Deck 4: Asection 3: Global Forces: How Is Canada Faring in the Global Village

Question 1

Which of the following is not a universal, defining characteristic of an organization:

A)Organizations are social entities
B)Organizations interact with the environment
C)Organizations are created to achieve goals
D)Organizations make a profit

Answer 1

D

Question 2

An organic structure is most likely to have all of the following characteristics except:

A)Narrow Division of labour
B)Decentralized decision making
C)Wide Span of control
D)Low Formalization

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A central benefit of formalization is:

A)It ensures workers have greater autonomy
B)It creates more motivation
C)It ensures performance is consistent and reliable
D)It improves decision making among employees

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Imagine two organizations with the same total number of seven members, but with different spans of control. In Organization X, there is the president, 2 managers, and 4 subordinates. In Organization Y, 6 employees are all members of one team who report to one boss, the president.) We can describe Organization X as having:a. a relatively wider span of control compared to Organization Y
B)a relatively narrower span of control compared to Organization Y
C)a span of control of 2 versus Organization Y which has a span of control of 1
D)A span of control equal to that of Organization Y.

Question 5

All of the following are defining elements of organizational structure except:

A)Work specialization
B)Centralization
C)Commoditization
D)Span of control

Question 6

The degree to which organizational tasks are subdivided into separate jobs is referred to as:

A)Specialization
B)Horizontal differentiation
C)Span of control
D)Vertical differentiation

Question 7

The division of jobs into simple, repetitive tasks

A)social specialization
B)Functional specialization
C)vertical specialization
D)horizontal specialization

Question 8

A credit agency decided to scrap the traditional method of processing credit applications which was organized around specialized, compartmentalized tasks. They redesigned the work around the process itself of completing a credit application. This is an example of

A)Flatting the organizational hierarchy
B)Widening the span of control
C)Re-engineering
D)Departmentalization

Question 9

Routine technologies are most compatible with:

A)Flat structures
B)Mechanistic structures
C)Tall structures
D)Organic structures

Question 10

In general terms, a narrow span of control tends to reflect a _______ organization

A)tall
B)flat
C)wide
D)narrow

Question 11

There are fundamentally two different kinds of specialization referred to as:

A)Horizontal and vertical
B)Centralized and decentralized
C)Functional and Social
D)Narrow and wide

Question 12

A potential benefit to employees of reengineering is the possibility of:

A)Re-assignment
B)promotion
C)job enrichment
D)higher pay

Question 13

Decentralization is most likely to generate:

A)worker empowerment
B)functional specialization
C)social specialization
D)narrow span of control

Question 14

The open-systems approach of organizations is based on the ____________ metaphor.

A)Organism
B)Theatre
C)Team
D)Machine

Question 15

Re-engineering typically involves all of the following except:

A)The fundamental rethinking of business processes
B)the compartmentalization of work into its simplest functions
C)the elimination of any company practice that is not adding value
D)the focus on the company's "core competencies"

Question 16

An organization that maximizes its fluidity, flatness, and integratedness with the environment is referred to as:

A)a virtual organization
B)an organic organization
C)a mechanistic organization
D)a flat organization

Question 17

An organizational strategy focused on cost and efficiency is most likely to have the following structural characteristic:

A)Wide Division of labour
B)Decentralized decision making
C)Wide Span of control
D)High Formalization

Question 18

The number of managers and levels in the organizational hierarchy is referred to as:

A)horizontal specialization
B)vertical specialization
C)vertical differentiation
D)horizontal differentiation

Question 19

The activity of outsourcing is useful for all of the following except:

A)small businesses or start-ups that do not have time to devote to administrative tasks
B)cost savings
C)Corporations engaged in downsizing.
D)Retaining corporate memory

Question 20

The classical school of management thought is based implicitly on a conception of organizations that employs a _________ metaphor.

A)Family
B)Machine
C)Organism
D)Team

Question 21

_____________ forces refer to practices that come to define what are perceived as legitimate management structures and activities and that place pressure on organizations to conform.

A)cloning
B)constraining
C)learning
D)institutional

Question 22

A perspective of organizations called ______________ theory argues that organizations are driven to incorporate practices and procedures defined by current concepts of work and those accepted in society.

A)downsizing
B)rational
C)institutional
D)non-rational

Question 23

It has been found that downsizing among industry members is more likely to occur when industry leaders downsize. This is an example of _______________ forces.

A)cloning
B)constraining
C)learning
D)institutional

Question 24

An emphasis on certain approaches toward business strategy that are spread through business education can come to play a role in rationalizing downsizing as a legitimate activity. This is an example of ____________ forces.

A)cloning
B)constraining
C)learning
D)institutional

Question 25

All of the following have been blamed for the failure of many downsizings to create positive results, except:

A)Lack of strategic planning
B)Lack of cost control
C)Lack of concern for, and involvement with, employees
D)Careless removal of corporate memory

Question 26

The phenomenon whereby there is a marked decrease in motivation, engagement, and productivity of employees that remain at the company as a result of downsizing and workforce reductions is referred to as:

A)demoralization
B)lay-off syndrome
C)survivor syndrome
D)virtual syndrome

Question 27

Virtual organizations have al of the following potential advantages except:

A)The cost savings are significant
B)A great alternative for entrepreneurs
C)For a mature company, it can be a fast way to develop and market new products
D)Easier to coordinate than a traditional organization

Question 28

All of the following are potential risks of "going virtual" except:

A)Giving up the notion of control
B)More costly to manage
C)Potential to sacrifice competitive learning opportunities
D)Lack of employee loyalty

Question 29

All of the following will influence organizational structure except:

A)size
B)technology
C)environmental uncertainty
D)government regulation

Question 30

Studies have found that layoff announcements made by large corporations that were undergoing restructuring and consolidation were followed by increases in share prices. This is an example of ___________ forces.

A)cloning
B)constraining
C)learning
D)institutional