intro to business lesson 7
A large electronics manufacturing firm makes HD televisions for export around the world. The firm is fairly new. This industry is extremely price competitive; building a solid market share quickly is the only path to survival. The company makes a limited number of models so that manufacturing can be standardized. This also keeps quality high, which is a must. All employees work at the main factory, except for a handful of sales teams who have small offices in key cities around the world. Not much changes in the company from month-to-month, except that sales volume is steadily increasing. When designing their organization structure, what choices will support the goals and culture of this organization? Select the five choices that apply.
-Line structure at headquarters -Centralize decision making at headquarters -Jobs with high degree of specialization -Managers with wide span of management -Organize company by function
A large advertising agency is headquartered in New York, but has branch offices in major cities around the world. Those offices work with key accounts in their respective cities, but branches also collaborate with each other when a client wants an international campaign. This agency is known for producing the highest quality creative work in the industry. Whether a campaign is national or international, creating the campaign requires collaboration among art directors, copyrighters, media buyers, and other specialists at the firm. This agency employs only top talent and is a prestigious place to work. When designing their organization structure, what choices will support the goals and culture of this organization? Select the five choices that apply.
-Organize company by location -Decentralize decision making to the branch offices -Managers with narrow span of management -Jobs with high degree of variety -Matrix structure at branch offices
When a manager designs a specific job, she takes many different factors into account. Among them, she must consider whether efficiency or empowerment is more important for that job to be completed successfully. Select the jobs below where efficiency should take priority over empowerment. Select all that apply.
A line chef who prepares dinners at a high volume chain restaurant. A florist who creates a standardized set of floral bouquets for supermarket chain stores throughout the area.
Several years ago you opened an electrical business. In the beginning, you handled all jobs in the company. Last year, your business grew to serve a variety of different markets, including residential, commercial, and government contracting. You hired four sales reps and four other electricians to handle this business and drive further growth. This year you grew even bigger and will hire three more sales reps and four more electricians. All of your electricians are very experienced in both low and high voltage work. And, your sales reps have key relationships in various customer markets that could greatly expand your business - as long as the reps stay motivated. While you can currently manage the workload without a problem, right now you have a wide span of control, since all employees report to you. You are considering hiring a sales manager and a production manager to oversee each of the teams. This will give each manager a narrower span of control than you have right now. What decision will best meet the needs of your organization?
Don't hire the managers, because you have a highly skilled staff and you want them to remain empowered.
You oversee an assembly line that manufactures rear view mirrors for the automobile industry. Each mirror must conform to strict industry and customer specifications. The assembly line has five individual stations where the mirror is fabricated, inspected, and boxed for shipment. Recently, employee morale has decreased, causing a spike in the number of non-conforming mirrors that must be rejected by the quality control team. In terms of organizational design, what is the best solution to this problem?
Implement job rotation to increase sense of employee empowerment and allow them to develop new skills.
You are a snack food company that sells a variety of healthy snack products to various customer groups, such as: Independent health food stores Large supermarkets Gyms Convenience stores There is quite a bit of overlap in the products that each of these customers buys from you. Each of your major product lines does more than $5 million in annual sales, but a few of them do more than $10 million. As a result, you decide it would be best to divide your business along product lines to improve your responsiveness to the changing needs of the end consumer. What are some likely divisions that will exist within your newly reorganized company? Select all that apply.
Kale Chips Division Granola Snacks Division
Businesses must consider four common objectives when deciding how the organization should be structured. Choose the consideration from the drop-down menu that is being described in each example below. a. A manufacturer of medical supplies must ensure that its products meet strict FDA standards. b. A distributor of snack foods configures its staff and warehouse operations to keep cost-per-delivery low as possible. c. A manufacturer of automobiles uses teams of assembly line employees to solve production problems.
a- control b- efficiency c- empowerment
There are advantages to both centralized and decentralized decision-making in an organization. Identify whether the advantages listed below are associated with centralization or decentralization by selecting the correct choice from the drop-down menu. a. Faster decision making. b. Increased innovation. c. Higher efficiency. d. More employee empowerment e. Stronger brand/corporate image. f. More responsive to customer needs. g. Greater top management control
a- decentralized b- decentralized c- centralized d- decentralized e- centralized f- decentralized g- centralized
Each type of organizational structure has unique advantages. For each advantage listed below, select the organizational structure it is associated with from the drop-down menu. a. A clear specified path for communications b. Expertise can be shared across departments c. Information is shared readily d. Specialized support is available to managers e. Decision making occurs rapidly f. Individuals can provide key regulatory oversight
a- line structure b- matrix structure c- line structure? d- line-and-staff structure e- line structure f- line-and-staff structure
Companies use departmentalization to divide departments into more manageable working units. Each departmentalization option has both distinct advantages and disadvantages. The examples below describe some disadvantages. Match each statement with the type of departmentalization best described by using the drop-down list. a- Our software company has multiple departments who handle their own HR, marketing, and financial management functions. While this isn't always efficient, it serves the needs of our company in other ways. b- Our team was about to close a big deal with a school district, but the business sales team sold the entire inventory to someone else. We lost the sale on our side, and the school district now sees us as unreliable. c- The marketing campaigns created by our department are hugely popular and customer interest is off the charts. If only the operations department would stop being so picky about their quality control processes so that we can get this product out the door. My team's bonuses are based on sales, not reject rates.
a- location b- customer c- function
The first call you get this morning is from a major customer asking you to visit her office the next day to discuss some serious concerns. Knowing the importance of the customer, you make immediate arrangements to travel to her facility. After the meeting, you decide your company needs some restructuring to better meet its goals. For each example below, select the primary effect of the change from the drop-down menu. a. Market research teams will be formed for each geographic division to conduct ongoing surveys and focus groups with customers. b. Employee teams will no longer report to the operations supervisor, but directly to the VP of Operations. Any changes to operations procedures will now be reviewed by her. c. Production employee teams will be formed to analyze production processes and implement quality improvements. d. Two production facilities will be shut down and all manufacturing will be consolidated into the two remaining facilities.
a- more responsiveness b- less empowerment c- more empowerment d- more efficiency
You have secured funding from venture capitalists and have started a business to produce a revolutionary chip for electronics processing. You sit at your desk and ponder what it will be like to run a business with more than 100 employees. You also realize that, to structure your organization successfully, you need to make a number of critical decisions. They include: Who will be allowed to make decisions? How will individuals be grouped to work together? How many employees should report to each manager? Who will perform each of the tasks needed to run the business? You realize there is a logical sequence for making these choices. Identify each question in the correct order for the most logical sequence.
a. Who will be allowed to make decisions? -third b. How will individuals be grouped to work together? -second c. How many employees should report to each manager? -fourth d. Who will perform each of the tasks needed to run the business? -first
New employees at Disneyland receive approximately one week of training before actually performing their jobs. The training includes an explanation of the dress and conduct code, a description of how to interact with customers, a review of safety procedures, and a tour of the entire park. Select the objective that best describes the training structure at Disneyland.
control
