ch 15

True or false: When a company flattens its organizational structure it generally lays off employees but not managers.

False

True or false: Large organizations with more employees generally require more standardization, formalization, and coordinating mechanisms to function efficiently.

True

________ is the way in which tasks in an organization are divided into separate jobs—sometimes referred to as division of labor.

Work specialization

centralization

a type of organization where decisions are made at the top levels of the organization

Functional structures are extremely efficient when the organization

as a whole has a relatively narrow focus, few product lines or services, and a stable environment.

geographic

based around the different locations where the company does business

external factors, such as customers, competitors, suppliers and distributors

business environment

Which of the following are benefits of high levels of job specialization?

decreased training costs and time. increased work productivity.

The process of establishing, choosing, or altering the structure of an organization is known as organizational

design.

The key assumption behind a ____ strategy is that customers are willing to pay a premium price for a product that is perceived to be distinct in some important way.

differentiation

The key assumption behind a _____ strategy is that customers are willing to pay a premium price for a product that is perceived to be distinct in some important way.

differentiation

A mechanistic organization would be characterized by which of the following?

formal policies, procedures, and rules centralized decision making

A mechanistic organization would be characterized by which of the following?

formal policies, procedures, and rules. centralized decision making.

Tonya is a manufacturing engineer in a company that manufactures office furniture. She often meets with quality engineers to discuss issues that occur in the manufacturing department. Tonya's company has a ______ organizational structure.

functional

When a company has a product structure, which of the following are handled by each division?

marketing. manufacturing. research and development.

groups business units around what the company produces

product

General Motors groups its business units around the different lines of cars it sells, such as Buick, Cadillac, GMC, and Chevrolet, indicating it has an organizational structure based on

products.

Organizations change their structure through the process of

restructuring.

Angi has opened a new gourmet cupcake store in a small college town. It has two employees: Angi, who does all of the baking and decorating, and her daughter Sandi, who takes orders and runs the cash register. Based upon this information, it can be assumed that Angi's cupcake shop has a ______ structure.

simple

the organization's objectives and goals

strategy

Organizational ______ refers to how an organization arranges people and jobs so that its work can be performed and its goals can be met.

structure

All the following determinations are influenced by organizational structure, except

whether an employee is fired or promoted.

What has been the most common kind of restructuring that companies have undertaken in recent years to reduce costs?

changing to a flatter structure

A textbook publisher has one division that produces and sells textbooks for grades K-12, another division that specializes in higher education, and still another division that focuses on professional and continuing education. The textbook publisher has a ______ structure.

client

based upon the types of customers the organization serves

client

the total number of employees in the organization

company size

The decisions and actions applied to achieve an organization's objectives and goals are its

company strategy.

In order to achieve standardization, formalization is a necessary _____ mechanism.

coordination

Online shoe retailer Zappos encourages its customer service call-center representatives to use discretion in making their own decisions to satisfy customers, without seeking approval from their supervisors. This is an example of

decentralization.

Xtron has few rules and procedures and prides itself on empowering lower-level employees to be nimble and responsive to its customers' rapidly changing needs. Xtron would be best described as a(n) ______ organization.

organic

An ______ is a graphic representation of the jobs and reporting relationships within an organization.

organizational chart

Which of the following statements about organizational charts are true?

An organizational chart represents every job in an organization. An organizational chart represents the formal reporting relationship between jobs. An organizational chart typically is filled with the names of persons and job titles.

Which of the following is an example of a functional structure?

At Mark's Furniture, all the carpenters are in one group, and all the upholsterers are in another.

Which of the following is true regarding an organization's "span of control"?

If the span of control becomes too narrow, employees become resentful of their close supervision.

Which of the following best describes a company that has adopted a low-cost producer strategy?

It focuses on efficiency and productivity.

Which of the following is a characteristic of an organic organization?

Lateral communication is encouraged.

Which of the following are elements of organizational structure?

centralization formalization

The key elements of an organization's structure include work specialization, chain of command, span of control, formalization, and

centralization.

In ______ organization, power and authority are concentrated within a relatively tight group of individuals at the highest levels of the organization.

centralized

The multi-divisional structure can be based on any of the following except

functions.

A gourmet burger restaurant has established separate divisions for operations in the northeast, southeast, western, and central United States. Managers in each of these regions have authority to change the restaurant's menu to adapt to local tastes and to make use of fresh, regionally available ingredients. What type of organizational structure has this restaurant chain adopted?

geographic

functional

groups employees by the jobs they perform

Which of the following are among the typical aims that organizations pursue through the process of restructuring?

increased profit. greater efficiency. adapting to a changing market.

During a restructuring, managers can best help the company recover by managing

layoff survivors.

Elias works in a company where he is part of a robotics team, but he is also part of a team dedicated to working on a new type of lift system. He is stressed because he has to report to a manager for the lift project, as well as the head robotics engineer, who is always telling him he needs to deal with robotics before "playing with the lift." However, Elias knows the company is depending on the lift to help add important clients. Which type of organizational structure does Elias's company use?

matrix

In a ______ structure, each employee has two or more chains of command, along with multiple groups with which to interact.

matrix

Which of the following factors of organizational design refers to the method by which a company transforms inputs into outputs?

technology

the method by which the organization transforms inputs into outputs

technology

In organizations that restructure, task performance

tends to be slightly lower.

formalization

the degree to which rules and procedures are used to standardize behaviors and decisions

chain of command

the line of authority that runs from the top level of the organization to the lowest level

span of control

the number of subordinates for which a manager is responsible

Elena is a middle manager in a large organization. Her span of control within the organization is defined by

the number of subordinates she supervises.

work specialization

the way in which tasks in an organization are divided into separate jobs

Which of the following is the element of organizational structure that describes who reports to whom within an organization?

chain of command

In an organizational chart, each position is connected to one above it by a line, from the lowest level of the organization to the very top. This is referred to as the organization's

chain of command.

In a simple structure, the central decision maker is typically

one person.

Anderson Metals Manufacturing has voluminous, detailed procedures and policies that cover virtually every aspect of the work day, indicating the company has a high level of

formalization.

An organizational structure

formally dictates how jobs and tasks are divided and coordinated between individuals and groups within the company.

Marcus is an engineer who heads up a product development team working on a new line of chairs for computer desks. The team has members from marketing, finance, manufacturing, and quality. Based on this information, Marcus's company has a ________ structure.

matrix

The organizational structure that uses a combination of the functional and product structures is the ______ structure.

matrix

A bureaucratic structure exhibits many of the facets of a(n) ______ organization in terms of work specialization, formalization, and centralization.

mechanistic

An organization that is highly centralized with narrow spans of control and very formalized procedures is a(n) ______ organization.

mechanistic

As a general rule, the larger an organization becomes, the more ______ it is likely to be.

mechanistic

Which of the following best describes the correlation between restructuring and organizational commitment?

moderate, negative

Which of the following are disadvantages associated with tall organizational structures?

more information filtering. higher labor costs.

The bureaucratic structure that arranges employees by multiple factors such as region, products, or clients is known as the ______ structure.

multi-divisional

As a general rule, managers in a tall hierarchy likely have a ______ span of control.

narrow

A food products company is split into separate, semi-autonomous divisions for beverages, snacks, frozen dinners, and condiments. What type of organizational structure does this company have?

product

As a general rule, the more ______ the technology, the more mechanistic an organization will be.

routine

A functional structure groups employees based upon the ______ they perform in an organization.

types of jobs

Functional structures are most efficient

when the organization as a whole has relatively few product lines or services and a stable environment.

An organic organization is be characterized by which of the following?

wide spans of control. decentralized decision making.

At a small bakery, two workers are assigned the tasks of baking bread and sweet rolls. Two other workers are responsible for baking cakes and cupcakes. Yet another worker does all of the cake decorating. This describes how the bakery handles

work specialization

The subdivision of work into separate jobs assigned to different people is referred to as

work specialization.