Chapter 9 Organizational Structure

What is the difference between a jury and a committee?

A committee will perform functions after the decision, while a jury is decision only.

John owns an emergency response non-profit of 10 employees. The service they provide is homogeneous and time-sensitive. He recognizes he must utilize speed and efficiency in making decisions across the organization. He should employ:

A centralized organizational structure

Very small companies tend to have limited operational scope and a need for adaptability and speed in the decision making process. Which decision making strategy would fit these types of business best, from a general perspective?

Centralized

The process of dispersing decision-making governance closer to the people, citizens, employees, or other elements of the organization or sector fits the definition of which of the following?

Decentralization

Work specialization for greater efficiency represents which of Schein's four elements?

Division of labor

Which organizational structure is best utilized by large companies in pursuit of scope economies?

Divisional

The critical conceptual advantage of a modular structure could best be generalized as which of the following?

Flexibility

There area variety of methods to alleviate friction in the adaptation process. Which is defined as collecting quality data from different departments through sharing opinions and experiences?

Focus groups

Often referred to as 'silos', the functional structure focuses on grouping areas of specialty within different functional areas (i.e. IT, finance, etc). It is often argued that this strategy works best for which type of company?

Large companies producing high quantities of standardized goods at a low price

Empowerment includes a wide range of abilities. Which of the following are NOT identified as examples of empowerment abilities?

Learning humility in accepting the opinions of more experience workers

Generally speaking, organizations tend to see which characteristic decline over time (as observed by organizational ecologists)?

Risk of mortality

Which of the external environment theories describe factors in the context of an industry's competitive dynamics?

Porter's Five Forces

Which of the following job functions would fit BEST to a telecommuting lifestyle?

Programmer

If there is a lack of coordination, what may be a critical risk factor?

Responsibility will be dispersed

The idea of synergy defines the team-based structure. What is meant by synergistic efforts?

The end product exceeds the sum of it's parts