OB - Chapter 15

What, according to experts, "will change organizational structures as organizations pursue the opportunities presented"?

big data

A firm where management has largely succeeded in breaking down barriers between internal levels is called a __________ organization.

boundaryless

Historically, management theorists downplayed the environment in exchange for the............system approach characterized by highly disciplined military units.

closed

One of the five independent subprocesses an organization uses to learn, which involves a firm making sense of the information it has acquired and distributed, is called ______.

information interpretation

If a company spends time and money encouraging its employees to find better ways to do their jobs, what is the organization promoting?

innovation

Extrinsic rewards promote which characteristics among employees?

innovation, creativity

Organizations with rigid bureaucracies, strict rules, narrowly defined tasks and top-down communication are called.......organizations

mechanistic

What are the three characteristics that all organizations share?

the idea that innovation is crucial to remain in business the goal of being effective a structure that serves as a fingerprint

What is the point of having a postmortem in conjunction with the knowledge integration process?

to seek consensus about what the learned information means

A matrix structure combines:

vertical and horizontal structures

Select the four common denominators of all organizations.

Coordination of effort Aligned goals Division of labor Hierarchy of authority

Which statements are true about a horizontal structure?

Each process consists of every task and responsibility needed to meet the customer's needs. It tends to focus on work processes. Teams are created to work on common projects.

Which design has a lower cost of entry and overhead, and is therefore best for companies facing heavy price competition with pressure to cut costs, but increases the danger that the organization will be supplanted by suppliers?

Hollow

One of the five independent subprocesses an organization uses to learn, which pertains to the processes or systems that people, groups or organizational units use to share information among themselves is called........ ..........

Information Distribution

Organizational structure and processes play an important role and are a prime contributor to

Innovation

The key to an open system is........from the environment.

Interaction

Which statements describe a hollow structure?

It outsources functions to other companies or individuals who can do them faster and cheaper. Hollow structures have increased the need for freelance workers. An organization becomes more hollow the more it outsources.

Which of these statements describe an organization's strategy?

Setting a corporate strategy requires an organization to decide how it will compete. Organizational design must be developed in tandem with establishing strategy. It is the cornerstone of the organization's decision about the most appropriate design.

Which of the following describe networked virtual structures?

They join forces because each possesses core competencies needed for a project. They establish a collaborative network of independent firms or individuals to create a virtual entity. They are used in the movie/entertainment industry.

Which statements are true of organizations with a matrix structure?

They often fail due to management issues. They can be complex and confusing. They can provide a reasonable counterbalance among stakeholders.

A..........structure is one whose members are geographically apart using information technology to appear as a unified organization to customers.

Virtual

What is the technology called that tracks current sales data, issues with quality, employee turnover, as well as other forms of aggregated real-time corporate data?

a dashboard

Coordination of effort, aligned goals, division of labor and hierarchy of authority embody...... .......of a firm and are considered the four common denominators of any organization.

conscious coordination

Which innovation tactic allows companies to obtain needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people?

crowdsourcing

What types of marketplace changes might cause an organization to change its structure?

customer preferences new competitors alternate products

During the information interpretation process, what factors most often undermine a person's clarity of thought?

decision-making biases perceptual biases

When employees are segregated into organization groups based on similar products or services, customers or clients or geographic regions the firm is said to have a(n) __________ structure.

divisional

The structure that groups people according to the business functions they perform is called a _________ structure.

functional

Mechanistic organizations typically have a.........culture and organizational design.

hierarchical

Organizations with a(n)............design dissolve departmental boundaries and reporting relationships as much as possible.

horizontal

Which structure's pros include rapid communication and reduction in cycle time for work done; greater flexibility; faster organizational learning; and improved responsiveness to customers?

horizontal

Developing employee characteristics, such as creativity or intrinsic motivation, to drive innovation is an example of utilizing

human capital.

What characteristics need to be aligned for an organization to maximize performance?

human resource practices and policies employees' human and social capital strategy and structure

A formal hierarchy of authority is important because it shows the

official communication network. chain of command.

The structure of accountability and responsibility used to develop and implement strategies and the human resource practices and information and business processes that activate those structures is called........ ........

organizational Design

One of the five independent subprocesses an organization uses to learn, which involves encoding, storing, and retrieving the lessons learned from the firm's history, is called ______.

organizational memory

A change in the way a product or service is conceived, manufactured or distributed is called................ .........

process Innovation

One of the five independent subprocesses an organization uses to learn, which involves a firm obtaining information through internal and external sources is called information acquisition or

scanning

The number of people reporting directly to a given manager is called........of.......

span, Control

Application of the..........structure is difficult because it takes much more collaboration and integration to implement it effectively.

Matrix

The structure that combines a vertical structure with an equally strong horizontal overlay is a called a.............structure

Matrix

Those who occupy formal decision-making positions within the chain of command are called....managers

Line

A hollow structure, also known as a........structure, is designed around a central core of key functions and outsources other functions to other companies or individuals who can do them cheaper or faster.

Network

Innovations targeted at creating new markets and customers with reliance on breakthroughs and inventing things that do not currently exist are called...... .......innovations

New direction

A.......system organization depends on constant interaction with the environment for survival.

Open

firms are more likely to open boundaries between organizations or use a horizontal design.

Organic

To the casual observer, the term...............means a family tree-like pattern of boxes and lines posted on workplace walls.

Organizational Charts

Focusing on "what the organization must excel at" to meet its objectives measures the effectiveness of:

internal business processes

In a.........structure, a company assembles product parts, components or modules provided by external contractors.

modular