Departmentalization

Which of the following characteristics would you expect Al's Autos to have? Check all that apply. There is extensive communication between employees in different departments of this company. Employees receive extensive training in specific areas, leading to the development of in-depth expertise. Decision making in this company is centralized, with the CEO ultimately responsible for problem solving. Employee specialization leads to increased efficiency.

Employees receive extensive training in specific areas, leading to the development of in-depth expertise. Decision making in this company is centralized, with the CEO ultimately responsible for problem solving. Employee specialization leads to increased efficiency. Notes: Al's Autos has a functional structure. Employees in functional organizations are highly specialized and, as a result, highly efficient. However, this efficiency comes at a cost. When jobs are divided by specialty, horizontal communication is decreased, and decision making can take longer.

What problem might the CEO expect if the company switches to a virtual network structure? Employees may feel less loyalty to the reorganized company. Decisions will be made at the top of the organization, creating delays. Resources might be duplicated across divisions of the company.

Employees may feel less loyalty to the reorganized company. Because virtual networks are made up of many companies, employees are less likely to feel that they are working for the central company—instead, their loyalties lie with the smaller organizations in the network.

What problem might the CEO expect if the company switches to a matrix structure? Employees will lose access to their managers. Communication will be increased across functions. Organizational politics and the number of meetings will increase.

Organizational politics and the number of meetings will increase. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks of matrix structures is an increase in organizational politics and more company meetings. In the Al's Auto example, employees would have to attend truck or car meetings along with sales, parts, or service meetings. Politics can get complicated because, far from losing access to their managers, employees report to two managers, and there will likely be supervisory power struggles.

Which of the following characteristics would you expect QRT Software to have? Check all that apply. This structure allows an organization to focus on a core competency. In this company, decision making is highly centralized. This company uses outsourcing extensively to achieve organizational goals. The company is highly flexible.

This structure allows an organization to focus on a core competency. This company uses outsourcing extensively to achieve organizational goals. The company is highly flexible. QRT Software is structured as a modular organization—many independent organizations linked together by a small central team. This pushes decision making out to the external companies, allowing the central organization to focus on its core competency. While this gives the organization a great deal of flexibility, it may also diminish its identity, causing employees to wonder, "Where is the company?"

The CEO of QRT Software is considering moving to a functional structure. What would be the best reason to make such a move? To increase morale through employee involvement To protect proprietary information To encourage interdisciplinary cooperation

To protect proprietary information A functional structure brings all of a company's activities within one organization, rather than outsourcing work across organizations. Because the functional structure is more centralized and rigid, it is less likely that proprietary information will be released. For example, if QRT Software reorganizes to bring coding in-house, no other company will know what kind of computer programs QRT Software is creating.

C & J Construction has a _____ structure.

matrix

QRT Software has a ______ structure.

modular organization

What problem might the CEO expect if the company switches to a functional structure? Employees will feel less loyalty to the company. Organizational politics will become more complicated as decision making is decentralized. Decisions will be made at the top of the organization, creating delays.

Decisions will be made at the top of the organization, creating delays. The biggest drawback to functional structures is their rigidity. Because managers must make decisions, the organization moves more slowly and cannot respond to changes in the environment as quickly as a more decentralized organization can.

Which of the following characteristics would you expect C & J Construction to have? Check all that apply. This structure violates unity of command, because employees report to more than one manager. For employees, human relationship skills are particularly important, since they must work with senior managers to make decisions. In this structure, a vertical hierarchical structure provides accountability, while horizontal reporting relationships improve communication. Departments in this organization do not have formal leaders.

This structure violates unity of command, because employees report to more than one manager. In this structure, a vertical hierarchical structure provides accountability, while horizontal reporting relationships improve communication. C & J Construction has a matrix structure. In a matrix organization, employees have both a functional and a product (divisional) manager. Although this can create a politically charged environment, it is particularly effective in a project-based environment in which employees need to have communication across functions.

The CEO of C & J Construction is considering moving to a virtual network structure. What would be the best reason to make such a move? To focus on the core competencies of the organization and outsource less mission-critical tasks To create economies of scale To create deeper reserves of skills within the organization

To focus on the core competencies of the organization and outsource less mission-critical tasks A virtual network structure is a loose association of companies that is run by a small centralized group. This group is responsible for outsourcing work to the appropriate companies in the network. For example, if C & J Construction were first and foremost a construction company, it could develop relationships with engineering and sales companies so that it could outsource that work and focus on construction.

The CEO of Al's Autos is considering moving to a matrix structure. What would be the best reason to make such a move? To take advantage of economies of scale To improve communication across functions To increase the company's efficiency

To improve communication across functions The horizontal reporting relationships in matrix structures help to improve communication among employees in different functional areas. Suppose that Al's Autos created a matrix structure with truck and car divisions. Parts, service, and sales employees would all come to the divisional meetings, thereby improving communication.

Al's Autos is a thriving car dealership. As CEO, Al oversees the managers of three departments: sales, service, and parts. Employees are specialized and grouped according to their expertise. Here is the organizational chart showing the structure or departmentalization for Al's Autos: Al's Autos has a _____ structure.

functional