A. functional specializations (marketing, accounting, accounting, production, etc.) B. clients. C. geography. D. products. E. emerging forms of technology. technology. 47. A divisionaliz divisionalized ed structure structure works best best where the organiza organization: tion: A. has few employees. employees. B. operates in one market with one product product and one client group. C. wants to assign the most power to executives responsible for technical expertise in the organization. D. is expanding into several distinct product product and/or client groups. E. wants to maintain a strong centralized control over over business activities. 48. Freer trade, advances advances in information technology, technology, and more more global customers customers are pressuring pressuring many large global companies to: A. shift away from geographically based to more client-based divisionalized structures. B. increase direct supervision as the main coordinating mechanism. C. shift away from divisionalized structures into functional functional structures. D. disband their team-based structures structures in favour of simple structures. E. shift from functional structures to geographically based divisionalized structures. 49. Which of the following is pressuring pressuring large global global organizations to move from geographically based based to more client-based divisionalized structures? A. Advances in information information technology B. Increases in the number of truly global clients C. Freer trade D. All of these factors. factors. E. None of these factors influence an organization's organization's structure. 50. A corporation that that connects work processes processes around the world, rather than replicating them within each each country or region is classified as a: A. trans-global. B. trans-national. C. multi-national. D. globally integrated enterprise. E. globally virtual enterprise. enterprise. 51. A divisionalized divisionalized structure structure has all of the following problems EXCEPT: A. it increases the amount amount of duplication. B. it reduces cooperation across across groups. C. it limits the ability to expand operations. operations. D. it underutilizes resources. resources. E. it creates 'silos of knowledge' whereby information is not not shared with other units.
52. Which form of departmentalization departmentalization increases increases the risk of duplication and underutilization of resources? A. Divisional structure B. Functional structure C. Simple structure D. Matrix structure E. Network structure 53. A team-based team-based organi organizatio zational nal structure structure has: has: A. inter-organizational networks configured configured in a tall hierarchy with high formalization. B. self-directed work teams in a flat hierarchy with little formalization. C. functional departments in a tall hierarchy with little formalization. D. divisional units in a flat hierarchy with high formalization. E. none of these combinations of characteristics. characteristics. 54. Team-base Team-based d organizatio organizations ns rely extensi extensively vely on: A. hourly wages and generous generous employee benefits. B. supervisors as the main source source of direction and control. C. a tall hierarchy. D. communities of practice. practice. E. self-directed work teams. 55. A team-based team-based organizat organizational ional structure structure usually usually has: A. a wide span of control. control. B. self-directed work teams. C. groups of employees with cross-functional cross-functional skills. D. an organic structure. structure. E. all of these features. 56. Which of the following following is NOT a feature of team-base team-based d organization organizations? s? A. Teams have a high degree of autonomy. autonomy. B. Team members replace supervisors as conduits conduits to senior management. C. Most teams are formed around functional departments rather than work processes. D. Team-based structures have have very few layers of hierarchy. E. Employees within each unit are encouraged encouraged to talk to each other. 57. Which form of departmentalization departmentalization tends tends to have a very flat hierarchy, little formalization and organizes organizes employees around work processes? A. Divisional structure B. Functional structure C. Team-based structure D. Matrix structure E. Network structure 58. Which of these statements statements about about team-based organizational structures structures is FALSE? A. Team-based structures have have very little formalization. B. Team-based structures make extensive extensive use of formal hierarchy as a coordinating mechanism. C. Team-based structures improve communication and cooperation across skills and areas of expertise. D. Team-based structures are usually more responsive and flexible than functional structures. E. Team-based structures are usually found within larger divisionalized structures. 59. Team-base Team-based d organization organizational al structures structures are usually usually found: A. in the manufacturing operations of larger divisionalized divisionalized structures. B. in Asia rather than North North America. C. in the professional support (e.g. accounting) accounting) units of larger functional structures. D. in government departments and agencies. agencies. E. as stand-alone organizations that apply no other organizational structures.
60. One of the defining characteristics of a matrix matrix organizational organizational structure is that it: A. overlays two organizational structures in order to leverage the benefits of both types of structure. B. has a narrow span of control and high degree degree of formalization and centralization. C. is the only structure that organizes employees around specific knowledge or other resources. D. uses self-directed work teams rather than individuals as the basic building block of organizations. E. is an alliance of several organizations for for the purpose of creating a product or serving a client. 61. Some types types of matrix structure structure overlay overlay a functional functional structure structure with: A. a network structure. B. project teams. C. a simple structure. D. a mechanistic structure. E. another functional functional structure. 62. Most employees at Quokka Systems are organized into project teams. Employees report report to the project project leader, but they also report to a leader l eader responsible for their functional specialization (such as engineering or marketing). Quokka Systems likely has a: A. simple structure. B. client-based divisionalized divisionalized structure. C. matrix structure. D. product-based divisionalized divisionalized structure. E. functional structure. 63. Creative Advertising Ltd. wants its 100 employees employees to work together around specific clients, yet maintain an equal emphasis on alignment with their skill specializations (advertising, graphics, copywriting and public relations). Which of the following organizational structures would work best for Creative Advertising? A. Matrix structure that overlays a geographic and and client structure B. Simple structure C. Network structure D. Client-based divisionalized divisionalized form E. Matrix structure that overlays project teams with a functional structure structure 64. Matrix Matrix struc structur tures es tend tend to: A.focus A.focus technical specialists on their specialist knowledge rather than the goals of serving clients and creating marketable products. B. prevent employees in a particular specialization from sharing knowledge with each other. C. require less coordination than functional functional or pure divisional structures. D. do all of these these things. E. do none of these things. 65. Which form of departmentalization departmentalization tends tends to require the most coordination coordination and has a high high potential for conflict? A. Divisional structure B. Functional structure C. Simple structure D. Matrix structure E. Network structure 66. A matrix structure found mainly in large global firms combines which two forms of departmentalization? departmentalization? A. Divisional structure and simple structure B. Network structure and cluster structure C. Simple structure and hybrid hybrid structure D. Geographic divisional structure and and product divisional structure E. Functional structure and network structure structure
67. Which organizational organizational structure structure actually actually consists consists of several organizations? A. Divisionalized structure B. Functional structure C. Simple structure D. Matrix structure E. Network structure 68. Peterborough Plastics Plastics Ltd. markets markets a line of of widgets designed designed and manufactured by other companies companies around the world. This is an example of which form of departmentalization? A. Functional B. Globalized C. Network D. Matrix E. Globally integrated enterprise 69. The increasing recognition recognition that an organization organization has only a few core competencies competencies is one of the forces forces pushing towards more: A. functional structures. B. simple structures. C. client-based divisionalized divisionalized structures. D. network structures. E. team-based structures. structures. 70. Companies Companies are more more likely to form form network structu structures res when: when: A. they want to minimize the effects of market forces for their resources. B. they want to maximize control over manufacturing and other business processes. C. they operate in an environment where technology is changing quickly. D. they want to keep as many skills and core competencies in-house as possible. E. they want to do all of these. these. 71. Which form of departmentalization departmentalization forms unique partnership partnership teams that that provide customized customized products or services, usually to specific clients, for a limited time? A. Functional B. Network structure C. Divisionalized D. Matrix E. Team-based 72. Networ Network k struc structur tures: es: A. are based on the divisionalized form of organizational organizational structure. B. are permanent businesses businesses that rely mainly on the Internet to establish their marketing. C. do not need to follow government laws when when hiring and laying off employees. D. are all of these. these. E. are none of these. these. 73. A netwo network rk stru structu cture: re: A. operates within a larger organization with a divisionalized divisionalized structure. B. offers the flexibility to realign its structure with changing environmental environmental requirements. C. is a variation of a divisionalized divisionalized structure. D. exists within most small and large organizations. organizations. E. is none of these. 74. Which organizational organizational structure has the ability to reshape itself quickly quickly to fit immediate immediate client needs? needs? A. network structure B. Simple C. Divisional D. Matrix E. None of these these
75. Organizatio Organizational nal size, size, technology technology and environm environment ent are: A. three dimensions of span span of control. B. three of the four ways to avoid using coordinating mechanisms. mechanisms. C. three conditions that do not influence a simple structure. structure. D. three factors that distinguish a virtual corporation from a network structure. structure. E. three contingencies of organizational organizational design. 76. For which type of environment should should organizations organizations adopt adopt an organic organic structure? A. Munificent environments B. Dynamic environments C. Stable environments D. Simple environments E. Never; mechanistic structures are better than organic structures in all environments. 77. Organizatio Organizations ns operating operating in diverse environm environments ents should: should: A. adopt a functional structure. structure. B. centralize so that more decisions are made by top management alone. C. develop a set of formal rules and regulations r egulations specifically addressing what employees should do about that diversity. D. adopt a divisional structure aligned with that diversity. E. do none of these things. 78. Organic Organic structures structures are better better than mechanistic mechanistic structu structures res for: A. hostile environments. B. stable environments. C. munificent environments. D. Organic structures are better than mechanistic mechanistic structures for all of these environments. E. Organic structures are better than mechanistic structures for none of these environments. 79. A divisionaliz divisionalized ed structure structure is recommen recommended ded mainly mainly for: A. stable environments. B. diverse environments. C. munificent environments. D. integrated environments. E. none of these environments. environments. 80. Which of the following following are contingencie contingenciess of organizat organizational ional design? design? A. Technology B. Organizational size C. Organizational environment environment D. All of these are contingencies of organizational organizational design E. Only organizational size and environment are contingencies of organizational organizational design. 81. A steel manufacturing manufacturing firm with about about 1,000 employees employees operates operates in an environment that is simple and integrated (it makes a small number of steel products to a few key customers) but also dynamic and hostile (rapidly changing technology and customer needs with many competitors). Based on the environment in which this company operates, it would be more successful with: A. an organic structure. structure. B. a centralized structure. C. a divisionalized structure. D. a matrix structure. E. a mechanistic structure. 82. Larger Larger organiz organization ationss tend tend to: A. make greater use of standardization standardization than do smaller firms. B. have similar structures to smaller organizations. organizations. C. operate without any form of departmentalization departmentalization for long periods of time. D. have all of these characteristics. characteristics. E. have none of these characteristics. characteristics.
83. As the number of employees increases, the organization organization tends to have: A. more job specialization. specialization. B. more elaborate coordinating mechanisms. mechanisms. C. more standardization rather than just informal communication as a coordinating mechanism. D. more decentralization. E. all of these changes. changes. 84. Two technological technological contingencies contingencies that influence the best type of organizational organizational structure to chose chose are: A. dynamism and hostility B. organic and mechanistic C. variability and analyzability analyzability D. formalization and division of labour E. coordination and formalization 85. A software design design team performs performs work that has high variety variety and low analyzability. This This team would work best with which of the following organizational structure characteristics? A. High formalization B. Organic structure C. Narrow span of control D. Coordination through formal formal hierarchy E. Mechanistic structure 86. Employees at a large call call centre perform repetitive tasks (low variety) by documenting mailing mailing addresses from customers who call the centre. The work process is the same for all inquiries to all call centre staff members (low analyzability). The best organizational structure for this work unit: A. is an organic structure. B. would have low formalization. formalization. C. would coordinate mainly through informal informal communication. D. is a mechanistic mechanistic structure. E. would have none of these characteristics. characteristics. 87. An organization organization that wants to compete through innovation innovation should: should: A. adopt an organic structure and make extensive use of informal communication to coordinate work. B. centralize and formalize its organizational organizational structure. C. coordinate employees employees by writing up formal rules and procedures. D. switch to a cost leadership strategy as quickly quickly as possible. E. adopt a mechanistic structure with functional functional departmentalization. 88. The idea that that an organization organization interacts with its environment (rather (rather than being totally determined by by it) is summed up in the phrase: A. structure follows strategy. strategy. B. feasibility breeds analyzability. C. coordination through standardization. D. strategy follows structure. structure. E. analyzability before feasibility. 89. A mechanistic mechanistic organizational organizational structure works better than an organic structure structure when: A. the organization operates in a hostile environment. environment. B. the organization adopts a differentiation strategy. strategy. C. the organization requires a high degree degree of formalization. D. the organization adopts a low-cost low-cost strategy. E. the organization operates in a dynamic dynamic environment. 90. Organizatio Organizational nal structure structuress are tools for for change. change. True False 91. The two fundamental requirements requirements of all organizational organizational structures are divisionalization divisionalization and decentralization. True False
92. Division Division of labour leads leads to increased increased job specializa specialization. tion. True False 93. When work is divided among people, a coordinating mechanism mechanism is needed to ensure that everyone everyone works in concert. True False 94. Informal communication is a coordination coordination mechanism only in small and a few medium-sized organizations. True False 95. Large organizations organizations can encourage encourage coordination coordination through informal communication by assigning liaison roles to employees. True False 96. Concurrent engineering engineering can be used to encourage informal informal communication as a coordinating coordinating mechanism. True False 97. Informal communication communication as a coordinating mechanism is ineffective in nonroutine situations. True False 98. Integrator roles increase informal communication communication as as a coordinating mechanism. True False 99. Formal hierarchy is the least time-consuming coordinating coordinating mechanism mechanism where employees employees work in nonroutine and ambiguous situations. True False 100.The formal hierarchy can be used to coordinate the work of front-line workers and executives through the division of organizational activities. True False 101.One of the main benefits of formal hierarchy as a coordinating mechanism is that it increases flexibility and responsiveness to customer needs. True False 102.Job descriptions and training are examples of coordination through standardization. True False 103.Job descriptions, goal setting, and training are applications of coordination through standardization. True False 104.Standardizing processes is less effective in nonroutine and complex work. True False 105.When work activities are too complex to standardize through extensive training f or employees, companies need to coordinate work effort through precise job descriptions. True False 106.An organization's structure is mainly its organizational chart. True False 107.Traditional management theorists set the maximum span of control at 20 people, but this number may be higher where work activities are routine and standardized. True False 108.A narrower span of control is consistent with the trend towards employee involvement and teamwork. True False
109.Generally, a narrow span of control is necessary where employees perform highly interdependent work with others. True False 110.Span of control can be increased by introducing informal communication and other coordinating mechanisms. True False 111.Span of control is interconnected with organizational size and the number of layers in the hierarchy. True False 112.Organizations with fewer layers in the organizational hierarchy are described as having flat structures True False 113.The number of layers in an organization's hierarchy depends on the number of people employed and the average span of control. True False 114.The main reasons why companies are moving toward t oward flatter organizational structures is because it improves coordination through formal hierarchy. True False 115.Tall hierarchies tend to encourage employee empowerment empowerment and engagement because they focus power around employees rather than managers. True False 116.When companies delayer the organizational hierarchy, they run the risk of increasing managerial workloads and stress. True False 117.Most organizations begin with centralized structures and become more decentralized as they grow larger and divide work into more specialized functions. True False 118.Organizations tend to centralize as their external environment becomes more complex. True False 119.Companies can be centralized in some parts of the organization and decentralized in other parts. True False 120.Organizations tend to become less formalized as they age and grow in number of employees. True False 121.Formalization represents the establishment of standardization as a coordinating mechanism. True False 122.A mechanistic structure is decentralized, has a narrow span of control and little formalization. True False 123.Mechanistic structures operate best in stable environments. True False 124.As external environments become more complex and dynamic, organizational structures should become more mechanistic and less organic. True False 125.Departmentalization establishes interdependencies interdependencies and coordination through informal communication within each work unit. True False
126.One problem with departmentalization is that it discourages coordination through informal communication. True False 127.A simple structure is one of the best structures in which to accommodate organizational growth and diversification. True False 128.Functional structures foster professional identity and permit greater specialization than most other forms of departmentalization. True False 129.Functional structures tend to have higher dysfunctional conflict and poorer coordination across units than other forms of departmentalization. True False 130.Divisional structures may be formed around products, geography, or functional specializations. True False 131.The primary source of environmental diversity or uncertainty mainly determines the best form of divisional structure an organization should adopt. True False 132.Companies with divisionalized structures are increasingly adopting the geographically-based structure. True False 133.A problem with the divisional organizational structure is that it does not allow the organization to grow within that structure. True False 134.One problem with the divisional structure is that it increases the risk of duplication and underutilization of resources. True False 135.Organizations can move towards a team-based structure by flattening the hierarchy, reducing formalization, and making extensive use of self-directed work teams. True False 136.Team-based organizational structures are usually found within the manufacturing or service operations of larger divisionalized structures. True False 137.One problem with the team-based organizational structure is that employees may experience more stress due to ambiguity of their roles. True False 138.Some matrix structures typically overlay a divisional structure with a functional structure to gain the benefits of both. True False 139.Employees working in some the matrix organizational structures report to two bosses. True False 140.The matrix structure can increase conflict among managers who share power equally. True False 141.In a typical network structure, several satellite organizations are bee-hived around a core firm. True False
142.One of the main forces pushing organizations towards a network structure is the recognition that an organization has only a few core competencies. True False 143.One of the main advantages of network structures is that they ensure the core organization has a high degree of control over production, marketing and other functions. True False 144.Network structures come close to the perfect example of a mechanistic organizational structure. True False 145.Decentralization is the logical choice in simple, integrated (one market) and hostile environments. True False 146.Organic structures are better suited to hostile environments. True False 147.The more diversified the environment, the more the firm would benefit from a divisionalized form of departmentalization. True False 148.Larger firms tend to be more centralized and make greater use of direct supervision than do smaller firms. True False 149.The best organizational structure depends on the variety and analyzability of the tasks. True False 150.An organic structure works better than a mechanistic structure where tasks have high variety and low analyzability. True False 151.Contingencies, such as size, technology, and environment do not necessarily determine an organization's structure. True False 152.Organizational strategy influences both the contingencies of structure and the structure itself. True False 153.Organizations that follow a cost leadership strategy should apply an organic organizational structure. True False 154.The textbook states that all organizational structures include the division of labour and coordination of that labour. What does this mean and how does departmentalization contribute to these fundamental requirements?
155.While preparing for a final examination in organizational behaviour, you and a student in another class review the important information regarding organizational structure and design. During the conversation, the other student suggests that just about everything you need to know about organizational structure can be based on knowing the different types of departmentalization. In other words, all of t he key features of organizational structure, including a structure's fundamental requirements and elements, are found in descriptions of functional structure, divisionalized structure and other forms of departmentalization. Discuss the accuracy of this statement.
156.An entrepreneur employs 20 people in a simple structure. However, the company will likely employ over 200 people in production, sales, engineering and administration within a few years due to the growing success of the company's new products. The entrepreneur li kes the simple structure and wants to avoid other forms of departmentalization. Explain to the entrepreneur why his company would be more effective through other forms of departmentalization as it grows larger.
157.Executives at CelCorp, a major telecommunications company, are concerned that its organizational structure is ineffective. The company currently has a functional structure in which employees are grouped by specialization: manufacturing, marketing, research, administration, etc. CelCorp has manufacturing plants in six countries throughout the globe, marketing operations in several dozen countries, and research and development centers in three countries. The company makes three distinct products with approximately equal revenue: mobile telephones, satellite communication systems and Internet routers. Recommend a new organizational structure for CelCorp and justify your decision.
158.What must senior executives, functional managers, and project leaders do to make a matrix structure more effective?
159.For many years, Quokka Consumer Ltd. has had a geographic divisionalized organizational structure. Now, the company is rethinking the appropriateness of this structure compared to other divisionalized structures. Describe the two other divisionalized structures that Quokka can consider adopting and give two explanations why Quokka might want to move away from the geographic structure.
160.What type of departmentalization should a large multinational organization adopt?
161.Diversified Technologies, Inc. (DTI) makes four types of products, each type to be sold to different types of clients. For example, one product is sold exclusively to automobile repair shops, whereas another is used mainly in hospitals. Customer expectations and needs are surprisingly similar throughout the world. However, the company has separate marketing, product design, and manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America because, until recently, each jurisdiction had unique regulations governing the production and sales of these products. However, several governments have begun the process of deregulating the products that DTI designs and manufactures, and trade agreements have opened several markets to foreign-made products. Which form of departmentalization might be best for DTI if deregulation and trade agreements occur?
162.Rather than producing a standard product or service for the marketplace, Protegé Engineering completes special projects for clients. These projects require between six months and two years to complete and demand highly specialized knowledge in engineering, production management and computer science. Most of the 600 employees working for Protegé Engineering have university degrees in these fields; a few have doctorates. Identify the best organizational structure for Protegé Engineering and justify your recommendation.
163.Several global organizations have tried implementing a matrix structure to balance the power of its functional and divisional groups. However, many of these firms experienced problems and eventually switched to a hybrid form of divisionalized structure. Identify some of t he problems that these companies may have experienced with a matrix structure.
164.Many companies claim to have a team-based organization, yet relatively few have actually adopted this form of departmentalization. Describe three (3) structural features that would suggest that a company has adopted a team-based organizational structure.
165.What is a network structure? Why do some writers believe that a network structure is an effective design for global competition?
166.In which of the four external environments would a network structure be most effective?
167.What role does organizational strategy play in designing organizations?
13 Key 1. (p. 354)
All organizational structures have the following two fundamental requirements: A. flatter span of control and decentralization B. division of labour and coordination C. decentralization and divisionalization D. coordination and decentralization decentralization E. centralization and and outsourcing outsourcing Chapter - Chapter 13 #1 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
2. (p. 354355)
Dividing work into more specialized jobs tends to: A. increase training costs. B. reduce work efficiency. C. reduce the opportunity to match people people with appropriate jobs. D. do all of these things. things. E. do none of these things. Chapter - Chapter 13 #2 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
3. (p. 355)
To increase work efficiency and make it easier to match employee competencies with job requirements, companies tend to: A. divide work into more specialized jobs. B. rely on formal hierarchy as a coordinating mechanism. mechanism. C. rely on a narrow span span of control. D. centralize decision making. making. E. rely on formal hierarchy AND a narrow span of control. Chapter - Chapter 13 #3 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
4. (p. 355)
Coordination of work activities is required: A. whenever there is division of labour. B. only in team-based organizations. C. whenever the organization has more than approximately 100 employees. employees. D. only when organizations operate in complex environments. environments. E. never; coordination of work activities is not found in organizations. organizations. Chapter - Chapter 13 #4 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
5. (p. 355)
All organizations have: A. a formal hierarchy that includes supervisors and non-supervisory employees. employees. B. a divisionalized structure. C. some form of coordinating mechanism. D. a mechanistic structure. structure. E. formal team-based team-based structures structures Chapter - Chapter 13 #5 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
6. (p. 355)
When people divide work among themselves, they need to: A. centralize. A. centralize. B. decentralize. B. decentralize. C. form a team-based organizational organizational structure. D. rely increasingly on a simple structure. E. rely on one or more coordinating mechanisms. Chapter - Chapter 13 #6 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
7. (p. 355)
Which of the following is a coordinating mechanism? A. Standardization A. Standardization B. Formal B. Formal hierarchy C. Informal C. Informal communication t hese are coordinating mechanisms. D. All of these E. None of these is a coordinating mechanism. mechanism. Chapter - Chapter 13 #7 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
8. (p. 355357)
As organizations grow, which of the following does NOT typically occur? A. Informal communication becomes more prevalent as a coordinating mechanism. B. There is increasing division of labour. C. More coordination through standardization standardization occurs. D. The organization becomes more formalized. E. There is increasing increasing job specialization. specialization. Chapter - Chapter 13 #8 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
9. (p. 356)
In organizational structures, integrator roles serve mainly as: A. a form of standardization standardization B. an informal communication coordinating mechanism C. a form of direct direct supervision D. one of four types of technology E. the main element in divisionalized divisionalized structures Chapter - Chapter 13 #9 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
10. (p. 356)
Integrator roles do which of the following? A. They increase formalization and centralization. B. They support informal communication as a coordinating mechanism. C. They reduce the need for virtual corporations. corporations. D. They increase the amount amount of formal hierarchy. E. They do none of these things. Chapter - Chapter 13 #10 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
11. (p. 356)
Encouraging coordination through informal communion by organizing employees from several departments into temporary teams is called: A. Integrating A. Integrating B. Informal B. Informal team shaping C. Skunkworking C. Skunkworking D. Concurrent engineering E. Asynchronous social engineering engineering Chapter - Chapter 13 #11 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
12. (p. 356)
______________ ______________ involves organizing employees from several departments into a temporary team for the purpose of developing a product or service. A. Formalization A. Formalization B. Standardization B. Standardization C. Synergizing C. Synergizing D. Team D. Team building E. Concurrent engineering Chapter - Chapter 13 #12 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
13. (p. 357)
Which of the following is NOT a coordinating mechanism? A. Job descriptions B. Informal B. Informal communication C. Centralization D. Sales D. Sales targets E. Extensive E. Extensive training Chapter - Chapter 13 #13 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
14. (p. 356)
Coordination through formal hierarchy relies mainly on: A. informal communication. B. job B. job descriptions. C. bureaucratic procedures procedures and policies. D. assigning legitimate power to individuals, who then use this power to direct the work of others. E. none of these. Chapter - Chapter 13 #14 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
15. (p. 356357)
An organizational chart mainly illustrates which type of coordinating mechanism? A. Formal hierarchy B. Informal B. Informal communication C. Standardization C. Standardization of skills D. Standardization of output E. None of these these Chapter - Chapter 13 #15 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
16. (p. 357)
Standardizing work through job descriptions and procedures: A. is a form of coordination. B. is more common when the work is complex and and ambiguous. C. tends to reduce quality and consistency. consistency. D. is unnecessary in large organizations. E. is more common in organic organic rather than mechanistic mechanistic structures. Chapter - Chapter 13 #16 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
17. (p. 357)
Which coordinating mechanism is typically most important among people working in hospital surgical operations? A. Direct A. Direct supervision B. Integrator B. Integrator roles C. Job C. Job descriptions D. Standardized skill through extensive training E. People working in surgical operations operations do not use any coordinating mechanism. mechanism. Chapter - Chapter 13 #17 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
18. (p. 357)
When work activities are too complex to standardize through procedures or goals, companies often coordinate work effort: A. through direct supervision. B. by extensively training employees. C. by giving one employee most of the tasks previously divided among many people. D. through further division of labour. E. through formal formal hierarchy. hierarchy. Chapter - Chapter 13 #18 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
19. (p. 358)
Many of the best-performing production plants are able to widen their span of control to more than 70 employees per supervisor by: A. teaching supervisors how to more efficiently monitor employees. B. giving up on the idea that all employees must must perform their fair share of work. C. hiring supervisors who intimidate employees employees more often. D. relying on self-directed work teams and other coordinating mechanisms. E. introducing video cameras and and other technologies to help supervisors supervisors to monitor more employees. Chapter - Chapter 13 #19 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
20. (p. 358)
A wider span of control is possible where: A. employees manage themselves rather than being coordinated through close supervision. B. the company has a high degree of formalization and operates in a complex environment. C. the organization has few employees employees and a tall hierarchy. D. all of these conditions exist. E. none of these these conditions exist. Chapter - Chapter 13 #20 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
21. (p. 359360)
The trend toward flatter organizational structures (delayering) has occurred because this action: A. tends to reduce overhead costs. B. narrows the span of control for supervisors. supervisors. C. puts decision makers closer closer to front-line staff and information about customer needs. D. does all of these things. E. reduces overhead costs AND puts decision makers closer to front-line staff and information about customer needs. Chapter - Chapter 13 #21 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
22. (p. 359360)
Candoo Ltd. will soon flatten its hierarchy by removing two of the five layers of management. If the number of employees in the organization remains constant, which of the following must also occur? A. It must adopt a matrix form of departmentalization. B. It must widen the span of control. C. It must rely more on direct supervision than standardization standardization to coordinate the resulting structure. D. It must centralize decision making. E. All of these these must occur. Chapter - Chapter 13 #22 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
23. (p. 360)
Which of the following is NOT a potentially negative long-term consequence of excessive delayering of middle management? A. It undermines managerial functions. functions. B. It restricts managerial career career development. C. It increases management management workloads D. It sends a signal that managers are no longer valued. E. All of the above apply. Chapter - Chapter 13 #23 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
24. (p. 360361)
Organizational and environmental complexity push organizations t owards: A. formalization. A. formalization. B. a more mechanistic mechanistic structure. C. decentralization. D. a simple structure. E. all of these these structural forms. Chapter - Chapter 13 #24 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
25. (p. 360361)
Which of these statements about decentralization is FALSE? A. Organizations decentralize as they grow larger. B. Different degrees of decentralization can can occur simultaneously in different parts of the organization. C. Organizations operating in diverse environments are more effective when they centralize decision making. D. Large organizations should worry about having too much decentralization. decentralization. E. Large organizations that remain centralized tend to become less responsive to the external environment. Chapter - Chapter 13 #25 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
26. (p. 360361)
Decentralization is more likely to occur when: A.an A. an organization becomes so complex that senior executives cannot process all the decisions that significantly influence the business. B. corporate leaders want more consistent consistent decisions across all all work units. C. corporate leaders want to increase consistency and reduce costs costs across the organization. D. all of these occur. E. none of these occur. Chapter - Chapter 13 #26 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
27. (p. 361)
Which organizational design element is most closely related to standardization as a coordinating mechanism? A. Departmentalization A. Departmentalization B. Span B. Span of control C. Formalization D. Centralization D. Centralization E. Division of labour labour Chapter - Chapter 13 #27 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
28. (p. 361)
As organizations grow older, they tend to: A. become more formalized. B. become more centralized. C. move towards a simple form of departmentalization. departmentalization. D. shift from a mechanistic to an organic structure. E. do none of these things. things. Chapter - Chapter 13 #28 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
29. (p. 361)
Employees are most likely to experience job dissatisfaction and work stress when the organization has: A. high centralization. B. high formalization. C. an organic structure. D. low D. low formalization. E. a divisionalized divisionalized structure. structure. Chapter - Chapter 13 #29 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
30. (p. 361)
Formalization in organizational structures tends to: A. reduce organizational organizational flexibility. B. undermine organizational organizational learning and creativity. C. make rules and procedures the focus of attention rather than serving stakeholders. D. have all of these outcomes E reduce organizational flexibility AND make some employees feel alienated and powerless, but . doesn't usually make rules and procedures the focus of attention. Chapter - Chapter 13 #30 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
31. (p. 362)
Mechanistic structures operate best: A. in stable environments. B. where employees dislike hierarchy hierarchy and status. C. in rapidly changing environments. D. where knowledge management management is a competitive advantage to the organization. E. where employees perform tasks tasks with high variety and low analyzability. Chapter - Chapter 13 #31 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
32. (p. 362)
Communication flows in all directions with little concern for the formal hierarchy in: A. a mechanistic structure. structure. B. a centralized structure. C. a C. a formalized structure. D. a functional structure. E. an organic structure. Chapter - Chapter 13 #32 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
33. (p. 362)
An organic structure has: A. a narrow span of control and low formalization. B. centralized decision making making and a wide span of control. C. decentralized decision making and low formalization. D. a high degree of formalization and a wide span span of control. E. functional departmentalization departmentalization and a high degree degree of formalization. Chapter - Chapter 13 #33 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
34. (p. 362)
Organizations tend to form two clusters based on their span of control, centralization, and formalization. The two clusters represented by these t hese organizational design features are called: A. hierarchical versus delayered. delayered. B. networked versus team-based. C. biological versus synthetic. D. organic versus mechanistic. E. diverse versus versus integrated. integrated. Chapter - Chapter 13 #34 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
35. (p. 363)
Which organizational design element determines how employees and their activities are grouped together? A. Span of control B. Formalization B. C. Centralization C. D. Departmentalization E. Organizational E. Organizational grouping Chapter - Chapter 13 #35 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
36. (p. 363364)
Departmentalization does all of the following EXCEPT: A. Departmentalization establishes establishes a system of common supervision. B. Departmentalization discourages coordination through informal communication. C. Departmentalization creates common measures measures of performance among employees in the unit. D. Departmentalization typically determines which positions and units must share resources. resources. E. Departmentalization establishes establishes interdependencies among employees employees and subunits. Chapter - Chapter 13 #36 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
37. (p. 363)
____________ ____________ establishes the chain of command, that is, the system of common supervision among positions and units within the t he organization. A. Span of control B. Formalization B. C. Workflows C. D. Job specialization E. Departmentalization Chapter - Chapter 13 #37 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
38. (p. 364)
Simple structures usually rely on which of the following to coordinate work activities? A. Direct supervision B. Standardization through through formal instructions C. Formal training (standardizing (standardizing skills) D. Standardization of product or service outputs outputs E. None; simple structures are so-called because because they have no coordinating coordinating mechanism Chapter - Chapter 13 #38 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
39. (p. 364)
Which form of departmentalization organizes employees around specific skills or other resources? A. Divisional A. Divisional structure B. Functional structure C. Simple C. Simple structure D. Matrix D. Matrix structure E. Network E. Network structure Chapter - Chapter 13 #39 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
40. (p. 364)
One of the defining characteristics of a functional organizational structure is that it: A. has a narrow span of control and high degree of formalization and centralization. B. is the only structure that organizes employees around specific knowledge or other r esources. C. overlays two organizational organizational structures in order to leverage the benefits of both types of structure. D. uses self-directed work teams rather than individuals as the basic building block of organizations. E. is an alliance of several organizations organizations for the purpose of creating a product or serving a client. Chapter - Chapter 13 #40 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
41. (p. 364)
A wholesale grocery business operates in one city and provides one service-stocking retailers with fresh produce. The company wants to ensure that employees develop expertise in their skill specialization and that these specializations are used efficiently. What form of departmentalization would be most appropriate here? A. Simple A. Simple structure B. Matrix B. Matrix structure C. Geographic divisional divisional structure D. Functional structure E. Product divisional divisional structure structure Chapter - Chapter 13 #41 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
42. (p. 364365)
Which of the following is NOT typically t ypically a problem with a functional structure? A. It tends to increase dysfunctional conflict across work units. B.It B. It requires higher levels of interdependence than simple or divisionalized forms, thereby increasing potentially dysfunctional conflict. C. It is more difficult to directly supervise employees within each department. D. Employees are less likely to develop a broader understanding of the business. E. It puts more emphasis on subunit goals goals than on organizational goals. Chapter - Chapter 13 #42 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
43. (p. 364365)
One problem with a functional structure is that: A. it is more difficult to directly supervise employees within each department. department. B. it emphasizes subunit goals more than organizational goals. C. it makes it difficult to permit greater specialization specialization of skills. D. it prevents companies from creating economies of scale in their pool of talent. E. employees have difficulty creating creating career paths within their area of knowledge. Chapter - Chapter 13 #43 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
44. (p. 364)
Compared with divisionalized structures, functional structures are known to: A. create better economies of scale. B. be more responsive to local markets markets or clients. C. encourage employees employees to focus on the organization's superordinate goals. D. reduce conflict and coordination problems across work units. E. do all of the these things. Chapter - Chapter 13 #44 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
45. (p. 365)
A consumer products firm with a functional structure is expanding from a single product line into several diverse product groups, with most sales within the one country. What form of departmentalization should it eventually adopt to manage the new conditions most effectively? A. Divisional geographic structure structure B. Network B. Network structure C. Matrix C. Matrix structure D. Divisional product structure E. Keep the functional structure Chapter - Chapter 13 #45 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
46. (p. 366)
The current trend is for companies to shift their t heir divisionalized structures away from: A. functional specializations (marketing, accounting, accounting, production, etc.) B. clients. B. C. geography. D. products. D. products. E. emerging forms of technology. technology. Chapter - Chapter 13 #46 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
47. (p. 366)
A divisionalized structure works best where the organization: A. has few employees. B. operates in one market with one product product and one client group. C. wants to assign the most power to executives responsible for technical expertise in the organization. D. is expanding into several distinct product and/or client groups. E. wants to maintain a strong centralized control control over business activities. Chapter - Chapter 13 #47 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
48. (p. 366)
Freer trade, advances in information technology, and more global customers are pressuring many large global companies to: A. shift away from geographically based to more client-based divisionalized structures. B. increase direct supervision as as the main coordinating mechanism. mechanism. C. shift away from divisionalized structures into functional functional structures. D. disband their team-based structures in favour of simple structures. E. shift from functional structures to geographically geographically based divisionalized structures. structures. Chapter - Chapter 13 #48 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
49. (p. 366)
Which of the following is pressuring large global organizations to move from geographically based to more client-based divisionalized structures? A. Advances in information technology technology B. Increases in the number of truly global clients clients C. Freer C. Freer trade D. All of these factors. E. None of these factors factors influence an organization's organization's structure. Chapter - Chapter 13 #49 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
50. (p. 366)
A corporation that connects work processes around the world, rather than replicating them within each country or region is classified as a: A. trans-global. A. trans-global. B. trans-national. B. trans-national. C. multi-national. D. globally integrated enterprise. E. globally virtual virtual enterprise. Chapter - Chapter 13 #50 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
51. (p. 366367)
A divisionalized structure has all of the following problems EXCEPT: A. it increases the amount of duplication. B. it reduces cooperation across across groups. C. it limits the ability to expand operations. D. it underutilizes resources. E. it creates 'silos of knowledge' whereby information information is not shared with other units. Chapter - Chapter 13 #51 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
52. (p. 366367)
Which form of departmentalization increases the risk of duplication and underutilization of resources? Divisional structure B. Functional B. Functional structure C. Simple C. Simple structure D. Matrix D. Matrix structure E. Network E. Network structure
A.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #52 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
53. (p. 367)
A team-based organizational structure has: A. inter-organizational networks configured in a tall hierarchy with high formalization. l ittle formalization. B. self-directed work teams in a flat hierarchy with little C. functional departments in a tall hierarchy with little formalization. D. divisional units in a flat hierarchy with high formalization. E. none of these combinations combinations of characteristics. characteristics. Chapter - Chapter 13 #53 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
54. (p. 367)
Team-based organizations rely extensively on: A. hourly wages and generous employee benefits. benefits. B. supervisors as the main source source of direction and control. C. a C. a tall hierarchy. D. communities of practice. practice. E. self-directed work teams. Chapter - Chapter 13 #54 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
55. (p. 367)
A team-based organizational structure usually has: A. a wide span of control. B. self-directed work teams. C. groups of employees with cross-functional cross-functional skills. D. an organic structure. structure. E. all of these features. Chapter - Chapter 13 #55 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
56. (p. 367)
Which of the following is NOT a feature of team-based organizations? A. Teams have a high degree of autonomy. B. Team members replace supervisors as conduits conduits to senior management. C. Most teams are formed around functional departments rather than work processes. D. Team-based structures have very few layers of hierarchy. E. Employees within each unit are encouraged encouraged to talk to each other. Chapter - Chapter 13 #56 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
57. (p. 367)
Which form of departmentalization tends to have a very flat hierarchy, littl e formalization and organizes employees around work processes? A. Divisional A. Divisional structure B. Functional B. Functional structure C. Team-based structure D. Matrix D. Matrix structure E. Network E. Network structure Chapter - Chapter 13 #57 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
58. (p. 367)
Which of these statements about team-based organizational structures is FALSE? A. Team-based structures have very little formalization. B. Team-based structures make extensive use of formal hierarchy as a coordinating mechanism. C. Team-based structures improve communication communication and cooperation across skills and areas of expertise. D. Team-based structures are usually more responsive responsive and flexible than functional structures. E. Team-based structures structures are usually found within larger divisionalized structures. structures. Chapter - Chapter 13 #58 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
59. (p. 367)
Team-based organizational structures are usually found: f ound: A. in the manufacturing operations of larger divisionalized structures. B. in Asia rather than North North America. C. in the professional support (e.g. accounting) accounting) units of larger functional structures. D. in government departments and agencies. agencies. E. as stand-alone organizations organizations that apply no other organizational organizational structures. Chapter - Chapter 13 #59 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
60. (p. 368)
One of the defining characteristics of a matrix organizational structure is that it: A. overlays two organizational structures in order to leverage the benefits of both types of structure. B. has a narrow span of control and high degree degree of formalization and centralization. C. is the only structure that organizes employees around specific knowledge or other resources. D. uses self-directed work teams rather than individuals as the basic building block of organizations. E. is an alliance of several organizations organizations for the purpose of creating a product or serving a client. Chapter - Chapter 13 #60 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
61. (p. 368)
Some types of matrix structure overlay a functional structure with: A. a network structure. B. project teams. C. a C. a simple structure. D. a mechanistic structure. structure. E. another functional structure. structure. Chapter - Chapter 13 #61 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
62. (p. 368369)
Most employees at Quokka Systems are organized into project teams. Employees report to the project leader, but they also report to a leader l eader responsible for their functional specialization (such as engineering or marketing). Quokka Systems likely has a: A. simple A. simple structure. B. client-based divisionalized divisionalized structure. C. matrix structure. D. product-based divisionalized divisionalized structure. E. functional E. functional structure. Chapter - Chapter 13 #62 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
63. (p. 368369)
Creative Advertising Ltd. wants its 100 employees to work together around specific clients, yet maintain an equal emphasis on alignment with their skill specializations (advertising, graphics, copywriting and public relations). Which of the following organizational structures would work best for Creative Advertising? A. Matrix structure that overlays a geographic and client structure B. Simple B. Simple structure C. Network C. Network structure D. Client-based divisionalized divisionalized form E. Matrix structure that overlays project teams with a functional structure Chapter - Chapter 13 #63 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
64. (p. 368369)
Matrix structures tend to: A.focus A. focus technical specialists on their specialist knowledge rather than the goals of serving clients and creating marketable products. B. prevent employees in a particular specialization from sharing knowledge with each other. C. require less coordination than functional functional or pure divisional structures. D. do all of these things. things. E. do none of these things. Chapter - Chapter 13 #64 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
65. (p. 370)
Which form of departmentalization tends to require the most coordination and has a high potential for conflict? A. Divisional A. Divisional structure B. Functional B. Functional structure C. Simple C. Simple structure D. Matrix structure E. Network E. Network structure Chapter - Chapter 13 #65 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
66. (p. 369)
A matrix structure found mainly in large global firms f irms combines which two forms of departmentalization? A. Divisional structure and simple structure B. Network structure and cluster structure C. Simple structure and hybrid hybrid structure D. Geographic divisional structure and product divisional structure E. Functional structure structure and network network structure Chapter - Chapter 13 #66 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
67. (p. 370371)
Which organizational structure actually consists of several organizations? A. Divisionalized structure B. Functional B. Functional structure C. Simple C. Simple structure D. Matrix D. Matrix structure E. Network structure Chapter - Chapter 13 #67 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
68. (p. 371)
Peterborough Plastics Ltd. markets a line of widgets designed and manufactured by other companies around the world. This is an example of which form of departmentalization? A. Functional A. Functional B. Globalized B. C. Network D. Matrix D. Matrix E. Globally integrated integrated enterprise enterprise Chapter - Chapter 13 #68 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
69. (p. 371)
The increasing recognition that an organization has only a few core competencies is one of the forces pushing towards more: A. functional structures. B. simple B. simple structures. C. client-based divisionalized divisionalized structures. D. network structures. E. team-based E. team-based structures. Chapter - Chapter 13 #69 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
70. (p. 371)
Companies are more likely to form network structures when: A. they want to minimize the effects of market forces for their resources. B. they want to maximize control over manufacturing and other business processes. C. they operate in an environment where technology is changing quickly. D. they want to keep as many skills and core competencies in-house as possible. E. they want to do all of these. these. Chapter - Chapter 13 #70 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
71. (p. 371)
Which form of departmentalization forms unique partnership teams that provide customized products or services, usually to specific clients, for a limited time? t ime? A. Functional A. Functional B. Network structure C. Divisionalized C. Divisionalized D. Matrix D. Matrix E. Team-based E. Chapter - Chapter 13 #71 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
72. (p. 371)
Network structures: A. are based on the divisionalized form of organizational structure. B. are permanent businesses businesses that rely mainly on the Internet to establish their marketing. C. do not need to follow government laws when when hiring and laying off employees. D. are all of these. E. are none of these. Chapter - Chapter 13 #72 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
73. (p. 372)
A network structure: A. operates within a larger organization with a divisionalized structure. it s structure with changing environmental requirements. B. offers the flexibility to realign its C. is a variation of a divisionalized divisionalized structure. D. exists within most small and large organizations. organizations. E. is none of these. Chapter - Chapter 13 #73 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
74.
Which organizational structure has the ability to reshape itself quickly to fit immediate client needs?
(p. 372)
network structure B. Simple B. C. Divisional C. D. Matrix D. Matrix E. None of these these
A.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #74 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
75. (p. 372)
Organizational size, technology and environment are: A. three dimensions of span of control. B. three of the four ways to avoid using coordinating mechanisms. mechanisms. C. three conditions that do not influence a simple structure. structure. D. three factors that distinguish a virtual corporation from a network structure. structure. E. three contingencies of organizational design. Chapter - Chapter 13 #75 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
76. (p. 372)
For which type of environment should organizations adopt an organic structure? A. Munificent environments environments B. Dynamic environments C. Stable C. Stable environments D. Simple environments E. Never; mechanistic structures are are better than organic structures in all environments. Chapter - Chapter 13 #76 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
77. (p. 373)
Organizations operating in diverse environments should: A. adopt a functional structure. B. centralize so that more decisions are are made by top management alone. alone. C. develop a set of formal rules and regulations r egulations specifically addressing what employees should do about that diversity. D. adopt a divisional structure aligned with that diversity. E. do none of these things. things. Chapter - Chapter 13 #77 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
78. (p. 373)
Organic structures are better than mechanistic structures for: A. hostile environments. B. stable B. stable environments. C. munificent C. munificent environments. D. Organic structures are better than mechanistic structures for all of these environments. E. Organic structures are better than mechanistic mechanistic structures for none of these environments. environments. Chapter - Chapter 13 #78 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
79. (p. 373)
A divisionalized structure is recommended mainly for: A. stable environments. environments. B. diverse environments. C. munificent C. munificent environments. D. integrated environments. environments. E. none of these these environments. environments. Chapter - Chapter 13 #79 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
80. (p. 372)
Which of the following are contingencies of organizational design? A. Technology A. Technology B. Organizational B. Organizational size C. Organizational C. Organizational environment t hese are contingencies of organizational design D. All of these E. Only organizational size and environment environment are contingencies contingencies of organizational design. Chapter - Chapter 13 #80 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
81. (p. 372373)
A steel manufacturing firm with about 1,000 employees operates in an environment that is simple and integrated (it makes a small number of steel products to a few key customers) but also dynamic and hostile (rapidly changing technology and customer needs with many competitors). Based on the environment in which this company operates, it would be more successful with: A. an organic structure. B. a centralized structure. C. a divisionalized structure. D. a D. a matrix structure. E. a mechanistic mechanistic structure. structure. Chapter - Chapter 13 #81 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
82. (p. 374)
Larger organizations tend to: A. make greater use of standardization than do smaller firms. B. have similar structures to smaller organizations. C. operate without any form of departmentalization departmentalization for long periods of time. D. have all of these characteristics. E. have none of these characteristics. characteristics. Chapter - Chapter 13 #82 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
83. (p. 373374)
As the number of employees increases, the organization tends to have: A. more job specialization. specialization. B. more elaborate coordinating mechanisms. mechanisms. C. more standardization rather than just informal communication as a coordinating mechanism. D. more decentralization. E. all of these changes. Chapter - Chapter 13 #83 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
84. (p. 374)
Two technological contingencies that influence the best type of organizational structure to chose are: A. dynamism and hostility hostility B. organic and mechanistic C. variability and analyzability D. formalization and division of labour E. coordination and formalization formalization Chapter - Chapter 13 #84 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
85. (p. 374)
A software design team performs work that has high variety and low analyzability. This team would work best with which of the following organizational structure characteristics? A. High A. High formalization B. Organic structure C. Narrow span of control D. Coordination through formal hierarchy E. Mechanistic E. Mechanistic structure Chapter - Chapter 13 #85 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
86. (p. 374)
Employees at a large call centre perform repetitive tasks (low variety) by documenting mailing addresses from customers who call the centre. The work process is the same for all inquiries to all call centre staff members (low analyzability). The best organizational structure for this work unit: A. is an organic structure. structure. B. would have low formalization. C. would coordinate mainly through informal informal communication. D. is a mechanistic structure. E. would have none none of these characteristics. characteristics. Chapter - Chapter 13 #86 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
87. (p. 374)
An organization that wants to compete through innovation should: A. adopt an organic structure and make extensive use of informal communication to coordinate work. B. centralize and formalize its organizational organizational structure. C. coordinate employees employees by writing up formal rules and procedures. D. switch to a cost leadership strategy as quickly as possible. E. adopt a mechanistic mechanistic structure with functional functional departmentalization. Chapter - Chapter 13 #87 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
88. (p. 374)
The idea that an organization interacts with its environment (rather than being totally determined by it ) is summed up in the phrase: A. structure follows strategy. B. feasibility breeds analyzability. C. coordination through standardization. D. strategy follows structure. E. analyzability before feasibility. feasibility. Chapter - Chapter 13 #88 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
89. (p. 374)
A mechanistic organizational structure works better than an organic structure when: A. the organization operates in a hostile environment. B. the organization adopts a differentiation strategy. strategy. C. the organization requires a high degree degree of formalization. D. the organization adopts a low-cost strategy. E. the organization operates operates in a dynamic dynamic environment. Chapter - Chapter 13 #89 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
90.
Organizational structures are tools for change.
(p. 354)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #90 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
91. (p. 354)
The two fundamental requirements of all organizational structures are divisionalization and decentralization. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #91 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
92.
Division of labour leads to t o increased job specialization.
(p. 354)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #92 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
93. (p. 355)
When work is divided among people, a coordinating mechanism is needed to ensure that everyone works in concert. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #93 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
94. (p. 355)
Informal communication is a coordination mechanism only in small and a few medium-sized organizations. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #94 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
95. (p. 356)
Large organizations can encourage coordination through informal communication by assigning liaison roles to employees. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #95 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
96. (p. 356)
Concurrent engineering can be used to encourage informal communication as a coordinating mechanism. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #96 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
97.
Informal communication as a coordinating mechanism is ineffective in nonroutine situations.
(p. 356)
FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #97 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
98.
Integrator roles increase informal communication as a coordinating mechanism.
(p. 356)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #98 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
99. (p. 356357)
Formal hierarchy is the least time-consuming coordinating mechanism where employees work in nonroutine and ambiguous situations. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #99 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
100. (p. 356357)
The formal hierarchy can be used to coordinate the work of front-line workers and executives through the division of organizational activities. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #100 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
101. (p. 357)
One of the main benefits of formal hierarchy as a coordinating mechanism is that it increases flexibility and responsiveness to customer needs. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #101 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
102.
Job descriptions and training are examples of coordination through standardization.
(p. 357)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #102 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
103. (p. 357)
Job descriptions, goal setting, and training are applications of coordination through standardization. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #103 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
104.
Standardizing processes is less effective in nonroutine and complex work.
(p. 357)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #104 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
105. (p. 357)
When work activities are too complex to standardize through extensive training f or employees, companies need to coordinate work effort through precise job descriptions. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #105 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 1
106.
An organization's structure is mainly its organizational chart.
(p. 357)
FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #106 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
107. (p. 357)
Traditional management theorists set the maximum span of control at 20 people, but this number may be higher where work activities are routine and standardized. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #107 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
108. (p. 357)
A narrower span of control is consistent with the trend t rend towards employee involvement and teamwork. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #108 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
109. (p. 359)
Generally, a narrow span of control is necessary where employees perform highly interdependent work with others. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #109 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
110. (p. 358)
Span of control can be increased by introducing informal communication and other coordinating mechanisms. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #110 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
111. (p. 359)
Span of control is interconnected with organizational size and the number of layers in the hierarchy. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #111 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
112. (p. 359)
Organizations with fewer layers in the organizational hierarchy are described as having flat structures TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #112 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
113. (p. 359)
The number of layers in i n an organization's hierarchy depends on the number of people employed and the average span of control. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #113 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
114. (p. 360)
The main reasons why companies are moving toward t oward flatter organizational structures is because it improves coordination through formal hierarchy. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #114 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
115. (p. 359)
Tall hierarchies tend to encourage employee empowerment empowerment and engagement because they focus power around employees rather than managers. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #115 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
116. (p. 360)
When companies delayer the organizational hierarchy, they run the risk of increasing managerial workloads and stress. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #116 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
117. (p. 361)
Most organizations begin with centralized structures and become more decentralized as they grow larger and divide work into more specialized functions. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #117 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
118.
Organizations tend to centralize as their external environment becomes more complex.
(p. 360361)
FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #118 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
119.
Companies can be centralized in some parts of the organization and decentralized in other parts.
(p. 361)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #119 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
120.
Organizations tend to become less formalized as they age and grow in i n number of employees.
(p. 361)
FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #120 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
121.
Formalization represents the establishment of standardization as a coordinating mechanism.
(p. 361)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #121 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
122.
A mechanistic structure is decentralized, has a narrow span of control and little formalization.
(p. 362)
FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #122 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
123.
Mechanistic structures operate best in stable environments.
(p. 362)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #123 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
124. (p. 362)
As external environments become more complex and dynamic, organizational structures should become more mechanistic and less organic. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #124 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 2
125. (p. 363)
Departmentalization establishes interdependencies interdependencies and coordination through informal communication within each work unit. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #125 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
126. (p. 363)
One problem with departmentalization is that t hat it discourages coordination through informal communication. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #126 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
127. (p. 364)
A simple structure is one of the best structures in which to accommodate organizational growth and diversification. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #127 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
128. (p. 363)
Functional structures foster professional identity and permit greater specialization than most other forms of departmentalization. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #128 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
129. (p. 364)
Functional structures tend to have higher dysfunctional conflict and poorer coordination across units than other forms of departmentalization. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #129 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
130.
Divisional structures may be formed around products, geography, or functional specializations.
(p. 365)
FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #130 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
131. (p. 366)
The primary source of environmental diversity or uncertainty mainly determines the best form of divisional structure an organization should adopt. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #131 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
132. (p. 366)
Companies with divisionalized structures are increasingly adopting the geographically-based structure. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #132 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
133. (p. 366)
A problem with the divisional organizational structure is that it does not allow the organization to grow within that structure. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #133 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
134. (p. 366)
One problem with the divisional structure is that it increases the risk of duplication and underutilization of resources. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #134 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
135. (p. 367)
Organizations can move towards a team-based structure by flattening the hierarchy, reducing formalization, and making extensive use of self-directed work teams. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #135 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
136. (p. 367)
Team-based organizational organizational structures are usually found within the manufacturing or service operations of larger divisionalized structures. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #136 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
137. (p. 368)
One problem with the team-based organizational structure is that employees may experience more stress due to ambiguity of their roles. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #137 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
138. (p. 368)
Some matrix structures typically overlay a divisional structure with a functional structure to gain the benefits of both. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #138 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
139.
Employees working in some the matrix organizational structures report to two bosses.
(p. 369)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #139 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
140.
The matrix structure can increase i ncrease conflict among managers who share power equally.
(p. 370)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #140 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
141.
In a typical network structure, several satellite organizations are bee-hived around a core firm.
(p. 371)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #141 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
142. (p. 371)
One of the main forces pushing organizations towards a network structure is the recognition that an organization has only a few core competencies. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #142 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
143. (p. 372)
One of the main advantages of network structures is that they ensure the core organization has a high degree of control over production, marketing and other functions. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #143 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
144.
Network structures come close to the t he perfect example of a mechanistic organizational structure.
(p. 372)
FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #144 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 3
145.
Decentralization is the logical choice in simple, integrated (one market) and hostile environments.
(p. 373)
FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #145 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
146.
Organic structures are better suited to hostile environments.
(p. 373)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #146 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
147. (p. 373)
The more diversified the environment, the more the firm would benefit f rom a divisionalized form of departmentalization. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #147 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
148. (p. 374)
Larger firms tend to be more centralized and make greater use of direct supervision than do smaller firms. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #148 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
149.
The best organizational structure depends on the variety and analyzability of the tasks.
(p. 374)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #149 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
150. (p. 374)
An organic structure works better than a mechanistic structure where tasks have high variety and low analyzability. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #150 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
151. (p. 374)
Contingencies, such as size, technology, and environment do not necessarily determine an organization's structure. TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #151 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
152.
Organizational strategy influences both the contingencies of structure and the structure itself.
(p. 374)
TRUE Chapter - Chapter 13 #152 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
153. (p. 374)
Organizations that follow a cost leadership strategy should apply an organic organizational structure. FALSE Chapter - Chapter 13 #153 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: automatic Learning Objective: 4
154. (p. 354355 & 363-365)
The textbook states that all organizational structures include the division of labour and coordination of that labour. What does this t his mean and how does departmentalization contribute to these fundamental requirements? Division of labour refers to the subdivision of work into separate jobs assigned to different people. Subdivided work leads to job specialization, because each job now includes a narrow subset of the tasks necessary to complete the product or service. As soon as people divide work among themselves, coordinating mechanisms are needed to ensure that everyone works in concert. Departmentalization plays a significant role in the division of labour and coordination of that labour. With respect to division of labour, departmentalization organizes employees into groups based on some delineating factor, such as skill (functional structure), client or geographic focus (divisionalization), or work process (e.g. matrix or team-based structure). For example, a functional structure would necessarily divide employees into skills, so some employees manufacture the product whereas others market the product, manage the accounts, deliver the product, and so on. The categories of departments establish the division of labour. Departmentalization also provides some information about the coordination of work. For example, a team-based structure would rely more on informal communication than would a typical t ypical functional structure.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #154 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 1 Learning Objective: 3
155. (p. 357362 & 363-364)
While preparing for a final examination in organizational behaviour, you and a student in another class review the important information i nformation regarding organizational structure and design. During the conversation, the other student suggests that just about everything you need to know about organizational structure can be based on knowing the different types of departmentalization. In other words, all of the key features of organizational structure, including a structure's fundamental requirements and elements, are found in descriptions of functional structure, divisionalized structure and other forms of departmentalization. Discuss the accuracy of this statement. It is generally FALSE to say that departmentalization covers all the topics and issues in organizational structure and design. To answer this question, students should describe departmentalization and what information this element provides, then identify i dentify organizational design elements that are not included in departmentalization. Generally, departmentalization lays out the organizational chart for the organization. It determines how employees are grouped, how power is distributed, how work is organized and what interdependencies interdependencies exist. Departmentalization also provides some information about the type of coordination. However, this element does not explicitly describe the other three elements of organizational design: span of control, centralization and formalization. For example, it is possible to have a matrix structure with low or high formalization and a wide or narrow span of control. Similarly, a functional structure might be highly centralized or decentralized. A certain level of centralization isn't inherent in a functional structure. The three types of coordinating mechanisms include informal communication, formal hierarchy and standardization.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #155 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 2 Learning Objective: 3
156. (p. 363372)
An entrepreneur employs 20 people in a simple structure. However, the company will likely employ over 200 people in production, sales, engineering and administration within a few years due to the growing success of the company's new products. The entrepreneur likes the simple structure and wants to avoid other forms of departmentalization. Explain to the entrepreneur why his company would be more effective through other forms of departmentalization as it grows larger. An organization with a simple structure does not group employees into subunits, although a hierarchy may still exist. Small businesses fall into this category, particularly when they employ only a few people and offer only one distinct product or service. Employees are grouped in undifferentiated roles because there are insufficient economies of scale to assign them to specialized roles. Simple structures are flexible designs, yet they usually depend on the owner's direct supervision to coordinate work activities. Consequently, this structure is very difficult to operate under complex conditions. Departmentalization into a functional or divisional form becomes necessary to better coordinate work activities as the number of employees increases. Most other forms of departmentalization (e.g. functional, divisional, matrix, hybrid) form departments that establish a system of common supervision among positions and units within the organization. Departmentalization typically determines which positions and units must share resources. Thus, it establishes interdependencies among employees and subunits. Departmentalization usually creates common measures of performance. Members of the same department, for example, share the same departmental or team goals. Common budgets and other resources also provide a means by which the t he performance of subunits may be compared. Departmentalization encourages coordination through informal communication among people and subunits. With common supervision and resources, members within each configuration typically work in i n close proximity. This encourages frequent, informal communication among employees so that they may coordinate work activities.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #156 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 3
157. (p. 365370)
Executives at CelCorp, a major telecommunications company, company, are concerned that its i ts organizational structure is ineffective. The company currently has a functional structure in which employees are grouped by specialization: manufacturing, marketing, research, administration, etc. CelCorp has manufacturing plants in six countries throughout the globe, marketing operations in several dozen countries, and research and development centers in three countries. The company makes three distinct products with approximately equal revenue: mobile telephones, satellite communication systems and Internet routers. Recommend a new organizational structure for CelCorp and justify your decision. CelCorp's current situation clearly calls for some sort of divisionalized form (or possibly a multinational matrix structure, which we discuss below). It has most likely outgrown a f unctional structure because it is in diverse markets. The issue that students must try to justify is which type of divisionalized form to implement. The product divisionalized structure may be appropriate because the products seem quite diverse. (Mobile telephones have different technologies and clients than Internet routers, for instance.) At the same time, there may be considerable diversity by geography. Unfortunately, we are not told whether government restrictions or market behaviours are very different across countries for routers and other products. If so, then a geographic divisionalized structure may be justified. However, some students might reasonably argue that routers are global products, so geography is less important than t han products. This leads to the option of a multinational multi national matrix structure. CelCorp might consider restructuring equally around products and regions. This would be similar to ABB's matrix structure described in the textbook. Specifically, CelCorp might overlay a geographic with a product-based divisional structure. A global product executive would be responsible for a specific product group (manufacturing and possibly sales), whereas a country or regional executive would have responsibility for all activities (sales, manufacturing) in that country. Thus, someone who leads a production facility would have two bosses—the executive responsible for the product being manufactured there and the executive responsible for activities in that country. This structure would be most appropriate where geography and products are equally diverse. If product manufacturing and sales were similar around the world, however, then a product divisionalized structure would be preferred because matrix structures can be messy.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #157 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 3
158. (p. 369370)
What must senior executives, functional managers, and project leaders do to make a matrix structure more effective? The effectiveness of matrix structures is very much dependent on the abilities and motivation of senior executives, functional managers and project leaders. Top management must learn to maintain a proper balance of power between project leaders and functional managers. They must not play favourites, f avourites, otherwise the delicate balance between the dual management management structure leans too far in one direction or the other. Project leaders require a general management orientation because they are working with a diverse group of people on a semi-temporary basis. Thus, project managers must be able to keep the team focused on the task and resolve the conflicts that typically occur in heterogeneous work units. Functional managers coordinate the specialists assigned to the various projects. They are typically responsible for human resource planning and conducting performance appraisals of these specialists, even though the employees do not spend much time in the t he 'home' department. Functional managers must learn to be fair in i n the allocation of human resources, particularly where several project managers want the same person to work for them. This requires r equires effective negotiation skills as well as decisionmaking skills.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #158 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 3
159. (p. 365367)
For many years, Quokka Consumer Ltd. has had a geographic divisionalized organizational structure. Now, the company is rethinking the appropriateness of this structure compared to other divisionalized structures. Describe the two other divisionalized structures that Quokka can consider adopting and give two explanations why Quokka might want to move away from the geographic structure. To answer this question, students first need to briefly describe both the product structure and client structure. A diagram or example of both types may be useful. Next, students need to provide two explanations why Quokka might want to shift to one of these structures rather than the geographic structure. In most cases, students would adapt one of the explanations in the textbook regarding why companies are moving away from geographic structures. However, keep in mind that students might develop other logical explanations. The three explanations from the textbook are: 1. Information technology. This reduces the need for local representation. Clients can purchase online and communicate with businesses from almost anywhere in the world, so local l ocal representation is less critical. 2. Freer trade. Geographical structures are also waning because freer trade has reduced government intervention in some products, and consumer preferences in many product and service areas are becoming more similar (converging) around the world. 3. Global customers. Business customers are becoming more global, and they want one global point of purchase, not one in every country or region.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #159 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 3
160.
What type of departmentalization should a large multinational organization adopt?
(p. 365367)
This question basically requires students to recognize that they require further information to properly answer the question. In other words, they need to state that this i s a contingency issue that requires diagnosis of specific circumstances. At the same time, it is clear that multi national organizations would not adopt certain types of departmentalization, such as a simple structure. Almost invariably, multinational organizations adopt a divisional structure as the dominant form of departmentalization because they have diverse geography as well as typically diverse products/ services and/or clients. However, corporate headquarters may also have some purely functional departments (e.g. public relations, legal, corporate personnel) and some divisions may adopt matrix, network or cluster structures within the divisional form. The critical question—and one that many multinational organizations have difficulty resolving— is which form of divisional structure should dominate. As mentioned in the text, some companies such as Coca-Cola and Nestle are organized mainly around geographical regions, but others such as Philips are organized around products. While there is no definitive answer to this question, the general advice is that multinational organizations should develop structures and systems that maintain some balance of power and effectiveness across functional, product and geographic units. In other words, the structure should avoid allowing one grouping to dominate too much. There is invariably one form of unit—usually either product or geographic divisions—that divisions—that will be emphasized over others because it represents the most diverse, complex or hostile environments. Nevertheless, there should be l imits on this power.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #160 Difficulty: Difficult Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 3
161. (p. 365367)
Diversified Technologies, Inc. (DTI) makes four types of products, each type to be sold to different types of clients. For example, one product is sold exclusively to automobile repair shops, whereas another is used mainly in hospitals. Customer expectations and needs are surprisingly similar throughout the world. However, the company has separate marketing, product design, and manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America because, until recently, each jurisdiction had unique regulations governing the production and sales of these products. However, several governments have begun the process of deregulating the products that DTI designs and manufactures, and trade agreements have opened several markets to foreign-made products. Which form of departmentalization might be best for DTI if deregulation and trade agreements occur?
In this situation, the organization probably should adopt mainly a product-based or client-based divisionalized structure with some functional departments (e.g. fi nance, legal). The company is sufficiently large and complex that a simple or functional structure is inappropriate. In particular, DTI manufactures several products to different clients globally. A matrix structure is i s unnecessary because production is not project based and there is not enough complexity across more than one dimension (e.g. functional skills with clients). The product or client form of divisional structure is recommended because either one represents the greatest type of differentiation. Geographic divisionalization is not needed because "customer expectations and needs are surprisingly similar throughout the world." The decision whether to adopt a client or product form of divisional structure depends on whether production or clients are more complex. From the information presented, either form can be applied because they are identical. Each type of product is sold to a specific client. Finally, if the production and sales processes are capable of further innovation, the company might have a team-based structure within its production and/or sales subunits. This means that employees would be divided into work teams around specific work processes, such as manufacturing or selling a particular type of product.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #161 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 3
162. (p. 368370)
Rather than producing a standard product or service for the marketplace, Protegé Engineering completes special projects for clients. These projects r equire between six months and two years to complete and demand highly specialized knowledge in engineering, production management and computer science. Most of the 600 employees working for Protegé Engineering have university degrees in these fields; a few have doctorates. Identify the best organizational structure for Protegé Engineering and justify your recommendation. From the fact that Protegé is a project-based organization requiring diverse skills, the best form of departmentalization would be the matrix structure. In a matrix structure, employees are temporarily assigned to a specific project team, usually for no longer than a couple of years. They also have a permanent functional unit, typically known as a 'home' department, to which they return when a project is completed. The matrix structure is recommended here because it optimizes the use of resources and expertise, making it ideal for f or project-based organizations with fluctuating workloads. Specialists are housed within functional departments (e.g. engineering, production, etc.), yet the primary goal of functional managers is to see that these people are fully deployed in productive work. Whenever a project requires specific skills, functional managers make the necessary assignments, assignments, and when the project is completed, they quickly assign their employees to other projects requiring similar expertise. By forming teams of people from different specialties who work in physical proximity to each other, matrix structures improve communication efficiency, project flexibility and innovation compared to purely functional designs. They focus technical specialists on the goals of serving clients and creating marketable products. Yet by maintaining a link to their functional unit, employees are able to interact and coordinate with others in their technical specialty. Of course, few organizations exist as a purely matrix departmentalization because some functions— personnel, marketing, legal, etc.—remain as separate departments that do not contribute employees to the projects. Rather, these departments focus on organizational activities. Thus, the preferred strategy is to have a hybrid structure with some functional units and a matrix structure drawing upon employees in specific functional departments. A purely functional departmentalization would not be appropriate because this would isolate employees within specialties and thereby weaken any emphasis on the project and client. A divisional form would be inappropriate i nappropriate because the 'products' are custom-made, not mass-produced. Consequently, the optimal departmentalization must be able to form and reassign teams relatively quickly.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #162 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 3
163. (p. 372)
Several global organizations have tried implementing a matrix structure to balance the power of its functional and divisional groups. However, many of these firms experienced problems and eventually switched to a hybrid form of divisionalized structure. Identify some of t he problems that these companies may have experienced with a matrix structure. Matrix structures have a number of limitations and problems. They require more coordination than functional or pure divisional structures. The existence of two bosses can also dilute accountability. Matrix structures also tend to t o generate conflict, organizational politics, and stress among executives who must share responsibility within the structure, as well as managers who are accountable to both a country and product executive.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #163 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 3
164. (p. 367368)
Many companies claim to have a team-based organization, yet relatively few have actually adopted this form of departmentalization. Describe three (3) structural features that would suggest that a company has adopted a team-based organizational structure. The textbook identifies four features of team-based organizational structures. Students can describe any three of these. Also note that students may describe other features of self-directed work teams that may also be correct. a. The organization (or, more likely, specific parts of it) would have work assigned to teams rather than individual employees. b. Teams would work around processes rather than residing in functional departments. For example, the company might have a cross-functional team responsible for producing a particular product or serving one type of client. c. The organization would have a very wide span of control—probably no more than three management levels. d. The subunits with a team-based structure would have very little formalization. There would be relatively few rules about how to organize work and most day-to-day decisions would be made by team members.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #164 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 3
165. (p. 370372)
What is a network structure? Why do some writers believe that a network structure is an effective design for global competition? A network structure is an alliance of several organizations creating a product or service. It i s usually formed by a core organization that subcontracts various functional activities (production, design, marketing, etc.) to independent firms with respect to a specific product or service. Some writers advocate the network structure because it is relatively flexible and potentially makes efficient use of resources. The participating firms are theoretically selected based on the quality of service that each is able to bring to the t he alliance. When demand for a product or service drops, the core firm would not renew the contracts. The same would occur if one of the subcontractors failed to maintain quality standards. In contrast, a self-contained firm that fully invests in technology and human resources must face the difficult decision regarding future use of these resources when the environment changes. Network structures are also more globally based because the subcontracting firms may be located anywhere.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #165 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 3
166.
In which of the four external environments would a network structure be most effective?
(p. 372373)
The four types of external environments are dynamism, complexity, diversity and hostility. A network structure is a form of departmentalization whereby the various functions of a traditional organization are spread among several firms in the form of an alliance to create a specific product or service. Network structures are relatively flexible and organic structures, so they would be well suited to dynamic environments where organizations must adapt quickly to rapid change. The textbook points specifically to network structures as the t he preferred departmentalization in dynamic environments. It is less clear how well network structures would operate in the other environmental conditions. Since network alliances typically focus on a single product/service or related lines of output, it is reasonable to conclude that a particular network alliance would be more appropriate in an integrated environment rather than a diverse one. However, one could imagine each firm in the alliance having alliances with other firms on other products/services. Therefore, each firm could operate within a diverse environment, but each alliance would operate best in an integrated environment. With respect to hostile environments, a network structure would not be appropriate because it is more decentralized and has a weaker control relationship than a centralized and formalized traditional organization. Therefore, network structures are better suited t o munificent environments. Finally, we might speculate that network structures are better in complex rather than simple environments because the expertise of each participating firm helps the alliance to manage complexity. After all, a network structure tends to be relatively decentralized around the participating firms in the network.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #166 Difficulty: Medium Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 4
167.
What role does organizational strategy play in designing organizations?
(p. 374)
Organizational strategy basically has two roles in designing organizations. First, organizational strategy has an intervening effect because the size, environment and technology contingencies shape management's thinking about the best structure for the organization. Organizational size, environment and technology shape organizational structure only to the extent that they influence organizational strategy. Organizational leaders change organizational structures only after they decide to do so. This happens through strategy, not automatically through the contingencies of design. The second role of strategy is that it may reshape the contingency factors which, in turn, influence organizational structure. For example, if leaders find their organization in a hostile or complex environment, they may decide to shift the organization's mandate and resources into areas where there is more munificence and simplicity. To the extent that the organization is able t o move into different environments, organizational strategy shapes organizational structure.
Chapter - Chapter 13 #167 Difficulty: Easy Gradable: manual Learning Objective: 4
13 Summary Category
# of Questions
Chapter - Chapter 13
167
Difficulty: Difficult
14
Difficulty: Easy
57
Difficulty: Medium
96
Gradable: au automatic
153
Gradable: manual
14
Learning Objective: 1
35
Learning Objective: 2
36
Learning Objective: 3
73
Learning Objective: 4
25
