Deck 7: Foreign Exchange and the Global Capital Markets

Question 1

In a ______________ company, decisions can be made more quickly.

Answer 1

decentralized

Question 2

???_______________ companies give more authority to lower-level employees, resulting in a sense of empowerment.

Answer 2

Decentralized

Question 3

Research indicates that flat organizations provide greater satisfaction for employees.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

When a company has a diverse product line, each product will have unique demands, deeming divisional structures more useful.

Question 5

A disadvantage of formalization in organization structure is:

A) Decision making is at a faster pace
B) Formalized structure is associated with increased motivation and job satisfaction
C) Strategic decision making occurs often
D) Reduced innovativeness occurs because employees are used to behaving in a certain manner

Question 6

Some employees are more comfortable in a centralized organization where their manager confidently gives instructions and makes decisions.

Question 7

Functional structures are more effective in stable environments that are fast to change.

Question 8

In centralized companies, many important decisions are made at lower levels of the hierarchy.

Question 9

Formalized structures are those in which there are few written rules and regulations.

Question 10

__________________ refers to how work is coordinated between individuals and teams within the organization.

Question 11

Centralization may lead to a more efficient operation if the company is operating in a(n) ______________ environment.

Question 12

Functional structures tend to be effective when an organization has a large number of products and services requiring special attention.

Question 13

In decentralized companies, decisions are made and problems are solved at lower levels by employees who are closer to the problem in question.

Question 14

The following statements regarding tall structures in an organization are true EXCEPT:

A) Tall structures are better at satisfying security needs of employees then in flat structures
B) Number of employees reporting to each manager tends to be smaller in tall structures
C) Employees feel a greater sense of job security in tall structures
D) In tall structures, there is a greater level of freedom of action for each employee

Question 15

Which of the following is true regarding functional structures?

A) Jobs are based on differences in functions
B) Departments include manufacturing, finance, accounting, human resources and information technology
C) Each person is trained to do several job functions.
D) Each person handles specific transactions

Question 16

Decisions can be made more quickly in centralized companies.

Question 17

Decentralized companies give more authority to a higher-level employee, resulting in a sense of empowerment.

Question 18

_______________ is the degree to which decision making authority is concentrated at higher levels in an organization.

Question 19

Mechanistic structures include which of the following?

A) Structures that are informal and decentralized.
B) Structures where communication follows informal channels
C) Structures that are flexible and easy to change
D) Structures where employees are given specific job descriptions delineating their roles and responsibilities

Question 20

Mechanistic structures limit individual autonomy and self-determination which will likely lead to lower levels of intrinsic motivation on the job.

Question 21

Formalization tends to make employee behavior more ____________.

Question 22

When a company has several layers of management between frontline employees and the top level, it is said to have ?????____________ structures.

Question 23

Despite potential benefits, the disadvantages of a matrix structure include which of the following?

A) Power struggles or turf wars among managers are lessened, taking away an important source of new ideas and innovation.
B) Managers will spend less effort coordinating their work, believing that someone else can pick-up the slack.
C) Role ambiguity or role conflict is very low
D) There is potential for interpersonal conflict with team members as well as with leaders

Question 24

In a _____________ structure, advancement opportunities will be more limited because there are fewer management layers.

Question 25

In an example of a matrix structure at a software development company, business analysts, developers, and testers each report to a functional department manager and to a project manager simultaneously.

Question 26

In organizations using _____________ structures, departments represent the unique products, services, customers, or geographic locations the company is serving.

Question 27

Organizational structures differ in terms of _______________, which is broadly categorized as either functional or divisional.

Question 28

Explain how the manufacturer Caterpillar suffered the consequences of decentralized decision making.

Question 29

____________ structures are flexible and decentralized, with low levels of formalization.

Question 30

structures consist of only a few layers between frontline employees and the top level.

Question 31

Describe McDonald's bureaucratic structure.

Question 32

________________ is the extent to which an organization's policies, procedures, job descriptions, and rules are written and explicitly articulated.

Question 33

____________structures involve a larger number of employees reporting to each manager.

Question 34

Boundaryless organizations eliminate barriers that separate employees between different departments.

Question 35

In a matrix, each employee reports to only one manager at a time.

Question 36

In a matrix structure, product managers have control and say over product-related matters, while department managers have authority over matters related to company policy.

Question 37

Organizations using a____________ structure group jobs based on similarity in functions.

Question 38

What are the four aspects of organizational structure that have been frequently studied in the literature and are mentioned in your text?

Question 39

There are _________ configurations of organizational structures depending on how the different elements are arranged.

Question 40

Structures control employee behavior using written rules, so that employees have little _____________ to decide on a case-by-case basis.

Question 41

A term coined by Jack Welch during his tenure at GE and refers to an organization that eliminates traditional barriers between departments as well as barriers between the organization and the external environment is _________________.

Question 42

In some organizations, the act of including employees in the change process is not possible, and instead organizations can recruit a small number of opinion leaders to promote the benefits of coming changes.

Question 43

Some of a company's most committed employees may be the least vocal opponents to a change effort.

Question 44

Organizations with a design that combines a traditional structure and a product structure are called ?????________________ organizations.

Question 45

What is IBM's emerging business opportunities (EBO)?

Question 46

Knowledge work is thought to be safe from outsourcing.

Question 47

Organizational change can take the form of which of the following?

A) Structure, strategy, policies, or culture
B) Change should be planned on quarterly basis and measured for progress
C) Fundamentally, organizational change is a process that involved effective products or services
D) Change should moderate so as to not disrupt corporate cultural norms..

Question 48

An example of a boundaryless organization that outsources many of its operations is __________________.

Question 49

Who did Starbucks form a successful partnership with and why?

Question 50

A form of boundaryless organization in which all nonessential functions are outsourced is ________________.

Question 51

All of the following are characteristics which describe learning organizations EXCEPT:

A) Learning organizations are good at learning from experience
B) Some companies choose to conduct formal retrospective meetings to analyze the challenges encountered and areas for improvement
C) Learning organizations hire only employees who are willing to learn from past mistakes
D) Learning organizations are good at studying customer habits to generate ideas

Question 52

Change management is an important leadership skill that spans the entire range of P-O-L-C functions.

Question 53

The U.S. Department of Labor and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development have reported that the average age of the U.S. workforce will decrease as the baby boom generation nears retirement age.

Question 54

An example of a company that utilizes the matrix organization successfully is:

A) Starbucks
B) Nike
C) 3M
D) Ben and Jerry's

Question 55

__________________ constitutes a form of boundaryless design similar to a joint venture.

Question 56

A __________________ is one whose design actively seeks to acquire knowledge and change behavior as a result of the newly acquired knowledge.
Short Answer

Question 57

According to a 2007 SHRM survey, employee resistance to change is one of the top reasons why change efforts fail.

Question 58

Globalization can be either a threat or opportunity for organizations, depending on their ability to adapt to relevant changes.

Question 59

An example of a company that is a modular organization is:

A) Toyota
B) Nike
C) 3M
D) Starbucks

Question 60

The act of including employees in the change process can drastically reduce opposition to new methods.

Question 61

According to Lewin, executing change without prior preparation is likely to lead to failure.

Question 62

In order to convince people that change is needed, the change leader must convince every person individually.

Question 63

Because of differences in national economies and standards of living from one country to another, organizations ______________ their manufacturing operations to countries like China and Mexico.

Question 64

How does Nokia keep their organization open to change?

Question 65

Why do people resist change?

Question 66

_______________ involves going along with proposed changes with little enthusiasm.

Question 67

Why do poorly performing companies often find it easier to change compared to successful companies?

Question 68

________________ are defenders of the new way and actually encourage others around them to give support to the change effort.

Question 69

Sometimes change is motivated by rapid developments in ??????_______________.

Question 70

Why did the Dvorak keyboard fail in change?

Question 71

______________ involves being disturbed by changes without necessarily voicing these opinions.

Question 72

Organizational change is often a response to changes in the ?????________________.

Question 73

To be successful, any change attempt will need to overcome _____________ on the part of employees.

Question 74

After the change is implemented, the long-term success of a change effort depends on the extent to which the change becomes part of the company's strategy.

Question 75

How did companies in the music industry respond when peer-to-peer file sharing threatened their business?

Question 76

Resistance to change is a valuable ____________ tool that should not be ignored.

Question 77

How does a change in the environment create change within an organization?

Question 78

What does it mean for companies that the workforce is getting older?

Question 79

Breaking up the proposed change into phases may be a bad idea because it creates the wrong targets.

Question 80

______________ is the most negative reaction to a proposed change attempt.