Deck 4: the External Environment

Question 1

Which of the following statements is true of environmental complexity?

A)It refers to homogeneity
B)The number of companies in an organization's domain do not affect its complexity.
C)Industry changes do not contribute to environmental complexity.
D)It refers to the number and dissimilarity of external elements.

Answer 1

D
Explanation:Environmental complexity refers to heterogeneity,or the number and dissimilarity of external elements (e.g.,competitors,suppliers,industry changes,government regulations)that affect an organization's operations.

Question 2

Which of the following is a characteristic of the complex,stable environment?

A)It has a lower uncertainty level than the simple, stable environment.
B)It has only a few external environments.
C)Only a few elements need to be considered for an organization to perform well.
D)External elements do not change rapidly in this environment.

Answer 2

D
Explanation:The complex,stable environment represents somewhat greater uncertainty than the simple,stable environment.External elements do not change rapidly or unexpectedly in this environment.

Question 3

Which of the following is a characteristic of the general environment?

A)It includes those sectors that will indirectly impact a firm.
B)It includes the raw materials and human resources sectors.
C)It includes sectors with which the organization interacts directly.
D)It includes sectors that are internally controlled by an organization.

Answer 3

A
Explanation:The general environment includes those sectors that might not have a direct impact on the daily operations of a firm but will indirectly influence it.

Question 4

Which of the following is an external element that contributes to environmental complexity?

A)Managers
B)Employees
C)Suppliers
D)Board of directors

Question 5

Which of the following is one of the dimensions of the framework for assessing environmental uncertainty?

A)Dispersion-contiguity
B)Simple-complex
C)Certain-uncertain
D)Internal-external.

Question 6

The two ways in which the environment influences organizations are the need for information about changes in the environment and:

A)the need for opposition from the environment.
B)the need for information about future requirements of customers.
C)the need for resources from the environment.
D)the need for information about competitors' activities.

Question 7

Environmental _____ refers to heterogeneity,or the number and dissimilarity of external elements.

A)dynamics
B)complexity
C)uncertainty
D)compatibility

Question 8

Percy developed a new accounting system which processed data that was previously computed by ten accountants.As a result,the new technology replaced ten employees.Due to Percy's innovation,the technological sector impacted the _____ of the organization.

A)external environment
B)international environment
C)global environment
D)general environment

Question 9

When several sectors change simultaneously,the environment becomes _____.

A)turbulent
B)complex
C)stable
D)predictable

Question 10

Determining an organization's environmental uncertainty generally means focusing on sectors of the _____.

A)general environment
B)task environment
C)natural environment
D)technological environment

Question 11

Which of the following functions in the simple,unstable environment?

A)The music industry
B)Oil companies
C)Chemical companies
D)The insurance industry

Question 12

A complex environment is one in which:

A)an organization interacts with and is influenced by numerous diverse external elements.
B)an organization struggles with a compound chain of command.
C)an organization's performance is negatively affected by internal conflicts.
D)an organization markets a broad range of products.

Question 13

Which of the following environments has the lowest level of uncertainty?

A)The simple, unstable environment
B)The complex, unstable environment
C)The simple, stable environment
D)The complex, stable environment.

Question 14

The sociocultural sector of an organization is concerned with issues such as:

A)the impact of the company's products and policies on the environment.
B)strategies to be undertaken in times of adverse economic conditions.
C)the working conditions of workers hired by contractors.
D)trending issues on social media sites.

Question 15

A fast food chain in the United States,Simpson's Kitchen,got its supply of chicken from a local farm.Its business was adversely affected when the country faced an epidemic of bird flu.The epidemic adversely affected Simpson's Kitchen's _____.

A)international environment
B)general environment
C)global environment
D)task environment

Question 16

Leo Burton is the CEO of a cigarette manufacturing company.He and his employees suffered a major loss when tobacco products were banned in his country.Leo's organization was affected by changes in the _____.

A)technological environment
B)government sector
C)international sector
D)economic environment

Question 17

Melissa works in the fashion industry.Her job is to research,by analyzing social media,the growing trends among youth.Her company designs and manufactures clothing based on her analysis.Melissa is a part of the _____ of the task environment.

A)industry sector
B)market sector
C)raw material sector
D)international sector

Question 18

The _____ is a part of the task environment because of globalization and intense competition.

A)government sector
B)technology sector
C)international sector
D)natural sector

Question 19

Besides dynamism and abundance,the third dimension that contributes to the changes in an organization's environment is _____.

A)transparency
B)hierarchy
C)variability
D)complexity

Question 20

An organization's _____ is the chosen environmental field of action.

A)domain
B)strategy
C)mission
D)policy

Question 21

Business intelligence refers to the high-tech analysis of large amounts of internal and external data to spot patterns and relationships that might be significant.

Question 22

_____ gives top executives a systematic way to collect and analyze public information about rivals and use it to make better decisions.

A)Trend analysis
B)Competitive intelligence
C)Due diligence
D)Demand forecasting

Question 23

Soft drink bottlers function in the complex,unstable organizational environment.

Question 24

The traditional approach to coping with environmental uncertainty was:

A)to lay off employees.
B)to merge existing departments into one.
C)to establish buffer departments.
D)to replace human resource with technology.

Question 25

_____ link and coordinate an organization with key elements in the external environment.

A)Market analysts
B)Human resource executives
C)Strategic-planning roles
D)Boundary-spanning roles

Question 26

The primary contingency that shapes whether an organization will function best with an organic or a mechanistic design is:

A)the degree of stability in the organization.
B)the degree of uncertainty in the external environment.
C)the levels of hierarchy in the organization.
D)the ease of communication in the internal environment.

Question 27

A(n)_____ involves the purchase of one organization by another so that the buyer assumes control.

A)merger
B)joint venture
C)consolidation
D)acquisition

Question 28

Organizations in rapidly changing environments tend to have a(n)_____ management processes.

A)differentiated
B)integrated
C)mechanic
D)organic

Question 29

Boundary spanners prevent an organization from stagnating by keeping top managers informed about environmental changes.

Question 30

The greatest uncertainty for an organization occurs in the complex,stable environment.

Question 31

Organizational environment is defined as everything within an organization that affects its functioning.

Question 32

Environmental complexity refers to heterogeneity,or the number and dissimilarity of external elements that affect an organization's operations.

Question 33

The raw materials sector is included within the task environment.

Question 34

Uncertainty means that decision makers do not have sufficient information about environmental factors.

Question 35

An increase in the complexity and uncertainty in the external environment increases the number of positions and departments within an organization.

Question 36

A(n)_____ occurs when a director of company A and a director of company B are both directors of company C.

A)cooptation
B)merger
C)indirect interlock
D)direct interlock

Question 37

Economic conditions are included in the general environment.

Question 38

_____ is the quality of collaboration among departments.

A)Integration
B)Certainty
C)Departmentalization
D)Dependency

Question 39

Which of the following is a characteristic of the simple,stable environment?

A)It has many external elements that change rapidly.
B)It has few external elements that change rapidly.
C)It has many external elements that change slowly.
D)It has few external elements that change slowly.

Question 40

Universities function in the _____ environment.

A)simple, unstable
B)complex, stable
C)simple, stable
D)complex, unstable

Question 41

What comprises an organization's environment?

Question 42

Elaborate on buffering roles.

Question 43

In organizations characterized by very simple,stable environments,almost no managers are assigned to integration roles.

Question 44

Contracts and joint ventures increase uncertainty as there is no legal relation involved.

Question 45

Contracts can provide long-term security by tying customers and suppliers to specific amounts and prices.

Question 46

To maintain autonomy,organizations that already have abundant financial resources will develop links with other organizations.

Question 47

Resource dependence means that organizations depend on the environment but strive to acquire control over resources to minimize their dependence.

Question 48

Describe the dimensions of the patterns and events occurring in the environment that influence organizations.

Question 49

One outcome of high organizational differentiation is that coordination and collaboration among departments become difficult.

Question 50

Greater information uncertainty is resolved through greater structural flexibility.

Question 51

As environmental uncertainty increases,organizations tend to become more mechanic.

Question 52

Advertising is of great importance only in companies that face less competition and have low sales.

Question 53

A first response for many organizations faced with declining financial resources is to hire employees and increase production.

Question 54

A merger involves the purchase of one organization by another so that the buyer assumes control.

Question 55

Cooptation occurs when leaders from important sectors in the environment are made part of an organization.

Question 56

In rapidly changing environments,the internal organization was much looser,free-flowing,and adaptive,with a loose hierarchy and decentralized decision making.

Question 57

An intelligence team is a cross-functional group of managers and employees,usually led by a competitive intelligence professional.

Question 58

Planning can substitute actions such as effective boundary spanning and adequate internal integration and coordination.

Question 59

Explain the framework used for assessing environmental uncertainty on the dimensions of complexity and stability.

Question 60

Describe boundary-spanning roles and the different approaches to these roles.

Question 61

Describe acquisitions,mergers,joint ventures,and contracts.

Question 62

Discuss organizational differentiation.How is integration connected to differentiation?

Question 63

What are the four techniques used to change a firm's environment?

Question 64

Explain the concept of resource dependence.

Question 65

How do organizations use planning,forecasting,and responsiveness in stable and unstable environments?