Principles of Management: Chapter 10 (Wesson)
t/f one of the benefits of functional departmentalization is that each department can be staffed by customer-centered experts
f
t/f responsibility is assigned by the subordinate
f
t/f the first step in delegation is creating accountability
f
the extent to which the worker knows how well the job is being performed
feedback
deciding how to best group organizational activities and resources
organizing
choose the span of control best suited for the situation (narrow/wide): low levels of nonsupervisory work in the manager's job
wide
choose the span of control best suited for the situation (narrow/wide): standardized procedures
wide
choose the span of control best suited for the situation (narrow/wide): task specialization
wide
t/f "it's not my job" is a good response to a delegated task
f
t/f in product departmentalization, the performance of individual products or product groups cannot be assessed
f
projects often span jobs and departments. which building block will you rely upon to ensure that the project development process runs smoothly and efficiently a. coordinating activities among jobs b. differentiating among positions c. grouping jobs d. distributing authority among jobs
a
the owner of the business where you work has asked for your advice on restructuring the organization. you know that customer service is the cornerstone of the company. what do you recommend (can select multiple) a. flatter structures are appropriate for organizations which empower employees to solve customer problems b. a flatter structure will further centralize decision making c. a taller structure will improve the speed at which decisions are implemented d. with a tall structure, supervisors can avoid hearing about customer complaints
a
which form of departmentalization is best if the regions in which the company competes have unique environmental characteristics a. location b. product c. function d. customer
a
which of the following is not necessary for delegation to be successful a. adaptability b. authority c. responsibility d. accountability
a
in your annual performance review, your supervisor suggested you delegate more tasks to the subordinates on your team. consider the following scenario you experience as you try to delegate. you've just hired a new employee, Michelle, and she's eager to learn how things are done. unfortunately, you've been pulled into several unexpected meetings. you ask Paul to show Michelle, a new employee, the ropes while you are in meetings. Paul replies, "that's not my job." which reason best explains why your attempt to delegate was not effective? check all that apply. a. paul is reluctant to accept delegation b. delegation is not an effective tool for managers c. you didn't grant paul the authority to train michelle d. you didn't assign paul the responsibility for training michelle
a, c, d
in departmentalization, are managers added or taken away
added
the degree of control the worker has over how the work is performed
autonomy
the owner of the business where you work has asked you to assess whether he should restructure reporting relationships at the company to improve the ability of employees to met the needs of customers. which do you recommend (can select multiple) a. a flatter structure will further centralize decision making b. a flatter structure should result in higher levels of employee morale and productivity c. a taller structure will improve the speed at which decisions are implemented d. a taller structure will decrease administrative costs
b
the owner of the business where you work has asked you to identify ways to help the organization react faster to environmental changes. what do you recommend (can choose multiple) a. a flatter structure will further centralize decision making b. flatter structures lessen bureaucratic red tape, which can speed decision making c. a taller structure will decrease administrative costs d. a taller structure will improve the speed at which decisions are implented
b
in your annual performance review, your supervisor suggested you delegate more tasks to the subordinates on your team. consider the following scenario you experience as you try to delegate. you've just hired a new employee, Michelle, and she's eager to learn how things are done. unfortunately, you've been pulled into several unexpected meetings. you ask Paul to spend the day training Michelle while you are in meetings. what benefits might Paul experience as a result of this delegation? check all that apply. a. paul may try to steal your job b. paul may feel a sense of esteem that you chose him as the best person to train michelle c. it's a professional development opportunity for paul. paul gains managerial experience training new employees d. the authority granted to paul may be perceived as job enrichment
b, c, d
a typical criticism of highly specialized jobs is that the employees may become bored. which concern should you warn ancestry's managers about in the case of its staff of geneaologists a. job satisfaction b. lack of self-efficacy in job completion c. perceived monotony d. emotional attachment to families being researched
c
as a hiring manager at GE, you are tasked with using the building blocks that managers can use in constructing an organization. which basic building block of structure would you use as you scale down on managerial positions and scale up on engineering positions a. differentiating among positions b. distributing authority among jobs c. designing jobs d. grouping jobs
c
at ancestry, even in a job as seemingly specialized as that of genealogist, the component parts of the job are quite varied. if ancestry asked you to advise the company on restructuring job design, how would you explain a recommendation for further specialization a. specialization increases the transfer time between tasks b. highly specialized workers may feel their jobs are too stimulating c. when workers perform small, simple tasks, they become very proficient at each task d. the workers in highly specialized jobs tend to report higher levels of job satisfaction
c
you have decided that redesigning the jobs of the genealogists at ancestry will benefit the most by taking the job characteristics approach. which step will you take to enhance how valued each employee feels he or she is? a. publicize which genealogists were involved in which completed historical projects so that the employees feel they identify with the total job b. give the genealogists feedback on their performance at the end of each project c. communicate the importance of the tasks performed to increase task significance d. increase each employee's autonomy, so that they feel they have more control over how the work is performed
c
in your recommendations to ancestry, you suggest the company seek to enrich the jobs of the genealogists. which of the following suggestions would result in job enrichment a. the genealogists could learn to analyze and enter data in one unified step b. the genealogists with the best performance could be awarded the opportunity to work on the more interesting family histories c. the genealogist staff could be divided into those who focus on digital records and those who deal with traditional records d. genealogists like crista could determine for themselves when the ancestral trail warranted the acquisition of additional data from external sources
d
job _ is the application of the job characteristics theory
enrichment
in your role as management consultant at ancestry, you've been asked to develop a plan that will enable the organization to utilize job rotation in some job designs. what do you recommend as a necessary step a. measure absenteeism b. count the number of tasks each employee does in the original job c. assess the amount of autonomy each employee has d. cross-train the employees on the other jobs that could fall in their rotation
d
which advantage would you cite if you were advising a company to group jobs by type of customer a. administrative costs are higher b. coordinating activities inside each department is easier c. accountability is decreased d. tailoring services to meet customer needs is easier
d
in job specialization, is transfer time between tasks increased or decreased
decreased
grouping jobs, one of the building blocks, is also known as _
departmentalization
job design and specialization are examples of which building block of organization structure
designing jobs
in functional departmentalization, accountability and performance are (easy/difficult) to monitor
difficult
job specialization is also known as _
division of labor
in functional departmentalization, coordination inside each department is (easier/harder)
easier
with job specialization, does employee replacement become easier or harder
easier
with job specialization, is it easier or harder to develop specialized equipment
easier
most common form of departmentalization
functional
grouping jobs into marketing/management departments is an example of
functional departmentalization
grouping jobs involving the same or similar activities
functional departmentalization
the desire for people to grow, develop, and expand their capabilities that is their response to the core dimensions
growth need strength
what a company needs for the job characteristics theory to work
growth need strength
in product departmentalization, the speed and effectiveness of decision making (increases/decreases)
increases
one advantage of product departmentalization is that all activities associated with one product are _
integrated, coordinated
the determination of an individual's work-related responsibilities
job design
an increase in the total number of tasks workers perform
job enlargement
increasing both the number of tasks the worker does and the control the worker has over the job
job enrichment
systematically moving employees from one job to another in an attempt to reduce employee boredom
job rotation
the degree to which the overall task of the organization is broken down and divided into smaller component parts
job specialization
(line/staff) dean
line
(line/staff) doctor
line
(line/staff) nurse
line
(line/staff) professor
line
as companies grow larger, there are (more/less) types of departmentalization to take advantage of
more
if the growth need strength is high, it makes job enrichment (less/more) impactful
more
choose the span of control best suited for the situation (narrow/wide): frequent crises at work
narrow
choose the span of control best suited for the situation (narrow/wide): heavy use of unskilled labor
narrow
choose the span of control best suited for the situation (narrow/wide): high levels of nonsupervisory work in the manager's job
narrow
choose the span of control best suited for the situation (narrow/wide): interdependent work flows
narrow
choose the span of control best suited for the situation (narrow/wide): physically dispersed employees
narrow
in functional departmentalization, managers need to be familiar with a (wide/narrow) set of skills
narrow
designing jobs, grouping jobs, reporting relationships, distributing authority, coordinating activities, and differentiating between positions are all examples of _
organization structure
the set of building blocks that can be used to configure an organization
organization structure
checking, banking, savings, and loans are types of _ departmentalization
product
grouping activities around products or product groups
product departmentalization
one of the benefits of job specialization is that workers can become _ at a task
proficient
a major element of organizing is coordination. the primary reason for coordination is that work groups are interdependent. the most complex level of interdependence is called (reciprocal/sequential/pooled) interdependence
reciprocal
one of the benefits of job specialization is that employee _ becomes easier
replacement
the number of tasks a person does in a job
skill variety
name the core dimensions of the job characteristics theory
skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback
in functional departmentalization, decision making is (quicker/slower)
slower
one of the benefits of job specialization is that _ can be more easily developed
specialized equipment
(line/staff) accountant
staff
(line/staff) advisor
staff
(line/staff) financial aid officer
staff
(line/staff) janitor
staff
(line/staff) librarian
staff
(line/staff) receptionist
staff
(line/staff) security guard
staff
choose the span of control best suited for the situation (narrow/wide): little interaction required between manager and subordinates
wide
t/f accountability is only established if the manager assigns responsibility and the subordinate accepts it
t
t/f boredom and dissatisfaction can result from job specialization
t
t/f delegation involves the assignment of responsibility, authority, and accountability
t
t/f delegation is always initiated by the manager's assignment of a task to a subordinate
t
t/f if an employee fails to accept accountability for a task that was assigned to her, the delegation attempt will fail
t
t/f job enlargement is an alternative to specialization
t
t/f the final step in delegation is the subordinate's acceptance of the obligation
t
the extent to which the worker does a complete or identifiable portion of the total job
task identity
the perceived importance of the task by the worker
task significance
the type of sports team that best exemplifies pooled interdependence is the (baseball, basketball, track) team because the team members work independently, and their efforts are simply combined to represent the team's output
track
one of the benefits of job specialization is that _ between tasks is decreased
transfer time
choose the span of control best suited for the situation (narrow/wide): a highly competent supervisor
wide
choose the span of control best suited for the situation (narrow/wide): highly competent managers
wide
choose the span of control best suited for the situation (narrow/wide): highly competent subordinate
wide
an alternative to job specialization that allows the entire group to design the work system it will use to perform an interrelated set of tasks
work teams
systematically delegating power and authority throughout the organization to middle- and lower-level managers
decentralization
the process by which managers assign a portion of their total workload to others
delegation
the process of grouping jobs according to some logical arrangement
departmentalization
the relationships between groups of subordinates are examples of _ subordinate interactions
group
sequential interdependence has a (high/low) level of coordination
high
in product departmentalization, administrative costs (increase/decrease)
increase
permanent organizational units that maintain internal integration and coordination on an ongoing basis
integrating departments
the _ approach is an alternative to job specialization that takes into account the work system and employee preferences
job characteristics
_ positions have formal (legitimate) authority
line
positions in the direct chain of command responsible for the achievement of an organization's goals
line
you want administrative intensity to be (high/low)
low
the greater the dispersion, the (wider/narrower) the potential span)
narrower
the higher the frequency of new problems, the (wider/narrower) the potential span
narrower
the more nonsupervisory work, the (wider/narrower) the potential span
narrower
the gap story is an example of what kind of interdependence
pooled
when units operate with little interaction
pooled interdependence
administrative costs may increase due to each department having its own functional-area experts is an example of which kind of departmentalization
product
all activities associated with one product are integrated and coordinated is an example of which kind of departmentalization
product
dividing groups into computers/software is an example of _ departmentalization
product
having a marketing expert in each group is an example of a disadvantage of which type of departmentalization
product
step 3 of delegating goes from (manager/subordinate) to (manager/subordinate)
subordinate, manager
is specific units of time an example of a form of departmentalization
t
t/f an advantage of customer departmentalization is that skilled specialists deal with unique customers
t
t/f in product departmentalization, each department has to have its own functional-area experts
t
t/f in product departmentalization, managers may focus on their product to the exclusion of the rest of the organization
t
t/f location departmentalization makes it easier for the organization to respond to unique customer and environmental characteristics
t
t/f most managers are reluctant to delegate
t
(tall/flat) organizations are more expensive because of the number of managers involved
tall
(tall/flat) organizations foster more communication issues
tall
used with multiple units when coordination is complex, requiring more than one individual and the need for coordination is acute
task forces
which type of sports team best exemplifies sequential interdependence a. football b. track c. basketball
a
step 2 of delegation
granting authority
the number of people reporting to a manager
span of control
(tall/flat) organizations have decreased in popularity over the last decade
tall
placing one manager in charge of interdependent departments or units
the managerial hierarchy
in (unity of command/scalar principle), every person in a company has to have a clear reporting relationship to one boss
unity of command
the greater the competence, the (wider/narrower) the potential span
wider
the less required interaction, the (wider/narrower) the potential span
wider
the more similar the tasks, the (wider/narrower) the potential span
wider
the more standardized procedures, the (wider/narrower) the potential span
wider
can organizations employ multiple bases of departmentalization
yes
you've decided that redesigning the jobs of the genealogists at ancestry will benefit the most by taking the job characteristics approach. which step will you take to influence the employees' perception of ownership of the final outcome of a family's ancestral research a. increase each employee's autonomy, so that they feel they have more control over how the work is performed b. give the genealogists feedback on their performance at the end of each project c. communicate the importance of the tasks performed to increase task significance d. publicize which genealogists were involved in which completed historical projects, so that the employees feel they identify with the total job
d
_ is deciding how best to group organizational elements a. organizing b. assimilating c. marketing d. authorizing
a
the principal of a school has the responsibility of finalizing the school curriculum for the new academic year. a council of teachers advises the principal on matter that should be included in the school curriculum. it is the principal's duty to hear what the council recommends. the principal has the liberty to heed it or ignore it. in this scenario, the council is an example of a form of staff authority called _ a. compulsory advice b. administrative advice c. advise authority d. functional authority
a
which of the following factors favors a narrow span of management a. more nonsupervisory work in a manager's job b. low requirement for interaction c. high competence of supervisor and subordiantes d. less physical distance of subordinates
a
in customer departmentalization, a large _ staff is needed to integrate activities of various departments
administrative
the degree to which managerial positions are concentrated in staff positions
administrative intensity
staff positions have _ authority
advisory
step 1 of delegation
assigning responsibility
power that has been legitimized by the organization
authority
which of the following is an advantage of product departmentalization a. organizations are able to use skilled specialists to deal with unique customers b. the speed and effectiveness of decision making are enhanced c. administrative costs decrease as a result of product departmentalization d. managers focus on helping their departments instead of others in an organization
b
step 3 of delegation
creating accountability
dividing groups into dallas/phoenix is an example of _ departmentalization
location
coordination inside each department is easier is an example of which kind of departmentalization
functional
decision making becomes slow and bureaucratic is an example of which kind of departmentalization
functional
which of the following is most likely a consequence of adopting flat organizational structures a. decreased employee productivity b. increased managerial responsibility c. decreased communication and flexibility d. increased degree of required interaction
b
which of the following is true of line managers a. they hold informal or illegitimate positions in an organization b. they work toward organizational goals c. they are of 2 types, functional authority and advice authority d. they provide expertise, advice, and support
b
which of the following statements about job specialization is false a. workers are more proficient b. it is used as a motivational tool c. equipment is more specialized d. training is simplified e. workers are more likely to be bored
b
in your annual performance review, your supervisor suggested you delegate more tasks to the subordinates on your team. consider the following scenario you experience as you try to delegate. you've just hired a new employee, Michelle, and she's eager to learn how things are done. unfortunately, you've been pulled into several unexpected meetings. you could ask Paul to show Michelle the ropes while you are in the meetings, but you hesitate. which reason might explain your reluctance to assign this task to Paul? check all that apply. a. training isn't part of paul's job description b. you are a micro-manager c. you are worried that paul won't do a good job training michelle d. you don't want to be upstaged by paul
b, c, d
dividing groups into manufacturing, finance, marketing, etc. is an example of _ departmentalization
functional
each department can be staffed by functional-area experts is an example of which kind of departmentalization
functional
employees narrow their focus to their department and lose sight of broader goals and issues is an example of which kind of departmentalization
functional
supervision is facilitated in that managers only need to be familiar with a narrow set of skills is an example of which kind of departmentalization
functional
systematically retaining power and authority in the hands of higher-level managers
centralization
a clear and distinct line of authority among the positions in an organization
chain of command
factor influencing span of management that had biggest influence on oceans 11 team
competence
the greater the interdependence, the greater the need for _
coordination
the process of linking the activities of the various departments of the organization
coordination
the relationships among the subordinates themselves are examples of _ subordinate interactions
cross
a large administrative staff is needed to integrate activities of various departments is an example of which kind of departmentalization
customer
commercial and home loans are examples of implementing _ departmentalization
customer
dividing groups into industrial/consumer sales is an example of _ departmentalization
customer
skilled specialists can deal with unique customers or customer groups is an example of which kind of departmentalization
customer
grouping activities to respond to and interact with specific customers and customer groups
customer departmentalization
organizational growth exceeds the owner-manager's capacity to personally supervise all of the organization is a rationale for _
departmentalization
the manager's relationship with each subordinate is an example of _ subordinate interactions
direct
a problem in delegation is that _ prevents planning work in advance
disorganization
t/f in functional departmentalization, employees are focused on broad goals and issues
f
t/f internal environment complexity and uncertainty is a factor determining choice of centralization
f
(tall/flat) organizations are more cost-effective
flat
(tall/flat) organizations create more administrative responsibility for the relatively few managers
flat
(tall/flat) organizations create more supervisory responsibility for managers
flat
(tall/flat) organizations lead to higher levels of employee morale and productivity
flat
(tall/flat) organizations lead to quicker decisions
flat
accountability and performance are difficult to monitor is an example of which kind of departmentalization
functional
enables the organization to respond easily to unique customer and environmental characteristics is an example of which kind of departmentalization
location
large administrative staff may be needed to keep track of units in scattered locations is an example of which kind of departmentalization
location
what type of departmentalization only works for companies that have locations in different cities
location
the grouping of jobs on the basis of defined geographic sites or areas
location departmentalization
pooled interdependence requires a (high/low) level of coordination
low
step 1 of delegating goes from (manager/subordinate) to (manager/subordinate)
manager, subordinate
step 2 of delegating goes from (manager/subordinate) to (manager/subordinate)
manager, subordinate
role where a manager coordinates interdependent units by acting as a common point of contact, facilitating the flow of information
managerial liaison
managers may focus on their product to the exclusion of the rest of their organization is an example of which kind of departmentalization
product
performance of individual products or product groups can be assessed is an example of which kind of departmentalization
product
speed and effectiveness of decision making are enhanced is an example of which kind of departmentalization
product
the story about working at the hotel front desk is an example of which kind of interdependence
reciprocal
which type of interdependence requires the greatest amount of coordination
reciprocal
when activities flow both ways between units
reciprocal interdependence
in (unity of command/scalar principle), a clear and unbroken line of authority must extend from the bottom to the top of the organization
scalar principle
an example of _ interdependence is the assembly line
sequential
oceans 11 is an example of which kind of interdependence
sequential
when the output of one unit becomes the input of another unit
sequential interdependence
_ positions have functional authority to enforce compliance with organizational policies and procedures
staff
positions intended to provide expertise, advice, and support
staff
