Chapter 12

Which of the following is not an element of organizational architecture?

a. Location

The purpose of a(n) _____ is to provide managers with incentives for motivating employees as well as feedback on how the company performs.

a. control system

A typical matrix organizational structure:

a. groups employees in two ways simultaneously to maximize the rate at which different kinds of products can be developed.

Essentially, centralization or decentralization are concepts that refer to the:

a. levels where decisions are made in the hierarchy of an organization.

To reduce costs, companies pursuing a cost leadership strategy prefer to use _____ to closely monitor and evaluate functional performance.

a. output controls

In a successful company, the purpose of a control system is to:

a. provide managers with a set of incentives to motivate employees to work toward company goals.

Organizational structure can be defined as:

a. the combination of the location of decision-making responsibilities, the formal division of the organization into subunits, and the establishment of integrating mechanisms to coordinate the activities of the subunits.

Organizational culture is:

a. the norms and value systems that are shared among the employees of an organization.

Which form of control would you most likely find in a voluntary or charity organization?

b. Control through norms and values

What would be the result if a company were to successfully align its organizational structure with its business-level strategy?

b. Performance will improve

Delayering is:

b. a radical readjustment of the organization's staffing and hierarchy.

Control through organizational culture is so powerful because:

b. it enables employees to follow organizational values, after they've internalized them, without thinking about them.

The specific collection of values, norms, beliefs, and attitudes shared by people and groups in a company is commonly referred to as:

b. organizational culture.

A drawback of the functional structure is:

b. the difficulty in communicating and coordinating across functions.

A matrix structure would be the most appropriate for which of the following firms?

c. A company that is dependent on rapid mobilization of resources for competitive success

Which is an example where a low integration control system would work best?

c. A construction company looking to diversify its existing service line with services that are unrelated

At FastFries, a fast food restaurant, rules are published in all employee areas, explaining expectations regarding arrival time, lunch breaks, when to take shorter breaks, and when to socialize. This is an example of:

c. Bureaucratic control.

Natalie and Shay are both employees at RightTool, Inc., the marketing manager, often meets with Shay, the production manager, in order to solve specific mutual problems. This is an example of:

c. Direct contact.

Which of the following advantages does a functional organizational structure offer a company?

c. Reduction in manufacturing costs and increase in operational flexibility

Flat organizational structures are characterized by:

c. a relatively wide span of control.

Companies that are innovative and able to deal with environmental change with new strategies and structures probably have:

c. adaptive cultures.

Matrix structures:

c. group activities vertically by function and horizontally by product or project.

Control through organizational culture:

c. involves employees internalizing the norms and values of the organization.

When a company engages in delayering, it may be necessary to:

c. lay off employees.

In any organization, for-profit or not-for-profit, span of control refers to the:

c. number of subordinates who report directly to one manager.

The totality of a firm's organizational arrangements including its formal organizational structure, control systems, incentive systems, organizational culture, organization processes, and human capital is referred to as:

c. organizational architecture.

At LittleHippo, an online retail company, the work environment is playful. Employees often get their pictures taken wearing silly wigs and masks. This atmosphere is part of the company's:

c. organizational culture.

The degree to which a company specifies how decisions are to be made so that employees' behavior becomes predictable is referred to as:

c. organizational processes.

Which of the following does delayering involve?

d. Flattening the organizational hierarchy

When decision-making responsibilities are decentralized, benefits include all of the following except:

d. easier coordination of functions.

All employees participate in a project team within a _____ structure. They are known as two-boss employees.

d. matrix

To a large degree, any organization's tasks are a function of its:

d. strategies.

If a firm's leaders are using a functional structure but feel it is becoming too complex as the company grows in size, the leaders can turn to:

e. a multidivisional structure.

Organizations strive to control employees' behavior by linking ____ systems to their control systems.

e. incentive

The term used to describe how people learn an organization's culture and way of behaving in the organization is:

e. organizational socialization.