Business Management Chapter #9

_____ is a feeling of intrinsic motivation in which workers perceive their work to have meaning and perceive themselves to be competent, having an impact, and capable of self-determination. a. Empowerment b. Involvement c. Self-esteem d. Self-actualization

a. Empowerment

Check My Work Which of the following companies has adopted matrix departmentalization? a. InsureClef Inc., an insurance company, has a business unit that focuses on major commercial businesses, and it also has a smaller second unit that focuses on the different products that the company offers. b. Buzzband Inc., an Internet service provider, has divided its operations according to cities and has an office in every city where it provides its services. c. Quad Fibre Works, a company that manufactures electrical wiring, has divided its departments into fabrication, assembly, and packaging. d. Durawear Corp., a company that manufactures plastic storage and serving containers, has different factories and warehouses for manufacturing and storing small, medium, and large containers.

a. InsureClef Inc., an insurance company, has a business unit that focuses on major commercial businesses, and it also has a smaller second unit that focuses on the different products that the company offers.

Which of the following best describes job enrichment? a. It involves increasing the number of tasks and giving workers authority and control over their jobs. b. It occurs when the number of different tasks that a worker performs in a job is increased. c. It involves periodically moving workers from one job to another to give them more variety. d. It occurs when a job is composed of a small part of a larger task or process.

a. It involves increasing the number of tasks and giving workers authority and control over their jobs.

_____ is the number, kind, and variety of tasks that individual workers perform in doing their jobs. a. Job design b. Job composition c. Job structure d. Job system

a. Job design

_____ increases the number of different tasks that a worker performs within one particular job. a. Job enlargement b. Job rotation c. Job specialization d. Job enrichment

a. Job enlargement

Which of the following forms of departmentalization violates the principle of unity of command? a. Matrix departmentalization b. Functional departmentalization c. Customer departmentalization d. Product departmentalization

a. Matrix departmentalization

Which of the following is a difference between functional departmentalization and product departmentalization? a. Unlike functional departmentalization, product departmentalization organizes work and workers into separate units responsible for producing particular services. b. Unlike in functional departmentalization, cross-department coordination is easy in product departmentalization. c. Unlike functional departmentalization, product departmentalization inhibits managers and workers from specializing in one area of expertise. d. Unlike in functional departmentalization, the decision-making process is slow in product departmentalization.

a. Unlike functional departmentalization, product departmentalization organizes work and workers into separate units responsible for producing particular services.

Organic organizations are characterized by: a. broadly defined jobs and responsibilities. b. specialized responsibilities and projects. c. a rigid chain of command. d. precisely defined, unchanging roles.

a. broadly defined jobs and responsibilities.

Selvig and Anzer, a military weapons manufacturer, is divided into different organizational units—the S&A Logistics, which handles the inventory; the S&A Engineering, which handles engineering work such as designing and prototyping; the S&A Production, which manufactures the weapons; and the S&A sales, which handles the sale of the weapons. It is evident that Selvig and Anzer has adopted the _____ approach. a. departmentalization b. job enrichment c. job rotation d. centralization

a. departmentalization Departmentalization is a method of subdividing work and workers into separate organizational units that take responsibility for completing particular tasks.

The central concern of the job characteristics model is _____. a. internal motivation b. task identification c. task enlargement d. external synergy

a. internal motivation

The primary disadvantage of matrix departmentalization is that: a. it requires a high degree of coordination. b. unity of command is not possible as employees do not have to report to a boss. c. it is not ideal for complex tasks. d. duplication is likely to occur as employees work in different departments.

a. it requires a high degree of coordination.

Which of the following individuals performs a staff function? a. A salesperson who is responsible for selling his or her company's products in a particular territory b. A member of a company's finance department who provides advisory assistance to the marketing department c. A supervisor who is in charge of overseeing the manufacture of his or her company's products d. A foreman who is responsible for casting and forging metal tools in a company

b. A member of a company's finance department who provides advisory assistance to the marketing department

____ means permanently passing decision-making authority and responsibility from managers to workers. a. Worker enrichment b. Empowering workers c. Worker substitution d. Energizing workers

b. Empowering workers

Which of the following is a disadvantage of functional departmentalization? a. It increases costs because it leads to increased duplication of resources. b. It hinders cross-department coordination. c. It complicates communication among employees in the same department. d. It inhibits allocation of work to highly qualified specialists.

b. It hinders cross-department coordination.

Which of the following best defines organizational reengineering? a. It is an approach that seeks to formulate jobs in such a way that workers are highly specialized in one particular job. b. It is a radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance. c. It is an approach in which workers closest to problems are authorized to make the decisions necessary to solve the problems on their own. d. It means permanently passing decision-making authority and responsibility from managers to workers.

b. It is a radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance

In the context of the job characteristics model, which of the following defines task significance? a. It is the degree to which a job, from beginning to end, requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work. b. It is the degree to which a job is perceived to have a substantial impact on others inside or outside the organization. c. It is the amount of information a job provides to workers about their work performance. d. It is the number of different activities performed by employees in their respective jobs.

b. It is the degree to which a job is perceived to have a substantial impact on others inside or outside the organization

Which of the following is true of a modular organization? a. It is part of a network in which many companies share skills and markets with each other. b. It results in a loss of control when key business activities are outsourced to other companies. c. It has unstable and temporary relationships with the outside organizations it does business with. d. It costs significantly more to run than traditional organizations.

b. It results in a loss of control when key business activities are outsourced to other companies.

Thomas works as a car cleaner at CleanSupreme. He was previously working as a tire changer in the same company. His tasks are scheduled to change every two months, and he works on six different tasks every year. Which of the following best exemplifies Thomas's job design? a. Job enrichment b. Job rotation c. Job specialization d. Job enlargement

b. Job rotation

Which of the following is an advantage of modular organizations? a. They provide better products and services in all respects. b. They cost significantly less to run than traditional organizations. c. They are fast and flexible because members can quickly combine their efforts to meet customers' needs. d. They get a high degree of control when key business activities are outsourced.

b. They cost significantly less to run than traditional organizations.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of virtual organizations? a. They have a rigid organizational structure, and hence, the decision-making process is slow. b. They require high managerial skills to make a network of independent organizations work together. c. They favor a highly centralized organizational structure with numerous vertical levels. d. They are less responsive toward customer needs

b. They require high managerial skills to make a network of independent organizations work together.

The students of a university criticize the institution because all the decisions about cultural and sports events are made by the dean, and the students have to consult him to make even small decisions. In this case, the students are criticizing the university because it supports _____. a. specialization of tasks b. centralization of authority c. decentralization of authority d. the violation of chain of command

b. centralization of authority

One of the disadvantages of job specialization is that it can lead to _____. a. decentralization of power b. employee boredom c. complicated processes d. loss of standardization

b. employee boredom

Cygen Inc. reorganized its operations to minimize the complexity of running various projects at the same time. While reorganizing, it abandoned matrix departmentalization. In the given scenario, Cygen's restructuring will most likely help it to: a. avoid duplication of its products or services. b. end conflicts between product managers of different departments. c. encourage more cross-functional interaction. d. ensure that every employee has at least two reporting managers.

b. end conflicts between product managers of different departments

Amberlind Inc. is a manufacturer of grooming products. It has two product lines—HE range of products for men and SHE range of products for women. The company has separate production units for both series of products. In the given scenario, which of the following methods of departmentalization is followed by Amberlind Inc.? a. Structural departmentalization b. Functional departmentalization c. Customer departmentalization d. Matrix departmentalization

c. Customer departmentalization Customer departmentalization organizes work and workers into separate units responsible for particular kinds of customers.

Which of the following best describes line authority? a. It is an activity that contributes directly to creating or selling a company's products. b. It is an activity that does not contribute directly to creating or selling a company's products but instead supports line activities. c. It is the right to command immediate subordinates in the chain of command. d. It is the right to advise but not command others who are not subordinates in the chain of command.

c. It is the right to command immediate subordinates in the chain of command.

Patrick works as a senior customer support representative at TellySupport Inc. His routine work includes answering calls and troubleshooting and reporting customer's problems. His manager, however, has recently assigned new tasks such as material procurement and inventory management to him and has given him complete autonomy to perform these tasks. Which of the following job design approaches has been adopted by Patrick's manager? a. Job enlargement b. Job rotation c. Job enrichment d. Job abasement

c. Job enrichment

Jeremy is a tool operator at Sato Mechanical Works. He is assigned the task of making M12 bolts, which would eventually be used to attach a silencer to a motorcycle. Which of the following best exemplifies Jeremy's job design? a. Job enrichment b. Job enlargement c. Job specialization d. Job rotation

c. Job specialization

Jena manages the art department of a small publishing company. She is normally responsible for preparing the department's monthly budget. For the upcoming month, however, Jena has assigned the budgeting task to Miriam, one of her subordinates. Jena has informed Miriam that she is free to contact people and collect all the necessary information required to prepare the budget. Miriam is now completely responsible for preparing the budget. By assigning her work to Mirian, Jena has exhibited _____. a. job specialization b. centralization c. delegation of authority d. procedure standardization

c. delegation of authority

Jeff works as a garbage collector. His boss recently asked him to pick up garbage from an additional location near his current route and also to pick up the recycling bins in addition to the trash bins. In the given scenario, it is evident that Jeff's boss has followed _____. a. job specialization b. job rotation c. job enlargement d. job enrichment

c. job enlargement

Which of the following is true of job rotation? a. It occurs when a job is composed of a small part of a larger task or process. b. It occurs when the number of different tasks that a worker performs in a job is increased. c. It involves increasing the number of tasks and giving workers authority and control over their jobs. d. It involves periodically moving workers from one job to another to give them more variety.

d. It involves periodically moving workers from one job to another to give them more variety.

Which of the following best describes a line function? a. It is the right to advise but not command others who are not subordinates in the chain of command. b. It is the right to command only immediate subordinates in the chain of command. c. It is an activity that does not contribute directly to creating or selling a company's products but instead supports line activities. d. It is an activity that contributes directly to creating or selling a company's products.

d. It is an activity that contributes directly to creating or selling a company's products.

Which of the following best defines an organizational process? a. It is the vertical and horizontal configuration of departments within a company. b. It is a system that determines which individuals get to participate in which decision-making processes. c. It is a system that allocates responsibilities for different functions and processes to different entities. d. It is the collection of activities that transform inputs into outputs that customers value.

d. It is the collection of activities that transform inputs into outputs that customers value.

Which of the following is the key difference between line authority and staff authority? a. Line authority is the right to advise but not command immediate subordinates, whereas staff authority is the right to command others who are not subordinates. b. Line authority can only be exercised by employees at the lower levels of the chain of command, whereas staff authority can be exercised by employees at every level. c. Line authority gives all employees the right to advise those who are not subordinates, whereas staff authority is generally exercised by employees at managerial levels. d. Line authority is the right to command immediate subordinates, whereas staff authority is the right to advise but not command others who are not subordinates.

d. Line authority is the right to command immediate subordinates, whereas staff authority is the right to advise but not command others who are not subordinates

FlyWagon, an automobile manufacturing company, has a department that focuses on sales and information systems. It also has another department that focuses on the manufacturing and assembly of its automobiles. Which of the following is the departmentalization method adopted by FlyWagon? a. Functional departmentalization b. Product departmentalization c. Customer departmentalization d. Matrix departmentalization

d. Matrix departmentalization

Which of the following is true of virtual organizations? a. They keep a high degree of control when key business activities are outsourced. b. They outsource business activities other than the core activities to outside companies. c. They have a slow decision-making process because of their rigid organizational structure. d. They let companies share costs, and they are fast and flexible.

d. They let companies share costs, and they are fast and flexible.

The primary disadvantage of geographic departmentalization is that it: a. does not follow a chain of command. b. does not help companies respond to the demands of different markets. c. can lead to a flatter organizational structure. d. can lead to duplication of resources.

d. can lead to duplication of resources.

Marleya corp. is a large multinational company. Every employee in the company is responsible for his or her own work, and any problems that arise during work are fixed by the employees who are closest to the problems. The given scenario exemplifies _____. a. violation of the chain of command b. specialization of tasks c. centralization of authority d. decentralization of authority

d. decentralization of authority

Peter, the marketing manager of a company that manufactures furniture, has been given the task of increasing the sale of the company's office furniture line in the upcoming quarter. As Peter has other tasks lined up, he gives his assistant the full responsibility and authority to develop a mailing campaign that would target all the offices in the entire state. In other words, Peter has _____. a. exercised staff authority b. created a staff position c. centralized the task d. delegated the task

d. delegated the task Delegation of authority is the assignment of direct authority and responsibility to a subordinate to complete tasks for which the manager is normally responsible. When a manager delegates work, three transfers occur—responsibility, authority, and accountability.

Kasiez corp. is a leading automobile manufacturer. It has specialized teams for manufacturing, assembling, and sales and marketing. From the given information, it is clear that Kasiez corp. follows _____. a. job enrichment b. centralization c. job rotation d. departmentalization

d. departmentalization

The chain of command can be best defined as the: a. vertical line of authority that negotiates conflicts between different managers at the same level. b. horizontal line of authority that indicates which level of management an individual belongs to. c. horizontal line of authority that requires very little coordination throughout various departments. d. vertical line of authority that clarifies who reports to whom throughout the organization.

d. vertical line of authority that clarifies who reports to whom throughout the organization.

Functional departmentalization involves organizing: a. work and workers into separate units responsible for doing business in particular geographic areas. b. work and workers into separate units responsible for producing particular products or services. c. work and workers into separate units responsible for particular kinds of customers. d. work and workers into separate units responsible for particular business operations or areas of expertise.

d. work and workers into separate units responsible for particular business operations or areas of expertise. Companies tend to use this structure when they are small or just starting out.