MNGT 360 - Quiz 5

Which of the following statements is true?

A high level of work specialization tends to bring about a high level of work formalization.

Which of the following is an example of a company flattening its structure?

Gita's Boating eliminates a layer of management.

Leonor is the project manager of the organizational development team at Soft Interiors. Leonor's team has been assigned the task of studying and evaluating Soft Interiors' organizational structure. Leonor divided the tasks among the team members to collect preliminary information on different elements of Soft Interiors' structure. Max was asked to collect information on the degree to which tasks are divided into separate jobs. Stefan was asked to collect information on formal authority relationships. Harper started looking into how many employees each manager has responsibility for, and Jaxson was asked to collect evidence on the degree to which rules and procedures are used to standardize behaviors at Soft Interiors. Leonor decided to personally collect information and evidence on where exactly decisions are formally made at Soft Interiors. The team decided to meet and share their information in two weeks. Max was given the job of collecting information on which of the following elements of the organizational structure?

work specialization

Which of the following organizations has a strong culture?

Global Package Delivery Systems, whose drivers dress the same, drive the same types of trucks, follow the most efficient routes, and rarely deviate from established delivery protocols

Kayshawn works for Healthy Insurance Network Team, often known simply as HINT, and has earned the nickname "Mr. HINT" because of his dedication to the company. Kayshawn says it is not hard to be dedicated to a company he believes in as much as HINT. However, Kayshawn does have one weakness as an employee. Which of the following is most likely the problem with Kayshawn?

His job performance is lower than that of most other employees.

Anastasiya and Orville opened a large boutique named Stratus in Atlanta. Being the owners of the business, they decide the most important matters. All the rest of the decisions concerning products, finance, marketing, and personnel are carried out by the department heads, who have to act according to Anastasiya's and Orville's instructions and orders. Which of the following is true about Stratus?

It has a centralized system of decision making.

Which of the following scenarios exemplifies span of control?

Vanna is responsible for managing 16 employees.

At the annual holiday party, ABC Airlines gives awards to employees to recognize examples of "going above and beyond" to serve customers. Almost all the employees who possibly can, attend. This is an example of

a ceremony.

At Panic Rooms Ltd., there is a total focus on providing care and satisfaction to each customer. In the Small Venues division, each manager is assigned three employees to supervise, whereas in the Materials Acquisition division, each manager supervises about 15 employees. The Small Venues division managers can be described as having ________ as opposed to ________ for the Materials Acquisition division managers.

a narrow span of control; a wide span of control

Which of the following scenarios exemplifies a communal culture?

a new start up, the Yarn Barn, where the owner and the three employees are all committed to knitting and the environment

Jayda, a former sales manager, has been out of the workforce for more than a decade and is thrilled when she lands a job at Mystic Visions Technology. For her first day at work, she dresses in a conservative business suit and digs her old briefcase out of the closet. When she arrives at the office, she is shocked to see people dressed in jeans and sweatshirts, with some not even wearing shoes. Instead of working in a cubicle as she had for years, she is seated at a long, open table with numerous other employees where everyone wears headphones as they work. She finds that she has trouble keeping up with department communications because she still relies on email instead of inter-office social networks. The casual office atmosphere is distracting, and the level of familiarity her coworkers demonstrate with each other is incomprehensible to her. After a few weeks, Jayda gives her notice because she realizes she will never fit in at such an organization. What does this scenario demonstrate?

a strong culture.

Talia formed a technology startup in her garage, and it has grown more rapidly than she ever imagined. She has always kept tabs on all of her people, and her company has just passed 150 employees. What should she do now?

add more structure for communication and decision making

Esmerelda, who is currently employed at Hotel Management Partners, is looking for a new job. In the process of doing so, she comes across the website of Lucrative Property Rentals and finds that the values and culture of this other company match with her own personal values. She also learns about the various activities that take place at Lucrative Property Rentals on a yearly basis and the company's various achievements. From this example, it is clear that Esmerelda is in the ________ stage of the socialization process with regard to Lucrative Property Rentals.

anticipatory

At Kartik's Fish Shack, every employee has to consult Kartik before completing any sale, and only Kartik can make decisions about purchasing and advertising. What do these rules represent at Kartik's Fish Shack?

centralization

Leonor is the project manager of the organizational development team at Soft Interiors. Leonor's team has been assigned the task of studying and evaluating Soft Interiors' organizational structure. Leonor divided the tasks among the team members to collect preliminary information on different elements of Soft Interiors' structure. Max was asked to collect information on the degree to which tasks are divided into separate jobs. Stefan was asked to collect information on formal authority relationships. Harper started looking into how many employees each manager has responsibility for, and Jaxson was asked to collect evidence on the degree to which rules and procedures are used to standardize behaviors at Soft Interiors. Leonor decided to personally collect information and evidence on where exactly decisions are formally made at Soft Interiors. The team decided to meet and share their information in two weeks. On which element of organizational structure is Leonor collecting information?

centralization

A large pharmaceutical company recently adopted a structure in order to give its top managers more responsibility and flexibility. The company is now structured around five customer groupings: major healthcare provider networks, individual consumers, small and mid-sized pharmacies, military bases and government employee facilities, and public clinics. Which of the following organizational structures has this company created?

client-based

Power Health Supplements Inc. is growing very fast in both sales and number of employees. It manufactures and sells dietary supplement products to customers all over the United States and several other countries. So far, the company has followed a simple structure. However, with fast-paced growth, the company needs to explore other organizational structures. Angelo, a long-time employee at Power Health Supplements, has collected information on how some of its competitors have organized their companies. Herbals Inc. groups its employees by their different areas of expertise such as marketing, finance, human resources, and operations. Vita Great, which is primarily in the United States, groups its activities as Northeast Division, Southeast Division, Northwest Division, Southwest Division, and Central Division. Supple Inc. has organized its employees according to the accounts they serve, such as health club contracts, sports teams, individual sales, and retail outlet sales. Finally, Magic Health International has grouped its business units around different types of supplements, including the Weight Loss, Muscle Gain, Endurance, Sleep, and Energy Supplement Divisions. Which of the following describes Supple Inc.'s organizational structure?

client-based

Cristian, Fahd, Hao, and Adelina are four friends working at four different organizations. In Cristian's firm, Timely Advances, employees are both distant and disconnected from one another, whereas in Fahd's company, Power Dynamics, it is quite the opposite—employees are friendly, and they all think alike. Hao works for Flowing Wealth, where employees think alike but are not friendly to one another. Finally, Adelina is employed at Climate of Hope, where employees are friendly, but they think differently and do their own thing. Fahd's firm, Power Dynamics, can be described as having a(n) ________ culture.

communal

Which of the following tends to be associated with a wide span of control?

decentralization in decision making

At Singh's Cycle Shop, the machines have to be re-tooled with each motorcycle they repair. On top of that, customers may drop in for a quick fix, and the mechanics have to know how to quickly refit every machine they use. In the case of Singh's Cycle Shop,

decisions should be decentralized.

Amberly's Twines makes hand-twisted wreaths out of grape and wisteria vines. Amberly's could make the wreaths more efficiently, but the individual touch and specially selected vines draw in customers who are willing to pay a premium for Amberly's Twines wreaths. Amberly's Twines is an example of a

differentiator.

When looking at Wonder Guard Industries' organizational structure, Janice spots a heading for work specialization, which is also commonly referred to as

division of labor.

Marcelo has recently been hired by Aqua Force Waterproofing. Today is his first day on the job. Marcelo is in which stage of the socialization process?

encounter

Quest, Inc., has a sign hanging in every employee's cubicle that reads: "Together we are greater than any one of us." This is an example of a(n)

espoused value.

Masami heads Bristle Up Enterprises, a company that started making paintbrushes in Iowa and has now diversified into a huge range of products totally unrelated to painting. Bristle Up has become very difficult to run under its current configuration. How should Masami redesign the organization?

group business units by brushes, garage door openers, faucets, and garden goods

Leonor is the project manager of the organizational development team at Soft Interiors. Leonor's team has been assigned the task of studying and evaluating Soft Interiors' organizational structure. Leonor divided the tasks among the team members to collect preliminary information on different elements of Soft Interiors' structure. Max was asked to collect information on the degree to which tasks are divided into separate jobs. Stefan was asked to collect information on formal authority relationships. Harper started looking into how many employees each manager has responsibility for, and Jaxson was asked to collect evidence on the degree to which rules and procedures are used to standardize behaviors at Soft Interiors. Leonor decided to personally collect information and evidence on where exactly decisions are formally made at Soft Interiors. The team decided to meet and share their information in two weeks. On which element of organizational structure was Jaxson asked to collect evidence?

formalization

At LMNO Creating, employees are grouped according to their expertise in an area. All marketing employees are in one department, all finance employees are grouped in another department, and similarly, all human resources and manufacturing employees are in their respective departments. Which of the following structures does LMNO Creating use?

functional

Power Health Supplements Inc. is growing very fast in both sales and number of employees. It manufactures and sells dietary supplement products to customers all over the United States and several other countries. So far, the company has followed a simple structure. However, with fast-paced growth, the company needs to explore other organizational structures. Angelo, a long-time employee at Power Health Supplements, has collected information on how some of its competitors have organized their companies. Herbals Inc. groups its employees by their different areas of expertise such as marketing, finance, human resources, and operations. Vita Great, which is primarily in the United States, groups its activities as Northeast Division, Southeast Division, Northwest Division, Southwest Division, and Central Division. Supple Inc. has organized its employees according to the accounts they serve, such as health club contracts, sports teams, individual sales, and retail outlet sales. Finally, Magic Health International has grouped its business units around different types of supplements, including the Weight Loss, Muscle Gain, Endurance, Sleep, and Energy Supplement Divisions. Which of the following describes Vita Great's organizational structure?

geographic

When Safe Feet Boots groups its business units according to where they do business—such as the Midwestern division, the Canadian division, the German division, and the West Coast division—it is creating which of the following organizational structures?

geographic

Daniela is the Swiss Alps division manager of Steep Slope Skis. Other managers are in charge of the Rockies, French Alps, Sierra Nevada, and Japanese Alps divisions. Her brother, Jorge is a marketing manager at a different firm who enjoys attending ballets with the distribution and operations managers from his company. Daniela likely works in a company with a ________ structure, while Jorge most likely works in a company with a ________ structure.

geographic; functional

Sigmund is about to go to work for Glamorous Future, a store that sells high-end cosmetic products. Glamorous is a small chain and currently has just three stores, all within 20 miles of each other in southern Florida. The type of organizational culture Sigmund is likely to encounter at Glamorous is one in which employees

get along well and share many of the same views, including admiration for the company founder.

Ahmed's Indestructible Brush Guards makes one product over and over again, a type of brush guard designed to fit on any lawn mower. The guards never change because the unique design fits all mowers. Given the nature of its business, Ahmed's should

give each employee a specific task to perform.

At FastBoats Inc., a big order is called a tsunami. This is an example of which observable artifact?

language

Tia, a supervisor with more than a dozen subordinates, is concerned about whether Sam, a new employee, is fitting in properly with the department and the company as a whole. The best way for Tia to make that determination is to observe the

language Sam uses in company emails.

Ulrich finishes college with a degree in computer science. One of his favorite aspects of the discipline is that it is a fairly solitary endeavor. In school he got to work on projects by himself with little social interaction, and that is just how he likes it. After accepting a position as a programmer at VitalTech Resources, he is surprised to learn that he is required to s make a weekly progress report in front of the sales and marketing departments. The mere prospect makes him lightheaded and sweaty. He confesses his misgivings to his supervisor, who pairs him up with a more experienced programmer, Alison. She has been making these kinds of reports for years, and tells him not to worry. With Alison's help, Ulrich is able to feel more confident about making his presentation. He falters a few times during his first attempt, but Alison coaches him on ways to improve, and he is eventually able to confidently deliver a 10-minute report to a room full of 30 people. The arrangement between Alison and Ulrich is an example of

mentoring.

Cristian, Fahd, Hao, and Adelina are four friends working at four different organizations. In Cristian's firm, Timely Advances, employees are both distant and disconnected from one another, whereas in Fahd's company, Power Dynamics, it is quite the opposite—employees are friendly, and they all think alike. Hao works for Flowing Wealth, where employees think alike but are not friendly to one another. Finally, Adelina is employed at Climate of Hope, where employees are friendly, but they think differently and do their own thing. Hao's firm, Flowing Wealth, can be described as having a ________ culture.

mercenary

Cristian, Fahd, Hao, and Adelina are four friends working at four different organizations. In Cristian's firm, Timely Advances, employees are both distant and disconnected from one another, whereas in Fahd's company, Power Dynamics, it is quite the opposite—employees are friendly, and they all think alike. Hao works for Flowing Wealth, where employees think alike but are not friendly to one another. Finally, Adelina is employed at Climate of Hope, where employees are friendly, but they think differently and do their own thing. Adelina's firm, Climate of Hope, can be described as having which culture type?

networked

While she was shopping at Flourish Auto Sales, Yan noticed that all the staff wore white polo shirts, black cargo pants, and striped tennis shoes. Which of the following layers of organizational culture would such a dress code represent?

observable artifacts

Agustina is looking forward to starting her new job at Firm Connect, a social-networking platform. Everything she has read suggests the company promotes a healthy work/life balance and supports causes that are important to her, such as sustainability and combating climate change. Walking to her desk on her first day, she sees posters in the hallway outlining the company values of "people over profit" and "work to live, not live to work." She smiles because that is how she feels about things, too. After a week on the job she finds herself eager to get to work each day and tackle new challenges, something she has never felt about a job before. Her coworkers are friendly and supportive, the management team seems genuinely concerned about morale and job satisfaction, and she learns the company gives all employees one week off per year with pay to perform charitable work of their choosing. All this makes Agustina proud to be a Firm Connect employee. Agustina is experiencing a high degree of

person-organization fit.

Power Health Supplements Inc. is growing very fast in both sales and number of employees. It manufactures and sells dietary supplement products to customers all over the United States and several other countries. So far, the company has followed a simple structure. However, with fast-paced growth, the company needs to explore other organizational structures. Angelo, a long-time employee at Power Health Supplements, has collected information on how some of its competitors have organized their companies. Herbals Inc. groups its employees by their different areas of expertise such as marketing, finance, human resources, and operations. Vita Great, which is primarily in the United States, groups its activities as Northeast Division, Southeast Division, Northwest Division, Southwest Division, and Central Division. Supple Inc. has organized its employees according to the accounts they serve, such as health club contracts, sports teams, individual sales, and retail outlet sales. Finally, Magic Health International has grouped its business units around different types of supplements, including the Weight Loss, Muscle Gain, Endurance, Sleep, and Energy Supplement Divisions. Which of the following describes Magic Health International's organizational structure?

product

When Howling Fun Skating groups its business units around its different lines of skateboards such as the Puppy, Big Dog, Coyote, and Wolf, which of the following structures is it creating?

product

A couple of days after starting her new job as a logistics manager at Eco Forest Systems, Livia is heard commenting that "Working at Eco Forest Systems is not nearly what I expected it to be." This is an example of ________, which occurs in the ________ stage of the socialization process.

reality shock; encounter

The manager and sales crew all arrived at the store before opening and worked at straightening shelves, unloading stock, and cleaning. When the owner arrived every day, as she entered the store she shouted "Marco," and each employee answered "Polo" which gave her an idea of where everyone was located at that moment and she could deduce their actions. This is a form of which observable artifact?

ritual

Yolanda is a department manager at Gripper Gloves, Inc. Yolanda starts every morning with a brief department meeting called a "huddle," where each member in the department has an opportunity to report progress, share stories of success and failure, and seek general input, advice, and information. What Yolanda's department does every morning can be described as a(n)

ritual

County Medical Center has a good track record of treating patients well and discharging them in a timely manner. Then, in the span of one week, twelve patients suffer post-surgical bacterial infections that are resistant to drug treatment. Shortly afterward, the surgical and patient recovery teams gather to discuss the problem. One cardiac surgeon, Yvette, mentions that she read in a medical journal about a simple but effective method of reducing such infections. It involves encouraging and enforcing hand washing before all new patient contact. The key is to post reminders in every patient room and nurse station. There is also a smartphone app that will beep once every five minutes as a backup reminder. The hospital staff agrees to implement the protocol, and six months later the rate of infection has dropped by more than 50 percent. The hospital is striving to create a ________ culture.

safety

Leonor is the project manager of the organizational development team at Soft Interiors. Leonor's team has been assigned the task of studying and evaluating Soft Interiors' organizational structure. Leonor divided the tasks among the team members to collect preliminary information on different elements of Soft Interiors' structure. Max was asked to collect information on the degree to which tasks are divided into separate jobs. Stefan was asked to collect information on formal authority relationships. Harper started looking into how many employees each manager has responsibility for, and Jaxson was asked to collect evidence on the degree to which rules and procedures are used to standardize behaviors at Soft Interiors. Leonor decided to personally collect information and evidence on where exactly decisions are formally made at Soft Interiors. The team decided to meet and share their information in two weeks. Harper is looking into information on which element of organizational structure?

span of control

The tall tale passed around among the Nursery Emporium's employees, and always told to each new employee, is that the owners believe in customer service so much that they once voluntarily pruned a customer's apple orchard while the customer was on vacation. This is an example of which observable artifact?

stories

Which of the following is an example of espoused values?

the sustainability message that Outdoor Footwear prints on each of its shoe boxes that celebrates the amount of post-consumer recycled content in its products

Straight Grain Bats has been a leader in the baseball bat manufacturing industry for decades, producing some very popular, high-quality bats. Straight Grain workers are all committed to the same philosophy on baseball and the role their bats play in the sport. The employees think their bats are the best, and if a person asks about their bats, they all have a memorized script about the company's bats that they recite. "You can always spot the Straight Grain Bats employees in a crowd," one industry journal commented, "because they dress, talk, and even walk the same way." Most likely Straight Grain Bats is a company

where new employees might find it difficult to adapt.

Davanna is describing her company's organizational structure. Which of the following terms would she use in her description?

work specialization