MGMT 2010 Ch. 10 & 11
Projects often span jobs and departments. Which building block will you rely upon to ensure that the project development process runs smoothly and efficiently?
Coordinating activities among jobs
Based on the breadth of tasks fulfilled by genealogists at Ancestry described in the article, which alternative to job specialization has likely been used in job design to overcome the problems associated with overly specialized jobs?
Job enlargement
A principle of organization design is that organization design facilitates the:
A principle of organization design is that organization design facilitates the
To align the jobs at Ancestry with the company's strategy, you've decided that the genealogist job should be redesigned. You've also determined that taking the job characteristics approach to job design will yield the best results. Which step will you take to enhance how valued each employee feels he or she is?
Communicate the importance of the tasks performed to increase task significance.
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?
Cross-train the employees on the other jobs that could fall in their rotation.
With fewer managers and more people in positions without managerial accountability, which building block will you rely upon to ensure jobs are properly supervised?
Distributing authority among jobs
Ancestry asks you if it could use job enlargement, which would enable the company to use fewer employees to accomplish the same tasks. Which reason do you give when you advise the company against job enlargement?
Employees may feel they should be paid more because they are doing more tasks.
(T/F): Responsibility is assigned by the subordinate.
False
(T/F): The first step in delegation is creating accountability.
False
Imagine that you are a consultant and have been asked to lead the redesign of a large corporation. You will need to collect and consider a lot of information about the organization's strategic direction and how the organization works now. Then you'll need to consider how best to combine the building blocks of organizations to create an effective structure for this company. Before beginning to work through the details of this big project, you decide to reflect on what you know about organization design in general. What must be kept in mind as a guiding principle during the organization redesign?
It should take into account all six building blocks of organizations and how they relate to each other.
Based on the case study, what is the core technology used to manufacture Melissa brand shoes?
Mold manufacturing
Frequent crises at work (narrow/wide?)
Narrow
Heavy use of unskilled labor (narrow/wide?)
Narrow
High levels of nonsupervisory work in the manager's job (narrow/wide?)
Narrow
Interdependent work flows (narrow/wide?)
Narrow
Physically dispersed employees (narrow/wide?)
Narrow
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 genealogists?
Perceived monotony
To align the jobs at Ancestry with the company's strategy, you've decided that the genealogist job should be redesigned. You've also determined that taking the job characteristics approach to job design will yield the best results. Which step will you take to influence the employees' perception of ownership of the final outcome of a family's ancestral research?
Publicize which genealogists were involved in which completed historical projects, so that the employees feel they identify with the total job.
"Communication flows downward and information may be viewed with suspicion by subordinates." (System 1/2?)
System 1
"Decision making is decentralized." (System 1/2?)
System 2
"Goal-setting is decentralized and encourages group participation."
System 2
"Subordinates feel free to discuss job problems with superiors."
System 2
(T/F): Accountability is only established if the manager assigns responsibility and the subordinate accepts it.
True
(T/F): Delegation involves the assignment of responsibility, authority, and accountability.
True
In Bolin and Härenstam's study, the factor identified as affecting an organization's structure is the:
Type of industry
A highly competent subordinate (narrow/wide?)
Wide
A highly competent supervisor (narrow/wide?)
Wide
Highly competant managers (narrow/wide?)
Wide
Little interaction required between manager and subordinates (narrow/wide?)
Wide
Low levels of nonsupervisory work in the manager's job (narrow/wide?)
Wide
Standardized procedures (narrow/wide?)
Wide
Task specialization (narrow/wide?)
Wide
In which stage of the organizational life cycle did Grendene recognize that its expertise in manufacturing and molding a patented form of plastic could be used in industries beyond wine?
Youth
The XYZ Corporation has a distinct division of labor, consistent rules, and a clear hierarchy. Managers maintain distance between themselves and subordinates, and promotions are awarded based on technical expertise. These are all hallmarks of:
a bureaucracy
The owner of the business where you work has asked you to assess whether restructuring the company's reporting relationships would improve employees' ability to meet customers' needs. What do you recommend? Check all that apply. a. A flatter structure should result in higher levels of employee morale and productivity. b. A taller structure will decrease administrative costs. c. A taller structure will improve the speed at which decisions are implemented. d. A flatter structure will further centralize decision-making. e. With a tall structure, supervisors can avoid hearing about customer complaints. f. Flatter structures are appropriate for organizations that empower employees to solve customer problems. g. Flatter structures lessen bureaucratic red tape, improving the speed of decision-making.
a. A flatter structure should result in higher levels of employee morale and productivity. f. Flatter structures are appropriate for organizations that empower employees to solve customer problems. g. Flatter structures lessen bureaucratic red tape, improving the speed of decision-making.
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? a. Paul may feel a sense of esteem that you chose him as the best person to train Michelle. b. It's a professional development opportunity for Paul. c. Paul gains managerial experience training new employees. d. The authority granted to Paul may be perceived as job enrichment. Paul may try to steal your job.
a. Paul may feel a sense of esteem that you chose him as the best person to train Michelle. b. It's a professional development opportunity for Paul. c. Paul gains managerial experience training new employees.
Which of the following are the disadvantages of bureaucratic organizations? Check all that apply. a. Social processes may not receive adequate attention b. The division of labor may limit employees from gaining broad skills. c. Reliance on rules usually results in efficient operations. d. Changing rules may be difficult.
a. Social processes may not receive adequate attention b. The division of labor may limit employees from gaining broad skills. d. Changing rules may be difficult.
Which of the following are the disadvantages of bureaucratic organizations? Check all that apply: a. The structure may seem less personal to employees and customers. b. Making exceptions to rules for individual situations may be difficult. c. Employment based on expertise leads to more efficient operations. d. Human processes may not receive adequate attention
a. The structure may seem less personal to employees and customers. b. Making exceptions to rules for individual situations may be difficult. d. Human processes may not receive adequate attention
Departmental heads must ensure that jobs are designed to meet the needs of the department, but organization design must also ensure that __________ is properly distributed among jobs. Departmental leadership is an example of this principle.
authority
In Burns and Stalker's research, the factor identified as affecting an organization's structure is the: a. Individual organization b. Environment c. Type of industry d. Organizational design
b. Environment
Which of the following is the best example of a company using a bureaucratic model of organization design? a. At Eagle Video, each production crew manages itself without much input from senior management. Each crew is dedicated to the job at hand, and different jobs seem to bring different crew skills to the forefront. For one client, the crew will be totally focused on getting exactly the right lighting. For another client, the crew might work to get the job done as quickly as possible. b. Emily paints for a living and loves it. She decides how many paintings she will create in any given time period, and what kinds of paintings they will be. Fortunately, Emily has the discipline to paint even when she doesn't feel like it, and she has produced many pieces of art that have sold for good prices. c. Lifeguards may seem to have an easy life, but the work is really very difficult. All lifeguards receive specialized training and are ready to jump into action if an emergency arises. Professional lifeguards use a paramilitary structure (chief, captain, lieutenant, sergeant, and two levels of lifeguards), so there is only one person giving orders in an emergency.
c. Lifeguards may seem to have an easy life, but the work is really very difficult. All lifeguards receive specialized training and are ready to jump into action if an emergency arises. Professional lifeguards use a paramilitary structure (chief, captain, lieutenant, sergeant, and two levels of lifeguards), so there is only one person giving orders in an emergency.
As an organization becomes more mechanistic, its chain of command becomes _________. It is also true that, as an organization becomes more organic, its chain of command becomes ________
longer, shorter