Question 1

Timothy, a laboratory manager at a multinational photography company, manages a team of seven designers. All of them report to him, and he has the power to command them and assign duties to them. In this scenario, Timothy most likely has _____.

Accepted Answer

Line authority refers to the authority a manager has over his or her subordinates in the chain of command. In this scenario, Timothy manages a team of designers who report directly to him, indicating that he has line authority over them. Horizontal authority refers to the authority that managers have over other departments at the same organizational level, while staff authority refers to the authority that staff specialists have in advising line managers on particular topics. Pseudo-authority refers to the perception of authority without actually having any formal authority or power.

Question 2

__________is the vertical and horizontal configuration of departments, authority, and jobs within a company.

Accepted Answer

Organizational structure refers to how a company is organized in terms of its departments, hierarchy of authority, and job roles. It defines the power, communication channels, and workflows within the company.

Question 3

The working relationships between modular organizations and outside companies tend to be more stable and longer lasting than the relationships found among the virtual companies in a network alliance.

Accepted Answer

Modular organizations are physical entities that work with outside companies to create a stable relationship. In contrast, virtual companies in a network alliance are temporary and fluid, which can lead to shorter lasting relationships.

Question 4

Danielle is a receptionist at Stanlam Corp. In addition to her daily tasks, Courtney, Danielle's boss, asks her to prepare financial statements for a few small companies Stanlam owns. This is an example of job rotation.

Accepted Answer

Job rotation involves moving employees through different roles within the organization to broaden their skills and knowledge. In this scenario, Courtney is asking Danielle to take on additional responsibilities that are not related to her current role as a receptionist. This is not considered job rotation, but rather an expansion of Danielle's job duties.

Question 5

Aisletton, an electronic gadgets manufacturer, organizes its workforce into various departments based on the service the department provides. These departments include cell phones, gaming consoles, television sets, cameras, and watches. In this scenario, Aisletton most likely follows _____.

Accepted Answer

Aisletton's organizational structure is based on the products it produces, which is why it follows product departmentalization.

Question 6

Empowerment can lead to changes in organizational processes because meaning, competence, impact, and self-determination produce empowered employees who take active rather than passive roles in their work.

Accepted Answer

Empowered employees are more likely to engage and participate in organizational processes and take ownership of their work, leading to changes in how tasks are completed and decisions are made within the organization.

Question 7

At Afterbadge, a chain of stores that sells computer accessories, all the marketing activities are planned at the company headquarters. These plans are required to be carried out by the employees without any deviation. In the context of organizational authority, which of the following is best illustrated in this scenario?

Accepted Answer

This scenario best illustrates centralization of authority, as all marketing activities are planned and directed by the company headquarters without any discretion given to employees at store level.

Question 8

Sannomsy, a confectionary company, uses similar conveyor belts with several interchangeable parts and the same procedure for the manufacture of all the toffees in its product line. This gives the company an advantage over its competitors in terms of consistency in quality, efficient processes, and price leadership. In the context of organizational authority, Sannomsy is most likely using _____.

Accepted Answer

Sannomsy is using standardization by using similar conveyor belts with interchangeable parts and the same procedure for manufacturing all the toffees in its product line. This standardization ensures consistency in quality, efficient processes, and price leadership.

Question 9

The third transfer that occurs with delegation is that the manager gives the subordinate full authority over the budget, resources, and personnel needed to do a job.

Accepted Answer

In delegation, the manager typically grants the subordinate authority to complete specific tasks but retains overall control over budget, resources, and personnel decisions.

Question 10

In a decentralized organization, workers closest to problems are authorized to make the decisions necessary to solve the problems on their own.

Accepted Answer

In a decentralized organization, decision-making power is delegated to lower levels of the hierarchy, allowing workers closer to problems to make decisions without having to go through layers of bureaucracy.

Question 11

In _____, different jobs or groups work together in a back-and-forth manner to complete an intraorganizational process.

Accepted Answer

Reciprocal interdependence is the type of interdependence where different jobs or groups work together in a back-and-forth manner to complete an intraorganizational process. In this type of interdependence, each group or job is dependent on the other to complete their own tasks. It requires more communication and interaction among the members of the organization than in pooled or sequential interdependence. Comprehensive interdependence is not a commonly used term in organizational theory.

Question 12

Staff functions are activities that directly contribute to creating and selling a company's products, whereas line functions are activities that support staff functions.

Accepted Answer

Line functions are activities that directly contribute to creating and selling a company's products, whereas staff functions are activities that support line functions.

Question 13

Keithomp, a company that manufactures and exports candies, sells different flavors of candy depending on the taste preferences of the country that it supplies to. Each country has a dedicated manufacturing facility that functions as a separate department. In this scenario, which of the following organizational structures does Keithomp most likely follow?

Accepted Answer

Keithomp most likely follows geographic departmentalization since it has a dedicated manufacturing facility in each country it supplies to, which functions as a separate department. This allows the company to cater to the taste preferences of each country, which is important for the success of their business. Functional departmentalization would group employees by their skills or functions, while customer departmentalization would group employees by their target market. Product departmentalization would group employees by the products they manufacture, which is not the case for Keithomp.

Question 14

Minimal managerial skills are required to make a network of independent organizations work well together in a virtual organization.

Accepted Answer

Although a virtual organization may consist of independent organizations, strong managerial skills are necessary to ensure effective communication, coordination, and collaboration between them. Without proper management, conflicts, misunderstandings, and inefficiencies may arise, hindering the success of the virtual organization.

Question 15

The primary advantage of matrix departmentalization is that it does not require high level of coordination to manage ongoing projects.

Accepted Answer

Matrix departmentalization requires a high level of coordination due to the overlapping authority and responsibility of different managers and departments working on the same project.

Question 16

A virtual organization is an organization that outsources noncore business activities to outside companies, suppliers, specialists, or consultants.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A virtual organization is an organization that...

Question 17

Fred is an assembly line worker in a tool manufacturing company. He operates and monitors machines; measures, shapes, and trims different parts used for production; and plays a significant role in the manufacturing process. In the context of organizational authority, which of the following functions does Fred most likely perform?

Accepted Answer

As an assembly line worker, Fred's role is directly related to the production process and he has the authority to make decisions related to his specific tasks. This is a line function as it involves directly contributing to the core activities of the organization. Support functions refer to tasks that indirectly support the production process, staff functions support the overall organization through activities like accounting, while advisory functions involve providing recommendations to other parts of the organization.

Question 18

Empowering workers means permanently passing decision-making authority and responsibility from managers to workers.

Accepted Answer

Empowering workers means giving them the authority and responsibility to make decisions and take ownership of their work, rather than solely relying on managers to make those decisions.

Question 19

The chain of command is a vertical line of responsibility that clarifies which task has to be performed by whom.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The chain of command is a vertical...

Question 20

Phillip is a mechanical engineer who works for an automobile company. He is assigned projects that require intensive designing and planning before its initiation. This is an example of job rotation.

Accepted Answer

Job rotation refers to the process of rotating an employee's job responsibilities among different roles within an organization. In the given scenario, Phillip is not rotating his job responsibilities but is assigned projects within his current role. Therefore, this is not an example of job rotation.

Quiz 9: Designing Adaptive Organizations