Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is the most rapidly growing segment of the outsourcing services industry worldwide. BPO involves hiring a third-party provider to handle specific business processes or services, such as customer service, finance and accounting, or human resources. BPO allows companies to focus on their core competencies while the provider takes care of the supporting processes.

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

Strategic alliances typically involve sharing resources, knowledge, and expertise between firms, which can lead to increased networking and relationship building opportunities, leveraging each other's core competencies, and limiting capital investment. However, it is not necessarily true that strategic alliances lead to increased control over proprietary information and intellectual property, as sharing these assets may be necessary for the success of the alliance. In some cases, strategic alliances may even require the exchange of proprietary information and intellectual property, which can pose risks for firms.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

A learning organization is structured around the idea of sharing knowledge, seeking knowledge and creating opportunities to create new knowledge. It is focused on continuous learning and improvement, and encourages collaboration, experimentation and knowledge sharing amongst its employees. A global company may or may not prioritize knowledge sharing and learning, and may have a different organizational structure. An ambidextrous organization is focused on balancing exploration and exploitation, while a modular organization is characterized by the use of modular components or building blocks.

Question 4

________ exist between different departments or functions in a firm.

Accepted Answer

Horizontal boundaries exist between different departments or functions within a firm. Vertical boundaries exist between different levels of hierarchy within a firm, external interface boundaries exist between a firm and its external environment, and geographic boundaries refer to physical location.

Question 5

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.

Accepted Answer

A boundaryless organization is designed to enable employees to communicate and collaborate with each other across departments, geographies, and business units without being limited by hierarchical structures. This structure enables faster decision-making, greater innovation and improved ability to adapt to changing market conditions, and customer needs. Strategic alliances, B-web structure, and Non-traditional structure are not specific organizational structures that enable this type of boundary-less communication and collaboration.

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

The concept of exploitation to exploration refers to a shift in organizational focus from maximizing existing resources and capabilities to exploring new ones. This shift is necessary for global companies to stay competitive in a constantly changing and evolving business environment.

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

A virtual organization is a temporary network of independent companies linked primarily by information technology to share skills, access to markets, and costs. This kind of organization is designed to be flexible and agile, with the ability to quickly respond to changing market conditions as the network of companies can be easily reconfigured or disbanded when no longer needed.

Question 8

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

Accepted Answer

Geographic boundaries refer to the physical barriers that exist between different locations, such as oceans, mountains, and borders between countries. These boundaries can also include differences in culture and customs between regions of the world. Vertical boundaries refer to hierarchical levels within an organization, external interface boundaries refer to the boundaries between an organization and its external stakeholders, and horizontal boundaries refer to the boundaries between different departments or functional areas within an organization.

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

External interface boundaries refer to the interactions and relationships that a company has with external parties such as customers, suppliers, partners, regulators, and competitors. This includes communication and exchange of information, goods, and services. Competitive boundaries refer to the limits of a company's market and competition, horizontal boundaries refer to the divisions within a company, and geographic boundaries refer to the physical locations of a company's operations.

Question 10

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.

Accepted Answer

Downsizing often results in a reduction of middle management positions, which in turn increases the span of control of remaining managers. This increased span of control means that work groups or teams are given more autonomy to manage their own work without direct supervision, leading to self-management. Empowerment is also a possible outcome of downsizing, but it refers more specifically to giving individuals the authority to make decisions and take action in their work. Reengineering and restructuring are related concepts that involve redesigning organizational processes and structure, but they are not directly related to the outcome of increased self-management at the operating level.

Question 11

_______ 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.

Accepted Answer

B-Web structures are designed to leverage the internet to deliver customized and efficient services by integrating resources digitally.

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is the practice of hiring an outside company to manage routine business management activities such as human resources, payroll, accounting, and customer service. This allows the company to focus on its core competencies while the third-party service provider handles the administrative tasks. Business process reengineering (BPR) involves analyzing and redesigning business processes to improve efficiency and effectiveness, while digitizing refers to the process of converting analog information into digital format. Differentiation is a strategy where a company seeks to distinguish its products or services from competitors in the marketplace.

Question 13

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

Accepted Answer

Outsourcing is the process of obtaining work previously done by employees inside the company from external sources. This can include tasks such as manufacturing, IT support, or customer service. Companies often outsource to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and access specialized expertise.

Question 14

_______ exist between operations and management and levels of management.

Accepted Answer

Vertical boundaries exist between different levels of management in an organization. It separates the responsibilities of top-level management, middle-level management, and lower-level management. Operations and management may also have boundaries, but these are more likely to be external interface boundaries or horizontal boundaries. Geographic boundaries relate to physical locations and are less related to operations and management.

Question 15

_______ 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.

Accepted Answer

The description fits the definition of a strategic alliance, where two or more companies collaborate and contribute resources to achieve a common goal while retaining their individual identities. Joint ventures are also a possibility, but the description implies that the new undertaking would have a separate identity, which points more towards strategic alliances. Outsourcing agreements and contractual diversification do not involve joint undertakings or the sharing of resources between two or more firms.

Question 16

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

Accepted Answer

The term "the virtual organization" refers to a company that primarily uses external and internal networks to operate, emphasizing the importance of technology and the internet in maintaining relationships and conducting business, rather than relying on a traditional, centralized office environment. This structure allows for flexibility and scalability, adapting to the changing business landscape by leveraging resources and talents from various sources.

Question 17

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?

Accepted Answer

The statement "Careful selection of outsource partners allows the firm to eliminate the need to learn and develop many of its abilities" is actually a potential advantage of outsourcing. Therefore, the correct answer is D which is NOT a potential advantage of outsourcing as a means to create an agile, virtual organization.

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

Jack Welch coined the term "boundary less organization" to describe his vision of GE, which was focused on breaking down barriers and encouraging collaboration across departments, functions, and even external entities. This approach was intended to drive innovation, increase speed and efficiency, and ultimately help GE maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace.

Question 19

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.

Accepted Answer

A modular organization is characterized by the use of different self-contained specialists or companies who contribute their primary or support activity to achieve a specific outcome. This type of organization allows for greater flexibility and efficiency as each module can be quickly assembled and disassembled to meet changing demands or requirements.

Question 20

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.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A(n)________ is one that identifies a set...

Quiz 11: Organizational Structure