Ch 8 - Structuring Organizations for Today's Challenges
During the era of mass production, organization theorists emerged. Two influential thinkers were _____ and _____
Henri Fayol; Max Weber
Networked organizations are so closely lined by the _____ that each can find out what the others are doing in real time
Internet
Not until the 1900s and the introduction of _____ did production processes and business organization become so complex
mass production
An organization in which specialists from different parts of the organization are brought together to work on specific projects but still remain part of a line-and-staff structure
matrix organization
The very best companies stress high _____ and _____ vales
moral; ethical
The key to a productive culture is _____ trust
mutual
Traditional managers sometimes have trouble adapting to the speed of change and the impermanence of relationships in _____
networking
Using communications technology and other means to link organizations and allow them to work together on common objectives
networking
A visual device that shows relationships among people and divides the organization's work; it shows who reports to whom
organization chart
You may develop an _____ that shows relationships among people: who is accountable for the completion of specific work, and who reports to whom
organization chart
Widely shared values within an organization that provide unity and cooperation to achieve common goals
organizational (or corporate) culture
A potential real problem with matrix management is that the _____ teams are not permanent. They form to solve a problem and then break up. There is little chance for _____ learning, because teams work together so briefly.
project; cross-functional
Max Weber's book The Theory of Social and Economic Organizations promoted the _____-shaped organization structure that became popular in large firms
pyramid
Today's organizations look for help in areas where they do not generate world-class _____
qualtity
The present moment or the actual time in which something takes place
real time
Redesigning an organization so that it can more effectively and efficiently serve its customers
restructuring
_____ means they are empowered to make decisions without management approval
self-managed
Some of the best organizations have cultures that emphasize _____ to others, especially customers
service
Cross-functional teams work best when leadership is _____
shared
The optimal number of subordinates a manager supervises or should supervise
span of control
Employees who advise and assist line personnel in meeting their goals
staff personnel
At lower levels, where work is _____, it is possible to implement a broad span of control
standardized
An organizational structure in which the pyramidal organization chart would be quite tall because of the various levels of management
tall organization structure
The result of real time is _____ which occurs when a company is so open to other companies that electronic information is shared as if the companies were one
transparency
Henri Fayol wrote General and Industrial Management, in this book he introduced the following principles: _____ of command, _____ of authority, division of _____, subordination of individual interests to the _____ interest, _____ - managers have the right to give orders and the power to enforce obedience, degree of _____ - amount of decision-making power by top management should vary by circumstance, clear _____ channels, _____ - materials and people should be placed in the proper location, _____ - managers should treat employees and peers with respect, and _____ - spirit of pride and loyalty
unity; hierarchy; labor; general; authority; centralization; communication; order; equity; espirit de corps
A temporary networked organization made up of replaceable firms that join and leave as needed
virtual corporation
Usually, the bigger the plant, the more _____ production became
efficient
Some companies are reorganizing to let employees make decisions in order to please customers no matter what. Giving employees such authority is called _____ and it only works when employees are given the proper training and resources to respond
empowerment
After you have structured an organization, you must keep monitoring the _____ to learn what changes are needed
environment
The trend today is to _____ the span of control
expand
Large organizations use _____ structures to try to match the friendliness of small firms
flat
An organization structure that has few layers of management and a broad span of control
flat organization structure
Advantages of matrix structure: 1. gives managers _____ in assigning people to projects 2. encourages _____ cooperation and teamwork 3. can produce creative _____ to product development problems 4. makes efficient use of _____ resources
flexibility; interorganizational; solutions; organizational
Networked organization structures tend to be _____
flexible
The structure that details lines of responsibility, authority, and position; that is, the structure shown on organization charts
formal organization
No organization can operate effectively without both types of organization. The _____ system is often too slow and bureaucratic to let the organization adapt quickly. The _____ organization is often too unstructured and emotional to allow careful, reasoned decision making on critical matters.
formal; informal
To empower employees, firms often must reorganize dramatically to make _____ workers their most important people
frontline
The traditional way to departmentalize is by _____
function
The informal organization's nerve center is the _____, the system through which unofficial information flows between and among managers and employees
grapevine
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
hierarchy
Some firms use a combination of departmentalization techniques to create _____ forms
hybrid
In large businesses, a line organization may have the disadvantages of being too _____, of having few _____ or experts to advise people along the line, and having lengthy lines of _____
inflexible; specialists; communication
The _____ organization is an invaluable managerial asset that can promote harmony among workers and establish the corporate culture
informal
The _____ system is effective in generating creative solutions to short-term problems and creating camaraderie and teamwork among employees
informal
The system that develops spontaneously as employees meet and form cliques, relationships, and lines of authority outside the formal organization
informal organization
An organization that has contact people at the top and the chief executive officer at the bottom of the organization chart
inverted organization
Dividing up smaller jobs is called _____
job specialization
Weber emphasized: _____ descriptions, written _____, decision _____, and detailed ____, consistent procedures, _____, and policies, and staffing and promotion based on _____
job; rules; guidelines; records; regulations; qualifications
An organization that has direct two-way lines of responsibility, authority, and communication running from the top to the bottom of the organization, with all people reporting to only one supervisor
line organization
4 ways to structure an organization:
line organizations, line-and-staff organizations, matrix-style organizations, cross-functional self-managed teams
Employees who are part of the chain of command that is responsible for achieving organizational goals
line personnel
One important difference between line and staff personnel is authority. _____ personnel have formal authority to make policy decisions. _____ personnel have authority to advise line personnel and influence their decisions.
line; staff
One solution to the temporary nature of matrix teams is to establish _____ teams and empower them to work closely with suppliers, customers, and others to quickly and efficiently bring out new, high-quality products while giving great service
long-lived
Flat structures can respond readily to customer demands because _____-level employees have authority and responsibility for making decisions, and managers can be spared some day-to-day tasks
lower
A line organization does not have any specialists who provide _____ support. Many small businesses are organized this way.
managerial
Adjusting to changing _____ is a normal function in a capitalist economy
markets
Line organizations follow all of _____ traditional management rules
Fayol's
In more progressive organizations today, everyone shares information, often through an elaborate database system, and _____ firms as well as _____ them
among; within
In an inverted organization, managers are few, and the manager's job is to _____ and _____ frontline people, not boss them around
assist; support
Comparing an organization's practices, processes, and products against the world's best
benchmarking
The flatter organizations become, the _____ their spans of control, which means some managers lose their jobs
broader
An organization with many layers of managers who set rules and regulations and oversee all decisions
bureaucracy
Companies designed many rules and regulations to give managers control over employees; this reliance on rules is called _____
bureaucracy
Weber believed that large organizations demanded clearly established rules and guidelines to be followed precisely, he was in favor of _____. Rules and regulations became so rigid in some companies that they grew counterproductive.
bureaucracy
Max Weber used the word _____ to describe a middle manager whose function was to implement top management's orders
bureaucrat
5 ways to departmentalize
by product, by function, by customer group, by geographic location, and by process
An organization structure in which decision-making authority is maintained at the top level of management
centralized authority
The line of authority that moves from the top of a hierarchy to the lowest level
chain of command
Some organizations that follow Weber''s principles are less effective than UPS because they don't allow employees to respond quickly to new _____
challenges
Introducing _____ is one of the hardest challenges facing any manager
change
Managing _____ has become a critical managerial function
change
5 disadvantages of departmentalization by function: 1. departments may not _____ well 2. employees may identify with their _____ goals rather than the organization's 3. response to external changes may be _____ 4. people tend to become _____ specialists 5. department members may need input from outside to become more _____
communicate; department's; slow; narrow; creative
When a firm has completed its outsourcing process, the remaining functions are its _____, those functions it can do as well as or better than any other organization in the world
core competencies
Disadvantages for matrix structure: 1. it's _____ and _____ 2. can confuse employees about where their _____ belongs 3. requires good _____ skills as well as cooperative employees and managers to avoid _____ problems 4. it may only be a _____ solution to a long-term problem
costly; complex; loyalty; interpersonal; communication; temporary
Groups of employees from different departments who work together on a long-term basis
cross-functional self-managed teams
Companies based on inverted organization structure support frontline personnel with internal and external _____, advanced _____ systems, and professional _____
databases; communication; assistance
An organization structure in which decision-making authority is delegated to lower-level managers more familiar with local conditions than headquarters management could be
decentralized authority
3 advantages of departmentalization by function: 1. employees can develop skills in depth and progress within a _____ 2. the company can achieve economies of _____ by centralizing all the resources it needs and locate various experts in that area 3. _____ can coordinate work within the function
department; scale; employees
The dividing of organizational functions into separate units
departmentalization
The process of setting up individual departments to do specialized tasks is called _____
departmentalization
Young people today are called _____ because they grew up with the Internet and cell phones
digital natives
Organizing, or structuring, begins with determining what work needs to be done and then dividing up the tasks, this is called a _____
division of labor
The situation in which companies can reduce their production costs if they can purchase raw materials in bulk; the average cost of goods goes down as production levels increase
economies of scale