The greater the environmental uncertainty, the more an organization needs to become ________.
a. organic
b. mechanistic
c. stable
d. high-tech
a. organic
Increased uncertainty in a business environment requires an organization to be more flexible and adaptable—in other words, more organic. High uncertainty would militate against being more mechanistic and it would have little influence on the stability of an organization or the degree to which it was "high-tech."
As represented in a hierarchical organization diagram, authority is based on ________.
a. vertical position only
b. horizontal position only
c. distance from the center only
d. horizontal and vertical position
a. vertical position only
In a hierarchical organization diagram, vertical position is a measure of authority. The person at the top therefore has the most authority and the person on the bottom the least, making vertical position only the correct choice. All three other possibilities listed feature a horizontal dimension so all three are incorrect.
In a ________ structure each business unit has complete autonomy to reach its goals.
a. simple
b. functional
c. divisional
d. matrix
c. divisional
A divisional structure combines a number of separate business units under the umbrella of the main organization. These units are almost completely autonomous, but benefit from the resources and brand of the combined organization. The divisional structure allows more autonomy for its subunits than any other structure, making divisional the correct response.
A simple structure is ________ like a mechanistic organization, but ________ like an organic organization.
a. centralized; informal
b. informal; decentralized
c. decentralized; formal
d. centralized; formal
a. centralized; informal
A simple structure is largely a one-person show, with a single person being the originator and driving force behind the organization he or she formed. A single person makes virtually all important decisions in a simple structure, making the system highly centralized. However, since the simple structure is largely used in very small companies, it is also typically very informal. The combination of being centralized and informal matches the choice with the same description.
The original ideas about organizational design formulated by Fayol and Weber are now largely obsolete.
True False
False
Surprisingly, many of the ideas of Fayol and Weber about organizational design are still valid today.
All of the following are characteristics of a highly formalized organization EXCEPT ________.
a. explicit job descriptions
b. little discretion for employees
c. minimum number of rules
d. a standardized way of doing things
c. minimum number of rules
A formalized organization is very precise and bureaucratic. Jobs are precisely defined; employees are given little leeway in how they carry out tasks, rules are given great emphasis, and most activities are routinized and standardized. Since rules are important in this kind of an organization, you would not expect a minimum of rules, making it the correct response for this question.
A key difference between a team structure and a matrix structure is that a team structure ________ while a matrix structure does not.
a. empowers group members
b. works on projects
c. has fairly permanent
groups or teams
d. holds group members accountable
c. has fairly permanent groups or teams
Both matrix and team structures feature small groups working together on projects with empowered employees who are held accountable for their decisions. A key difference between the two structures is that teams can be fairly permanent, while matrix groups return to their functional departments when their project is complete.
Eric the Redd (Scenario)
Eric Redd graduated from college and was hired by a corporation that manufactured parts for the automotive industry. The employees on the assembly line seemed bored, and their motivation was low. Eric's employer decided to try to reorganize to increase productivity. During his career, Eric will see his job change from an engineer to a more complex job assignment.
The jobs of assembly-line employees are to be changed to allow more tasks to be done by individual workers. This is a reduction in ________.
a. work specialization
b. departmentalization
c. chain of command
d. centralization
a. work specialization
Increasing the number of tasks that employees perform is an example of becoming less specialized. It would not increase how many departments there are, affect authority relationships, or decision making, so all of these choices would be incorrect for this question
What kind of departmentalization would be in place in a government agency in which there are separate departments that provide services for employers, employed workers, unemployed workers, and the disabled?
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a. product
b. geographic
c. outcome
d. customer
d. customer
Employed workers, unemployed workers, employers, and disabled workers are all categories of people who will use the agency's services—its customers. Therefore, "customer" is correct and the other choices incorrect.
A construction site supervisor who sees an impending thunderstorm and tells workers to go home is demonstrating ________.
a. line authority
b. staff delegation
c. provisional accountability
d. responsibility
a. line authority
This is a perfect example of line authority: The supervisor is exercising the authority to make a decision and give an order to subordinates without consulting with any of his superiors. This makes line authority correct and rules out all of the other three choices.
A virtual organization is essentially ________ who come together for a particular project.
a. a group of employees from a single company
b. a group of free agents
c. a team of employees from different departments of a company
d. a
group of top managers and CEOs
b. a group of free agents
A virtual organization maintains a small administrative staff, but relies on freelancers to perform tasks, complete projects, and do the work of the organization. The freelancers do not come from a single organization, nor are they high ranked corporate managers. Instead, the freelancers come from a variety of different places and are typically unaffiliated with any permanent organization or company.
A media company that has separate, autonomous companies for movies, TV, Internet, and print journalism is most likely a ________ structure.
a. divisional
b. functional
c. simple
d. matrix
a. divisional
An organization that features autonomous branches that function like independent companies is likely to be a divisional structure. This media company fits the description of a divisional structure, making that the correct response, and ruling out a functional, simple, or matrix structure.
The culture of an organization is analogous to the ________ of an individual.
a. skills
b. personality
c. motivation
d. ability
b. personality
Organizational cultures are like people—individual, contradictory in places, full of quirks and unexpected traits. In other words, organizational cultures resemble individual personalities, making personality the correct response and eliminating the other choices.
A building contractor follows the network organization model when he does which of the following?
a. does the framing and tiling by himself
b. hires three workers to help with framing
c. gives orders to workers
d. farms out the plumbing to a plumbing firm
d. farms out the plumbing to a plumbing firm
A building contractor functions as a network organization when he farms out work to others. The contractor, for example, may do one part of the job himself and subcontract phases of the job that he is not qualified to do. This makes farming out the plumbing the correct response. Doing the framing and tiling on his own, hiring workers, or issuing orders does not qualify the contractor as a networker; that occurs only when he actually subcontracts a part of the job to another organization or individual.
A company that is pursuing a cost leadership strategy would be most likely to have this kind of structure.
a. mechanistic
b. virtual
c. team
d. matrix-project
a. mechanistic
In a cost-leadership strategy, holding down costs and maximizing efficiency and productivity are paramount. A mechanistic approach has been found to work best for holding down costs, so that is the correct response here. Virtual, team, and matrix-project models typically work better for innovation and creativity rather than the cost-cutting measures needed for a cost-leadership strategy.
In the chain of command, each person above you ________.
a. has special privileges
b. receives higher pay
c. has line authority
d. has no right to give you orders
c. has line authority
Line authority is the explicit right to issue orders to a subordinate. People of higher rank may or may not receive special privileges or more pay than people below, so those choices are incorrect. Finally having no right to give you orders can be eliminated because it is the opposite of the correct answer.
Early users of work specialization early in the twentieth century found that the practice ultimately resulted in ________.
a. higher profits and better employee morale
b. bored workers with low morale
c. huge and permanent productivity gains
d. better communication among employees
b. bored workers with low morale
While managers initially saw profit and productivity gains in work specialization, the gains were not huge, not permanent, and not accompanied by increases in morale, so these choices are incorrect. Better communication was never observed by managers so that choice is incorrect. After initial gains, managers did see an inevitable drop in morale of employees as they contended with drudgery, making "bored workers with low morale" the correct response
Power is a right that a manager has when he or she has a higher rank in an organization.
True False
False
Power can arise from rank, but it also can arise from a particular skill, knowledge, or access within the organization. The boss's secretary has power to gain access to the boss without having a high rank in the organization.
There are four basic elements in organizational structure.
True False
False
There are six elements: work specialization, departmentalization, authority and responsibility, span of control, centralization and decentralization, and formalization.
In an orchestra, a horizontal boundary exists between which of the following?
a. the string section and the horn section
b. the string section and the conductor
c. the conductor and the audience
d. the string section and the audience
a. the string section and the horn section
A horizontal boundary in an organization refers to specialization, rather than rank, that separates individuals. Thus, string and horn sections would be roughly equal in rank in an orchestra, meaning that they would be separated horizontally by their specialization, not vertically by their rank. The other choices compare groups or individuals who are not equal in rank. For example, the string section and conductor would be separated vertically since the conductor would outrank a string player, making the choice regarding the string section and the conductor incorrect. Similarly, the two choices regarding the audience can also be eliminated as they compare groups that do not have the same rank in the orchestra.
Joan Woodward attempted to view organizational structure from a technological perspective.
True False
True
Woodward looked at how production methods affected organization structure
When a top manager decides to hire an individual over the objections of her staff she is exercising which kind of power?
a. referent
b. expert
c. coercive
d. legitimate
d. legitimate
When the manager does what she wants over the objection of subordinates she is exploiting her position of authority in the vertical organizational hierarchy—in other words, she is using legitimate power. None of the other choices refers to the vertical power that comes from one's position in the corporate pyramid.
Line authority gives a manager the ability to direct the work of ________.
a. any employee in the firm
b. any subordinate
c. any subordinate, after consulting with the next higher level
d. only subordinates one level down
b. any subordinate
Line authority is the explicit right to issue orders or direct the activities of any subordinate. Line authority confers this right to a manager without any prior consultation with higher-ups. This makes "any subordinate" the correct response. "Any subordinate after consulting with the next higher level" is incorrect because line authority extends only downward, not up to higher-ranking individuals.
Which of the following most accurately reflects the difference between strong cultures and weak cultures?
a. Strong cultures tend to encourage employee innovation, while weak cultures do not.
b. Weak
cultures are found in most successful organizations, whereas strong cultures are relatively rare.
c. Strong cultures have less of an influence on employee behavior than do weak cultures.
d. Company values are more deeply held and widely shared in strong cultures than in weak cultures.
d. Company values are more deeply held and widely shared in strong cultures than in weak cultures.
Strong cultures are common in successful organizations, making the choice regarding weak cultures being found in most successful organizations incorrect. The choice regarding strong cultures having less influence is incorrect because strong cultures have more impact on individuals than weak cultures. Strong cultures encouraging employee innovation is incorrect because a strong culture may or may not encourage innovation. This leaves the choice regarding company values being more deeply held and widely shared as the correct response, as it accurately states that strong cultures imprint themselves more deeply into individuals than weak cultures.
________ is the obligation or expectation to perform a duty.
a. Responsibility
b. Unity of command
c. Chain of command
d. Span of control
a. Responsibility
By definition, responsibility is the obligation to perform duties that have been assigned, so that is the correct choice. An employee's responsibility is to complete the task that he or she has been assigned. Two of the other choices here, unity of command and chain of command, refer to giving and following orders, so they can be eliminated. Span of control refers to the number of employees who report to a manager, so it is also an incorrect choice.
Avoiding redundancy is a strength of which structure?
a. simple
b. divisional
c. functional
d. corporate
c. functional
In a functional structure, workers are grouped together according to specialty, meaning that the chance of duplicating resources and equipment gets minimized. For example, if an art department needs a super-expensive printer, it is likely that the organization will purchase only one printer rather than have artists scattered in other segments of the organization requiring their own printers. These facts all indicate that functional is the correct response.
The chain of command answers this question.
a. Where do I go for help?
b. How do I know when the task is complete?
c. What are the rules?
d. Who reports to whom?
d. Who reports to whom?
The classic description of the chain of command is that it determines who reports to whom. The other questions given here—asking for help, knowing when work is complete, and learning the rules - do not explicitly involve authority, so they are incorrect.
As represented in a power cone, power is based on ________.
a. vertical position only
b. horizontal position only
c. distance from the center only
d. vertical position and distance from the center
d. vertical position and distance from the center
Vertical position by itself determines authority, not power, so vertical position only is incorrect. Horizontal position on its own determines neither power nor authority, so horizontal position only is incorrect. Distance from the center only partly defines power, so that choice is incorrect. The remaining choice gives the correct relationship: power is determined by both vertical position and the horizontal distance from the center power core of the diagram.
A(an) ________ organization has a high degree of specialization, formalization, and centralization.
a. organic
b. horizontal
c. learning
d. mechanistic
d. mechanistic
By definition, a mechanistic organization is hierarchical, highly specialized with rigid, formal rules and decision making controlled at the top of the corporate pyramid. An organic or learning organization are both very nearly opposite to a mechanistic structure, featuring highly empowered employees, few rules, and flexible, decentralized decision making. Horizontal is incorrect because it does not describe a recognized organizational model.
A learning organization requires employees to ________.
a. encode information to prevent competitors from stealing ideas
b. collaborate with competitors
c. make all ideas public
d. share information and collaborate with one another
d. share information and collaborate with one another
Collaboration is critical to a learning organization, making sharing information and collaborating with one another the correct response. Note that collaboration is limited to the inside of the organization, making collaborating with competitors and making ideas public incorrect. Encoding information is wrong because it focuses on employees failing to share information, something that a learning organization would not do.
A bank manager who passes out bonuses at the end of the year is exercising this.
a. reward power
b. coercive power
c. expert power
d. referent power
a. reward power
A bonus is a type of reward, so the manager is exercising reward power. The power is not based on fear (coercive power), expertise, or knowing someone (referent power), so none of these choices is correct.
By giving employees two direct superiors, a matrix structure violates this key element of organizational design.
a. unity of command
b. chain of command
c. span of management
d. decentralization
a. unity of command
Unity of command requires that a single voice be dominant in the event that there are conflicting orders in an organization. Since a matrix system can give a single employee two bosses, it violates the unity of command tradition.