Practice Test for Chapter 6

Which of the following is a characteristic of the ideal bureaucracy as put forth by Weber? Work conducted in a personal way Arbitrary dismissal Flexible rules to meet people's needs Appropriate social distance maintained

Appropriate social distance maintained

AgriCorp takes corn and transforms it into corn syrup, corn oil, and ethanol. This company uses _____ technology.

Continuous process

When Lawrence opened his accounting firm with his wife Laura, it was just both of them. Over the years, Lawrence gained expertise and a reputation in the area of auditing, while Laura handled administrative tasks for him. Lawrence's firm is now the largest of its kind in the state of Nebraska, but unmanaged growth has led to massive inefficiencies and disorganization. Lawrence plans to institute a legitimate and formal system of authority to address these issues. With the new organizational design, which of the following steps is the best way for Lawrence to improve the efficiency of his firm? He should encourage autonomous practices. He should promote flexibility in guidelines. He should seek one best way of doing things. He should encourage social interactions between managers and subordinates.

He should seek one best way of doing things.

Which of the following is a characteristic of organic organizations? Stable environments Centralized authority Specialized jobs High fluidity

High Fluidity

Two advantages of a _____ design are that it enhances flexibility and gives employees considerable opportunities to learn new skills.

Matrix

When Lawrence opened his accounting firm with his wife Laura, it was just both of them. Over the years, Lawrence gained expertise and a reputation in the area of auditing, while Laura handled administrative tasks for him. Lawrence's firm is now the largest of its kind in the state of Nebraska, but unmanaged growth has led to massive inefficiencies and disorganization. Lawrence has decided he needs a legitimate and formal system of authority at his firm. Which of the following is an advantage of adopting a bureaucratic organizational approach? Flexibility to make rule changes Close social ties between managers and their subordinates Advancement based on length of employment Prevention of favoritism

Prevention of favortisim

James is the human resource manager at a large bottle manufacturing company. Ten years ago, when the business moved to its current location, the company structured operations around the different functions performed throughout the company. This is a(n) _____ of organizational design.

U-form

The second stage of the organizational life cycle is:

characterized by the growth of a firm's resources.

Because matrix designs give top management a vehicle for _____, it is easier for them to delegate day-to-day operations and focus on issues such as long-range planning.

decentralization

Conglomerate organizational design:

has each business operated by a general manager in charge of its profits or losses.

In _____ technology, a product is manufactured in assembly-line fashion by combining component parts into another part or finished product.

large-batch

Delta Destinations is an international business operating in over 20 countries. It began as a regional hotel chain and then expanded into travel and vacation planning services. Delta Destinations' functional employees are continually transforming the way they work within their departments to respond to evolving customer expectations. The company evaluates employees on their demonstrated ability for continuously improved performance. Delta Destinations uses a _____ organization to maximize the company's ability to adapt to its changing environment.

learning

A furniture company assembles parts to make dining room sets in five standard models. This company uses _____ technology.

mass production

Two advantages of a _____ design are that it enhances flexibility and gives employees considerable opportunities to learn new skills.

matrix

In the organizational life cycle, _____ is a period of gradual growth evolving eventually into stability.

midlife

The bureaucratic model of organization has its roots in Weber's studies of:

organizational design.

Because speed is of the essence at Acme Manufacturing, the plant manager wants to use a job design approach that allows workers to become very proficient at each task, that reduces transfer time between tasks, and that makes it easy for someone else to step in when a worker is absent or resigns. Job _____ would provide these benefits to Acme.

specialization

What organization design is characterized by units splitting into smaller units if they become too large?

team

According to the five basic characteristics of an ideal bureaucracy, why should the organization develop a consistent set of rules? to ensure that task performance is uniform to protect employees from arbitrary dismissal to maintain an appropriate social distance between managers and subordinates to ensure that each position is filled by an expert

to ensure that task performance is uniform

Delta Destinations is an international business operating in over 20 countries. It began as a regional hotel chain and then expanded into travel and vacation planning services. Delta Destinations is a highly adaptable organization, with little or no formal structure. The company is able to respond to continually evolving customer expectations by using temporary workers, outsourcing, and leasing facilities when needed. Delta Destinations uses a _____ organization to maximize the company's ability to adapt to its changing environment.

virtual

What organization design is characterized by a very small staff and administrative headquarters facility?

virtual