Deck 9: Organizational Structure

Question 1

A disadvantage of line structure is that it forces managers to perform too broad a range of duties.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

When organizations transition to virtual organizations,leaders must move from a control model to a trust method.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The Internet has greatly impacted today's organizational structures.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

In functional departmentalization,employees have a restricted view of the organization.

Question 5

A flat structure has relatively small spans of management at each level.

Question 6

Japanese organizations historically have had more middle managers and taller structures than American organizations.

Question 7

Strategy is not the only variable that has a bearing on structure.

Question 8

Studies conducted by James Worthy on flat versus tall organizations and studies conducted by Rocco Carzo and John Yanouzas in the same area have shown conflicting results.

Question 9

Functional departmentalization provides opportunities for training for executive personnel by letting them experience a broad range of functional activities.

Question 10

The line and staff organization allows lesser specialization and flexibility than does the simple line organization.

Question 11

Large organizations tend to be more centralized.

Question 12

In horizontal organizations,employees are not empowered.

Question 13

In a horizontal organization,customers drive performance.

Question 14

A tall structure has many levels of management.

Question 15

The use of outsourcing should be just a short-term fix to reduce costs and not a long-term strategy.

Question 16

Product departmentalization adapts best to small,limited product organizations.

Question 17

The craft or family stage is characterized by the absence of formal policies,objectives,and structure.

Question 18

Organic systems are characterized by rigid delineation of functional duties.

Question 19

The structure of an organization is an indication of how information is transmitted.

Question 20

Rocco Carzo and John Yanouzas found that groups operating in a flat structure had significantly better performance than those operating in a tall structure.

Question 21

Over the past 25 years many American organizations have experienced downsizing that has resulted in flatter structures with wider spans of control.

Question 22

All committees are permanent.

Question 23

Which of the following is characteristic of mechanistic systems?

A) They require more participation than organic systems.
B) They have less fixed authority.
C) They place greater emphasis on adaptability than organic systems.
D) They consist of precise job descriptions.
E) They involve wide and general tasks.

Question 24

Many organizations have abandoned the more traditional line and staff structures in favor of horizontal structures and virtual organizations.

Question 25

Which of the following is true about organization growth stages?

A) The craft or family stage is characterized by the presence of formal policies, objectives, and structure.
B) During the entrepreneurial stage, the organization grows first at an increasing and then a decreasing rate.
C) The operations of the organization at the professional management stage generally center on one individual or a very small number of individuals and one functional area.
D) The entrepreneurial stage is the third stage of growth.
E) By the end of the third stage of growth, the professional manager evolves into an entrepreneur.

Question 26

As organizations grow and experience success,they tend to evolve into increasingly simple and lean structures.

Question 27

The _____ stage of organization growth is characterized by the absence of formal policies,objectives,and structure.

A) decline
B) craft
C) entrepreneurial
D) professional management
E) maturity

Question 28

A simple form with a lean staff allows an organization to adjust more rapidly to a fast-changing environment.

Question 29

Which of the following is true of the studies conducted by Joan Woodward on organization and technology?

A) The number of levels in an organization decreased as technical complexity increased.
B) The ratio of managers and supervisors to total personnel decreased as technical complexity increased.
C) The unit or small-batch mode of production represented the upper end of the technical complexity scale.
D) Firms were grouped along a continuum from technical diffuseness to technical specificity.
E) No significant relationship existed between technical complexity and organizational size.

Question 30

Committees represent an important part of most traditional organization structures.

Question 31

Organic systems are characterized by _____.

A) rigid delineation of functional duties
B) precise job descriptions
C) fixed authority and responsibility
D) greater emphasis on adaptability than mechanistic systems
E) lesser participation than mechanistic systems

Question 32

Teams are the counterpart to committees in nontraditional horizontal structures and virtual organizations.

Question 33

In which stage does the organization become characterized by written policies,procedures,and plans?

A) Organic stage
B) Mechanistic stage
C) Craft stage
D) Professional management stage
E) Family stage

Question 34

As more and more employees become empowered,companies will put lesser emphasis on managing through teams.

Question 35

Which of the following is true about factors affecting organization structure?

A) Small organizations tend to be more decentralized than larger organizations.
B) The process of matching structure to strategy is simple and hence should not be given any importance.
C) Structural changes take place as an organization grows in size.
D) An organization's strategy is the only variable that has a bearing on its structure.
E) Organic systems are characterized by a rigid delineation of functional duties.

Question 36

Which of the following is true of organic systems?

A) Communication content is largely instructions and decisions issued by superiors in organic systems.
B) Firms in dynamic industries tend to be organic in structure.
C) Structure of control, authority, and communication is hierarchical in organic systems.
D) Organic systems are characterized by lesser participation than mechanistic systems.
E) Organic systems have a better developed organizational hierarchy than mechanistic systems.

Question 37

Board members do not necessarily need to own stock.

Question 38

_____ is the framework that defines the boundaries of the formal organization.

A) Organization strategy
B) Power structure
C) Job scope
D) Organization structure
E) Organizational authority

Question 39

Committees become more efficient as they grow in size.

Question 40

Microsoft,Nike,and Apple are characterized by a(n)_____ system which helps them move swiftly into new and as yet untapped markets and product lines.

A) isolated
B) mechanistic
C) organic
D) hierarchical
E) control

Question 41

_____ is emphasized in horizontal structure.

A) Profitability
B) Customer satisfaction
C) Functional goal attainment
D) High levels of supervision
E) Stock appreciation

Question 42

The _____ approach to organization structure states that the most appropriate structure depends on the technology used,the rate of environmental change,and other dynamic forces.

A) horizontal
B) vertical
C) contingency
D) departmentalization
E) outsourcing

Question 43

Under a _____ system,the functional personnel are assigned to and evaluated by the project manager while they work on the project.

A) line
B) line-staff
C) matrix
D) virtual
E) horizontal

Question 44

Which of the following is true about customer departmentalization?

A) It groups all activities necessary to produce and market a product under one manager.
B) It will cause problems if departments become overly competitive to the detriment of the overall organization.
C) It permits the use of local employees or salespeople.
D) It allows for specialization within functions.
E) It eliminates chances of duplication of facilities and equipment.

Question 45

Which of the following is true about line structures?

A) It delays decision making and results in "passing the buck."
B) It exists most frequently in large organizations.
C) It is the most complex organization structure.
D) Managers perform too broad a range of duties in this structure.
E) It is characterized by horizontal links between the different levels of the organization.

Question 46

_____ refers to grouping jobs into related work units on the basis of work functions,product,geography,customer,technique,or time.

A) Job specification
B) Departmentalization
C) Broadbanding
D) Job depth
E) Job sharing

Question 47

_____ is the practice of subcontracting certain work functions to an outside entity.

A) Outsourcing
B) Franchising
C) Turnkey
D) Job sharing
E) Expatriation

Question 48

_____ is the simplest organization structure and is characterized by vertical links between the different levels of the organization.

A) Line structure
B) Project structure
C) Team structure
D) Virtual structure
E) Line and staff structure

Question 49

If an organization has one department dedicated to handle retail clients and one department to handle industrial clients,it is implementing a _____ departmentalization.

A) customer
B) product
C) hybrid
D) process
E) geographic

Question 50

Which of the following is an example of staff function?

A) Production
B) Marketing
C) Sales
D) Finance
E) Research and development

Question 51

Outsourcing increases _____.

A) in-house skills and provides better control
B) time spent on routine areas
C) inefficiency in resource allocation
D) operating costs
E) access to top talent and state-of-the-art technology

Question 52

Which of the following is true about horizontal structure?

A) Hierarchy is tall to increase supervision.
B) Customer contact is minimized with employees.
C) The emphasis is on achieving financial goals.
D) Team performances are discouraged.
E) Informing and training all employees is emphasized.

Question 53

_____ departmentalization occurs when organization units are defined by the nature of the work.

A) Customer
B) Functional
C) Geographic
D) Hybrid
E) Product

Question 54

Which of the following is true about line and staff functions?

A) Staff functions relate directly to the attainment of major organizational objectives.
B) Line functions are advisory and supportive in nature.
C) Staff people's authority is normally limited to making recommendations to line people.
D) Examples of staff functions include production and marketing of products and services.
E) Staff managers perform broader range of activities than line managers.

Question 55

Which of the following is true of outsourcing?

A) It increases personnel headaches.
B) It results in a large number of jobs being lost to other countries.
C) It results in inefficiency in resource allocation.
D) It guarantees providing higher service standards.
E) It enhances the morale of the workforce even if too many areas are dominated by outside vendors.

Question 56

Which of the following statements is true about matrix form of organization?

A) It hampers interdepartmental cooperation.
B) It results in the development of a horizontal-line organization for the project within the parent vertical-line structure.
C) It is also known as union organization.
D) It is difficult to change the mix of people and resources as the project needs change.
E) It is relatively difficult for the project members to move back into the functional organization once the project has ended.

Question 57

The _____ form of organization is a way of forming project teams within the traditional line-staff organization.

A) horizontal
B) virtual
C) matrix
D) product
E) customer

Question 58

Which of the following is a line function?

A) Research and development
B) Personnel management
C) Employee training
D) Production management
E) Performance appraisal

Question 59

Which of the following is true of functional departmentalization?

A) It allows employees to identify with a particular product and thus develop esprit de corps.
B) It reduces conflict among different departments striving for different goals.
C) It allows for specialization within functions.
D) It results in an inefficient use of equipment and resources, and potential diseconomies of scale.
E) Under this system, employees locked into their functions will have an unrestricted view of the organization.

Question 60

_____ departmentalization occurs in organizations that maintain physically dispersed and autonomous operations or offices.

A) Customer
B) Product
C) Functional
D) Process
E) Geographic

Question 61

A(n)_____ is a type of committee that is responsible for reviewing the major policy and strategy decisions proposed by top management.

A) focus group
B) interest group
C) cross-functional team
D) board of directors
E) quality circle

Question 62

Which of the following is true about boards of directors?

A) They can be characterized as either inside or outside boards.
B) Board members necessarily need to own stock.
C) They cannot participate in the day-to-day operations of the organization.
D) The role the board plays as an entity should be different for inside boards and outside boards.
E) Those who do not hold management positions in the organization cannot be members of boards.

Question 63

List the characteristics of a mechanistic system and an organic system.

Question 64

Explain the contingency approach to organization structure.

Question 65

List a few variables affecting an organization's structure.

Question 66

What are the three common types of virtual organizations that have been identified?

Question 67

Discuss the various methods of selecting committees and the advantages and disadvantages associated with each method.

Question 68

Flat structures differ from tall structures in that flat structures _____.

A) have relatively small spans of management
B) have relatively fewer levels
C) are only associated with job dissatisfaction
D) discourage the delegation of authority to other levels
E) have the most amount of employee supervision

Question 69

Which of the following statements is true about the historical trends in organization structure?

A) Japanese organizations historically have had more middle managers and taller structures than American organizations.
B) Over the past 25 years many American organizations have adopted flatter structures with wider spans of control.
C) As organizations grow and experience success, they tend to evolve into increasingly simple and lean structures.
D) Beginning in the early 1980s emphasis has shifted to the concept of a tall form and more staff from a flat form and a lean staff.
E) Toyota has historically had many levels of management than has General Motors, Ford, or Chrysler.

Question 70

Which of the following is true about virtual organizations?

A) They create an imbalance in the employee's professional and personal life.
B) They increase the cost of doing business.
C) They allow flexibility in business.
D) They require employees to be located geographically close to the organization.
E) They are traditional organizations that depend less on information technology.

Question 71

Which of the following is true of committees?

A) They cannot be temporary.
B) They represent an important part of nontraditional organization structures.
C) Teams are the counterpart to committees in traditional structures.
D) They are in charge of, or supplementary to, the line and staff functions.
E) They are groups of people who are informally appointed.

Question 72

Which of the following statements is true about an organization with a simple form and a lean staff?

A) It allows an organization to adjust rapidly to a fast-changing environment.
B) It restricts innovation.
C) It makes it difficult for the managers to monitor employee behavior.
D) It indicates that the organization will fail.
E) It delays decision-making.

Question 73

Which of the following was the conclusion derived from the studies conducted by Rocco Carzo and John Yanouzas?

A) The mix of people and resources remains constant for every project in a matrix structure.
B) Groups operating in a tall structure had significantly better performance than those operating in a flat structure.
C) Organizations with fewer levels and wider spans of management offered the potential for greater job satisfaction.
D) A simple form and a lean structure adjusted rather slowly to a fast-changing work environment.
E) Virtual organizations are inflexible and inefficient.

Question 74

What are the new trends with regard to boards of directors?

Question 75

What are the problems associated with line and staff organization?

Question 76

What are the two core groups in a horizontal structure?

Question 77

Explain committees and boards of directors.

Question 78

To increase the efficiency of a committee,it is important to _____.

A) keep the size of the committee large
B) communicate the limits of the committee's authority
C) select representative members when possible
D) avoid selecting members from the same approximate organizational level
E) keep information about the expected duration confidential from the temporary committee members

Question 79

_____ plays a central role in allowing virtual organizations to form.

A) Vertical division of labor
B) Span of management
C) Team performance
D) Information technology
E) Location of the company

Question 80

What are the challenges of transitioning to a virtual organization?