Chapter 8 Structuring Organizations for Today's Challenges
Identify drawback of a tall organization structure from the following examples
A higher cost to support the many levels of staff High amount of paperwork generated Messages can get distorted through the various levels
Identify which of the following would exemplify employee empowerment
An employee is able to offer free delivery to close a sale without manager approval Workers can approve a sale price without management approval An employee is able to take customer returns without manager approval
Identify the principles of Henri Fayol's book General and Industrial Management from the following list
Authority Division of labor Hierarchy of authority
Networking will continue to evolve as digital natives become more and more prevalent in organizations. Why is this considered to be a natural and smooth transition
Because digital natives have grown up with certain technologies used in networking
As effective as the informal organization may be in creating group cooperation, it can still be equally powerful in resisting management directors. Identify from the following list some examples of employee resistance
Being absent Employees may spread incorrect rumors Employee theft
What type of departmentalization is shown in this example
By product
A surgical team has various skilled personnel that work together on a long-term basis to accomplish daily surgeries. A group like this represents what type organizational model
Cross-functional self-managed teams
Which Fayol principle states that the amount of decision-making power vested in top management should vary by circumstances
Degree of centralization
Which of the following are elements of a typical organization chart
Employees First-line supervisors President
True or false: A company is benchmarking when comparing its practices, processes, and products against only the best companies in its region
False
True or false: An informal organization system follows the organization chart's lines of authority
False
True or false: Neither line nor line-and-staff organization structures suffer from inflexibility
False
True or false: Outsourcing is a process used by larger firms, but it has not become a prevalent practice used by small firms
False
True or false: The key to success for companies in a capitalist economy is to remain inflexible during times of change
False
True or false: The minimum number of subordinates a manager can supervise is called span of control
False
Henri Fayol's book was popularized in the United States under what title
General and Industrial Management
When a company departmentalize by areas of business like Japan, America, and Australia it is exemplifying departmentalization by:
Geographic location
Which of the following would qualify as staff personnel in the line-and staff organization
Human resource managers Legal advisers Marketing research analysts
A firm that has a marketing department organized geographically and a production process organized by function has which type of departmental structure
Hybrid
Matrix organizations violate traditional managerial principles, yet can be more efficient. This contradiction can be attributed to which of the following attributes
It can produce creative solutions to problems It encourages inter organizational cooperation and teamwork
Which of the following are considered to be disadvantages to the matrix organization
It requires good interpersonal skills It can confuse employees about whose order to follow It's costly and complex
Which of the following would be a positive result of departmentalization by product
It results in good customer relations
Max Weber's principle of organization resembled Fayol's. In addition, Weber emphasized which of the following principles
Job descriptions Consistent procedures, regulations, and policies Written rules, decision guidelines, and detailed records
Which of the following departments could be considered by a company approaching departmentalization by functions
Marketing Production Accounting
The Theory of Social and Economic Organizations was written by which organizational theorist
Max Weber
Which of the following were two organization theorists that emerged during the mass production era
Max Weber Henri Fayol
_, or division of labor, begins with determining what work needs to be done, and then dividing up the tasks among the organization
Organizing
Which of the following exemplify line personnel in the line-and-staff organization
Production workers Packaging personnel
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
A drawback of the informal organization is that:
The grapevine can spread inaccurate rumors very quickly
According to the Harvard Business Review, young people who play online games will feel comfortable working in global teams. Why is this assumption made
These young people have experience working in groups over the Internet
According to John Mackey of Whole Foods, cross-functional self-managed teams work best when:
They are collaborative They are empowered Leadership is shared
Which of the following are reasons to name department managers for each department created during departmentalization
To assure the department's accountability To maintain control of the whole process
What are some of the goals of developing an organization chart
To show who report to whom To show relationships among people
True or false: A company may have to make organization changes based on outsiders' perceptions, such as that of stock market actors
True
True or false: Learning to create the right corporate culture and work within the informal organization is key to managerial success
True
True or false: Many jobs can be done quickly and well when each person specializes
True
True or false: Networking uses technology, such as a company intranet, to link organizations and their suppliers to allow them to work together for a common goal
True
Weber's principles of strict rules and procedures are still known to be very effective for which of the following organizations
United Parcel Service
Which organizational theorist promoted the pyramid-shaped organizing structure as critical to his bureaucracy- based philosophy
Weber
If you owned a small company, and a major competitor stated promoting itself in your area, what information might you look for while monitoring the business environment
Who are your competitor's target clients in the area What new products are customers demanding
An organization must remain flexible and able to _ to changing times and be successful
adapt
Line managers are those who have the authority to:
adjust to changing conditions enforce discipline issue orders
Identify from the following lists the advantages and disadvantages to decentralized authority:
advantage empowerment of workers adaption to customer wants disadvantage less efficiency complex distribution system
Staff employees _ line managers in meeting their goals
advise
Under Fayol's _ principle, managers have the right to give orders and the power to enforce obedience
authority
When a snowboard company consulted a cable television company to learn how to braid layers of fiberglass and carbon for its snowboards it was an example of _
benchmarking
Companies based on the inverted organization structure support front-line personnel with internal and external databases, advanced communication systems, and professional assistance. Naturally , this means front-line people have to be _
better paid better educated better trained
A(n) _ span of control allows one supervisor to be responsible for many workers whose work tasks are predictable and standardized
broad
A supervisor who is responsible for 40 workers at an auto assembly plant is said to have a _ span of _
broad control
In the past many organizations designed rules and regulations to give managers control over employees. An organization's reliance on these rules is called _
bureaucracy
Max Weber used the word _ to describe a middle manager whose function was to implement top management's orders
bureaucrat
A(n) _ organization structure maintains the decision- making authority at the top level of management
centralized
If the structure of an organization is a tall pyramid, it would be likely to have _ decision making
centralized
Target's CEO personally conducts the interview process when hiring for the top 600 positions in the company. This is an example of _
centralized authority
Employees at all levels often resist _ because they are used to doing their jobs in ways they know
change
Making your organization more responsive to customers by decentralizing its structure is one way to adapt to _ in the environment
change
The result of the increase in the rate of change in the business environment from causes such as natural disasters and global competition has been that companies must:
change more quickly than ever before adapt to new technologies
According to Fayol, all workers should be able to reach each other quickly and easily through clear _
communication channels
When a firm like Target compares itself to Walmart to improve its practices or processes in order to become better than Walmart it is exemplifying benchmarking for a(n) _ purpose
competitive
The unity of command principle states that each person should report to only one manager in order to prevent _
confusion
When Fayol refers to subordination of individual interests to the general interest, he believes that workers are to think of themselves as a(n):
coordinated team
Nike's strength is in manufacturing athletic shoes and Apple's is in marketing innovative electronics. These are examples of each company's:
core competencies
Because Nike is superior at designing and marketing athletic shoes, this is considered to be their:
core competency
Google is a company that provides many services and a relaxed atmosphere for its employees to keep them engaged at work. That is a strong feature of its:
corporate culture
When doctors, nurses, technicians, and anesthesiologists from different departments in the hospital work together to complete an operation this is an example of a:
cross-functional self-managed team
Groups of employees from different departments who work together on a long-term basis are called:
cross-functional teams
A bank has a department for customer accounts and another department for corporate accounts. The bank is departmentalizing by _
customer group
Empowering front line workers help organizations adapt to change by responding more quickly to its:
customers
An important reason why companies _ authority is to be more responsive to customer needs
decentralize
Companies that allow their managers to make key decisions to cater to local markets are _
decentralized
When decision making is delegated to lower-level managers and employees more familiar with local conditions than top mangers it is called:
decentralized authority
Diving an organization into separate working units is called:
departmentalization
The process of setting up individual departments to do specialized tasks is called _
departmentalization
Important decisions to be made while designing an organization include:
departmentalization span of control degree of centralization
Young people who have grown up with the internet are referred to as:
digital natives
According to Fayol, the _ of _ principle states that functions are to be divided into areas of specialization
division labor
Once managers determine what work needs to be done, they then need to divide up the tasks among workers. This is called _ of _
division labor
When a house painting company divides workers into those who prepare the surface, those who paint the trim, and those who paint the walls, it is an example of:
division of labor
When a company purchases raw materials in bulk, thus reducing the cost of production, it is called:
economies of scale
Restructuring involves redesigning an organization so that it can be more _ and _
effective efficient
Among the advantage of a matrix structure are that it:
encourages creativity gives manager flexibility in assigning people to projects
According to Fayol's traditional management rules, line organization managers:
enforce discipline for those they supervise issue orders to those they supervise
Rowe Furniture Company's management dismantled the assembly line, reduced the number of supervisors, and empowered line employees with the freedom to make sofas as they saw fit. This is an example of a(n):
expansion of the span of control
An advantage of a _ organization structure is that lower level employees have authority to respond more quickly to customer needs
flat
An organization structure that has few layers of management and a broad spend of control is called a(n) _ organizational structure
flat
This figure is an example of a wide span of control in a _ organizational structure
flat
Departmentalization by process enables employees to do a better job because they can:
focus on learning few critical skills
Departmentalization by _ may create groupthink, where all members think alike and so make poorer decisions
function
The reasons for implementing departmentalization include:
grouping all of those doing the same task together assigning people with the correct knowledge to do each task
The disadvantages of a line structure for large businesses are:
having lengthy lines of communication being too inflexible the lack of expertise to solve complex problems
The principle of organizational structure where one person is at the top and the other managers are ranked sequentially from the top down is called:
hierarchy
The concept that states all workers should know to whom they report is referred to as the _ of _
hierarchy authority
An important driver of change is customer expectations. Consumer today expect _ products and fast, friendly _ at a reasonable cost
high-quality; service
A manufacturer who uses just-in-time inventory management shares information in real time with its supplier. This is an example of transparency between firms using _ technology
internet
When an organization chart is turned upside down with top management placed at the bottom this is usually known as a(n):
inverted organization
A self-managed team:
is empowered to make decisions without management aprovval
Dividing tasks into smaller jobs is called:
job specialization
The drawbacks to Weber's principles of organization have been that:
large organizations may develop too many rules following the rules can become an end in itself
Examples of employees considered to be staff personnel would include:
legal advisers information technology workers
In line- and- staff structures, staff managers provide advice and support to _ departments on specialized matters such as finance, engineering, human resources, and the law
line
Production workers, distribution people, and marketing personnel who are responsible for directly achieving organizational goals are called _ personnel
line
In a pizza parlor the chain of command is a general manager, shift manager, and employees. The employees report to the shift manager who reports to the general manager. This exemplifies a:
line organization
The personnel directly responsible for achieving organizational goals are:
line personnel
The primary reason why managers in the latte 1900s began designing organization was so that _
managers could control workers
Economies of scale work best in a company that makes large quantities of goods using _ processes
mass production
A _ structure, also called a project management structure, sets up teams from different departments, thereby creating two or more intersecting lines of authority
matrix
Four organization designs include: line, line and staff, _, and cross-functional teams
matrix
In a _ organization, project managers are in charge of teams made up of members from several departments
matrix
The advantages of centralized authority in organizations include:
more efficiency
A visit a store where clerks are uniformly glum, indifferent, or test. This is an organization where no one cares about service quality, an example of the _ impact of organizational culture
negative
Because of technology an organization is no longer self-contained. As a result the modern organization chart would show people in different organizations and indicate how they are _
networked
Under unity of command, each worker is to report to only _ boss
one
Fayol's _ principle states that materials and people should be placed and maintained in the proper location within an organization
order
To understand the formal reporting relationships among people in a company one may consult the company's:
organizational chart
The widely shared values within organization that foster unity and cooperation to achieve common goals is called the:
organizational culture
Today's trend is to expand the span of control because:
organizations save by reducing the number of middle managers the workforce is better educated at all levels
Regardless of the size of the business, the principles of _ its structure remain the same
organizing
A local furniture company launched a website to boost national sales. However, it could not ship the orders efficiently so its started using FedEx and UPS. This is an example of _
outsourcing
The formal organization details lines of:
position authority responsibility
Real time is the _ moment or the _ time in which something takes place
present;actual
The Fayol principle esprit de corps indicates that a spirit of _ and _ should be created among people in the firm
pride loyalty
A company may choose to departmentalize by _ so employees are able to focus on learning a few critical skills such as cutting leather to make coats
process
A firm that makes tables may have one department that cuts the wood, another department that assembles the wood into tables, and a third department that stains the tables. This firm would departmentalize by _
process
An appliance company may have a refrigerator department, a washing machine department, and a dishwasher department. This company is departmentalizing by _
product
A cross-functional team that is working on the development of a new prosthetic device for amputees should include:
product designers amputees who will use it parts suppliers for medical devices
Recently, companies have been changing the organization structure to focus more on front-line employees like department store clerks, bank tellers, or cashiers. This focus has been implemented in many organization using an inverted _ structure
pyramid
When Target developed its "creative cabinet" its main objective was to gather information from a wide range of customers so that it could:
reach different nationalities reach digital natives adapt to change
For a department to operate effectively, the organization must allocate it sufficient _ such as funds and personnel
resources
The line organization has direct lines of _ that extend from the top managers to employees at the lowest level of the organization
responsibility communication authority
The purpose of an organizational chart is to:
show relationships among people show who is accountable for the completion of specific work show who reports to whom
The _ of control is the optimal number of subordinates a manager should supervise
span
If the owner of a lawn-moving company were to take the division of labor a step further and divide the mowing task into mowing, trimming, and raking this would exemplify job _
specialization
In a virtual corporation the replaceable firms are joined together on a(n) _ basis to create a flexible organization
temporary
One solution to the _ or short-term nature of matrix teams is to establish long-lived teams and empower them to work closely with suppliers, customers, and others
temporary
Managers accustomed to more traditional forms of organizational structures may have difficulty adapting to:
the rapid rate of change in virtual organizations
McDonald's moved from a centralized authority to a more decentralized authority primarily due to _
today's rapidly changing markets, and global differences in consumer tastes
The chain of command is the line of authority that moves from the _ of a hierarchy to the _ level
top; lowest
The pyramid in this image depicts a(n) _ organization
traditional
A _ corporation uses a networked organization structure in order to be flexible
virtual
The image depicts a(n) _ corporation structure
virtual
When a supervisor is responsible for 20 or more workers assembling computers or cleaning movies theaters it is an example of a(n) _ span of control
wide
Fayol's equity principle states that a manager should treat employees and peers:
with respect and justice
Principles proposed by Weber and Fayol that are still useful in today's organizations include:
written rules, decision guidelines, and records staffing and promotion based on qualifications job descriptions