Question 1

Of the following, which one is least likely to represent a challenge organizations may face today?

Accepted Answer

Sallie-Anne's business does not face any of the typical challenges that organizations may face in today's business environment, such as competition, changing consumer preferences, disruptive technologies, etc.

Question 2

The organizations are important to society because of all of these except:

Accepted Answer

While organizations do create value for government through taxation and job creation, this is not the primary reason why they are important to society. The other choices (A, B, C, and E) highlight some of the key reasons why organizations are important, such as their ability to produce goods and services efficiently, innovate, and bring together resources to achieve goals.

Question 3

Of the following structural dimensions, which one is sometimes referred to as division of labour?

Accepted Answer

Specialization is sometimes referred to as division of labour, as it involves breaking down tasks into smaller, specialized components that are performed by different individuals or teams. This can improve efficiency and productivity, as each person can focus on their particular area of expertise.

Question 4

Which of the following is best described as being a micro examination of an organization that focuses on the people inside the organization and examines concepts such as motivation, personality, and leadership style?

Accepted Answer

The description best matches organizational behaviour, which is the study of how individuals and groups behave within an organization and how they are influenced by various factors such as motivation, personality, and leadership style.

Question 5

Of the following structural dimensions, which one would include the organization's job descriptions, its human resource policies, and the internal regulations established for the firm?

Accepted Answer

Formalization refers to the degree to which an organization's policies, procedures, job descriptions, and rules are written and explicitly articulated. Therefore, formalization includes the organization's job descriptions, human resource policies, and internal regulations.

Question 6

A closed-systems perspective does not focus exclusively upon the organization.

Accepted Answer

A closed-systems perspective focuses exclusively on the organization itself, ignoring external environment influences.

Question 7

Structural dimensions provide labels to distinguish some key, internal characteristics of an organization.

Accepted Answer

Structural dimensions such as hierarchy, departmentalization, and formalization provide labels to distinguish key internal characteristics of an organization.

Question 8

Organization A has decided it will place 70% of its workforce in production, 10% in managerial capacities, and 20% in various administrative positions. It has determined 42.67% of its budget will be devoted to providing what is necessary for its employees to assist the company in achieving the desired end result of operations. Which contextual dimension of Organization A is this describing?

Accepted Answer

This describes the organizational strategy, as it outlines how the organization plans to allocate its workforce and budget to achieve its operational goals.

Question 9

In order to make quick decisions, many organizations are being redesigned and/or developed to become so-called learning organizations.

Accepted Answer

Being a learning organization means that it has the ability to adapt quickly to changes and make informed decisions based on a continuous learning process.

Question 10

At Organization B it takes 300 employees working 40-hour workweeks, a €2 million budget per year, 1 ton of raw materials per month, and 150 suppliers to ensure the organization reaches its desired level of output. This is describing the of the organization.

Accepted Answer

This is describing the efficiency of the organization, as it focuses on the resources (employees, budget, raw materials, suppliers) and how they are utilized to achieve the desired output within a specific timeframe. Efficiency is concerned with the optimal use of resources to meet objectives.

Question 11

Efficiency refers to the amount of resources used to achieve the organization's goals.

Accepted Answer

Efficiency is defined as the ability to achieve maximum output with minimum input of resources. Therefore, it measures the effectiveness of the use of resources in achieving the organization's objectives.

Question 12

The Scents Place is a well-organized, highly productive business that manufactures a variety of perfumes sold within Africa. Its employees are dedicated to providing superior customer service and respecting each other and the organization. Each work day employees report on time and are professionally dressed even though there is no dress code in place at the business. The workers are very pleased by the benefit package provided by the company and constantly discuss how well their employers take care of them. The company, in turn, is very pleased by the dedication, ethical behaviours, and efficiency of its workers.
This is a description of the of The Scents Place.

Accepted Answer

The description highlights the values, beliefs, and behaviours of the employees and the organization as a whole, indicating that it is an organizational culture. The other choices (professional bureaucracy, organizational strategy, and external environment) do not fully capture the characteristics described in the passage.

Question 13

The idea of balancing the preferences of different groups has been characterized as a classical approach.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The idea of balancing the preferences of...

Question 14

is/are attributed with being a strong contributor to the development of bureaucratic organizations.

Accepted Answer

Administrative principles, also known as classical management theory, were developed by thinkers such as Henri Fayol and Frederick Taylor in the early 20th century. These principles emphasized the importance of hierarchy, division of labor, and standardization in organizations, which laid the foundation for the development of bureaucratic organizations.

Question 15

Which of the following is not a structural dimension of organizations?

Accepted Answer

While the environment can certainly impact the structure of the organization, it is not in and of itself a structural dimension. The other options - hierarchy of authority, centralization, and formalization - are all structural dimensions commonly studied in organizational theory.

Question 16

According to the ideas proposed by Henry Mintzberg, in which part of an organization would workers who produce the product fit?

Accepted Answer

According to Mintzberg's organizational theory, the workers who produce the product would fit in the technical core, which is the part of the organization responsible for producing the goods or services that are the organization's main output. Therefore, option B is the correct choice.

Question 17

Brenda Oshogbo works at S&S Operations. She heads that company's human resource department and is primarily responsible for establishing employee compensation and benefit programs. Brenda would most likely be considered to be in which one of the following parts of the organization?

Accepted Answer

Brenda's role in establishing employee compensation and benefit programs aligns with administrative support, as it involves managing and supporting the organization's internal operations related to human resources.

Question 18

When an organization willingly adopts different organizational activities, practices, and methods in order to better satisfy the various individuals who have an interest in it, it could be stated the organization is using a(n) .

Accepted Answer

The stakeholder approach focuses on meeting the needs and desires of all individuals with an interest in the organization, including customers, employees, shareholders, and the community. This often involves adapting organizational activities, practices, and methods to better satisfy these various stakeholders.

Quiz 2: Perspectives on Organizations