GEB Chapter 7

What are the three categories of approaches for managing and resolving conflict? A) Avoidance, defusion, and confrontation B) Avoidance, apathy, and defusion C) Ignorance, indifference, and apathy D) Defusion, apathy, and avoidance E) Indifference, avoidance, and role-playing

A) Avoidance, defusion, and confrontation

Medium-sized firms tend to use which type of structure? A) Divisional B) Matrix C) SBU D) Functional E) Centralized

A) Divisional

What is the most complex form of organizational structure? A) Divisional B) SBU C) Matrix D) Functional E) Geographic

C) Matrix

All of the following are ways and means for altering an organization's culture EXCEPT A) recruitment B) restructuring of an organization's design C) role modeling D) retrenchment E) mentoring

D) retrenchment

What is NOT one of the basic ways a divisional structure can be organized? A) By geographic area B) By product C) By customer D) By process E) By cost

E) By cost

Why do changes in company strategy often require changes in the way an organization is structured? A) Structure dictates how goals and objectives will be established. B) Structure dictates how resources will be allocated. C) Structure should be designed to facilitate the strategic pursuit of a firm. D) All of the above E) None of the above

A) Structure dictates how goals and objectives will be established.

_______ is NOT a major factor that commonly prohibits effective resource allocation. A) Underprotection of resources B) Organizational politics C) Having vague strategy targets D) A reluctance to take risks E) A lack of sufficient knowledge

A) Underprotection of resources

Changing a strategy to fit an existing culture A) is usually less effective than changing a firm's culture to fit a new strategy. B) is usually more effective than changing a firm's culture to fit a new strategy. C) is just as effective as changing a firm's culture to fit a new strategy. D) is always the best option. E) none of the above

A) is usually less effective than changing a firm's culture to fit a new strategy.

A divisional structure by geographic area is most appropriate when A) organizations have similar branch facilities located in widely dispersed areas. B) an organization offers only a limited number of products or services. C) consumption patterns for its products and/or services are the same worldwide. D) the company's customers in different geographic locations have similar needs and characteristics. E) the firm serves one geographic area.

A) organizations have similar branch facilities located in widely dispersed areas.

A concern in matching managers with strategy is that jobs have relatively ________ responsibilities, while people are ________ in their personal development. A) static; dynamic B) dynamic; static C) quick; slow D) exciting; dull E) dull; exciting

A) static; dynamic

What is the best divisional structure when a few major customers are of paramount importance and many different services are provided to these customers? A) By geographic area B) By customer C) By product D) By process E) By cost

B) By customer

What type of organizational structure promotes specialization of labor and allows rapid decision making? A) Divisional structure by product B) Functional structure C) Divisional structure by customer D) Strategic business unit E) Matrix structure

B) Functional structure

Which of the following is in keeping with the current view of organizational change? A) Organizational change is a project. B) Organizational change is a continuous process. C) Organizational change is an event. D) Organizational change involves unfreezing behavior, changing the behavior, and then refreezing the new behavior. E) All of the above

B) Organizational change is a continuous process.

All of the following statements regarding the recent trend in Japan of switching from seniority-based pay to performance-based approaches are true EXCEPT A) The switch is an effort to cut costs. B) The switch is boosting employee morale. C) The switch is an effort to increase productivity. D) The switch opposes the traditional training of Japanese employees to cooperate rather than compete. E) The switch goes against decades of encouraging workers to work in groups instead of individually

B) The switch is boosting employee morale.

The primary benefit sought from restructuring is A) employee involvement. B) cost reduction. C) increased morale. D) increased number of hierarchical levels in the organization. E) increased innovation

B) cost reduction.

Restructuring is also referred to as A) reengineering. B) delayering. C) diversifying. D) upsizing. E) integrating

B) delayering.

Strategy formulation A) is managing forces during the action. B) requires coordination among a few individuals. C) is primarily an operational process. D) requires special motivation and leadership skills. E) all of the above

B) requires coordination among a few individuals.

What change strategy involves giving orders and enforcing those orders? A) Self-interest B) Educative C) Force D) Rational E) Defusion

C) Force

Which organizational structure is the most widely used? A) Departmental B) Strategic business unit C) Functional D) Decentralized E) Matrix

C) Functional

Which of these is true about strategy implementation? A) It is positioning forces before the action. B) It focuses on effectiveness. C) It is primarily an operational process. D) It is primarily an intellectual process. E) It requires intuitive skills.

C) It is primarily an operational process.

What action involves reconfiguring or redesigning work, jobs, and processes for the purpose of improving costs, quality, service, and speed? A) Restructuring B) Downsizing C) Reengineering D) Delayering E) Benchmarking

C) Reengineering

Which organizational structure has the disadvantage of ambiguous roles for senior executives? A) Functional B) Divisional C) Strategic business unit D) Matrix E) Process

C) Strategic business unit

Which of the following is NOT true about objectives? A) They should be communicated throughout the organization. B) They should have an appropriate time dimension. C) They should use terms like "maximize," "minimize," and "as soon as possible." D) They should be measurable. E) They should be consistent.

C) They should use terms like "maximize," "minimize," and "as soon as possible."

Conflict in an organization is A) always bad. B) always good. C) not always bad. D) a sign of bankruptcy. E) completely avoidable.

C) not always bad

A firm uses information technology to break down functional barriers and create a work system based on business processes, products, or outputs rather than on functions or inputs in A) restructuring. B) benchmarking. C) reengineering. D) rightsizing. E) delayering

C) reengineering.

Which term is best defined as a central management activity that allows for strategy execution? A) Avoidance B) Furlough C) Competition D) Resource allocation E) Conflict

D) Resource allocation

Which of the following statements is true? A) The pay of the CEO of a Japanese company is about half the pay of the CEO of an American company. B) The CEO of a Japanese company earns more than the CEO of a European company. C) In Japan, individual excellence is emphasized over harmony among managers. D) Seniority rather than performance has been the key factor in determining pay in Japan. E) All of the above

D) Seniority rather than performance has been the key factor in determining pay in Japan.

Aspects of an existing culture that are antagonistic to a proposed strategy should be A) preserved. B) emphasized. C) built upon. D) changed. E) celebrated.

D) changed.

Which of the following is a management issue central to strategy implementation? A) Devising policies B) Revising reward and incentive plans C) Minimizing resistance to change D) Developing an effective human resources function E) All of the above

E) All of the above

Which phrase would most likely be incorporated into written objective statements? A) Maximize B) Minimize C) 10% increase D) Adequate E) All of the above

E) All of the above

Which of these involves comparing a firm against the best firms in the industry on a wide variety of performance-related criteria? A) Restructuring B) Process redesign C) Reengineering D) Delayering E) Benchmarking

E) Benchmarking

Which approach for managing and resolving conflict involves exchanging members of conflicting parties so that each can gain an appreciation of the other's point of view? A) Avoidance B) Resistance C) Compliance D) Defusion E) Confrontation

E) Confrontation

Which of these is NOT one of the tests used to determine whether a performance-pay plan will benefit an organization? A) Does the plan capture attention? B) Do employees understand the plan? C) Is the plan improving communications? D) Does the plan pay out when it should? E) Does the plan reduce management layers?

E) Does the plan reduce management layers?

Which term is primarily concerned with shareholder well-being rather than employee well-being? A) Benchmarking B) Reengineering C) Product redesign D) Process management E) Restructuring

E) Restructuring

A divisional structure by product is most effective when A) special emphasis needs to be placed on specific products. B) an organization offers few products. C) an organization's products or services differ substantially. D) special emphasis needs to be placed on specific services. E) all of the above

E) all of the above

Considerable time and effort should be devoted to assuring objectives are well conceived because they represent the basis for A) monitoring progress toward long-term objectives. B) establishing divisional priorities. C) allocating resources. D) evaluating managers. E) all of the above

E) all of the above

Policies A) let both employees and managers know what is expected of them. B) provide a basis for management control. C) allow coordination across organizational units. D) reduce the amount of time managers spend making decisions. E) all of the above

E) all of the above

Resistance to change can manifest itself through A) absenteeism. B) sabotaging production machines. C) filing unfounded grievances. D) unwillingness to cooperate. E) all of the above

E) all of the above