Chapter 9- Organizational Structure
Which of the following organizations would potentially benefit from a flat hierarchy?
A consultancy partnership, with each consultant holding a specialty in a functional business area
What is the difference between a jury and a committee?
A committee will perform functions after the decision, while a jury is decision only.
John owns an emergency response non-profit of 10 employees. The service they provide is homogeneous and time-sensitive. He recognizes he must utilize speed and efficiency in making decisions across the organization. He should employ:
A centralized organizational structure
Very small companies tend to have limited operational scope and a need for adaptability and speed in the decision making process. Which decision making strategy would fit these types of business best, from a general perspective?
Centralized
In improving upon the 'silo' critique of functional management, matrices allow which of the following to enable strong collaboration?
Communication across task boundaries
Work specialization for greater efficiency represents which of Schein's four elements?
Division of labor
The critical conceptual advantage of a modular structure could best be generalized as which of the following?
Flexibility
There area variety of methods to alleviate friction in the adaptation process. Which is defined as collecting quality data from different departments through sharing opinions and experiences?
Focus groups
Often referred to as 'silos', the functional structure focuses on grouping areas of specialty within different functional areas (i.e. IT, finance, etc). It is often argued that this strategy works best for which type of company?
Large companies producing high quantities of standardized goods at a low price
Empowerment includes a wide range of abilities. Which of the following are NOT identified as examples of empowerment abilities?
Learning humility in accepting the opinions of more experience workers
An organization that pools individuals with similar skills and creates information channels across task boundaries is referred to as which type of organizational chart?
Matrix
Which of the following organizational structures would likely work best for a company like Sony, who is a related diversifier pursuing international markets?
Matrix
Which of the external environment theories describe factors in the context of an industry's competitive dynamics?
Porter's Five Forces
Generally speaking, organizations tend to see which characteristic decline over time (as observed by organizational ecologists)?
Risk of mortality
The idea of synergy defines the team-based structure. What is meant by synergistic efforts?
The end product exceeds the sum of it's parts
