Chapter 1-5

The discipline Organizational Development and Change focuses on understanding individuals and groups within an organizational context.

False

Six months ago, Clinton, a production manager for a manufacturing plant, pulled together a group of employees representing each of the various units on the plant floor. Employee morale and production had been steadily declining for years, and Clinton wanted to know why it was happening and how to fix it. Based on the group's recommendations, Clinton implemented quite a few changes that have since resulted in some improvements, but he thinks operations could get even better with ongoing employee input. Which horizontal linkage device would work best in this situation?

A cross-functional team

Ten years ago, at the height of the cupcake craze, Patty, a baking enthusiast and entrepreneur, opened Patty's Cakes Cupcake Bakery. Her business was a huge success, and at one point she had twelve employees. In recent years, business has steadily declined and Patty has had to reduce her workforce to just six people. Occasionally, one of the bakers or customer service clerks has suggested that perhaps it's time for the organization to branch out into other baked goods, now that the cupcake fad is waning, but Patty always answers, "I don't have time to think about that now. I'm running a business!" This is an example of which symptom of structural deficiency?

A lack of innovation in the face of a changing environment

In his first week as production manager for a manufacturing plant, Clinton has already noticed an "us-versus-them" mentality among the various units on the floor. When he looked back at past performance over the last five years, he could see that the same number of employees used to be far more productive, but when he started asking questions about the decline, he heard nothing but blame and finger-pointing from unit managers. Clinton wants to bring together representatives from all of the units to discuss the issues and make recommendations for solutions. Which horizontal linkage device would work best in this situation?

A task force

According to the LinkedIn Learning video on organization design, organizations trying to diagnose and assess root causes of problems within their firm can collect data such as:

All of these options are correct.

According to the HBR article on purpose, all of the following are benefits of having a purpose-driven strategy EXCEPT:

Centralizing organization

_____ are the external pressures exerted on an organization to adopt structures, techniques, or behaviors similar to other organizations.

Coercive forces

_____ encompass larger elements that influence structural dimensions, including an organization's size, technology, environment, culture, and goals.

Contingency factors

You are the VP of Automotive Design at a major automobile manufacturer. You've been analyzing both the internal and external environments, looking for competitive openings that will allow your organization to remain competitive well into the future. Which of these ideas is most likely to give your organization the competitive advantage it needs?

Developing a self-driving vehicle

_____ grouping means people are organized according to what the organization produces.

Divisional

All of the following are contingency factors of organizational structure EXCEPT:

Economic climate

_____ pertains to the training, promotion, safety, and growth of individuals working in an organization.

Employee development

According to the HBR article on purpose, the benefits of putting purpose at the core of strategy include helping the organization specialize in already proven areas even more.

False

According to the LinkedIn Learning video on organization design, a best practice on making good decisions includes aiming for consensus.

False

According to the LinkedIn Learning video on organization design, a functional structure represents a strong advantage when the company diversifies and needs to manage new channels and products and customers.

False

According to the LinkedIn Learning video on organization design, organization design is the same as having a strategy for changing your new business model.

False

According to the LinkedIn Learning video on organization design, the best approach to designing organizations is to start with the leadership team first and let them design the needed processes.

False

Amy Kates (LinkedIn Learning video on organization design) recommends designing the organization around people.

False

DFW Airport has a divisional organizational structure (as observed in its organizational chart).

False

In the context of Porter's strategy model, managers take a more organic, learning approach to organization design with a low-cost leadership strategy.

False

In the interview with Dan Schwabel, Dave Ulrich emphasizes the importance of making informed decisions at the individual and team level when leading change.

False

Organizational Behavior focuses on the processes and outcomes of organization change and development at the individual, group, organizational, and institutional levels using multiple methods and perspectives.

False

Organizational charts demonstrate the pay grades of different departments.

False

Organizations are social entities that are only linked to the internal environment.

False

Resource dependence theory is a "micro" theory that focuses on explaining human capital as a resource.

False

Selection is the preservation and institutionalization of selected organizational forms.

False

The direction-setting process typically begins with the administration and execution of the strategic plan.

False

The discipline Organizational Development and Change studies interpersonal processes such as trust, justice, power/politics, social exchange, and networks.

False

When developing a strategy, organizations such as UNT, should base the strategy on what their competitors are doing in order to remain in operation.

False

As the CEO of a furniture manufacturer in Michigan, you are painfully aware that sales have been dropping off in recent years, forcing you to lay off some employees and decrease production. You aren't sure why, but you thought it was due to competition from foreign manufacturers entering the U.S. market. The HR manager just told you something that has made you pause. She says that a number of employees have recently quit their jobs in your factory to go work for two other manufacturers in the same area, both of which are increasing production. What step should you take to cope with the uncertainty?

Form a competitive intelligence team to study your organization's competitors

Along with several other members of the upper management team, you've just completed an assessment of your organization's manufacturing plant. To meet demand for product, the group has determined that the plant must operate at a minimum of 75% capacity for at least 250 working days each year with no more than a total of 50 hours of down time due to accidents or other disruptions. The plant must produce 20,000 parts annually, with a cap of 2.5% of parts rejected after inspection. What approach should your team use to measure effectiveness of plant operations?

Goal approach

Divya is the purchasing agent for Chiara's Chocolates, a company that uses only fair-trade cocoa beans to manufacture a selection of gourmet chocolate bars and candies sold across North America. Divya typically buys cocoa beans from suppliers in western Africa and South America. She has just learned that the U.S. government has levied new tariffs on imported cocoa beans, which drives up their cost. Which sector is having the biggest impact on Chiara's Chocolates right now?

Government sector

Pria is a customer service agent at an online travel agency. One of the organization's customers has made a very unusual request, and Pria isn't quite sure what to do. She needs guidance on whether to honor the request and how to respond to the request appropriately, especially if the answer is no. Which linkage device should Pria use to communicate and resolve this issue?

Hierarchical referral

As the new production manager of a small manufacturing plant in Tennessee, you've been charged with making beneficial changes to the production line. After interviewing nearly all of the workers, you've developed a number of ideas for improving employee satisfaction with internal jobs, reducing turnover, and minimizing the number of on-the-job injuries. Additionally, these changes should increase productivity and reduce waste. Once you've implemented these changes, which approach should you use to measure their effectiveness?

Internal process approach

Which of the following statements is true of environmental complexity?

It refers to the number and dissimilarity of external elements.

Poppy, a small boutique, specializes in clothing for the mature woman who wants to look fashionable without looking too young or trendy. The organization's ideal customer comes from a higher income bracket, is 40+ years old, and seeks unique fashions. To which of the following elements of an organization is this information related?

Links to the external environment

Companies accept normative pressures to become like one another due to _____.

Obligation

_____ is the micro approach to organizations because it focuses on the individuals within organizations as the relevant units of analysis.

Organizational behavior

You and your best friend from high school have always been into fashion. Now that you've earned your degree in business and she's earned her degree in fashion design, you'd like to start your own clothing design and manufacturing organization. You both know it'll be essential for your products to be constantly changing so you can deliver "the next big thing." Which of the Miles and Snow strategies is right for your organization?

Prospector

In the context of the population-ecology perspective, which of the following is a difference between specialists and generalists?

Specialists are generally more competitive than generalists.

The CEO of a chemical manufacturing plant is reviewing the organization's effectiveness over the past year. Among other things, she is looking at the plant's profitability, the volume of chemicals produced, the number of accidents within the plant, the rate of employee turnover, and the degree to which the firm is complying with federal regulations regarding the plant's impact on the environment. This CEO is taking a(n) _______ approach to measuring effectiveness.

Stakeholder

_____ means that all the organization's energies and resources are directed toward a focused, unifying, and compelling overall goal.

Strategic intent

Phoenix Software has won three international awards for innovative software design in the last five years. Innovation is obviously one of the organization's: Correct!

Strengths

Determining an organization's environmental uncertainty generally means focusing on sectors of the _____ environment.

Task

Which of the following describes an organization's shared values and beliefs and its reason for being?

The mission

Which of the following functions in the simple, unstable environment?

The music industry

Which of the following environments has the lowest level of uncertainty?

The simple, stable environment

Which of the following is FALSE about larger organizations in the context of size as a contingency factor driving organizational structure?

They are less structurally differentiated than smaller organizations.

Which of the statements below is correct about strategic decisions?

They are unstructured They are non-routine and high stake They are difficult (all of the above)

Strategic decision making in a centralized organization involves all of the following EXCEPT:

Top management facilitates the emergence of decisions.

According to the LinkedIn Learning video on organization design, it is important to design jobs that are meaningful and that minimize management layers.

True

According to the LinkedIn Learning video on organization design, structure determines the basic power dynamics in the organization.

True

According to the LinkedIn Learning video on organization design, talent and organization help the firm execute its strategy successfully.

True

According to the LinkedIn Learning video on organization design, the most common matrix structure connects functions to business units or functions to regions.

True

According to the video on organization design, management and business processes are ways to move ideas, decisions, and information across boundaries.

True

Boundary spanners prevent an organization from stagnating by keeping top managers informed about environmental changes

True

Cooptation occurs when leaders from important sectors in the environment are made part of an organization.

True

Environmental complexity refers to heterogeneity, or the number and dissimilarity of external elements that affect an organization's operations.

True

Group/team characteristics such as size, diversity, and cohesion, and group/team processes such as development, leadership, decision making, and cooperation and conflict are studied by Organizational Behavior.

True

In rapidly changing environments, the internal organization was much looser, free-flowing, and adaptive, with a loose hierarchy and decentralized decision making.

True

You've just been named the CEO of a struggling snack manufacturer. Sales of some of the company's bestselling products have dropped off considerably in recent years, and you know you need to make some changes to the organization's product lines soon or the firm will go under. Which of the following most likely provides the best opportunities for making immediate changes that will increase demand for your firm's products?

Using data analytics to determine current consumer preferences

Which of the following types of communication is emphasized by mechanistic organizations?

Vertical communication

Layla is the head of customer service at an online travel agency. Over the last few months, several unique situations with customers have been brought to her attention, prompting her to establish two new policies. Which linkage device would be the best method for Layla to use to communicate these new policies to the customer service supervisors and representatives?

Vertical information system

When is a decentralized organizational structure deemed more appropriate

When the information and decisions of different parts of the organization are not interrelated.

In the _____, companies join together to become more competitive and to share scarce resources.

collaborative-network perspective

With _____, decision authority is pushed downward to lower organization levels.

decentralization

Tesla's top managers aligned with Panasonic Corporation's top managers to jointly invest in a $5 billion lithium-ion battery plant. This is an example of executive-level managers:

forming a cooperative relationship with another contributor to the ecosystem

A full-time integrator:

has a title such as brand manage or product manager.

If the goal of the organization is to minimize errors of omission, which of the following decisions will be more suitable?

having a hierarchical organizational structure and centralization

What are the building principles of an organic management system?

interdependency and cooperative effort

Now that virtual teams functioning in a virtual network structure are commonplace, it is no longer necessary for some teams to be part of the organization. Organizations can hand off certain functions, such as human resources or back-office operations, to virtual teams outside the organization through:

outsourcing.

The highest level of horizontal coordination is:

relational coordination.

In the population-ecology model of organizations, _____ means the appearance of new, diverse forms in a population of organizations.

retention

Claire is the purchasing manager for a large manufacturing plant, and it's her responsibility to make sure the plant always has all of the supplies it needs at the right times. Although she's happy with her current set of suppliers, she is researching alternate suppliers, just in case one of her existing suppliers is suddenly unable to deliver the needed materials at the expected times and costs. Claire is engaged in _____ planning.

scenario

The sociocultural sector of an organization is concerned with issues such as:

the working conditions of workers hired by contractors.