Ch. 8: Structuring Organizations for Today's Challenges
Today's trend is to expand the span of control because:
1. the workforce is better educated at all levels 2. organizations save by reducing the number of middle managers
The bureaucratic principles proposed by Fayol and Weber are most likely to apply to an organization that:
1. wants to eliminate decision making for lower level employees 2. employs many unskilled workers
Principles proposed by Weber and Fayol that are still useful in today's organizations include:
1. written rules, decision guidelines, and records 2. job descriptions 3. staffing and promotion based on qualifications
Which of the following are advantages of departmentalization by function?
The company can achieve economies of scale. Employees develop in depth skills and continue to progress.
The owner of a small lawn-mowing business separates the job functions of the business into mowing, edging, and trimming so she can assign the tasks to different workers. What process is exemplified by this action?
division of labor
departmentalization
the dividing of organizational functions into separate units
When each worker is to report to only one boss, it is an example of which Fayol principle?
unity of command
Fayol's equity principle states that a manager should treat employees and peers
with respect and justice
Important decisions to be made while designing an organization include:
1. departmentalization 2. degree of centralization 3. span of control
Which of Fayol's principles states that all workers should be able to reach others in the firm quickly and easily?
Clear communication channels
Which Fayol principle states that the amount of decision-making power vested in top management should vary by circumstances?
Degree of centralization
______ organization structures respond to customer demands faster because its lower-level employees have authority and responsibility for making decisions.
Flat
The bureaucratic principles proposed by Fayol and Weber would likely apply better to which of the following organizations?
United Parcel Service
A firm's success depends on a manager's ability to
assign tasks based on a worker's strengths
The rapidly evolving business environment requires the management of ______ in the organization to respond to it
change
A benefit of ______ by function is that it helps create economies of scale by centralizing resources and experts in one area.
departmentalization
The process of setting up individual departments to do specialized work is:
departmentalization
Once the department manager determines the work that needs to be done, the next step is dividing the tasks among department employees. This step is known as:
division of labor
In economies of scale, a company buys raw materials in bulk so that the average cost of goods goes _______ as the production levels increase
down
The current trend in organizations is to _______ the span of control
expand
A traditional way to departmentalize is by ______, such as design, production, marketing, and accounting
function
A system in which one person is at the top of the organization and there is a ranked or sequential ordering from the top down of managers who are responsible to that person is called a(n)
hierarchy
A firm that has a marketing department organized geographically and a production process organized by function has which type of departmental structure?
hybrid
Economies of scale work best in a company that makes large quantities of goods using ______ _______ process
mass production
Methods of structuring organizations to produce large amounts of goods is ______ _______
mass production
A large organization might use a flat organization structure in order to:
match the flexibility of small firms
Regardless of the size of the business, the principles of ______ structure remain the same
organization
Innovations like the mass production of cars can create economies of scale. However, over time this benefit becomes less meaningful because:
other companies copy the processes
For departments to operate effectively, they must be allocated sufficient resources such as:
personnel, funds, and equipment
Fayol's principle of esprit de corps states that a company should create:
pride and loyalty among workers
When a department is assigned responsibility for specific tasks, it should also be allocated the __________ to accomplish its objectives
resources
According to Fayol, division of labor states that functions within an organization are to be divided into areas of
specialization
In addition to unity of command, hierarchy of authority, and division of labor, Henri Fayol's organizational principles included
subordination of individual interests
By developing ______ ______ _______ a company can reduce its production costs if it can purchase raw materials in bulk; the average cost of goods goes down as production levels increase.
economies of scale
The concept that states all workers should know to whom they report and that managers have the right to give orders is referred to as the
hierarchy of authority
Which of the following departments could be considered by a company approaching departmentalization by functions?
Production Marketing Accounting Design
Which is a true statement about the principles of organization?
Regardless of the business size the principles are similar.
A(n) _________ organization structure maintains the decision-making authority at the top level of management
centralized
An organization structure in which decision-making authority is maintained at the top level of management is called a(n) ______ organization.
centralized
Written rules and procedures. promotion based on qualifications, and job descriptions are organizing principles proposed by:
Max Weber
Some companies create _______ structures because the sales department has geographic departments, production is organized by function, and marketing is organized by customer groups.
hybrid
Fayol's _______ principle states that materials and people should be placed and maintained in the proper location within an organization.
order
