Deck 11: Organizational Structure

Question 1

A _______ is one in which a set of relatively autonomous units are governed by a central corporate office but where each operation has its own functional specialists who provide products or services that are different from those of other operations.

A) Divisional organizational structure
B) Matrix organizational structure
C) Functional organizational structure
D) Product-team structure

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A ________ is one where there is an owner and usually a few employees where the arrangement of tasks,responsibilities and communication is highly informal and accomplished through direct supervision.

A) Matrix structure
B) Functional structure
C) Strategic business unit
D) Simple organizational structure

Answer 2

D

Question 3

__________ such as project teams or planning committees is frequently used in functionally organized firms to enhance coordination and to facilitate understanding across functional areas.

A) Integrating devices
B) Comprehensive mechanisms
C) Strategic tactics
D) Cost control methods

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The structure of a simple organization:

A) Limits the owner's(s') control
B) Maximizes the owner's(s') control
C) Minimizes the owner's(s') control
D) Slightly increases the owner's(s') control

Question 5

A __________ is one in which the tasks,people and technologies necessary to do the work of the business are divided into separate groups with increasingly formal procedures for coordinating and integrating their activities to provide the business's products and services.

A) Functional organizational structure
B) Matrix organizational structure
C) Divisional structure
D) Simple organizational structure

Question 6

Simple organizational structures are most efficacious in businesses that serve:

A) A broad, international product/market
B) A highly fragmented market
C) A cost-competitive product/market
D) A local product/market or narrow niche

Question 7

The strategic challenge presented by the functional structure is _____________ of the functional units.

A) Developing narrow technical expertise
B) The measurability of functional units
C) Good separation
D) Effective coordination

Question 8

__________ is used in a simple structure.

A) A formalized arrangement of tasks
B) A high level of empowerment
C) Hierarchical supervision including several management levels
D) Direct supervision

Question 9

Once a business grows from a simple structure,it usually leads to the need for a:

A) Product-team structure
B) Divisional structure
C) Functional organizational structure
D) Matrix organizational structure

Question 10

The narrow technical expertise achieved through __________ can lead to limited perspectives in the priorities of the functional units.

A) A simple structure
B) Specialization
C) A product-team structure
D) A simple ranking

Question 11

What is meant by organizational structure?

A) Legal structure of the company
B) Formalized arrangement of interaction and responsibility for tasks
C) Size and scope of the company
D) Level of diversification or concentration

Question 12

Manufacturers often organize sales into divisions based on:

A) Differences in the product's level of innovation
B) Differences in distribution channels
C) Differences in geographic appeal
D) Differences in financial needs

Question 13

When a firm diversifies,top management may be:

A) Eliminated altogether
B) Burdened with too many tasks, including running the day-to-day business
C) Excluded from strategic decision making
D) Confronted with excessive coordination demands

Question 14

In a _________,communication is highly informal.

A) Simple organizational structure
B) Strategic business unit
C) Holding company
D) Functional organizational structure

Question 15

Simple structures encourage employees to:

A) Limit the scope of their work
B) Specialize in one discipline
C) Take significant risks
D) Multitask

Question 16

Specialization among workers is most used in a:

A) Matrix organizational structure
B) Simple organizational structure
C) Product-team structure
D) Functional organizational design

Question 17

A divisional structure allows corporate management to ________ for the strategic management of distinct business entities.

A) Delegate responsibility
B) Delegate authority
C) Increase the number of managers
D) Be eliminated

Question 18

A ___________ usually prevails in the smallest of businesses.

A) Simple organizational structure
B) Divisional organizational structure
C) Functional organization
D) Matrix organization

Question 19

Most businesses in this country and around the world are:

A) Matrix organizations
B) Product-process organizations
C) Simple organizations
D) Strategic business units

Question 20

Functional structures predominate in firms with:

A) An emphasis on catering to individual customers' needs
B) Rapidly changing markets and technologies
C) A broad national market
D) A single or narrow product focus

Question 21

To avoid the deficiencies that might arise from a permanent matrix structure,some firms are accomplishing particular strategic tasks by means of a "temporary" or "flexible":

A) Overlay structure
B) Market structure
C) Operational structure
D) Advantage structure

Question 22

The team in a product-team structure is usually created at _______ and they stay with it indefinitely if it becomes a viable business.

A) Financing stage of a new product idea
B) The marketing stage of a new-product idea
C) The inception of the new-product idea
D) The distribution stage of a new-product idea

Question 23

Problems with the matrix structure's implementation are heightened ________ with the complications introduced by distance,language,time and culture.

A) With regional diversifications
B) In an international context
C) In a national geographic range
D) By an increase in synergies

Question 24

The advantages and disadvantages of the ________ are very similar to those of divisional structures.

A) Simple business structure
B) Strategic business unit
C) Matrix organizational structure
D) Functional structure

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT a strategic disadvantage of the divisional organizational structure?

A) Makes policy consistency a known standard
B) Increases costs incurred through duplicate functions
C) Creates difficulty maintaining overall corporate image
D) Fosters potentially dysfunctional competition for corporate-level resources

Question 26

The division,in a divisional structure is usually ________,which facilitates accurate assessment of profit and loss.

A) Totally autonomous
B) Asked to cede profit responsibility
C) Given profit responsibility
D) Given total authority over a project

Question 27

The _______ combines the advantages of functional specialization with the advantages of product-project specialization.

A) Specialization business
B) Product-team structure
C) Divisional organization
D) Matrix structure

Question 28

The divisions in a _______ operate autonomously.

A) Simple organization
B) Holding company
C) Strategic business unit
D) Matrix organization

Question 29

The ________ has the potential disadvantage of increased costs of coordination with another "pricy" level of management.

A) Matrix organizational structure
B) Product-team structure
C) Holding company
D) Strategic business unit

Question 30

The _______ seeks to simplify and amplify the focus of resources on a narrow but strategically important product,market,customer or innovation.

A) Product-design structure
B) Matrix team structure
C) Divisional structure
D) Product-team structure

Question 31

When the diversity,size and number of units continue to increase,it may become necessary to ________ in order to improve implementation,promote synergy and gain greater control over the diverse business interests.

A) Eliminate at least one level of management
B) Revert to a functional structure
C) Add another layer of management
D) Further delegate

Question 32

Which structure provides dual channels of authority,performance responsibility,evaluation and control?

A) Matrix structure
B) Product-team structure
C) Divisional structure
D) Holding company structure

Question 33

The matrix structure increases the number of ______ who exercise general management responsibilities,typically as project managers.

A) Corporate level managers
B) Functional level managers
C) Middle managers
D) Business unit managers

Question 34

The _______ is one in which functional and staff personnel are assigned to both a basic functional area and to a project or product manager.

A) Functional structure
B) Ambidextrous structure
C) Divisional structure
D) Matrix structure

Question 35

A ______ is used to temporarily put people and resources where they are most needed.

A) Divisional organizational structure
B) Product-team structure
C) Matrix organizational structure
D) Functional organizational structure

Question 36

Delegation ________ in response to varied competitive environments.

A) Slows decision making
B) Is a form out outsourcing
C) Increases the management levels necessary
D) Expedites decision making

Question 37

The matrix structure:

A) Is easy to design and easy to implement
B) Is difficult to design and difficult to implement
C) Is difficult to design, but easy to implement
D) Is easy to design, but difficult to implement

Question 38

The _______ is an adaptation of the divisional structure whereby various divisions or parts of divisions are grouped together based on some common strategic elements,usually linked to distinct product/market differences.

A) Strategic business unit
B) Functional organizational structure
C) Holding company
D) Ambidextrous organization

Question 39

The ______ is where the corporate entity is a broad collection of often unrelated businesses and divisions such that it acts as financial overseer having the ownership interest in various parts of the company but has little direct managerial involvement.

A) Matrix organizational structure
B) Product-team structure
C) Holding company
D) Strategic business unit

Question 40

Which of the following is NOT a strategic advantage of a divisional organizational structure?

A) Forces coordination and necessary authority down to the appropriate level for rapid response
B) Sharply focuses accountability for performance
C) Increases focus on products, markets and quick response to change
D) Eliminates functional specialization within each division

Question 41

_______ of all industry either operates globally or will soon do so.

A) Nearly one-third
B) Over three-fourths
C) More than two-thirds
D) The vast majority

Question 42

In the twentieth century,successful organizations required:

A) External focus
B) Flexible interaction
C) Bottom-up approach
D) Self-sufficiency

Question 43

Team members in a product-team structure are:

A) Assigned on a temporary basis
B) Assigned to very broad tasks within a division
C) Assigned on a permanent basis
D) Managed increasingly compared to a matrix structure

Question 44

Twenty-first-century corporations reflect:

A) Interdependency
B) Top-down approach
C) Structured interaction
D) Internal focus

Question 45

The need for global coordination and innovation ________ to get the right mix of local initiative,information flow,leadership and corporate culture.

A) Is forcing constant experimentation and adjustment
B) Is entirely management-based
C) Has been diminished
D) Varies with location

Question 46

______ is eliminating the number of employees,particularly middle management,in a company.

A) Scrutinizing
B) Self-management
C) Empowerment
D) Downsizing

Question 47

The temporary nature of the product-team structure's teams results in:

A) Lower coordination costs
B) More management levels above the team
C) Increased bureaucracy with decision-making
D) Higher coordination costs

Question 48

Today,global means:

A) Locating operations in numerous countries
B) Selling goods in overseas markets
C) Using resources from other markets
D) Getting resources and talent from around the globe and selling worldwide

Question 49

The result of _______ is coordination,communication and decision-making functions being accomplished quickly and easily,making traditional organizational structures look slow,inefficient and noncompetitive.

A) Globalization
B) The Internet
C) The outsourcing of product design
D) The divisional organizational structure

Question 50

________ was popularized by Hammer and Champy and is one of the more popular methods by which organizations worldwide have been undergoing restructuring efforts to remain competitive in the twenty-first century.

A) Restructuring
B) The learning organization
C) Empowerment
D) Business process reengineering

Question 51

Product teams:

A) Can tend to slow down innovation
B) Reduce costs associated with design, manufacturing and marketing
C) Place an absolute limit on customer responsiveness
D) Are temporary structures

Question 52

_______ means removing human minds and hands from an organization's most routine tasks and replacing them with computers and networks.

A) Using the Internet
B) Outsourcing
C) Digitization
D) Coordination

Question 53

Increasingly,globally engaged,multi-business companies are changing the role of corporate headquarters from one of ________ to one of ________.

A) Enabler of innovation and synergy; resource allocation
B) Performance monitoring; coordinator, supporter and enabler
C) Resource allocation; performance monitoring
D) Coordinator of linkages across multiple businesses; enabler of innovation and synergy

Question 54

_____ has led brand marketers to realize they need to take a multidomestic approach to be more responsive to local preferences.

A) The rise of supplier dominance
B) The rise of a consumer culture
C) Globalization in general
D) Environmental awareness

Question 55

Which of the following is NOT a fundamental trend driving decisions about effective organizational structures in the twenty-first century?

A) Globalization
B) Internet
C) Speed
D) External product design

Question 56

Major efforts to improve traditional organizational structures seek to _______ and _______.One key emphasis in large organizations is to redefine the role of corporate headquarters.

A) Reduce unnecessary control; focus on enhancing core competencies
B) Reduce costs; increase shareholder control
C) Reduce external shareholders; focus on enhancing core competencies
D) Redefine boundaries; open the organization more fully to outside influence

Question 57

_____ is redesigning an organizational structure with the intent of emphasizing and enabling activities most critical to the firm's strategy to function at maximum effectiveness.

A) Restructuring
B) Empowerment
C) Business process reengineering
D) Implementing the learning organization

Question 58

_______ is an important structural decision and resultant separate activities need to be coordinated and integrated back together as a whole so the business functions effectively.

A) Diversification
B) Broadening
C) "Preferencing"
D) Differentiation

Question 59

Today,the primary motivation of workers is:

A) Job security
B) Personal growth
C) Incremental improvement
D) Dogmatic leadership

Question 60

_______ is intended to place the decision-making authority that is more relevant to the customer closer to the customer,in order to make the firm more responsive to the customer's needs.

A) Delegation
B) Empowerment
C) Business process reengineering
D) Functional orientation

Question 61

_______ is the most rapidly growing segment of the outsourcing services industry worldwide.

A) Business process reorganization
B) Business process reengineering
C) Business process outsourcing
D) Business leasing

Question 62

Strategic alliances have several advantages for firms seeking agile,responsive organizational structures.Which of the following is NOT an advantage of such an arrangement?

A) Networking and relationship building
B) Increased control over proprietary information and intellectual property
C) Leverages several firms' core competencies
D) Limits capital investment

Question 63

______ is an organization structured around the idea of sharing knowledge,seeking knowledge and creating opportunities to create new knowledge.

A) A global company
B) A learning organization
C) An ambidextrous organization
D) A modular organization

Question 64

________ exist between different departments or functions in a firm.

A) Vertical boundaries
B) External interface boundaries
C) Horizontal boundaries
D) Geographic boundaries

Question 65

A _________ is an organizational structure that allows people to interface with others throughout the organization without need to wait for a hierarchy to regulate that interface across functional,business and geographic boundaries.

A) Strategic alliance
B) Boundary less organization
C) B-web structure
D) Non-traditional structure

Question 66

Subramanian Rangan calls the shift characterizing the growing importance of organizational structures that enable global companies the chance to build competitive advantage:

A) Exploration to exploitation
B) Exploitation to exploration
C) Integration to innovation
D) Exploitation to innovation

Question 67

_______ is defined as a temporary network of independent companies linked primarily by information technology to share skills,access to markets and costs.

A) Outsourcing
B) A virtual organization
C) The agile organization
D) A modular organization

Question 68

_______ exist between different physical locations,countries or regions of the world and between cultures.

A) Vertical boundaries
B) Geographic boundaries
C) External interface boundaries
D) Horizontal boundaries

Question 69

______ exist between a company and its customers,suppliers,partners,regulators and competitors.

A) Competitive boundaries
B) Horizontal boundaries
C) External interface boundaries
D) Geographic boundaries

Question 70

One outcome of downsizing is increased _______ at operating levels of the company.This is allowing work groups or teams to supervise and administer their work without a direct supervisor exercising the supervisory role.

A) Self-management
B) Empowerment
C) Reengineering
D) Restructuring

Question 71

_______ are truly Internet-driven organizations designed to deliver speedy,customized,service-enhanced products to savvy customers from an integrated,boundary less organization,pulling together abundant,world-class resources digitally.

A) B-Web structures
B) Digitized structures
C) Internet structures
D) Virtual structures

Question 72

______ is having an outside company manage numerous routine business management activities usually done by employees of the company.

A) Business process outsourcing
B) Business process reengineering
C) Digitizing
D) Differentiation

Question 73

_________ is simply obtaining work previously done by employees inside the companies from sources outside the company.

A) Networking
B) Prioritizing
C) The learning organization
D) Outsourcing

Question 74

_______ exist between operations and management and levels of management.

A) External interface boundaries
B) Horizontal boundaries
C) Geographic boundaries
D) Vertical boundaries

Question 75

_______ are arrangements between two or more companies in which they both contribute capabilities,resources or expertise to a joint undertaking,usually with an identity of its own,with each firm giving up overall control in return for the potential to participate in and benefit from the relationship.

A) Joint ventures
B) Strategic alliances
C) Outsourcing agreements
D) Contractual diversification

Question 76

Corporations today are increasingly seeing their structure become an elaborate network of external and internal relationships.This is known as:

A) Webbing
B) The agile organization
C) Outsourcing
D) The virtual organization

Question 77

Outsourcing has many potential advantages.Which of the following is NOT a potential advantage of outsourcing as a means to create an agile,virtual organization?

A) It can lower costs incurred when the activity outsourced is done in-house
B) It can reduce the amount of capital a firm must invest in production or service capacity
C) The firm's managers and personnel can concentrate on mission-critical activities
D) Careful selection of outsource partners allows the firm to eliminate the need to learn and develop many of its abilities

Question 78

Management icon Jack Welch coined the term _________ to characterize his vision of what he wanted GE to become.

A) Strategy-centric
B) Boundary less organization
C) Ambidextrous
D) Learning organization

Question 79

A(n)_______ provides products or services using different,self-contained specialists or companies brought together to contribute their primary or support activity to result in a successful outcome.

A) Outsourcer
B) Ambidextrous organization
C) Modular organization
D) Virtual organization

Question 80

A(n)________ is one that identifies a set of business capabilities central to high-profitability operations and then builds a virtual organization around those capabilities.

A) Modular organization
B) Agile organization
C) Virtual structure
D) Ambidextrous organization