Intro to Business - Chapter 7 Quiz

Vihaan works as a human resource specialist for a video production company. The company has not updated its diversity and inclusivity plan in several years, and Vihaan has been assigned to serve on a committee that will update the company's diversity and inclusivity initiatives. Once the necessary updates have been made, the committee will dissolve. On which of the following types of committees has Vihaan been asked to serve?

Ad hoc

Costco Wholesale Corporation, an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only, big-box retail stores and has more than 200,000 employees, is which of the following?

An organization

Magnus, a certified public accountant, is the owner of Magnus Accounting Services PLLC. Magnus is a firm believer in the notion that if you want something done correctly, you must do it yourself. Although Magnus has hired three associate accountants to work in his firm, he has been very reluctant to assign them actual accounting work. In fact, the three associate accountants who work for Magnus feel like administrative assistants rather than accounting professionals. Which of the following refers to an organization that systematically works to concentrate authority at the upper levels of the organization?

Centralization

James has been promoted to store manager of the home improvement warehouse where he has worked for the last 12 years. All the store employees will ultimately answer to James, and he in turn will answer to the District Manager, Vanessa. Which of the following refers to the line of authority that extends from the highest to the lowest levels of a company?

Chain of Command

Lukas works the evening shift preparing dough at a local bakery. When Lukas' supervisor retired two years ago, ownership did not replace him; instead, the bakery distributed traditional management responsibilities to Lukas and his fellow workers. At first, Lukas was skeptical about the additional responsibility, but he has grown to like self-managing, and his co-workers feel the same way. Surprisingly, productivity in the dough preparation department has increased since Lukas' supervisor retired. Which of the following refers to an organization in which management consciously attempts to spread authority widely in the lower levels of the organization?

Decentralization

Nanami is a senior partner in a law firm that represents employers and insurance companies in workers' compensation cases. Two years ago, Nanami hired an associate attorney, Kenta, to assist her in the representation of clients. Since she hired Kenta, Nanami has been assigning Kenta progressively greater responsibility. Recently, she has allowed Kenta to represent clients on his own. Nanami has engaged in which of the following organization processes?

Delegation

Jayden is very proud of the transportation company he owns. Beginning with one truck in 2001, Jayden's transportation company now operates a fleet of 120 trucks servicing the entire Eastern United States. As his company grew, Jayden found it necessary to departmentalize his company into different areas such as logistics, accounting, marketing, information technology, and human resources. Which type of departmentalization is this?

Departmentalization by function

Krisha is the manager of a 12-person pharmaceutical sales team that focuses exclusively on the North Carolina market. Krisha has divided her sales team into three, four-person subunits, with Unit 1 focusing on Asheville and its surrounding area, Unit 2 on Raleigh, and Unit 3 on Greenville. What type of organizational departmentalization is Krisha using?

Departmentalization by location

Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. In its organization structure, Starbucks Corporation has a division for coffee, another division for baked goods, and another division for merchandise like mugs. Which type of departmentalization is this?

Departmentalization by product

Ethan works as an associate attorney at a large law firm. In September of last year, Ethan had heard from his fellow associate attorney Mia that the senior partner of the firm was leaving due to personal and professional disagreements with other partners. Mia had heard the news from a junior partner of the firm. Today, through an official e-mail, the law firm confirmed the senior partner's departure, effective immediately. Which of the following refers to the informal communications network within the organization that resulted in Ethan's knowledge of the senior partner's departure before the official announcement was made?

Grapevine

Aneko, Tombe, and Zari are well-liked and highly respected line workers at the local tire manufacturing plant. Even though they are just hourly employees, both managers and other line workers come to Aneko, Tombe, and Zari to air grievances, solve problems, and address other work-related concerns. Whenever there is a dispute between management and non-management, both sides usually come to Aneko, Tombe, and Zari to address the dispute (the plant is non-unionized.) Quite often the three, working collectively, are successful in their interventions. Although they were initially reluctant to assume this role, they now actually enjoy serving in this capacity. Which of the following best refers to the collective status of Aneko, Tombe, and Zari?

Informal group

Which of the following is correct regarding organizations?

It is a group of two or more people working together to achieve a common set of goals.

Which of the following is correct regarding the span of management?

It is also referred to as the span of control.

Which of the following involves structuring the tasks and activities required to accomplish a firm's objectives into specific jobs to foster productivity and employee satisfaction?

Job Design

Marlon works in a furniture manufacturing plant. Part of Marlon's responsibilities include working in different parts of the plant, performing various tasks such as cutting, shaping, assembling, finishing, and upholstering. Marlon enjoys the variety of tasks, since it keeps his work interesting and empowers him with additional job skills. Which of the following refers to the shifting of employees from one job to another?

Job rotation

Malik has worked in an automobile manufacturing plant for the last 14 years. For the entire time he has been employed at the plant, Malik's sole job responsibility has been to install the right front and rear passenger doors on cars that progress along the assembly line. Malik is very bored of the work, and he is considering leaving the plant to pursue a job elsewhere or to obtain a college degree at his local community college. Which of the following refers to the separation of all organizational tasks into distinct tasks and the assignment of different tasks to different people?

Job specialization

Tiana works as a sales associate at a small retail store. Tiana reports to the assistant manager, who reports to the store manager, who reports to the store owner. Which of the following forms of organizational structure is this?

Line

Anish works as a senior staff attorney in a legal department for a large engineering company. Anish provides legal advice and expertise to the chief executive officer of the company, who has the discretionary authority to either follow Anish's recommendations or choose other options. Which of the following forms of organizational structure is this?

Line-and-staff

Meera works as a human resource specialist for a medium-sized plumbing company. Morale at the company has been low over the past several years, with employees complaining about their low pay and minimal employee benefits. In addition to her regular work responsibilities, Meera has been asked to chair a team to address this issue. Once the pay and benefits package for employees has improved and employee morale restored, the team will disband. Which of the following types of teams has Meera been asked to chair?

Problem-solving

Lihua works for a large information technology company. She is part of a highly educated and talented product-design team. The team does not have a traditional manager and has the autonomy to make decisions on its own. Which of the following types of teams is this?

Self-managed

Effia is a managing partner at a local accounting firm. When Effia first became a managing partner three years ago, she was responsible for overseeing eight associate accountants. Currently, she now has responsibility for overseeing 14 associate accountants. Which of the following refers to the number of workers who report directly to one manager?

Span of management

Suppose that your local community college is experiencing major financial difficulties due to significant cuts in government funding. To address these seemingly permanent financial challenges, the college has created a budget review committee to review departmental budget requests on an annual basis, with "strict scrutiny" being the standard for departmental budget approval. Which of the following types of committees has the college created?

Standing

Suppose that oil giants Chevron Corporation and Marathon Petroleum Corporation are considering a merger. Both companies have created committees to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed merger, and the work of both committees (along with government regulatory approval) will play a large role in determining whether the merger occurs. Which of the following types of committees have Chevron Corporation and Marathon Petroleum Corporation created to address the proposed merger?

Task force

Which of the following requires a narrow span of management?

The manager has much work to do in addition to supervising workers.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the United States in 2020, Deja's marketing team at the insurance company she works for in Dallas has not met in the company's office space. Instead, team members communicate via Zoom (video teleconferencing) and other electronic media. Deja still lives in a high-rise apartment in uptown Dallas. Her favorite co-worker Demond, who is also a marketing team member, has moved to San Antonio. Another team member, Ana, has moved back to her hometown of Olympia, Washington. Deja, Demond, and Ana are still full-time employees and communicate electronically to satisfy their team responsibilities. Which of the following types of teams is this?

Virtual