Deck 13: Designing Organizational Structures

Question 1

A narrower span of control is necessary when employees perform novel or complex tasks.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Organizing employees from several departments into temporary teams encourages informal communication as a coordinating mechanism.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Organizational structures are tools for change.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Job descriptions and training are examples of coordination through standardization.

Question 5

One of the main benefits of formal hierarchy as a coordinating mechanism is that it increases flexibility and responsiveness to customer needs.

Question 6

Henri Fayol set the maximum span of control at 20 people,but this number may be higher where work activities are routine and standardized.

Question 7

When work is divided among people,a coordinating mechanism is needed to ensure that everyone works in concert.

Question 8

When work activities are too complex to standardize through extensive training for employees,companies need to coordinate work effort through precise job descriptions.

Question 9

Formal hierarchy is the least time-consuming coordinating mechanism where employees work in nonroutine and ambiguous situations.

Question 10

Division of labour leads to increased job specialization.

Question 11

Integrator roles increase informal communication as a coordinating mechanism.

Question 12

The formal hierarchy can be used to coordinate the work of front-line workers and executives through the division of organizational activities.

Question 13

Informal communication as a coordinating mechanism is ineffective in nonroutine situations.

Question 14

Training is a form of standardization through skills.

Question 15

Large organizations can encourage coordination through informal communication by assigning liaison roles to employees.

Question 16

Job descriptions,goal setting,and training are applications of coordination through standardization.

Question 17

Generally,a narrow span of control is necessary where employees perform highly interdependent work with others.

Question 18

Informal communication is a coordination mechanism only in small and a few medium-sized organizations.

Question 19

The two fundamental requirements of all organizational structures are divisionalization and decentralization.

Question 20

Standardizing processes is less effective in nonroutine and complex work.

Question 21

Organizations tend to centralize as their external environment becomes more complex.

Question 22

A simple structure is one of the best structures in which to accommodate organizational growth and diversification.

Question 23

Departmentalization establishes interdependencies and coordination through informal communication within each work unit.

Question 24

Most organizations begin with centralized structures and become more decentralized as they grow larger and divide work into more specialized functions.

Question 25

Mechanistic structures operate best in stable environments.

Question 26

A mechanistic structure is decentralized,has a narrow span of control,and little formalization.

Question 27

Organizations tend to become less formalized as they age and grow in number of employees.

Question 28

Companies can be centralized in some parts of the organization and decentralized in other parts.

Question 29

Formalization represents the establishment of standardization as a coordinating mechanism.

Question 30

Functional structures tend to have higher dysfunctional conflict and poorer coordination across units than other forms of departmentalization.

Question 31

As external environments become more complex and dynamic,organizational structures should become more mechanistic and less organic.

Question 32

Organizations with fewer layers in the organizational hierarchy are described as having flat structures.

Question 33

When companies delayer the organizational hierarchy,they run the risk of increasing managerial workloads and stress.

Question 34

Tall hierarchies tend to encourage employee empowerment and engagement because they focus power around employees rather than managers.

Question 35

Functional structures foster professional identity and permit greater specialization than most other forms of departmentalization.

Question 36

Span of control is interconnected with organizational size and the number of layers in the hierarchy.

Question 37

Span of control refers to how much discretion one has over his/her duties.

Question 38

One problem with departmentalization is that it discourages coordination through informal communication.

Question 39

The main reasons why companies are moving toward flatter organizational structures is because it improves coordination through formal hierarchy.

Question 40

The number of layers in an organization's hierarchy depends on the number of people employed and the average span of control.

Question 41

One problem with the team-based organizational structure is that employees may experience more stress due to ambiguity of their roles.

Question 42

Organizations can move towards a team-based structure by flattening the hierarchy,reducing formalization,and making extensive use of self-directed work teams.

Question 43

One of the main advantages of network structures is that they ensure the core organization has a high degree of control over production,marketing,and other functions.

Question 44

The matrix structure can increase conflict among managers who share power equally.

Question 45

A problem with the divisional organizational structure is that it does not allow the organization to grow within that structure.

Question 46

One of the main forces pushing organizations towards a network structure is the recognition that an organization has only a few core competencies.

Question 47

Team-based organizational structures are usually found within the manufacturing or service operations of larger divisionalized structures.

Question 48

Companies with divisionalized structures are increasingly adopting the geographically-based structure.

Question 49

Network structures come close to the perfect example of a mechanistic organizational structure.

Question 50

In a typical network structure,several satellite organizations are bee-hived around a core firm.

Question 51

Larger firms tend to be more centralized and make greater use of direct supervision than do smaller firms.

Question 52

Decentralization is the logical choice in simple,integrated (one market),and hostile environments.

Question 53

The primary source of environmental diversity or uncertainty mainly determines the best form of divisional structure an organization should adopt.

Question 54

Some matrix structures typically overlay a divisional structure with a functional structure to gain the benefits of both.

Question 55

A common misconception is that all employees working in matrix organizational structure report to two bosses.

Question 56

Divisional structures may be formed around products,geography,or functional specializations.

Question 57

One problem with the divisional structure is that it increases the risk of duplication and underutilization of resources.

Question 58

The best organizational structure depends on the variety and analyzability of the tasks.

Question 59

Organic structures are better suited to hostile environments.

Question 60

The more diversified the environment,the more the firm would benefit from a divisionalized form of departmentalization.

Question 61

Organizational strategy influences both the contingencies of structure and the structure itself.

Question 62

Organizations that follow a cost leadership strategy should apply an organic organizational structure.

Question 63

An organic structure works better than a mechanistic structure where tasks have high variety and low analyzability.

Question 64

An organizational chart mainly illustrates which type of coordinating mechanism?

A)Formal hierarchy
B)Informal communication
C)Standardization of skills
D)Standardization of output
E)None of these

Question 65

In organizational structures,integrator roles serve mainly as:

A)a form of standardization.
B)an informal communication coordinating mechanism.
C)a form of direct supervision.
D)one of four types of technology.
E)the main element in divisionalized structures.

Question 66

Employees who are assigned ______ roles are expected to communicate and share information with coworkers in other work units.

A)integrator
B)disseminator
C)liaison
D)coordinator
E)communicator

Question 67

All organizations have:

A)a formal hierarchy that includes supervisors and non-supervisory employees.
B)a divisionalized structure.
C)some form of coordinating mechanism.
D)a mechanistic structure.
E)formal team-based structures.

Question 68

When people divide work among themselves,they need to:

A)centralize.
B)decentralize.
C)form a team-based organizational structure.
D)rely increasingly on a simple structure.
E)rely on one or more coordinating mechanisms.

Question 69

Which of the following is NOT an advantage of job specialization?

A)Increases work efficiency.
B)Reduces training costs.
C)Makes it easier to match people to the jobs.
D)Job incumbents can master their tasks quicker.
E)Lowers payroll costs because jobs are not as highly skilled.

Question 70

To increase work efficiency and make it easier to match employee competencies with job requirements,companies tend to:

A)divide work into more specialized jobs.
B)rely on formal hierarchy as a coordinating mechanism.
C)rely on a narrow span of control.
D)centralize decision making.
E)rely on formal hierarchy and a narrow span of control.

Question 71

Which of the following is a coordinating mechanism?

A)Standardization
B)Formal hierarchy
C)Informal communication
D)All of these are coordinating mechanisms.
E)None of these are a coordinating mechanism.

Question 72

Integrator roles do which of the following?

A)They increase formalization and centralization.
B)They support informal communication as a coordinating mechanism.
C)They reduce the need for virtual corporations.
D)They increase the amount of formal hierarchy.
E)They do none of these things.

Question 73

Coordination through formal hierarchy relies mainly on:

A)informal communication.
B)job descriptions.
C)bureaucratic procedures and policies.
D)assigning legitimate power to individuals,who then use this power to direct the work of others.
E)none of thesE.

Question 74

Which of the following is NOT a coordinating mechanism?

A)Job descriptions
B)Informal communication
C)Centralization
D)Sales targets
E)Extensive training

Question 75

As organizations grow,which of the following does NOT typically occur?

A)Informal communication becomes more prevalent as a coordinating mechanism.
B)There is increasing division of labour.
C)More coordination through standardization occurs.
D)The organization becomes more formalizeD.
E)There is increasing job specialization.

Question 76

Contingencies,such as size,technology,and environment do not necessarily determine an organization's structure.

Question 77

Coordination of work activities is required:

A)whenever there is division of labour.
B)only in team-based organizations.
C)whenever the organization has more than approximately 100 employees.
D)only when organizations operate in complex environments.
E)never;coordination of work activities is not found in organizations.

Question 78

Standardizing work through job descriptions and procedures:

A)is a form of coordination.
B)is more common when the work is complex and ambiguous.
C)tends to reduce quality and consistency.
D)is unnecessary in large organizations.
E)is more common in organic rather than mechanistic structures.

Question 79

Dividing work into more specialized jobs tends to:

A)increase training costs.
B)reduce work efficiency.
C)reduce the opportunity to match people with appropriate jobs.
D)do all of these things.
E)do none of these things.

Question 80

All organizational structures have the following two fundamental requirements:

A)flatter span of control and decentralization.
B)division of labour and coordination.
C)decentralization and divisionalization.
D)coordination and decentralization.
E)centralization and outsourcing.