Deck 6: Organization Structure

Question 1

________ prevents a single employee from getting conflicting orders from two different superiors.

A)Line authority
B)Unity of command
C)Staff authority
D)Chain of command

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Functional departmentalization groups jobs by ________.

A)tasks they perform
B)territories they serve
C)products or services they manufacture or produce
D)type of customer they serve

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A soap company that features a bath soap department, a laundry detergent department, and a dish soap department is using which of the following?

A)process departmentalization
B)functional departmentalization
C)product departmentalization
D)customer departmentalization

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Today, managers favor this approach with regard to work specialization.

A)All tasks are performed by all employees to promote fairness.
B)Partners switch jobs every half hour to overcome boredom.
C)Employees specialize to maintain efficiency.
D)Monotonous tasks are shared by all employees to prevent perceived favoritism.

Question 5

What kind of departmentalization would be in place in a government agency in which there are separate departments that provide services for employers, employed workers, unemployed workers, and the disabled?

A)product
B)geographic
C)outcome
D)customer

Question 6

The chain of command answers this question.

A)Where do I go for help?
B)How do I know when the task is complete?
C)What are the rules?
D)Who reports to whom?

Question 7

Which of the following are NOT basic elements of organizational design?

A)work specialization, span of control
B)chain of command, line authority
C)centralization, decentralization
D)departmentalization, formalization

Question 8

Organizational design requires a manager to ________.

A)decide who leads a group within an organization
B)change the culture of an organization
C)change or develop the structure of an organization
D)change the logo of an organization

Question 9

State motor vehicle offices usually use this kind of departmentalization.

A)product
B)functional
C)customer
D)process

Question 10

Staff managers have authority over ________.

A)special support employees only
B)line managers
C)middle managers
D)the person above them in the chain of command

Question 11

________ departmentalization is based on territory or the physical location of employees or customers.

A)Functional
B)Product
C)Geographic
D)Matrix

Question 12

The line of authority that extends from the upper levels of management to the lowest levels of the organization is termed the ________.

A)chain of responsibility
B)unity of command
C)staff authority
D)chain of command

Question 13

In the chain of command, each person above you ________.

A)has special privileges
B)receives higher pay
C)has line authority
D)has no right to give you orders

Question 14

Early supporters of work specialization saw it as ________.

A)a reliable way to increase productivity
B)a good way to increase employee morale
C)a source of innovation
D)an immoral way to coerce workers into greater productivity

Question 15

Which statement accurately defines work specialization?

A)It is the degree to which tasks are grouped together.
B)Individual employees specialize in doing part of an activity rather than the entire activity.
C)Jobs are ranked relative only to their worth or value to the businesses.
D)Work specialization clarifies who reports to whom.

Question 16

Line authority gives a manager the ability to direct the work of ________.

A)any employee in the firm
B)any subordinate
C)any subordinate, after consulting with the next higher level
D)only subordinates one level down

Question 17

Which of the following is synonymous with work specialization?

A)division of labor
B)job discrimination
C)chain of command
D)job preference

Question 18

All of the following are part of the process of organizational design EXCEPT ________.

A)deciding how specialized jobs should be
B)determining rules for employee behavior
C)determining the level at which decisions are made
D)determining goals for the organization

Question 19

Early users of work specialization in the early twentieth century found that the practice ultimately resulted in ________.

A)higher profits and better employee morale
B)bored workers with low morale
C)huge and permanent productivity gains
D)better communication among employees

Question 20

Authority gives an individual the right to do this.

A)give orders
B)reprimand employees
C)command respect
D)obey orders

Question 21

In recent years, organizations have become more ________ to be responsive to a dynamic business environment.

A)centralized
B)decentralized
C)structured
D)mechanistic

Question 22

The importance of unity of command has diminished in today's workplace because of its tendency to be ________.

A)inflexible and inefficient
B)ethically questionable
C)chauvinistic and dictatorial
D)too decisive

Question 23

Which of the following statements is true?

A)Power is a type of authority.
B)Authority and power are identical.
C)Authority is a type of power.
D)Power is determined by horizontal position in an organization.

Question 24

A traditional "top down" organization is ________ organization.

A)a largely centralized
B)a largely decentralized
C)an absolutely decentralized
D)an absolutely centralized

Question 25

The personal secretary of a top manager may have ________.

A)power but not authority
B)authority but not power
C)power and authority
D)line authority but not staff authority

Question 26

As represented in a hierarchical organization diagram, authority is based on ________.

A)vertical position only
B)horizontal position only
C)distance from the center only
D)horizontal and vertical position

Question 27

Which of the following statements is true?

A)Power is a right.
B)Authority is one's ability to influence decisions.
C)Authority is a right.
D)Both power and authority are rights.

Question 28

When a top manager decides to hire an individual over the objections of her staff, she is exercising which kind of power?

A)referent
B)expert
C)coercive
D)legitimate

Question 29

In today's decentralized business world, ________ the most important strategic decisions.

A)top managers still primarily make
B)middle managers make
C)lower-level managers make
D)nonmanagerial employees make

Question 30

The traditional view holds that managers should directly supervise ________ subordinates.

A)no more than three
B)no more than six
C)around twelve
D)around twenty

Question 31

As represented in a power cone, power is based on ________.

A)vertical position only
B)horizontal position only
C)distance from the center only
D)vertical position and distance from the center

Question 32

A bank manager who passes out bonuses at the end of the year is exercising this.

A)reward power
B)coercive power
C)expert power
D)referent power

Question 33

Modern managers find that they can ________ if their employees are experienced, well-trained, and motivated.

A)increase their span of control
B)decrease their span of control
C)eliminate their span of control
D)fluctuate their span of control

Question 34

________ is the power that rests on the leader's ability to punish or control.

A)Reward power
B)Coercive power
C)Expert power
D)Referent power

Question 35

________ is the obligation or expectation to perform a duty.

A)Responsibility
B)Unity of command
C)Chain of command
D)Span of control

Question 36

________ is the power that arises when a person is close to another person who has great power and authority.

A)Expert power
B)Referent power
C)Reward power
D)Legitimate power

Question 37

All of the following are characteristics of a highly formalized organization EXCEPT ________.

A)explicit job descriptions
B)little discretion for employees
C)minimum number of rules
D)a standardized way of doing things

Question 38

________ reflects the degree to which decision making is distributed throughout the hierarchy rather than concentrated at the top.

A)Centralization
B)Span of control
C)Concentration
D)Decentralization

Question 39

A construction site supervisor who sees an impending thunderstorm and tells workers to go home is demonstrating ________.

A)line authority
B)staff delegation
C)provisional accountability
D)responsibility

Question 40

Your firm's attorney has ________ power when giving legal advice.

A)legitimate
B)status
C)expert
D)coercive

Question 41

Eric sees this new assignment as an increase in ________, or an obligation or expectation for him to perform at a new level.

A)functional structure
B)divisional structure
C)responsibility
D)authority

Question 42

Staff authority is the ability to direct the work of any employee who does not have a higher rank in the organization.

Question 43

When decisions tend to be made at lower levels in an organization, the organization is said to be centralized.

Question 44

Today, most managers see work specialization as a source of ever-increasing productivity.

Question 45

Departmentalization is how jobs are grouped.

Question 46

Power is a right that a manager has when he or she has a higher rank in an organization.

Question 47

Traditional organizations are structured in a pyramid, with the power and authority located in the pyramid's broad base.

Question 48

Today's managers are moving away from formalization and trying to be this.

A)more rigorous
B)more flexible
C)more strict
D)less permissive

Question 49

Today's managers expect employees to ________.

A)ignore rules for the most part
B)use discretion when it comes to following rules
C)faithfully follow rules even when it may harm the organization
D)make their own rules

Question 50

Line authority can be exerted only after a manager checks with his or her superior.

Question 51

The original ideas about organizational design formulated by Fayol and Weber are now largely obsolete.

Question 52

Eric is offered a chance to help direct the efforts of some employees assigned to his work group.This is a chance for Eric to experience ________.

A)functional structure
B)divisional structure
C)responsibility
D)authority

Question 53

The advantage of work specialization is that it always results in high employee motivation and high productivity.

Question 54

When work specialization originally began to be implemented early in the twentieth century, employee productivity initially rose.

Question 55

There are four basic elements in organizational design.

Question 56

Unity of command prevents an employee from trying to follow two conflicting commands at once.

Question 57

Grouping jobs on the basis of major product areas is termed customer departmentalization.

Question 58

The jobs of assembly-line employees are to be changed to allow more tasks to be done by individual workers.This is a reduction in ________.

A)work specialization
B)departmentalization
C)chain of command
D)centralization

Question 59

Organizational design is the process in which managers change or develop an organization's structure.

Question 60

In a short essay, list and explain three key elements in designing an organization's structure.

Question 61

The two prevalent organizational structure models in today's world are the organic organization and the inorganic organization.

Question 62

The greater the environmental uncertainty, the more an organization needs to become ________.

A)organic
B)mechanistic
C)stable
D)high-tech

Question 63

A(n)________ organization is able to change rapidly as needs require.

A)organic
B)hierarchical
C)vertical
D)mechanistic

Question 64

Which term best describes an organic organization?

A)hierarchical
B)pyramid-shaped
C)flexible
D)fixed

Question 65

Joan Woodward conducted pioneering studies on how this affected the structure of companies.

A)ethics
B)technology
C)values
D)corporate culture

Question 66

A(n)________ organization has a high degree of specialization, formalization, and centralization.

A)organic
B)horizontal
C)learning
D)mechanistic

Question 67

Woodward concluded that the least complex of the technologies was ________.

A)unit production
B)mass production
C)process production
D)quality production

Question 68

Recent studies on Woodward's initial research found that if the technology was nonroutine, this structure worked best.

A)mechanistic
B)traditional
C)inorganic
D)organic

Question 69

Which of the following would likely be found in mechanistic organizations?

A)wide span of control
B)empowered employees
C)decentralized responsibility
D)standardized jobs

Question 70

Innovators need the efficiency, stability, and tight controls of a mechanistic structure rather than an organic structure.

Question 71

A company that is trying to be a leader in innovation within its industry would be most likely to have this kind of structure.

A)mechanistic
B)organic
C)simple
D)functional

Question 72

In Woodward's study, this type of production was the most complex and the most sophisticated.

A)unit production
B)mass production
C)process production
D)technological production

Question 73

As an organization grows to a size of over 2,000 employees, it finds it hard to avoid becoming more ________.

A)mechanistic
B)organic
C)informal
D)adaptable

Question 74

In a short essay, list and discuss three common forms of departmentalization.

Question 75

Which word best characterizes a mechanistic organization?

A)bureaucracy
B)collaborative
C)adaptable
D)informal

Question 76

A mechanistic organization is bureaucratic and hierarchical.

Question 77

An organic organization tends to be flexible and have few formal rules.

Question 78

Larger organizations tend to have ________ than smaller organizations.

A)more specialization
B)less departmentalization
C)less centralization
D)fewer rules and regulations

Question 79

Together, contingency variables determine the ________.

A)success of an organization
B)culture of an organization
C)structure of an organization
D)size of an organization

Question 80

Strategy, size, technology, and the degree of uncertainty in the environment together make up what are called ________.

A)contingency variables
B)control factors
C)structure variables
D)probable factors