Deck 15: Organizational Structure and Controls

Question 1

Communication,coordination,and control are issues that lie at the heart of aligning an organization's structure with its strategy.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

In a simple structure all areas of the company report to a single person.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

One of the ultimate goals of good structure design is to reduce the number of layers in an organization to speed the flow of information.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The first step in a strategic control system is measuring the actual performance.

Question 5

The support staff of an organization consists of groups whose activities provide advice and policy input to the core.

Question 6

Organizations that exhibit intense,high-quality energy are often comfortable,even complacent,and satisfied with the status quo.

Question 7

For each organization,there is one organization structure that will best optimize performance.

Question 8

The matrix structure is a way to achieve a high degree of coordination among several related businesses.

Question 9

The group or groups of an organization that are directly responsible for the competitive advantages that it enjoys are called the core.

Question 10

The coordination required in an organization becomes more difficult as the business becomes more multidimensional with different products and services.

Question 11

A product/market structure is especially appropriate for a business pursuing a market penetration growth strategy.

Question 12

A strategic control system helps top managers evaluate organizational progress.

Question 13

No strategy or organizational design works indefinitely.

Question 14

The conflicts created by specialization,centralization and formalization are a major issue in both large and small organizations.

Question 15

The coordination method of mutual adjustment seems to work best when there is a small group of people and the means to success is uncertain and a strong degree of innovation is required.

Question 16

Structural inertia facilitates change in organizations.

Question 17

A company in which decisions are centralized has empowered people in the lower rungs of the organization to make significant decisions.

Question 18

Restructuring can be defined as a detailed analysis of a firm's competitors and other external stakeholders and competitive forces.

Question 19

A functional structure is designed around the outputs of an organization,as represented by product groups or markets.

Question 20

One example of a leveraged buyout is when a business unit is sold off to its managers.

Question 21

Structural inertia is stronger:

A) In a firm that has been successful over a long period of time
B) In a firm with flexible systems and processes
C) In a firm with a weak culture
D) In a firm that has had low performance over a long period of time

Question 22

Which functional area is largely responsible for spanning the boundary of the organization to interact with customers?

A) Marketing
B) Finance
C) Operations
D) Information systems

Question 23

The elements in a feedback control system include all of the following except:

A) Establishment of targets and time frames in which they should be accomplished
B) Assignment of responsibility for achieving specific targets to managers
C) Development of an action plan
D) Establishment of policies

Question 24

This is a method of coordination where every individual knows everything that is happening in the organization and everyone adapts their work patterns for the conditions at hand.

A) Adhocracy
B) Mutual adjustment
C) Flattened e-mail
D) Ongoing phone tree

Question 25

Companies with divisional structures should create divisions around different product lines but should avoid organizing around geographic areas or customer types.

Question 26

An adhocracy can be effective under certain special conditions such as when goals are unclear and there is no set deadline for a task.

Question 27

A control system that is based on socialization of organizational members is:

A) Bureaucratic control
B) Output control
C) Clan control
D) Process control

Question 28

Growth in size and the need to better manage specialization often lead companies to adopt a functional structure.

Question 29

A matrix structure is intended to make it easy to reassign functional specialists to lines of business where the work is most needed,since the normal ebb and flow of business can create situations in which a particular line of business is over-staffed while another is under-staffed.

Question 30

The forces in a firm that work to maintain the status quo are called:

A) Strategic direction
B) Value impediments
C) Structural inertia
D) Social responsibility

Question 31

The creation of written rules and procedures to replace "seat of the pants" methods for ensuring consistency in organizational operations is called:

A) Bureaucratization
B) Formalization
C) Specialization
D) Rationalization

Question 32

If a firm is very decentralized and has a web of independent offices in each region,with little or no formal hierarchy,which structure is it likely to have?

A) Functional
B) Divisional
C) Matrix
D) Network

Question 33

Which of the following is not a true statement about matrix structures?

A) They are most common in organizations that experience their workload in the form of projects
B) Employees will probably report to two bosses
C) It can be difficult to balance the needs of different lines of authority
D) It is a simple structural form for organizations in environments with a low level of complexity

Question 34

Common feedback control systems include all of the following except:

A) Strategic surveillance
B) Ratio analysis
C) Financial audits
D) Budgets

Question 35

A strategic control system helps managers to assess the relevance of the organization's strategy:

A) To its profitability
B) To its progress in the accomplishment of its goals
C) To the needs of its employees
D) In order to specify product line extensions

Question 36

A control system that consists of policies and guidelines to guide the behavior of organizational members is:

A) Bureaucratic control
B) Output control
C) Clan control
D) Process control

Question 37

Which structure combines the essential elements of the functional and divisional structures?

A) Functional
B) Divisional
C) Matrix
D) Network

Question 38

The fundamental issue that lies at the heart of the alignment of organizational structure with strategy is:

A) Communication
B) Coordination
C) Control
D) All of the above

Question 39

Which organizational structure is organized around inputs or activities that are required to produce products and has a high level of centralization?

A) Functional
B) Divisional
C) Matrix
D) Network

Question 40

One of the weaknesses of a matrix structure is that employees each have two bosses - a functional area head and a line of business head.

Question 41

_____________ is a method of managing or coordinating employees based upon the operations that they perform.

A) Direct supervision
B) Standardization of work processes
C) Outcome oversight
D) Standardization of skills

Question 42

One difficulty that employees face when organized into a matrix structure is that:

A) They each report to two bosses
B) There is no clear path for advancement
C) Functional area managers make unreasonable demands
D) There is no clear way to physically arrange people to facilitate communication

Question 43

Identify the primary features of the divisional structure.

Question 44

Explain the entrepreneurial organizational structure,highlight advantages and disadvantages.

Question 45

A method for managing or coordinating a large number of employees based on their abilities and proficiencies as validated by some external authority is called:

A) Loosely-coupled management
B) Tacit coordination
C) Standardization of work skills
D) Minimal interference management

Question 46

Summarize the five main structural forms.

Question 47

Functional structures are an effective way to organize when:

A) The company begins reporting its financial results publicly
B) A company has completed the process of downscoping
C) Business activity or volume has outgrown a simple structure
D) There is a need to train employees for general management positions

Question 48

A simple structure is best suited for organizations that:

A) Produce a single product or service
B) Are new or nearly new
C) Are trying to maintain an entrepreneurial orientation
D) All of the above

Question 49

What is a matrix structure and when should it be used?

Question 50

Identify the key advantages and disadvantages of the functional structure.

Question 51

What is a strategic control system?

Question 52

A ________ organizational structure is where employees are grouped by expertise or similar activities such as marketing or accounting/finance.

A) Functional
B) Divisional
C) Matrix
D) Simple

Question 53

In a ________ organizational structure all areas of the company report to a single person.

A) Functional
B) Simple
C) One-dimensional
D) Creative

Question 54

What is restructuring and how might a firm restructure?

Question 55

A(n)________ organizational structure is used when everyone in a group is working toward a well-defined goal but the means to achieve that goal are not clear.

A) Matrix
B) Management by objectives (MBO)
C) Adhocracy
D) Incremental

Question 56

Describe the three key groups of people that can be found in every organization.

Question 57

The type of organizational structure in which a company is divided into discrete parts,each of which consists of a fully functioning entity with a complete value chain,is called a(n)________ structure.

A) Matrix
B) Divisional
C) Complex
D) Incubator

Question 58

Describe the roles that the structural facets of specialization,centralization and formalization play in the design of organizations.

Question 59

The organizational structure that creates both a functional home and divisional home for each employee is called a(n)________ structure.

A) M-form
B) Matrix
C) Business neighbourhood
D) Integrated

Question 60

Identify the main features of the holding company structural form and the situations where it may be appropriate.

Question 61

Explain how an organization structure should be designed to facilitate communication,coordination,and control.

Question 62

What are the coordinating mechanisms that an organization might use to manage the efforts of its employees?