Deck 9: The Principles of Organizing

Question 1

The quality of line/staff relationships depends on how clearly top-level managers have defined the scope of activities and authority of the staff.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A manager's organizing function consists of designing a structure for grouping activities,and assigning them to specific work units.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Supervisors should resist the temptation to assign more work to more capable employees and less work to those who are less skilled.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Organizational structures will tend to be taller when spans of management are wider.

Question 5

Line authority is the right to direct others and to require them to conform to decisions,policies,rules,and objectives.

Question 6

Informal organizations do not exist in well-run companies.

Question 7

Departments exist because no one can manage an unlimited number of employees.

Question 8

There is less confusion when an employee reports to multiple supervisors because there are more people to guide the employee in the right direction.

Question 9

Upper-level managers generally have more subordinates than first-level supervisors.

Question 10

Work specialization holds that jobs can be divided into smaller components and tasks to increase efficiency and output.

Question 11

According to the unity-of-command principle,all supervisors should make decisions together so their orders are not contradictory.

Question 12

Informal groups always make a supervisor's job easier.

Question 13

Informal groups cannot satisfy the needs of their members.Only formal groups can.

Question 14

Organizing the overall activities of an enterprise is the responsibility of the chief executive,not supervisors.

Question 15

Numerous research studies have demonstrated that informal groups can influence employees to restrict production and work against supervisors.

Question 16

The number of employees a supervisor can manage is dependent in part on the level of employees' capabilities.

Question 17

Louella has a great deal of staff assistance available to her.She will probably have a narrower span of management than those supervisors who have no staff assistance.

Question 18

Once the supervisor's span of management is established,it cannot be increased or decreased.

Question 19

Departmentation by geographic location is highly inefficient and is rarely used in most organizations today.

Question 20

Span of management refers to the amount of control a supervisor possesses.

Question 21

Meetings should be called by supervisors on a frequent basis regardless of necessity.

Question 22

Many companies base job descriptions on information provided by the people who actually perform the work.

Question 23

An organizational manual is a graphic portrayal of a company's authority and responsibility relationships.

Question 24

First and foremost,supervisors should plan their organizational structure around employee personalities.

Question 25

Sean and Maurice are colleagues at work.They get along very well.They regularly discuss professional as well as social matters and occasionally meet after work with their families.Which of the following types of organization does the association between Sean and Maurice demonstrate?

A)Organic organization
B)Mechanistic organization
C)Formal organization
D)Informal organization

Question 26

The primary purpose of staff authority is to provide line personnel with advice and counseling.

Question 27

The project management-type organizational structure is a good example of how the unity-of-command principle can be used effectively.

Question 28

Employee productivity skyrockets in firms that downsize repeatedly because the remaining workers do not want to be the next to be laid off.

Question 29

No organization should become overly dependent on one or several "indispensable" individuals.

Question 30

Supervisors cannot eliminate an informal organization:

A)because the grapevine will always alert group members of the supervisors' intention to do so.
B)unless they befriend the group's leader.
C)because they did not establish the organization.
D)until they create jobs for their employees that meet all of the employees' social and security needs.

Question 31

Other names for downsizing are right-sizing and restructuring.

Question 32

Supervisors should utilize the organizational structure they believe can best achieve a department's objectives.

Question 33

Theterm _____refers to any group structured by management to carry outdesignatedfunctionsand accomplish certain objectives.

A)specification
B)specialization
C)organization
D)diversification

Question 34

Without a proper chairperson,meetings will not be effective.

Question 35

A formal organization structure is based on a company's number and types of departments,positions and functions,and authority and reporting relationships.

Question 36

Which of the following needs do informal organizations satisfy?

A)Physiological needs
B)Biological needs
C)Social needs
D)Self actualization needs

Question 37

Before recruiting for an open position,a supervisor would want to have a job description,not job specifications.

Question 38

The only benefit to preparing an organizational chart is to acquaint employees with the structure of a department and an enterprise.

Question 39

One concern of a virtual corporation is that a firm might lose control over its own operations.

Question 40

The most frequent problem associated with the project management-type organizational structure is direct accountability.

Question 41

Dividing work into components and specific tasks to improve efficiency and output is called:

A)distribution.
B)specialization.
C)classification.
D)diversification.

Question 42

Which of the following is an advantage of maintaining an organizational chart?

A)It helps employees understand organizational authority and responsibility relationships.
B)It provides a demographic overview of employees working in an organization.
C)It helps an organization's top-level management in assessing the performance of its employees.
D)It helps an organization in defining goals for its employee.

Question 43

Which of the following is NOT a factor that influences the span of management?

A)Gender
B)Employee abilities
C)Specialized staff assistance
D)Location

Question 44

Brandon has been appointed as the lead IT analyst for a resource center project at a small e-commerce company.For the time being,his primary supervisor will be the manager of the resource center.However,he will also report to the company's IT manager for technical issues and tasks.This type of structure is referred to as _____.

A)functional structure
B)grapevine organizational structure
C)project management structure
D)organic structure

Question 45

Trisha is a top-level manager at Hexagon Inc.Roger,a middle-level manager at Hexagon,reports to Trisha.It is most likely that:

A)Trisha has a higher span of management than Roger.
B)Roger has a higher span of management than Trisha.
C)Trisha is defying the unity-of-command principle.
D)Roger is defying the unity-of-command principle.

Question 46

The span of management principle states that:

A)there is a set number of employees a supervisor can manage effectively.
B)there is an upper limit on the number of employees a supervisor can manage effectively.
C)there is no limit on the number of employees a supervisor can manage effectively.
D)there is no difference in the number of employees that different supervisors can manage effectively.

Question 47

The project management-type organizational structure violates the principle of:

A)span of management.
B)division of work.
C)organizational stability.
D)unity of command.

Question 48

At K2X Industries,the top management believes that having multiple managers will lead to disorder and adversely affect employee performance.As a result,all employees report to only one manager.This scenario demonstrates the management principle of _____.

A)span of control
B)unity of command
C)decentralization
D)flat organizational structure

Question 49

If the unity of command principle is followed,:

A)each employee will report to only one manager.
B)each employee will report to several managers.
C)an upper limit will be set on the number ofsubordinates a supervisor canmanage.
D)each employee will be given full autonomy.

Question 50

Which of the following describes the principle of organizational stability?

A)No organization should become overly dependent on one or several "indispensable" individuals.
B)Organizations should group activities and people into organizational units.
C)No organization has the right to direct others to conform to decisions, policies, rules, and objectives.
D)Organizations should have a structure that combines line and staff authority.

Question 51

Which of the following is a part of a formal organization?

A)Grapevine
B)Department
C)Social network
D)Groups formed outside work

Question 52

Which of the following is covered in a job specification?

A)The principle elements of a job
B)The education required for a job
C)The duties and responsibilities of a job
D)The pay scale for a job

Question 53

All of the following are common methods according to which departmentalization can be done,EXCEPT according to:

A)function.
B)products.
C)customer.
D)stability.

Question 54

Which of the following statements about a project management-type organizational structure is NOT true?

A)It adds vertical dimensions to the normally horizontal orientation of an organizational structure.
B)It is a hybrid in which both regular (functional) line and staffdepartments coexist.
C)It violates the principle of unity of command.
D)It allows organizations to coordinate activities across departments.

Question 55

Employee turnover is quite high at Horizon Inc.For this reason,supervisors avoid becoming excessively reliant on any one employee lest that individual might choose to leave the organization in the near future.This scenario illustrates that Horizon Inc.is employing the _____.

A)project management principle
B)principle of organizational stability
C)principle of reengineering
D)division of work principle

Question 56

Which of the following provides an insight about how power is distributed in a firm?

A)Job specification
B)Organizational chart
C)Organizational manual
D)Job description

Question 57

Fewer levels of management tend to exist in organizations where:

A)all managerssupervise the same number of employees.
B)managershave no authority over employees.
C)managerssupervise large numbers of employees.
D)managersoversee few employees.

Question 58

A(n)_____ is an employee in charge of otheremployees who performslimited managerial functionsbut is not considered part ofmanagement.

A)temporary employee
B)managerial assistant
C)lead person
D)liaison person

Question 59

William is a supervisor at his work,where he has three employees that report directly to him.William reports to his boss Jennifer,who reports to the president of the company.This type of organizational structure can be bestdescribed as a(n)_____.

A)informal organizationalstructure
B)grapevine organizationalstructure
C)formal organizational structure
D)hybrid organizationalstructure

Question 60

ARVA International is a nonprofit organization that strives to promote social justice throughout the world.At ARVA,employees continually improve their skills and expand their capacities to meet the organization's social objective.In this scenario,ARVA International can best be described as a ______.

A)learning organization
B)teaching organization
C)centralized organization
D)decentralized organization

Question 61

What must be taken into consideration when trying to identify the appropriate span of management?

Question 62

Alisa works at a company where she meets with a group to regularly set job-related goals.Members of this group have considerable authority to make many of their own decisions regarding their duties and responsibilities.Alisa's company utilizes _____.

A)self-directed work teams
B)focus groups
C)reengineering teams
D)line and staff authority

Question 63

Simply stated,what is an "ideal" organizational structure?​

Question 64

The chairperson of a meeting should be responsible for all of the following,EXCEPT:

A)keeping the meeting focused.
B)jotting down the minutes of the meeting.
C)asking provocative questions.
D)summarizing the actions taken before adjourning the meeting.

Question 65

Which organizational structure defies the unity of command principle? Why?

Question 66

What have been the practices of firms that have downsized most effectively?

Question 67

Which of the following statements is true of line authority?

A)A primary purpose of lineauthority is to eliminate organizational hierarchy.
B)Line authorityestablishes who can direct whom in an organization.
C)Line authority provides counsel,advice, support, and service in aperson's areas of expertise.
D)Line authority is also known as staff authority.

Question 68

What are some guidelines for effectively planning and leading a meeting?

Question 69

Describe the role that the chairperson of a meeting serves.

Question 70

Samuel works for the human resources department and provides information to both the sales and finance departments among others.In this scenario,Samuel is part of the _____ department.

A)line
B)matrix
C)staff
D)hybrid

Question 71

Emerald Inc.recently restructured it's entire company,eliminating many levels of supervision to focus on customer processes rather than functions.After the restructuring,Emerald can be described as a _____ corporation.

A)horizontal
B)vertical
C)virtual
D)bureaucratic

Question 72

Streamlining production and cross-trainingemployees so they can do multiple tasks is a part of _____.

A)virtual organization process
B)lean manufacturing
C)just-in-time inventory control
D)self-directed team management

Question 73

To allow team members to gain leadership experience,in many organizations,the role of the _____ rotates regularly.

A)group leader
B)supervisor
C)arbitrator
D)meeting facilitator

Question 74

All of the following are typical reasons why management restructures an organization EXCEPT:

A)to reduce costs.
B)to increase organizational hierarchy.
C)to streamline operations.
D)to become more efficient and competitive.

Question 75

What can a supervisor do to influence an informal organization?

Question 76

Briefly describe some steps a supervisor should take when making work assignments.

Question 77

Benex One,a financial consulting firm,recently revamped its entire organization.Instead of being organized based on departments and functions,the company now has fluid departments that change based on the projects being developed as they are demanded by clients.This is an example of _____.

A)restructuring
B)downsizing
C)retrofitting
D)reengineering

Question 78

What is the difference between job descriptions and job specifications? Provide examples.

Question 79

One of thepractical tipsfor making more effective use of time is to:

A)write everything down.
B)avoid interruptions.
C)use technologyindiscriminately.
D)abandon the 80/20 principle.

Question 80

Which of the following is created when employee groups are given wide latitude and considerable authority to make job-related decisions?

A)A horizontal corporation
B)A virtual corporation
C)A self-directed work team
D)A reengineered work team