Chapter 7: Organizing&Authority

time management

A benefit of delegating authority and responsibility is that it is an important tool for _____.

Learning Organization

An organization that does well in creating, aspiring, and transferring knowledge and in modifying behavior to reflect new knowledge

principle of the chain of command

If an employee decides to report directly to her supervisor's manager rather than report to her supervisor, he or she would be violating the _____.

Power

The ability to get others to act in a certain way

Span of Control

The number of people a manager supervises

Responsibility

The obligation to perform assigned activities

Unity of Command

The principle that each employee should have only one supervisor

defining the objective to be achieved

The process of organizing within a department or work group begins with ______.

(c) authority

When a supervisor assigns duties to an employee, he or she is giving the employee the _____ to perform the duties. (a) span of control (b) locus of control (c) authority (d) competence

Restructuring

When an organization changes its structure to respond to stiffer competition, tougher economic conditions, or the desire to benefit from new practices such as decision making by teams of employees

(b) When managers spend negligible time on coordination (c) When there are clear, objective standards for performance (d) When support staff is easily available

When can an organization have a wide span of control? Select all that apply. (a) When the functions performed by employees rapidly change (b) When managers spend negligible time on coordination (c) When there are clear, objective standards for performance (d) When support staff is easily available (e) When managers spend a lot of time on planning

(b) provide the employee with enough authority to carry out the responsibilities

When delegating responsibilities to an employee, a supervisor must _____. (a) avoid holding the employee accountable if he or she fails to carry out the responsibilities effectively (b) provide the employee with enough authority to carry out the responsibilities (c) centralize the decision-making process within the organization (d) allow the employee to use coercive power on other employees

(c) wider span of control

When the geographic proximity between subordinates and supervisors is close, it results in a _____. (a) taller organizational structure (b) longer chain of command (c) wider span of control (d) longer period of time spent on planning

(d) Employee empowerment

Which of the following reasons has led to wider spans of control within organizations? (a) Centralized decision making (b) An increased need for planning (c) An increase in the layers of management (d) Employee empowerment

Empowerment

_____ is based on the tenet that employees will provide more insight and expertise than managers can provide alone when they are involved in decision making and that this participation will result in more committed employees.

job description

A _____ allows those within the various organizational departments and positions to know exactly what are an individual's responsibilities.

(b) many people report to each manager

A feature of flat organizations is that _____. (a) the flexibility to adapt to any changes is limited (b) many people report to each manager (c) the top management closely controls the work of operative employees (d) employees tend to have limited decision-making authority

they must be flexible

A feature of supervisors in organizations with organic structures is that _____.

department

A firm has a unit within the organization that specifically focuses on marketing its products in the Asian markets. Such a unit is referred to as a(n) _____.

line authority

A production manager at a manufacturing company asks his workers to speed up their work. In this example, the production manager is applying his ______.

Organic Structure

A structure in which the boundaries between jobs continually shift and people pitch in wherever their contributions are needed

Product Structure

A structure in which work and resources within the organization are assigned to departments responsible for all the activities related to producing and delivering a particular product (good or service)

Customer Structure

A structure that departmentalizes the organization according to the type of customers served, such as departments serving businesses, the military, and the space program

Functional Structure

A structure that groups personnel and other resources according to the types of work they carry out, such as finance, production, sales, and human resources

Geographic Structure

A structure that results when an organization is departmentalized according to the location of the customers serviced or the goods or services produced

Department

A unique group of resources that management has assigned to carry out a particular task

(a) The summary of the general nature and level of the job (d) The list of duties or tasks to be performed within the job (e) The job objective or overall purpose statement

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), which of the following should be included in a job description? Select all that apply. (a) The summary of the general nature and level of the job (b) The list of skills required to perform the job (c) The amount of revenue to be generated from the job (d) The list of duties or tasks to be performed within the job (e) The job objective or overall purpose statement

(d) encouraging people to fulfill their responsibilities

Accountability is a way of _____. (a) avoiding personal liability at work (b) centralizing authority within an organization (c) eliminating risks involved in a business (d) encouraging people to fulfill their responsibilities

1. (c) Deciding what work to delegate 2. (b) Assigning the work 3. (a) Creating an obligation 4. (d) Granting authority 5. (e) Following up

Arrange the steps involved in the process of delegating work in order with the first step at the top. (a) Creating an obligation (b) Assigning the work (c) Deciding what work to delegate (d) Granting authority (e) Following up

1. (c) Define the objective. 2. (a) Determine what resources are needed. 3. (b) Group activities and assign duties.

Arrange the steps involved in the process of organizing in order, with the first step at the top. (a) Determine what resources are needed. (b) Group activities and assign duties. (c) Define the objective.

(a) focus on the tasks that they do best or that only they can do

Delegating allows supervisors to _____. (a) focus on the tasks that they do best or that only they can do (b) closely monitor their subordinates (c) escape accountability for their subordinates' performance (d) reduce their span of control

Empowerment

Delegation of broad decision-making authority and responsibility

(d) develop their skills

Delegation of work allows employees to _____. (a) be closely monitored (b) escape decision-making responsibilities (c) be less accountable for their performance (d) develop their skills

(b) have a lot of control over their work

Employees in a flat organization tend to _____. (a) avoid handling leadership tasks (b) have a lot of control over their work (c) report to multiple managers at the same time (d) have limited decision-making authority

(c) The authority to transfer responsibility to employees and hold them accountable adds to a supervisor's power.

Identify a true statement about accountability. (a) When a supervisor delegates responsibility, the supervisor is no more accountable for employees' performance. (b) The act of being accountable reduces an employee's obligation to perform assigned activities. (c) The authority to transfer responsibility to employees and hold them accountable adds to a supervisor's power. (d) When a supervisor transfers accountability to employees, it means the supervisor maintains centralized authority.

(d) Organizations may engage in change management by adding or reducing the number of products or services they offer.

Identify a true statement about change management. (a) Change management is intended to prevent an organization's structure from altering. (b) Employees' participation must be limited in the process of change management. (c) Employees are generally open to changes within an organization. (d) Organizations may engage in change management by adding or reducing the number of products or services they offer.

(b) A firm can make changes in the degree to which it centralizes authority, depending on its strategic plan and goals.

Identify a true statement about the level of centralization within a firm. (a) A firm can be either completely centralized or decentralized. (b) A firm can make changes in the degree to which it centralizes authority, depending on its strategic plan and goals. (c) A firm with centralized authority has no top managers, whereas a firm with decentralized authority has no operative employees. (d) A firm cannot make changes in the degree to which it centralizes authority to suit individual functions.

(a) It allows supervisors to see the variety of responsibilities held by others at their level in an organization. (c) It allows supervisors to identify where opportunities for future promotions might lie.

Identify the advantages of being able to understand organization charts. Select all that apply. (a) It allows supervisors to see the variety of responsibilities held by others at their level in an organization. (b) It allows supervisors to work without reporting to top level managers. (c) It allows supervisors to identify where opportunities for future promotions might lie. (d) It allows supervisors to eliminate the lowest level of management in an organization.

(a) They tend to do poor work. (d) They get confused and aggravated.

Identify the consequences of employees receiving orders form more than one supervisor. Select all that apply. (a) They tend to do poor work. (b) They have a clear sense of direction. (c) They feel motivated to work. (d) They get confused and aggravated.

(a) The individual task involved in the job (b) The qualifications needed for the job (d) The purpose and responsibilities of the job

Identify the fact that need to be analyzed before writing a job description. Select all that apply. (a) The individual task involved in the job (b) The qualifications needed for the job (c) The amount of revenue generated by the job position (d) The purpose and responsibilities of the job (e) The number of job openings within an organization

Top Managers

In an organization, individuals with the most authority and responsibility

Decentralized Organizations

Organizations that allow the top managers to share a lot of authority with middle managers, supervisors, and operative employees

Centralized Organizations

Organizations that grant little authority to middle managers, supervisors, and operative employees

Network Organizations

Organizations that maintain flexibility by staying small and contracting with other individuals and organizations as needed to complete projects

Flat Organizations

Organizations with little height and few layers of management

Tall Organizations

Organizations with much height and more layers of management

(a) put their plans into action

Organizing primarily helps supervisors and other managers _____. (a) put their plans into action (b) eliminate the other management functions (c) allocate more time for corrective action (d) define their individual responsibilities

Departmentalization

Setting up departments in an organization

grouping the necessary activities and assigning work to the appropriate employees

The final step in the process or organizing is _____.

Chain of Command

The flow of authority in an organization from one level of management to the next

(b) greater the span of control

The more people a manager supervises, the _____. (a) longer the chain of command (b) greater the span of control (c) narrower the locus of control (d) taller the organizational structure

Parity Principle

The principle that personnel who are given responsibility must also be given enough authority to carry out that responsibility

Functional Authority

The right given by higher management to specific staff personnel to give orders concerning an area in which the staff personnel have expertise

Staff Authority

The right to advise or assist those with line authority

Line Authority

The right to carry out tasks and give orders related to the organization's primary purpose

Authority

The right to perform a task or give orders to someone else

Organizational Chart

The standard way to represent the structure of an organization

Functional Structure

This structure is well-suited to centralized decision making and efficiency through economics of scale and specialization. It is not well-suited for dynamic environments where decisions must be made quickly and products or services customized.

False

True or False: An organic structure is seldom suitable for larger organizations.

True

True or False: The second step in the process of organizing requires a supervisor to review the objectives developed during the planning process and identify which resources are needed for the particular areas being organized.

Delegating

giving another person the authority and responsibility to carry out a task