Deck 10: Designing Adaptive Organizations

Question 1

Strategy defines what to do;organizing defines how to do it.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The idea that organizations develop a well-defined line of authority that includes all employees is suggested by the virtual network approach.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Despite the apparent advantages of specialization,many organizations are moving away from this principle.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Staff departments perform tasks that reflect the organization's primary goal and mission.

Question 5

A structure graph is a visual representation of an organization's structure,showing communication and lines of power.

Question 6

According to MANAGER'S SHOPTALK in Chapter 10,managers are most comfortable making familiar decisions.

Question 7

According to MANAGER'S SHOPTALK in Chapter 10,the attempt by top management to decentralize decision making often gets bogged down because middle managers are unable to delegate.

Question 8

A relatively few hierarchical levels and a correspondingly narrow span of management refers to a flat structure.

Question 9

The deployment of organizational resources to achieve strategic goals refers to organizing.

Question 10

The flip side of the authority coin is responsibility.

Question 11

The trend in recent years has been toward narrower spans of control as a way to facilitate delegation.

Question 12

Authority is the right to use resources,make decisions and issue orders in an organization.

Question 13

The right to advise,recommend,and counsel in the staff specialists' area of expertise is included in staff authority.

Question 14

The number of employees reporting to a supervisor is his or her span of management.

Question 15

The duty to perform the task or activity an employee has been assigned is called accountability.

Question 16

The framework in which the organization defines how tasks are divided,resources are deployed and departments are coordinated is called organizational structure.

Question 17

Most organizations today discourage managers to delegate authority to the lower levels given the challenges to meet customer needs and adapt to the environment.

Question 18

People in management positions have formal authority to direct and control immediate subordinates.

Question 19

The principle of unity of command suggests that managers within an organization should reach agreement on the goals and objectives of the organization.

Question 20

Organizing defines what to do while strategy defines how to do it.

Question 21

Divisions are created,in functional structures,as self-contained units with separate functional departments for each division.

Question 22

The horizontal structure provides traditional control within functional departments,and the vertical structure provides coordination across departments.

Question 23

Because the chain of command converges at the top,the functional structure provides a way to decentralize decision making and provide unified direction from all managers.

Question 24

At Creative Expressions,departments are grouped together into separate self-contained groups based on common products and product lines.This is an example of departmental approach.

Question 25

The divisional structure encourages decentralization.

Question 26

A cross-functional team normally has two or more groups of employees who are in continuing conflict because of a difference in goals and values.

Question 27

The functional structure is sometimes called a product,a program,or self-contained unit structure.

Question 28

The confusion and frustration caused by the dual chain of command is the major problem of the matrix structure.

Question 29

In a geographic-based structure,all functions in a specific country or region report to the same division manager.

Question 30

Two contemporary approaches to departmentalization are the use of teams and groups.

Question 31

The functional structure offers a way to decentralize decision making and provide direction from the teams in the field.

Question 32

A tall structure is a management structure characterized by an overall narrow span of management and a relatively large number of hierarchical levels.

Question 33

Quick response to external changes is an advantage of vertical functional structure.

Question 34

At Fox End,people are grouped together in departments by common skills and work activities,including a sales department and a production department.This is an example of vertical functional approach.

Question 35

Aspects of both functional and divisional structures simultaneously in the same part of the organization are combined in the virtual network approach.

Question 36

The nature of the virtual network structure means that the subcontractor becomes a permanent part of and an internal division of the organization.

Question 37

The overseer of both the product and functional chains of command,responsible for the entire matrix is the matrix boss.

Question 38

Certainty in the environment is usually associated with decentralization.

Question 39

The basis for grouping positions into departments and departments into the total organization is referred to as departmentalization.

Question 40

In a matrix approach to departmentalization,two chains of command exist,with top priority given to the team managers.

Question 41

The divisional structure fosters excellent coordination within divisions,but coordination across divisions is often poor.

Question 42

A project manager is a person responsible for coordinating the activities of several departments for the completion of a specific project.

Question 43

In the divisional approach,coordination across divisions is great whereas coordination within divisions is often poor.

Question 44

The matrix approach can be highly effective in a complex,rapidly changing environment in which the organization needs to be flexible and adaptable.

Question 45

A permanent team designed to solve short-term problems refers to a task force.

Question 46

One of the disadvantages of team approach is that employees often experience conflicts and dual loyalties.

Question 47

Flexibility and competitiveness on a global scale are the biggest advantage of the virtual network approach to structure.

Question 48

Permanent teams are groups of employees that are organized in a way similar to a formal department.

Question 49

In today's environment,organizations with stronger horizontal designs typically perform better.

Question 50

With a cost leadership strategy,the organization attempts to develop innovative products unique to the market.

Question 51

The structure of an organization is not complete without designing the horizontal as well as the vertical dimensions of structure.

Question 52

The modular approach is similar to virtual networking.

Question 53

Coordination is the quality of collaboration across departments.

Question 54

When an organization uses a differentiation strategy,it strives for internal efficiency.

Question 55

Reengineering basically means preserving the past by establishing the sequence of activities by how work was done.

Question 56

Reengineering is the outcome of information and cooperation.

Question 57

Coordination is especially important in the international arena.

Question 58

One major disadvantage of the virtual network approach is the lack of hands-on control.

Question 59

The radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost,quality,service,and speed is called reengineering.

Question 60

Because the focus of reengineering is on function rather than process,reengineering generally leads to a shift away from a strong horizontal structure to one emphasizing stronger vertical coordination.

Question 61

Traditional views of organizational design recommend a span of management of about 7 to 10 subordinates per manager.

Question 62

According to research,a fundamental principle is that work can be performed more efficiently if employees use no work specialization.

Question 63

A vertical structure that emphasizes specialization and centralization is appropriate when environmental uncertainty is high.

Question 64

Line departments perform tasks that reflect the organization's primary goal and mission.

Question 65

Small-batch production is distinguished by standardized production runs.

Question 66

A loose,horizontal structure in a stable environment is inefficient.

Question 67

A rigid,vertical structure in an uncertain environment prevents the organization form adapting to change.

Question 68

Flexible authority expectations typically would fit with horizontal organizing,such as managing teams,projects,and reengineering.

Question 69

A payroll clerk reports to a chief accountant,who in turn reports to the vice president,who in turn reports to the company president.This is an example of chain of command.

Question 70

Permissive expectations typically would fit in a traditional vertical structure with fixed rules and a clear hierarchy of authority.

Question 71

In the United States and Canada,the trend over the past 30 years has been toward greater centralization of organizations.

Question 72

Large non-profit organizations such as the United Way and Girl Scouts of the USA are known to operate using a matrix structure.

Question 73

Two contingency factors affecting structure are strategic goals and the environment.

Question 74

When work specialization is extensive,employees specialize in a single task.Jobs tend to be small,but they can be performed efficiently.

Question 75

With a virtual structure,the entire organization is made up of horizontal teams that coordinate their work and work directly with customers to accomplish the organization's goals.

Question 76

The acceptance theory of authority argues that managers have authority because of the positions they hold,not the people in those positions.

Question 77

For companies to operate effectively,the amount of centralization or decentralization should fit the firm's strategy.

Question 78

The pure functional structure is appropriate for achieving internal efficiency goals.

Question 79

The functional structure is appropriate when the primary goal is innovation and flexibility.

Question 80

The distinctive feature of the project manager position is that the person is not a member of one of the departments begin coordinated.