Question 1

The Social Media in Business box titled,"When Twitter and Facebook Are Old School," speculates that as social media incrementally changes,we will see changes in_________________.
A)The way businesses organize,with the possibility that more employees will work remotely.
B)Which social media company captures the most audience.
C)The way companies handle the planning function because it will be easier to omit steps in the planning process.
D)The amount of direction leadership provides.Hands-on direction will increase.

Accepted Answer

The Social Media in Business box suggests that as social media evolves, it may impact the way businesses organize, leading to an increase in remote work. There is no mention of changes in audience capture, planning functions, or leadership direction.

Question 2

One of the most difficult management challenges today is managing change.This is because:
A)change requires cooperation and an awareness of a need for change.
B)change requires a lot of bail-out money from the government.
C)change requires decentralization of decision-making.
D)change will invariably result in an inverted organization and management does not want to relinquish its position power in order to make that happen.

Accepted Answer

Managing change requires cooperation and an awareness of the need for change, which can be difficult to achieve in organizations where people are resistant to change or lack a clear understanding of why change is necessary.

Question 3

For an inverted organization to be effective,it requires:
A)managers with strong position power.
B)managers who are both technologically savvy and conceptually savvy.
C)better educated,better trained,and better paid employees.
D)a focus on what is best for production.

Accepted Answer

Due to the fact that the inverted organization empowers front-line employees to make important customer decisions, the workforce of such an organization is typically better educated, better trained, and better paid.

Question 4

Which of the following describes the activity of a firm that assigns specific functions,such as accounting or legal work,to other organizations rather than performing these functions themselves?
A)Functional sharing
B)Outsourcing
C)Benchmarking
D)Virtual distribution

Accepted Answer

Outsourcing is the activity of a firm assigning specific functions to other organizations rather than performing these functions themselves. Functional sharing refers to sharing resources within the organization, benchmarking refers to comparing performance with other firms, and virtual distribution refers to the use of electronic channels to distribute products or services.

Question 5

Excite Enterprises,a corporation of amusement parks uses an accounting firm to handle the payroll and tax functions for the company.Using the services of another firm in this manner is an example of:
A)outsourcing.
B)functional reassignment.
C)core competencies.
D)benchmarking.

Accepted Answer

Outsourcing refers to the practice of hiring an external company to perform services that are normally conducted in-house. In this scenario, Excite Enterprises is outsourcing its payroll and tax functions to an accounting firm.

Question 6

_____________ refers to companies headquartered abroad who elect to bring production and manufacturing to domestic subsidiaries.
A)Outsourcing
B)Insourcing
C)Production transition
D)Production transformation

Accepted Answer

Insourcing refers specifically to the practice of bringing in production or manufacturing from foreign subsidiaries to domestic ones. Option A (Outsourcing) refers to companies hiring external vendors to complete tasks they could also do within the company, while options C and D do not accurately describe the practice of insourcing.

Question 7

Douglas Pick began making and selling ear plugs out of his home near the University of Southern Californi A.According to the Spotlight on Small Business box titled,"When Your Workers Work for Someone Else":
A)Recruitment of skilled employees may not be the easiest task at hand.
B)It is good strategy to search for the cheapest labor possible when demand is high.The goal is to minimize quality and maximize production.
C)Pick's business went under because it was too costly to rent a warehouse in Southern California in order to fill orders,and he was working a second job.
D)When organizing your business,you might creatively consider the outsourcing of certain functions of the business,such as the production function.

Accepted Answer

The Spotlight on Small Business box suggests that outsourcing certain functions of the business, such as production, can be a creative way to organize and run the business efficiently. This can help reduce costs and increase productivity, especially when the business owner has limited resources or is working another job. However, the box does not mention the other options listed in choices A, B, and C.

Question 8

In today's competitive environment,cost containment is extremely important to survival.Which of the following increases efficiency in the production and distribution of goods?
A)Personal computers
B)Real time data
C)Assembly lines
D)Self-managed teams

Accepted Answer

The answer of In today's competitive environment,cost containment is extremely...

Question 9

In an inverted organization,the job of management is to:
A)closely monitor employee performance.
B)establish rules and regulations to guide worker behavior.
C)make all of the basic decisions.
D)assist and support front-line people.

Accepted Answer

In an inverted organization, front-line employees are given more responsibility and decision-making power, while management's role is to support and assist them in achieving their goals. This allows employees to be more autonomous and take ownership of their work, while management focuses on facilitating their success. Therefore, choice D is the best option.

Question 10

Independence Electronics prides itself as a world-class producer of components used in CD and DVD players.The outstanding performance of the production department indicates that this activity is one of the firm's:
A)fiscal responsibilities.
B)core competencies.
C)benchmark assets.
D)target competitive advantages.

Accepted Answer

Core competencies are the unique strengths and strategic advantages of a company that distinguish it from its competitors. The outstanding performance of the production department in producing components used in CD and DVD players indicates that this activity is a core competency of Independence Electronics.

Question 11

Young people today are often called __________ because they have never known life without the Internet.
A)the high-tech heroes
B)Social networkers
C)digital natives
D)electronic eggheads

Accepted Answer

The term "digital native" is commonly used to refer to young people who have grown up using technology, particularly the Internet, and have a natural aptitude for using it. It describes their familiarity with and reliance on digital technology, which has always been a part of their lives.

Question 12

_________ is the term used to describe those functions that a firm can do as well or better than others.It agrees to perform these functions in-house,rather than outsourcing.
A)Benchmarks
B)Standard responsibilities
C)Operational requirements
D)Core competencies

Accepted Answer

Core competencies are the unique strengths and capabilities that a firm possesses and can utilize to gain a competitive advantage over rivals. These competencies are the functions that a firm can perform better than others and should be kept in-house rather than outsourced.

Question 13

Companies benefit today by inter-firm cooperation.One of the ways they cooperate is through networking.Another way is by seeking technological knowledge and learning new processes from other firms that usually fall outside of their respective industries.We call this:
A)competency capturing
B)technology swapping
C)benchmarking
D)broadening the knowledge base

Accepted Answer

The term used to describe seeking technological knowledge and learning new processes from other firms that usually fall outside of their respective industries is benchmarking. Competency capturing is a process of identifying, documenting and transferring the skills, knowledge, and capabilities of an individual within an organization. Technology swapping is not a commonly used term and broadening the knowledge base is a general term that could refer to any type of learning or information gathering.

Question 14

Empowering employees to better serve customers requires __________ front-line employees.
A)fewer
B)less training for
C)more support for
D)uniforms for

Accepted Answer

To empower employees to better serve customers, they need more support, such as better training, access to resources, and clear communication channels. Having fewer front-line employees or less training for them would only hinder their ability to provide quality service. Uniforms may provide visual consistency, but they do not necessarily empower employees to serve customers better.

Question 15

In 2011,CNN reported that NCR National Cash Register Company)had hired 500 workers to build ATM machines and self-service check-out counters at a plant in Columbus,GA,with plans to hire several hundred more employees by 2014.In the past,these machines were built in Hungary,China,and Brazil.Both shipping costs and quality control were cited as the reasons these companies have elected to change production strategy to ______________.
A)competency control
B)benchmarking
C)insourcing
D)outsourcing

Accepted Answer

The company has decided to shift production to its own plant in Columbus, GA, which is an example of insourcing.

Question 16

An organization that has contact people at the top and the chief executive officer at the bottom is known as an):
A)bureaucracy.
B)oligarchy.
C)improvised organization.
D)inverted organization.

Accepted Answer

An organization with contact people at the top and the CEO at the bottom is known as an inverted organization. This is a departure from the traditional hierarchical structure where the CEO is at the top and the contact people are at the bottom. In an inverted organization, decision-making is decentralized and employees are empowered to take ownership of their work.

Question 17

Which of the following are common responses of employees when faced with change?
A)"That's the way we've always done things"
B)"Perhaps I'll be able to get a promotion now"
C)"I'm excited to learn something new"
D)"This should be easy to accept"

Accepted Answer

"That's the way we've always done things" is a common response of employees when faced with change because they are resistant to change and comfortable with the status quo. The other choices (B, C, and D) are less common responses and may indicate a more positive attitude towards the change.

Question 18

Which of the following statements best describes the evolution of organization design?
A)Companies have evolved to cross-functional teams because line models and line and staff models have become too costly to maintain.
B)Most companies are finding that the stages of product development are much slower than in the past because new products are much more complicated in nature than products of several years ago.Matrix models work much better in the current environment.
C)The development of new technology allows for companies to be much more self-contained and able to maintain their competitive advantage due to more privacy.
D)Companies are now part of a vast network of global businesses,and part of a larger system.

Accepted Answer

The evolution of organization design has shifted toward companies being part of a larger system of global businesses. This is due to the development of new technology and the need to maintain a competitive advantage in a rapidly changing market. The trend toward cross-functional teams and matrix models is also a result of this shift toward a more interconnected business environment.

Question 19

Which of the following describes the redesigning of an organization so that it can more effectively and efficiently serve its customers?
A)Reinventing
B)Restructuring
C)Radical reorganizing
D)Extroverted reorganizing

Accepted Answer

Restructuring involves redesigning the organization to improve efficiency and effectiveness in serving its customers. Reinventing, radical reorganizing and extroverted reorganizing are not specifically focused on customer service.

Question 20

__________ refer to those functions that an organization does as well as,or better than,any other organization in the world.
A)Primary functions
B)Comparative strengths
C)Residual functions
D)Core competencies

Accepted Answer

The term "core competencies" refers to those functions or capabilities that an organization excels at, compared to other organizations in the same industry or market. These unique strengths allow the organization to stand out from its competitors and provide a competitive advantage.

Quiz 8: Structuring Organizations for Todays Challenges

The Social Media in Business box titled,"When Twitter and Facebook Are Old School," speculates that as social media incrementally changes,we will see changes in_________________.

One of the most difficult management challenges today is managing change.This is because:

For an inverted organization to be effective,it requires:

Which of the following describes the activity of a firm that assigns specific functions,such as accounting or legal work,to other organizations rather than performing these functions themselves?

Excite Enterprises,a corporation of amusement parks uses an accounting firm to handle the payroll and tax functions for the company.Using the services of another firm in this manner is an example of:

_____________ refers to companies headquartered abroad who elect to bring production and manufacturing to domestic subsidiaries.

Douglas Pick began making and selling ear plugs out of his home near the University of Southern Californi A.According to the Spotlight on Small Business box titled,"When Your Workers Work for Someone Else":

In today's competitive environment,cost containment is extremely important to survival.Which of the following increases efficiency in the production and distribution of goods?

In an inverted organization,the job of management is to:

Independence Electronics prides itself as a world-class producer of components used in CD and DVD players.The outstanding performance of the production department indicates that this activity is one of the firm's:

Young people today are often called __________ because they have never known life without the Internet.

_________ is the term used to describe those functions that a firm can do as well or better than others.It agrees to perform these functions in-house,rather than outsourcing.

Companies benefit today by inter-firm cooperation.One of the ways they cooperate is through networking.Another way is by seeking technological knowledge and learning new processes from other firms that usually fall outside of their respective industries.We call this:

Empowering employees to better serve customers requires __________ front-line employees.

An organization that has contact people at the top and the chief executive officer at the bottom is known as an) :

Which of the following are common responses of employees when faced with change?

Which of the following statements best describes the evolution of organization design?

Which of the following describes the redesigning of an organization so that it can more effectively and efficiently serve its customers?

__________ refer to those functions that an organization does as well as,or better than,any other organization in the world.