Business 101
Which of the following is NOT a factor that influences whether a firm is decentralized?
A code of ethics
Southwest Airlines is known for closely following its mission statement:Southwest Airlines is dedicated to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit. We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. In keeping with this statement, the company has developed inner rites, rituals, heroes, and values including holding a Christmas party in a hanger in Dallas every year and flying in employees from throughout the United States to attend. Awards are given at the party, entertainment is provided by employees, and dinner is provided for everyone. What do these activities describe?
A communal corporate culture
Delegation assigns work and power to other workers as required by the centralization or decentralization of authority within the organization. What is the last step in the delegation process?
Assign accountability
Companies, the military, the government, and nonprofit organizations can operate because they have determined the levels of authority and reporting structure for their organizations. What is the name given to this line of authority?
Chain of command
What is the advantage of departmentalization by customer?
Departmentalization by customer allows the firm to deal efficiently with unique customers or customer groups.
Departmentalization is the grouping together of work units or departments to create manageable units. What is the name given to departmentalization of a group of employees based on them all doing the same organizational activity?
Departmentalization by function
Which characteristic does NOT support a narrow span of management?
Few new problems are expected to arise
An organization is a formal structure consisting of interrelated positions. What is the name given to a group created within that organization to accomplish goals that may or may not be relevant to the organization?
Informal group
What is a group created by the members themselves to accomplish goals that may or may not be relevant to an organization?
Informal group
Factors that bear upon a company's organization include the external environment in which the firm operates, the nature of the decision to be made, the abilities of lower-level managers, and the firm's established practices. If a firm operates in a complex unpredictable environment with dependable lower-level managers, which of the following would be most likely true about the company?
It will be a decentralized organization.
What is the name given to the assignment of distinct tasks within an organization to different people so each person become extremely proficient at performing that single task?
Job specialization
Which of the following is NOT a potentially negative consequence of job specialization?
Less injuries
What is the name given to a management structure in which the line managers are provided with specialists? Please select the most specific answer.
Line and staff structure
_____ structures provide flexibility, enhanced cooperation, and creativity, and they enable the company to respond quickly to changes in the environment by giving special attention to specific projects or problems.
Matrix
In this type of culture (popular in large banks and investment firms), you have employees who are passionate, energetic, goal-oriented, and have a sense of purpose and excitement for their work.
Mercenary culture
Which of the following is NOT a disadvantage of a network structure?
No centralized leader
Which of the following is NOT a major consideration when organizing a business?
Production of a good
If a company has a major problem, what type of committee might it create to investigate the problem?
Task force
If a company has very competent workers, a well-established set of standard operating procedures, and few expected problems, what type of management should it adopt?
Wide span of management
HP has indicated that three-quarters of its lab staff is dedicated to building computers with light. This group includes experts in engineering, technology, and design. HP is likely using:
a cross-functional team.
If a city is considering building a new city office complex, it may appoint a(n) _______ to research possible locations for the offices within the city, then to present their findings to the city manager for review and presentation to the city council. The committee would be disbanded after its assignment has been completed.
ad hoc committee
The matrix structure has many advantages, but the most obvious one is
added flexibility.
What departmentalization bases are likely being used at HP?
by function and product.
Billy Sports Investments needs to make risky decisions on a daily basis. Because of this, its managers are likely to
centralize decision making
When the decisions to be made by a business are risky and when low-level managers are not highly skilled in decision making then the company tends to be more _____.
centralized
All of the following are potential disadvantages of committees, except
committees make more accurate decisions than individuals
The culture at HP is characterized by interaction, passion for the business, and the recognition that sacrifices must be made in order for the business to succeed. HP likely has a __________ culture.
communal
The inner rites, rituals, heroes, and values of a firm are known as:
corporate culture
_________ refers to the traditions, heroes, informal methods of interacting, giving of recognition and other values of a firm and can be strong and used to bind members of the organization like a family, or weak so that connections remain on a professional-only level.
corporate culture
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 form of departmentalization that groups jobs that perform similar functional activities, like finance and marketing, is called:
departmentalization by function.
When a company looks to departmentalize by areas of business like Japan, America, and Australia it is exemplifying ______.
departmentalization by location
A store with different sections such as household appliances, bed and bath, clothing, tools, furniture, jewelry, perfume, and cosmetics will often assign employees to work exclusively within one of those sections. In doing so the management is engaging in ________ .
departmentalization by product
A company that groups its activities according to the defined geographic area in which they are performed—whether that is a city block, nation, or continent—has __________.
departmentalized by location
If the span of management is wide, _______ levels are needed, and the organization is _______. If the span of management is narrow, ________ levels are needed, and the resulting organization is _______.
fewer; flat; more; tall
Line, line-and-staff, matrix, and network all refer to _________
forms of organizational structure
When a manager gives an employee the power to accomplish an assigned job or task that might include ordering supplies, spend money on behalf of the organization, or hiring and firing employees, the manager has _________ to that employee.
granted authority
the ______ is a designation given to an informal method of communication within an organization. By launching news of pending changes, it can be used by the organization for its own benefit.
grapevine
An informal channel of communication separate from management's formal official communications related to a job or organization that can sometimes be gossip is called a:
grapevine.
The four basic forms of organizational structure include all except
informal
Some of the things considered by management when developing the firm's organizational structure are
job design, departmentalization, delegation, span of management, and chain of command.
To combat the potential negative consequences of specialization, managers often turn to _______, the systematic shifting of employees from one job to another.
job rotation
When employers are concerned that their employees may become bored with performing the same tasks repetitively, they use _______ to systematically shift employees to other jobs to give them opportunities to perform new tasks.
job rotation
One reason for _____ is efficiency. People can perform more efficiently if they master just one distinct task rather than all tasks.
job specialization
HP laptop computers are produced on a line, with multiple workers completing one or two specific tasks to assemble the laptop. This is an example of ______, which can leave to boredom and dissatisfaction. A solution may be to introduce ______, where employees shift from one job to another.
job specialization; job rotation
what is the oldest and simplest from of organizational structure?
line
As a company grows, it may become necessary for it to create a(n) ______, which is a visual display of the organizational structure, lines of authority (chain of command), staff relationships, permanent committee arrangements, and lines of communication.
organization chart
When the management of a business want to show the relationships and positions within the business they create a(n) _____________.
organization chart
A(n) ___ is a diagram that represents the positions and relationships within an organization.
organizational chart
The number of persons reporting to one manager is referred to as the __________ and after years of research, it has been determined that there is no perfect ratio of subordinates to managers.
span of management
The attorney for the City of Henderson would most likely occupy a(n)
staff position
Carefree Do-Nothing Enterprises is considering redesigning its bright pink-and-yellow offices and changing its name to give it a more business-like appearance and serious feeling. Because there are numerous problems and costs associated with instituting such changes, what group should the management appoint to study the issues and report back to them?
task force
A committee that is established to investigate a major problem or pending decision of the firm (for example assessing the pros and cons of a potential merger) is known as a(n):
task force.
One of the reasons for job specialization is
the organization is too large for one person to do everything
Jeramiah has operated an accounting office for about two years. He has noticed that one employee is much better at working with large businesses and evaluating the work that will be required by these businesses, another is better at small business data entry and tax returns, and another is better at auditing businesses and preparing the required paperwork for lenders. Jeramiah wants to make his business operate more efficiently and is considering changing the way jobs are assigned. In the past he has let the employees chose what they want to do each day. Considering the abilities of his employees, what would be the best way for him to streamline his business?
utilize job specialization
A _____ span of management exists when a manager directly supervises a very large number of subordinate employees. A _____ span of management exists when a manager directly supervises only a few subordinates.
wide; narrow
