Chapter 7 Business Test

Which of the following types of information is conveyed by a traditional organization chart? A. The work performed by each unit in the organization B. The products manufactured by the organization C. The way in which decisions are made in the organization D. The geographical location of the organization E. The way in which the organization will interact with the external environment

A) The work performed by each unity in the organization

Identify a true statement about delegation. A. A manager should delegate to a subordinate enough authority to get the work done. B. A subordinate must not be allowed to take credit for the results of the assignment. C. A subordinate need not report to his or her boss about the status of the assignment. D. A manager should use delegation to escape his or her own responsibilities. E. A subordinate's accountability reduces when a manager delegates work to him or her.

A. A manager should delegate to a subordinate enough authority to get the work done.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of a matrix organization? A. Managers who share subordinates may jockey for power. B. People may care more about their own function than about the company as a whole. C. Higher management levels are overloaded with operational decisions. D. Resource utilization becomes inefficient because resources are not shared. E. Employees may fail to focus on overall product quality and customer satisfaction.

A. Managers who share subordinates may jockey for power.

An approach to coordination that involves feedback and discussions to jointly figure out how to approach problems and devise solutions that are agreeable to everyone is known as: A. coordination by mutual adjustment. B. unity-of-command. C. coordination by specialization. D. coordination by formalization. E. authoritative decision making.

A. coordination by mutual adjustment.

In the context of organizational integration, _____ refers to a situation when interdependent units are required to meet deadlines and objectives that contribute to a common goal. A. coordination by plan B. unity-of-command C. standardization D. span of control E. centralization

A. coordination by plan

In the context of horizontal structure of a firm, subdividing an organization into smaller units is known as: A. departmentalization. B. positioning. C. decentralization. D. delegating. E. standardization.

A. departmentalization.

An organization with departmentalization that groups units around products, customers, or geographic regions is known as a: A. divisional organization. B. centralized organization. C. network organization. D. functional organization. E. virtual organization.

A. divisional organization.

In the context of the vertical structure of a firm, a wide span of control builds a _____ organization with few reporting levels. A. flat B. centralized C. tall D. bureaucratic E. formal

A. flat

In the context of organizational integration, the presence of rules and regulations governing how people in the organization interact is known as: A. formalization. B. centralization. C. unity-of-command. D. mutual adjustment. E. delegation.

A. formalization

Authority is directly related to the three broad levels of the organizational pyramid, commonly known as _____. A. hierarchy B. value chain C. locus of control D. specialization E. division of labor

A. hierarchy

In the context of technology configurations, a small, local restaurant with one cook, two servers, and one cashier is an example of a: A. job shop. B. large batch company. C. strategic business unit. D. conglomerate. E. heavy industry.

A. job shop.

An operation that strives to achieve the highest possible productivity and total quality, cost-effectively, by eliminating unnecessary steps in the production process and continually striving for improvement is known as: A. lean manufacturing. B. continuous processing. C. mass customization. D. large batch technology. E. crowdsourcing.

A. lean manufacturing.

An organization skilled at creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge as well as at modifying its behavior to reflect new knowledge and insights is known as a: A. learning organization. B. conglomerate. C. mechanistic organization. D. formal organization. E. closed system.

A. learning organization.

In the context of the vertical structure of a firm, authority refers to the: A. legitimate right of a manager to make decisions and to tell other people what to do. B. ability of managers to avoid accountability for their subordinates' actions. C. unconditional power of managers to discriminate their subordinates based on race, ethnicity, or gender. D. power of subordinates to reject the work responsibility delegated to them without any reason. E. influence a manager has over his or her subordinates' personal life.

A. legitimate right of a manager to make decisions and to tell other people what to do.

A _____ is composed of temporary arrangements among members that can be assembled and reassembled to meet a changing competitive environment. A. modular network B. mechanistic organization C. divisional organization D. functional organization E. hierarchical network

A. modular network

In the context of a firm's vertical structure, a powerful trend for U.S. businesses over the past few decades has been to: A. reduce the number of hierarchical layers. B. replace flat organizational structures with tall organizational structures. C. increase the number of reporting levels. D. increase formalization. E. limit decision-making authority to top management.

A. reduce the number of hierarchical layers.

The assignment of a task that an employee is supposed to carry out is known as: A. responsibility. B. authority. C. coordination. D. unity-of-command. E. span of control.

A. responsibility.

One of the most important contributions to total quality management has been the introduction of statistical tools to analyze the causes of product defects, in an approach called: A. six sigma quality. B. quality adjustment method. C. mass inspection. D. mutual adjustment. E. just-in-time.

A. six sigma quality.

In the context of technology configurations, which of the following is true of continuous process technologies? A. They tend to require more supervision than other technologies. B. People are completely removed from the work itself. C. They provide a variety of low-volume, customized services. D. Communication tends to be highly formal. E. They are characterized by a large number of rules and formal procedures.

B. People are completely removed from the work itself.

Which of the following approaches to departmentalization requires proper management of all the issues surrounding decentralization and delegation for it to be effective? A. Functional B. Product C. Network D. Bureaucratic E. Mechanistic

B. Product

Which of the following is a characteristic of a high-involvement organization? A. Employee participation in decision making is limited. B. The organization has a flat, decentralized structure built around a customer, good, or service. C. The employees at lower levels of management are not held accountable for delivering a good or service. D. People who try to expand their skills beyond their job profile are discouraged. E. Much of the work is done independently by experts in the top management.

B. The organization has a flat, decentralized structure built around a customer, good, or service.

The expectation that employees will perform a job, take corrective action when necessary, and report upward on the status and quality of their performance is known as: A. unity-of-command. B. accountability. C. job specialization. D. mutual adjustment. E. span of control.

B. accountability

David, a human resource intern, was given an assignment by his manager. He needed to obtain information from other departments to complete the assignment. But, some departments refused to share information with an intern. David was frustrated because he did not have the power to get the information he needed. In the context of this situation, David's manager made the mistake of: A. delegating inappropriate tasks to an intern. B. assigning responsibility without delegating adequate authority. C. "passing the buck" for David's performance. D. becoming accountable for David's work. E. overestimating David's capabilities.

B. assigning responsibility without delegating adequate authority.

In the context of delegation, a problem faced by a subordinate in carrying out a delegated task is: A. having the power to take corrective action. B. being given more responsibility than authority. C. depending on autonomy than close supervisory control. D. eliminating any opportunity for creativity. E. having to report to the manager about the status and quality of performance.

B. being given more responsibility than authority.

In a(n) _____ organization, important decisions usually are made at the top. A. informal B. centralized C. flat D. organic E. decentralized

B. centralized

In a(n) _____ organization, top managers make all the decisions and pass them down to lower levels for implementation. A. informal B. centralized C. organic D. flat E. horizontal

B. centralized

Veronica recently accepted a job with a reputed bank as an internal auditor. She found that her job was quite different from her previous internships. Her new company had strictly defined job responsibilities and lines of communication. For every decision she needed to make, approval had to be obtained from upper management. Overall, she found the atmosphere to be quite formal. Veronica's organization has a: A. wide span of control. B. high degree of centralization. C. flat organizational structure. D. matrix organizational design. E. narrow locus of control.

B. high degree of centralization.

A type of organization in which top management ensures that there is consensus about the direction in which the business is heading is known as a: A. centralized organization. B. high-involvement organization. C. mechanistic organization. D. tall organization. E. bureaucratic organization.

B. high-involvement organization.

The production of both high-volume and high-variety products at the same time is referred to as: A. lean manufacturing. B. mass customization. C. just-in-time production. D. large batch technology. E. continuous process technology.

B. mass customization.

The number of subordinates who report directly to an executive or supervisor is known as the: A. degree of standardization. B. span of control. C. degree of specialization. D. division of labor. E. locus of control.

B. span of control.

First Health Inc. and Quadra Software Solutions Inc. have decided to share resources to produce a meal planning program for use at home. The two firms have decided to work together on the project since they cannot develop the project solely with their individual resources. Both organizations will own the resulting program. This effort is known as a: A. hostile takeover. B. strategic alliance. C. organized divestiture. D. vertical integration. E. related diversification.

B. strategic alliance.

In the context of total quality management, which of the following is one of W. Edwards Deming's "14 points" of quality? A. Strive for short-term improvement rather than long-term profit. B. Ensure compliance by inducing fear among those who deviate from process. C. Allow autonomy and spontaneity. D. Use numerical quotas regularly. E. Rely on mass inspection to ensure quality.

C. Allow autonomy and spontaneity.

In the context of the fundamentals of organizing, which of the following depicts the positions in a firm and the way they are arranged? A. Supply chain B. Plant layout C. Organization pyramid D. Organization chart E. Value chain

D. Organization chart

In the context of integration, which of the following is true of the findings of Lawrence and Lorsch? A. The more highly differentiated the firm, the lesser the need for integration among its units. B. Focusing on integration may speed up innovation for a while in an organization. C. Highly differentiated firms were more likely to fail in a complex environment if they failed to integrate their activities adequately. D. Companies with more structural integration were more likely to introduce new products soon after acquisition. E. A firm's ability to launch new products is independent of its structural integration.

C. Highly differentiated firms were more likely to fail in a complex environment if they failed to integrate their activities adequately.

Which of the following statements about delegation of responsibility and authority is true? A. It does not require a subordinate to report back to his or her boss. B. Managers should use delegation to escape their own responsibilities. C. It can occur between any two individuals in any type of structure with regard to any task. D. All managers are comfortable fully delegating assignments to their subordinates. E. It does not require a subordinate to take accountability for achieving results.

C. It can occur between any two individuals in any type of structure with regard to any task.

Which of the following is an advantage of delegation? A. It allows managers to exercise close supervisory control. B. It helps managers to escape their own responsibilities. C. It conserves managers' most valuable asset-their time. D. It increases managers' influence over their subordinates. E. It makes subordinates less responsible and accountable.

C. It conserves managers' most valuable asset-their time.

Which of the following statements about matrix organization is true? A. It creates an environment in which the unity-of-command principle is strictly followed. B. It is a collection of independent, mostly single-function firms that collaborate to produce a good or service. C. It is composed of dual reporting relationships in which some employees report to two superiors. D. It involves holding employees together by contracts that stipulate results expected, rather than by hierarchy and authority. E. It results in a centralized decision-making system.

C. It is composed of dual reporting relationships in which some employees report to two superiors.

The assignment of new or additional responsibilities to a subordinate is referred to as: A. mutual adjustment. B. centralization. C. delegation. D. span of control. E. job specialization.

C. delegation

The assignment of different tasks to different people or groups in an organization is known as: A. locus of control. B. standardization. C. division of labor. D. value chain. E. supply chain.

C. division of labor.

In the context of a firm's vertical structure, narrow spans of control build a(n) _____ organization with many reporting levels. A. flat B. wide C. tall D. decentralized E. informal

C. tall

In the context of the fundamentals of organizing, coordination refers to: A. the expectation that employees will perform a job and take corrective action when necessary. B. a process in which different individuals and units perform different tasks. C. the procedures that link the various parts of an organization to achieve the organization's overall mission. D. the legitimate right to make decisions and to dictate other people what to do. E. a process that separates units based on products, customers, or geographic regions to reduce integration among the units.

C. the procedures that link the various parts of an organization to achieve the organization's overall mission.

Unicorn Sports Inc. manufactures and distributes athletic wear, sporting equipment, and protective sports gear worldwide. They are departmentalized based on products sold to professional athletes, products sold to people who pursue sports only for leisure, and products sold to sports teams. Which approach to departmentalization does the company follow? A. Geographic B. Functional C. Matrix D. Customer E. Product

D. Customer

Which of the following is an advantage of functional departmentalization? A. Managers care more about the company as a whole than just their departments. B. Employees are able to focus exclusively on customer satisfaction. C. It encourages managers to become generalists. D. Economies of scale can be realized. E. There is increased coordination between different functions.

D. Economies of scale can be realized.

Which of the following is true of just-in-time (JIT)? A. JIT calls for subassemblies and components to be manufactured in very large volumes. B. JIT offers efficiency only when the costs of storing items are lower than the costs of frequent delivery. C. JIT is limited to the production department and cannot be applied as a companywide philosophy. D. In JIT, a customer order triggers a factory order and the production process. E. In JIT, external suppliers deliver raw materials to the company at least three months before production.

D. In JIT, a customer order triggers a factory order and the production process.

In the presence of which of the following conditions should the span of control be wide? A. Tasks are not clearly defined and instructions are ambiguous. B. Subordinates are poorly trained. C. Employees' access to information is restricted. D. Jobs are similar, and performance measures are comparable. E. Subordinates prefer close supervisory control to autonomy.

D. Jobs are similar, and performance measures are comparable.

The first step in the delegation process, defining the goal, requires a manager to: A. identify the employee he or she favors the most. B. understand the nature of each employee. C. recognize the most responsible employee. D. clearly understand the outcome he or she wants. E. identify a tedious assignment that can be delegated.

D. clearly understand the outcome he or she wants.

In _____ organizations, more decisions are made at lower levels of management. A. tall B. formal C. mechanistic D. decentralized E. narrow

D. decentralized

In a _____ organization, jobs (and departments) are specialized and grouped as production, marketing, human resources, research and development, finance, accounting, and so forth based on the skills they require. A. divisional B. network C. matrix D. functional E. projectized

D. functional

In the context of horizontal structure of a firm, _____ are those that have responsibility for the principal activities of the firm. A. staff departments B. public relation divisions C. geographic divisions D. line departments E. human resource divisions

D. line departments

A process in which different individuals and units perform different tasks is known as: A. mutual adjustment. B. formalization. C. standardization. D. specialization. E. span of control.

D. specialization.

Identify a characteristic feature of matrix organizations. A. Resource utilization is inefficient. B. Higher management levels are overloaded with operational decisions. C. The principle of unity-of-command is followed. D. The decision-making process is highly centralized. E. Dual career ladders are elaborated.

E. Dual career ladders are elaborated

In the context of technology configurations, which of the following is true of large batch technologies? A. Goods or services are provided in low volumes. B. Organizational structure tends to be organic. C. Decision making tends to be decentralized. D. Communication is highly informal. E. Hierarchical authority is more prominent.

E. Hierarchical authority is more prominent.

Which of the following conditions should be met for the lean manufacturing approach to result in more effective operations? A. Specific-purpose equipment must be used. B. Product development should be sequential rather than concurrent. C. Supplier relationships should be short-term. D. Communication must be formal among line workers. E. People should be broadly trained rather than specialized.

E. People should be broadly trained rather than specialized.

In the context of organizational agility, which of the following is true of learning organizations? A. They base their decisions on guesswork and assumptions. B. They avoid learning from other organizations. C. They avoid benchmarking in order to keep up internal performance standards. D. They are primarily concerned about finding quick fixes to current problems. E. They are skilled at experimenting with new approaches.

E. They are skilled at experimenting with new approaches.

Which of the following is true of effective delegation? A. Once a task has been delegated, the manager need not be available. B. Tasks such as disciplining subordinates and conducting performance reviews are best delegated. C. A manager should contribute as little resources as possible for completion of the delegated task. D. The ideas of the subordinate should not be taken into consideration during delegation. E. Throughout the delegation process, the manager and the subordinate must work together.

E. Throughout the delegation process, the manager and the subordinate must work together.

_____ is a way of managing in which everyone is committed to continuous improvement of his or her part of the operation. A. Mass customization B. Mutual adjustment C. Unity-of-command D. Micromanagement E. Total quality management

E. Total quality management

In an organization, _____ may be valuable when departments have different priorities or conflicting goals, which need to be mediated by top management. A. decentralization B. wide spans of control C. external locus of control D. standardization E. centralization

E. centralization

In the context of horizontal structure of a firm, _____ deal directly with the organization's primary goods or services; they make things, sell things, or provide customer service. A. public relation divisions B. accounting divisions C. staff departments D. organic structures E. line departments

E. line departments

True Ketchup Inc. manufactures and distributes sauces, pickles, and spices. The company has separate divisions responsible for developing and marketing each item. Thus, the company has adopted a _____ approach to departmentalization. A. geographic B. functional C. matrix D. customer E. product

E. product

In the context of organizational integration, establishing common routines and operating procedures that apply uniformly to everyone is known as: A. specialization. B. unity-of-command. C. mutual adjustment. D. authorization. E. standardization.

E. standardization.