Ch.7
Which two factors would lead to a business being more centralized in its organization?
1. Decisions to be made are risky. 2.Low-level managers are not highly skilled in decision-making.
What are two weaknesses of functional departmentalization?
1.Decision making across departments is slow. 2.It requires greater coordination among departments.
Which principle means that employees who accept an assignment and the authority to carry it out are answerable to a superior for the outcome?
Accountability
Lower level Managers
Are capable of managing a much larger number of subordinates, even as high as twenty-five people
Internal company networks that increase communication across different departments and levels of management and help with the flow of everyday business activities are called ______.
Intranets
What three items characterize a tall organization?
Many layers of managers Higher administrative costs A narrow span of management
Which three are considered advantages of a matrix organizational structure?
Provide enhanced cooperation and creativity Provide for flexibility Allow for quick response to changes in the environment
Top Managers
Should not directly supervise more than four to eight people
True or false: Every organization, regardless of size, organizational type, product, or profit objective has a corporate culture.
True
The principle of accountability means that ______.
an employee who accepts an assignment and the authority to carry it out is answerable to a superior for the outcome
Delegation of ____, means not only giving tasks to employees but also empowering them to make commitments, use resources, and take whatever actions are necessary to carry out those tasks.
authority
Rather than have the top level of management make all the decisions, Jake's company gives all lower-level managers the authority to make decisions for his or her department. Jake's company operates as a(n) ______ organization.
decentralized
What word reflects the rationale for specialization in the workplace?
efficiency
Because of vast differences between different regions, multinational corporations often use ______ departmentalization.
geographic
Which of the following the ways in which departments are commonly organized?
geographic region, customer, product, and function
A(n)____ organization structure, also called a project management structure, superimposes project-based departments on the more traditional function-based departments.
matrix
A _____ structure organizes departments into larger groups called divisions.
multidivisional
The functional approach to departmentalization is common in ______ organizations.
small
The number of subordinates who report to a particular manager is his or her ____ of management.
span
A company with many layers of managers is considered ______ and the span of management is _____.
tall; narrow
Tammie was communicating to her employees the proper way to handle abuse in the workplace. One individual kept interjecting comments while Tammie was speaking. This behavior is known as ______ and can be a serious barrier to effective communication.
an interruption
At its core, the reason companies divide labor and specialize is because ______.
they want to be as efficient as possible
After assigning specialized tasks to individuals, managers next organize workers doing similar jobs into groups to make them easier to manage and this is known as
departmentalizing
______ communication takes place when individuals from different levels and different departments communicate.
diagonal
_____ can cause serious problems for a company, in part because it may take longer for the organization as a whole to implement decisions and to respond to changes and problems on a regional scale.
overcentralization
An organization's ___ develops when managers assign work tasks and activities to specific individuals or work groups and coordinate the diverse activities required to reach the firm's objectives.
structure
Jasper is a production manager. He is responsible for assigning work tasks to his employees and coordinating their activities to help the firm reach its objectives. As such, Jasper is helping to develop the organization's ______.
structure
When a company looks to departmentalize by areas of business like Japan, America, and Australia it is exemplifying departmentalization by ______.
geographic location
The __ and__ structure has a traditional line relationship between superiors and subordinates, and specialized managers called staff managers are available to assist line managers.
line,staff
If Pete was tasked with developing an organizational structure for his company, he would ______.
define the various positions in the company and their relationship to one another
Dividing specific tasks into smaller jobs based on employee skill is called ______.
specialization
three benefits of multidivisional structures.
1.Permits delegation of decision-making authority, allowing divisional and department managers to specialize 2.Allows for each division or region to provide products to meet the needs of its customers 3.Allows those closest to the action to make the decisions that will affect them
Which two are considered disadvantages of a matrix organizational structure?
Employees can be confused on whose authority has priority They are expensive to operate.
A permanent, formal group that performs a specific task is called a ______.
committee
Your text defines a _____ as two or more individuals who communicate with one another, share a common identity, and have a common goal.
group
To find out the relationships among people in a company one may consult the company's ______.
organizational chart
Quality-assurance teams are also referred to as
quality circles
The rationale for _____ is efficiency. People can perform more efficiently if they master just one task rather than all tasks
specialization
A _____ span of management exists when a manager directly supervises a very large number of employees.
wide
Why do firms usually feel the need to restructure?
1.Traditional structures become difficult to coordinate. 2.The firm has experienced growth and diversification. 3.Decision making has slowed down.
What three items characterize a work group?
Emphasizes individual work products Emphasizes individual accountability Promotes individual leadership
What three items characterize work teams?
Has both individual and mutual accountability Has shared leadership roles Creates collective work products
Why can overcentralization cause serious problems for an organization?
It can prevent low-level employees from reporting problems. It can take longer for the organization to implement decisions. It can take longer for the organization to respond to changes on a regional scale.
Quality-assurance teams
This type of team is defined as small groups or workers brought together from throughout the organization to solve specific quality, productivity, or service problems.
An organization structure in which decision-making authority is maintained at the top level of management is called a(n) ______ organization.
centralized
When the decisions to be made by a business are risky, and low-level managers are not highly skilled in decision making, the company tends to be more _____.
centralized
Dante works at a manufacturing plant. He has been asked by upper management to be part of a formal group that will specifically work with union laborers to address all concerns and draft company policy regarding union benefits. Dante has been asked to be part of a ______..
committee
Mistakes in both oral and written___ systems within the organization can lower productivity and morale.
communication
The organizational ______ represents a company's widely shared values, beliefs, and traditions.
culture
A real estate agency matches its brokers to the type of groups it services: first-time home buyers, urban dwellers, house flippers, business owners, etc. This exemplifies ______ departmentalization.
customer
In a(n) ______ organization the decision-making authority is delegated as far down the chain of command as possible.
decentralized
When jobs are organized by function, ______.
decision making that involves more than one department may be slow
Giving employees not only tasks but also the power to make commitments, use resources, and take whatever actions are necessary to carry out those tasks is the definition of ______.
delegation of authority
The grouping of jobs into working units usually called departments, units, groups, or divisions is called ______.
departmentalization
The arrangement of jobs around the needs of various types of customers is know as ______.
departmentalization by customer group
For a team to maximize its contribution to the firm it must ______.
engage in a a harmonious, synchronized work effort that remains flexible to changing conditions
True or false: The maximum number of people a manager should manage is no more than ten.
false
The form of departmentalization that groups jobs that perform similar functional activities, like finance and marketing, is called ______ departmentalization.
functional
The most significant informal communication occurs through the___ , an informal channel of communication, separate from management's formal, official communication channels.
grapevine
An organization that has direct two-way lines of responsibility, authority, and communication running from the top to the bottom of the organization, with all people reporting to only one supervisor is called a(n) ______ structure.
line
The simplest organizational structure is the _______ structure, in which direct lines of authority extend from the top manager to employees at the lowest level of the organization.
line
If an organization temporarily borrows its specialists from different functional areas to accomplish a common project, it is implementing what type of organization?
matrix
A firm is looking to restructure its organization into larger groups. It is deciding whether to organize its departments on the basis of geography, customer type, or product. Either way, structuring the firm in this way is utilizing the ______ structure.
multidivisional
A(n) _____ chart shows relationships among people; who is accountable for the completion of specific work, and who reports to whom.
organizational
The levels of management in an organization are collectively referred to as ______.
organizational layers
A company has three main product lines: cleaning products, laundry products, and paper products. If it organizes its jobs around these product lines, it is using which form for departmentalization?
product
If a book seller was to separate its organization according to the types of books it sells it would be an example of departmentalization by ______.
product
A matrix structure is also referred to as a(n) _______ structure.
project management
A special type of team formed to devise, design, and implement a new product is a ______.
project team
Cybill's manager wanted her to design the new ad campaign for the firm's new product. She was given all the necessary resources to complete the task. Cybill understands that her manager is going to hold her accountable to make sure the ad campaign is executed successfully. This exemplifies the concept of ______.
responsibility
The obligation, placed on employees through delegation, to perform assigned tasks satisfactorily and be held accountable for the proper execution of work is the definition of ______.
responsibility
Carl's landscaping business started out small, but has grown into a large business with many clients. Originally, all the employees reported to Carl, but he now thinks it is time to hire two more people; one to manage the lawn maintenance business, and one to manage the design business. Each of these managers will supervise their own employees. By adding this additional layer of management, Carl is in the process of ______.
restructuring his firm
If the owner of a lawn-mowing company were to take the division of labor a step further and divide the mowing task into three separate activities (mowing, trimming, and raking) performed by three separate employees specifically trained for their assigned duty this would exemplify _____.
specialization
The owner of a flower shop has three employees. Two employees are better at arranging flowers in a vase while the third is skilled at preparing the flowers to be arranged. Separating the employees by these skills is called ______.
specialization
task force
temporary group of employees responsible for bringing about a particular change.
The arrangement or relationship of positions within an organization is referred to as ______.
the organization's structure