Deck 1: Organizations and Organization Theory

Question 1

The importance of organizations includes all of the following concepts except:

A) Create value for owners, customers, and employees
B) Establishing important relationships with the government
C) Facilitate innovation
D) Bring together resources for achieving desired goals and outcomes

Answer 1

B

Question 2

____ has moved to the forefront in light of devastating natural disasters and terrorist attacks all over the world.

A) Prediction management
B) Trend analysis
C) Planning events
D) Crisis management

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following concerns how the organization actually produces the products and services it provides for customers and includes flexible manufacturing, advanced information systems, and the Internet?

A) Size of the organization
B) Organizational technology
C) Organizational goals
D) Organizational culture

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Organizations exist to do which of the following?

A) Bring in a profit
B) Develop advanced manufacturing and information technologies
C) Challenge diversity, ethics, and the motivation and coordination of employees
D) Facilitate innovation

Question 5

Outsourcing firms in low-wage countries can often do work for ____ less than companies based in the United States.

A) 50 to 60 percent
B) 20 to 30 percent
C) 40 to 45 percent
D) 15 to 25 percent

Question 6

____ refer to the deployment of people to various functions and departments.

A) Professionalism
B) Specialization
C) Personnel ratios
D) Hierarchy of authority

Question 7

The key element of an organization is it's

A) buildings and policies.
B) people and their relationships.
C) profits.
D) facilities location.

Question 8

The definition of "organization" is:

A) A goal-directed entity that has members who set goals and achieve them through strategic planning.
B) An entity with identifiable permanent boundaries.
C) A social entity that is goal-directed, has a deliberately-structured activity system, and a permeable boundary.
D) A business that performs work activities and contributes to its society by employing people.

Question 9

Non-profit organization managers deal with many diverse shareholders and must market their services to all of the following except

A) donors.
B) shareholders.
C) clients.
D) volunteers.

Question 10

Which of the following provides labels to describe the internal characteristics of an organization?

A) Contextual dimensions
B) Contingency analysis
C) Organizational dynamics
D) Structural dimensions

Question 11

Compare Ternary Software with Wal-Mart (In Practice activity). These two companies illustrate the concept that:

A) Larger organizations need to have tight controls at the top.
B) Successful organizations can have very different strategies and goal emphases.
C) A moderate to high level of formalization is crucial to an organization's success.
D) Centralization is necessary in organizations when they face high levels of competition.

Question 12

____ is the degree to which an organization achieves its goals.

A) Effectiveness
B) Efficiency
C) Organizational strategy
D) Stakeholder profitability

Question 13

The 385-page book that McDonald's uses to describe all rules and procedures in each of its stores best represents which of the following dimensions:

A) Learning theory.
B) Sequential interdependence.
C) Formalization.
D) Specialization.

Question 14

Organizations create a drive for ____ rather than reliance on standard products and outmoded ways of doing things.

A) profitability
B) fixed structures
C) innovation
D) developing change

Question 15

Contextual dimensions:

A) Represent only the external environment.
B) Are centralization and personnel ratios.
C) Represent only the organization characteristics.
D) Include size and environment.

Question 16

Some specific challenges today's managers and organizations face includes all of the following, except:

A) Ethical scrutiny
B) Increasing diversity
C) A traditional workplace
D) Globalization

Question 17

The degree to which organizational tasks are subdivided into separate jobs is referred to as

A) formalization.
B) specialization.
C) professionalism.
D) centralization.

Question 18

Organizations exist to do all of the following except:

A) Bring together resources to achieve desired goals and outcomes.
B) Create a stable, non-changing environment.
C) Facilitate innovation.
D) Create value for owners, customers, and employees.

Question 19

Financial resources for nonprofit organizations usually come from all of the following except

A) the sale of competitor's products or services.
B) grants.
C) government appropriations.
D) donations.

Question 20

Which of the following is a contextual, rather than a structural dimension of an organization?

A) Labor force
B) Culture
C) Professionalism
D) Centralization

Question 21

Scientific management was:

A) Pioneered by Henri Fayol.
B) An outgrowth of the Hawthorne studies which found that people performed best in an environment of clearly specified, narrow job task.
C) Focused on effectiveness rather than efficiency.
D) Successful at increasing output, in part through the use of incentive systems.

Question 22

Interpretations of ____ concluded that positive treatment of employees improved their motivation and productivity.

A) bureaucratic organizations
B) stakeholder approaches
C) scientific management
D) Hawthorne Studies

Question 23

Contingency means that:

A) Organizations should be structured loosely.
B) Management structure is determined by the era or times.
C) One thing depends on other things, such as structure depending on environment.
D) The key contingent of workers should be college graduates.

Question 24

The science of ____ suggests that relationships in complex, adaptive systems are nonlinear and made up of numerous interconnections and divergent choices that create unintended effects and render the whole unpredictable.

A) organization theory
B) chaos theory
C) meso theory
D) bureaucracy theory

Question 25

____ is the subsystem responsible for directing and coordinating other parts of the organization.

A) The technical core
B) Management
C) Human Resources
D) Accounting

Question 26

____ refers to the amount of resources used to achieve the organization's goals.

A) Stakeholder approach
B) Effectiveness
C) Efficiency
D) Resource management

Question 27

The learning organization:

A) Places high value on problem solving.
B) Emphasizes training as the essential value.
C) Engages people in sessions focused on finding maximum organizational efficiency.
D) Is most effective when the organization's environment is recognized as stable.

Question 28

John Black, a management consultant, successfully implemented and MBO program on his first consulting job. He now recommends MBO to all his clients. In so doing, our text would say the main point is that he is ignoring:

A) The latest techniques for solving problems.
B) The principles of contingency theory.
C) The external environment of the organization.
D) The internal environment of the organization.

Question 29

Which of the following integrates diverse organizational activities by looking at various organizational stakeholders and what they want from the organization?

A) Effectiveness
B) Organizational culture
C) Efficiency
D) Stakeholder approach

Question 30

In today's world, savvy managers recognize:

A) They cannot measure, predict or control their environment.
B) Centralized structures help them to cope with organizational demands.
C) They do the "thought" work while employees perform their labor.
D) Leadership is based on thoroughness of written documents.

Question 31

Scientific management, pioneered by Frederick Taylor, claimed that decisions about organizations and job design should be based on:

A) Precise, scientific procedures after careful study of individual situations.
B) The insights of practitioners.
C) Leadership, motivation, and human resource management.
D) Management theory.

Question 32

Managers carefully balance the needs and interests of various stakeholders in setting goals and striving for effectiveness. This refers to

A) scientific management.
B) the stakeholder approach.
C) organization theory.
D) chaos theory.

Question 33

Which of the following is very large, typically mature, and the technical core is often oriented to mass production?

A) Machine bureaucracy
B) Entrepreneurial structure
C) Adhocracy
D) Professional bureaucracy

Question 34

Which of the following has discretion and responsibility, allowing the person to use his or her discretion and ability to achieve an outcome or meet a goal?

A) Stakeholder
B) Norm
C) Task
D) Role

Question 35

Mintzberg's five basic parts of an organization include all except which of the following:

A) Administrative support.
B) Middle management.
C) Technical support.
D) Computer infrastructure.

Question 36

____ emphasized designing and managing organization on an impersonal, rational basis through such elements as clearly defined authority and responsibility, formal record keeping, and uniform application of standard rules.

A) Hawthorne Studies
B) Scientific management
C) Bureaucratic organizations
D) Contingency theory

Question 37

Functions such as human resources, organizational development, the employee cafeteria, and maintenance staff refer to which of the following five basic parts of an organization:

A) Technical support.
B) Human infrastructure.
C) Administrative support.
D) None of these.

Question 38

The technical core refers to:

A) The computer hardware that runs information processing in the organization.
B) The people who do the basic work of the organization, producing product and service outputs.
C) Administrators who run the organization.
D) Top management that has been promoted from within and thereby knows the inner core of organizational processes.

Question 39

Organizations with a(n) ____ are mature firms that are extremely large and are subdivided into product or market groups.

A) professional bureaucracy
B) machine bureaucracy
C) entrepreneurial structure
D) diversified form

Question 40

Which of the following is typically a new, small start-up company?

A) Diversified form
B) Machine bureaucracy
C) Entrepreneurial structure
D) Adhocracy

Question 41

Which of the following is not an element of organizational design?

A) Structure
B) Systems
C) Technological advances
D) Tasks

Question 42

Common structural variables studied as dimensions of organizations are goals, culture, and environment.

Question 43

A key element of an organization is a building or set of policies and procedures, not the people and their relationships.

Question 44

____ become collaborators as well as competitors, experimenting to find the best way to learn and adapt.

A) Organizations
B) Theories
C) Bureaucracies
D) Tasks

Question 45

The eleven contextual and structural dimensions are not dependent on each other.

Question 46

One reason organizations exist is to shape the lives of all the organizational stakeholders.

Question 47

E-business and through the use of computer-based manufacturing technologies are two ways companies produce and distribute desirable goods and services more efficiently.

Question 48

Today, companies are cooperating with their competitors, sharing information and technology to their mutual advantage.

Question 49

Global Outsourcing and strategic partnering with foreign firms are related trends to gain a global advantage.

Question 50

The underlying set of key values, beliefs, understandings, and norms shared by employees is referred to as an organization's culture.

Question 51

Which of the following describes the study of organizational behavior?

A) The same as the study of organization theory.
B) A macro analysis of the whole organization.
C) Focus on people, structure, and environment.
D) A micro approach focusing on the individual.

Question 52

Organizations are currently operating in a stable environment, so managers can focus on designing structures and systems that keeps the organization running efficiently.

Question 53

The amount of written documentation in the organization is called formalization.

Question 54

Financial resources for nonprofits typically come from government appropriations, grants, and donations rather than from the sale of products or services to customers.

Question 55

The study of organization behavior is:

A) Different from the study of organization theory because of a different focus.
B) The same thing as the study of organization theory.
C) An "umbrella" that encompasses the study of organization theory.
D) A subset of organization theory.

Question 56

Outsourcing firms in low-wage countries can often do work for 70 to 80 percent less than companies based in the United States.

Question 57

The primary level of analysis in organization theory is on the ____, with some concern for the ____ and the ____.

A) departments, employees, environment
B) organization, environment, departments
C) environment, organization, departments
D) organization, environment, individual

Question 58

The six structural dimensions of organization design are formalization, specialization, culture, environment, hierarchy of authority, professionalism, and goals and strategy.

Question 59

An organization's culture is usually contained in the written policy manual.

Question 60

Professionalism is the level of formal education and training of employees.

Question 61

In the learning organization, everyone knows how the organization works and how everything fits together.

Question 62

Research has shown that the assessment of multiple stakeholder groups is an accurate reflection of organizational effectiveness, especially with respect to organizational adaptability.

Question 63

The classical perspective of organization design sought to make organizations run like learning organizations in a turbulent environment.

Question 64

Because of the Hawthorne Studies, a revolution in worker treatment took place and laid the groundwork for subsequent work examining treatment of workers, leadership, motivation, and human resource management.

Question 65

Scientific management focused on primarily the technical core, whereas administrative principles focused on the design and functioning of the organization as a whole.

Question 66

In all organizations, managers have to evaluate stakeholder concerns and establish goals that can achieve at least minimal satisfaction for major stakeholder groups.

Question 67

In the learning organization, the vertical structure that creates distance between managers at the top and workers in the technical core is disbanded.

Question 68

Usually, organizations can easily satisfy the demands of all of its stakeholders simultaneously.

Question 69

The stakeholder approach integrates diverse organizational activities by looking at various organizational stakeholders and what they want from the organization.

Question 70

The primary level of analysis in organization theory is first line supervision.

Question 71

For much of the twentieth century, organizations operated in a world that was relatively stable, but today the environment can be characterized as turbulent.

Question 72

The administrative support function is a distinct function, responsible for directing and coordinating other parts of the organization.

Question 73

Efficiency refers to the amount of resources used to achieve the organization's goals, whereas effectiveness refers to the degree to which an organization achieves its goals.

Question 74

Organizations with an entrepreneurial structure are mature firms that are extremely large and are subdivided into product or market groups.

Question 75

The machine bureaucracy is very large, typically mature, and the technical core is often oriented to mass production.

Question 76

Contingency means that one thing depends on other things, and for organizations to be effective, there must be a "goodness of fit" between their structure and the conditions of their external environment.

Question 77

In a learning organization, the culture encourages openness, equality, continuous improvement, and change.

Question 78

The new mindset has spurred many organizations to shift from strict horizontal hierarchies to centralized structures.

Question 79

Organizations today have rigid boundaries separating them from other organizations.

Question 80

Scientific management focused on the total organization and grew from the insights of practitioners.