Question 1

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, the role of management is to support and assist front-line employees. This means that they provide guidance and resources to employees, rather than closely monitoring their performance. They also trust their employees to make decisions and do not rely on strict rules and regulations to guide behavior.

Question 2

_________ is the term used to describe those functions that a firm can do as well or better than others. It performs 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 abilities that a company possesses and that enable it to outperform its competitors. These are the activities that a company should keep in-house rather than outsourcing to others, as they add the most value to the company's products or services.

Question 3

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 capabilities of a company that enable it to create a competitive advantage in the market. As Independence Electronics is a world-class producer of components used in CD and DVD players, the outstanding performance of the production department indicates that this is one of their core competencies.

Question 4

Which of the following describes a temporary networked organization made up of replaceable firms that join and leave as needed?
A) Web-based corporation
B) Benchmark outsourcing system
C) Network system
D) Virtual corporation

Accepted Answer

A virtual corporation is a temporary networked organization made up of replaceable firms that join and leave as needed. Web-based corporations and benchmark outsourcing systems do not necessarily involve multiple firms, while "network system" is a vague term that does not specifically describe this type of organization.

Question 5

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

Empowering employees to better serve customers requires more support for front-line employees. This can involve providing them with training, resources, and tools that enable them to be more effective in their roles. By investing in the professional development of front-line employees, companies can create a more customer-centric culture that drives better business results.

Question 6

According to the Spotlight on Small Business box titled "Cutting Back While Cutting Costs," overseas outsourcing is_________________
A) growing in the small business sector due to online job marketplaces.
B) only increasing in popularity among big businesses since small businesses cannot afford to seek employees outside of their local community.
C) not changing the competitive environment for U.S. job seekers.
D) decreasing in popularity in both small and big business.

Accepted Answer

The Spotlight on Small Business box states that overseas outsourcing is growing in the small business sector due to online job marketplaces.

Question 7

The process of rating an organization's practices, processes, and products against the best of the world is known as:
A) webworking.
B) outsourcing.
C) benchmarking.
D) core competencies.

Accepted Answer

The process described is known as benchmarking, which involves measuring an organization's performance against the best practices and products in its industry. It is used to identify areas for improvement and to set performance goals. Webworking is not a commonly used term in business, outsourcing refers to contracting work out to other companies, and core competencies involve identifying the unique strengths that give an organization a competitive advantage.

Question 8

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 them in-house.

Question 9

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

Change involves altering the status quo, which requires individuals and teams to work together and recognize the need for change. Change also requires communication, collaboration, and implementation of a plan or strategy that involves various stakeholders. Therefore, the most challenging aspect of change management is gaining cooperation and creating awareness of the need for change. The other options are not relevant or accurate in explaining the difficulty of managing change.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

An organization with contact people at the top and the chief executive at the bottom is an inverted organization. This type of organization is non-traditional and operates with the belief that front-line employees have the most knowledge and are best equipped to make decisions. The organization's leadership acts more as support and guidance rather than directive authority.

Question 11

_____________ 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 to the practice of bringing production and manufacturing to domestic subsidiaries rather than outsourcing those activities to companies in other countries.

Question 12

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 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 statement describes how companies are now part of a larger system due to globalization, implying that organization design has evolved to be more connected and integrated with other organizations. Option A is incorrect as cross-functional teams are not necessarily a more recent development; option B is also incorrect as it only applies to product development, not organization design. Option C is incorrect as it only highlights the potential benefits of new technology, but does not speak to the evolution of organization design.

Question 13

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 natives" refers specifically to young people who were born after the widespread adoption of digital technology, meaning they have grown up surrounded by it and are typically very comfortable with it. The other options either do not accurately describe this group, or are somewhat pejorative in nature.

Question 14

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 is the practice of hiring an external company or individual to perform a business function that could be done in-house. In this scenario, Excite Enterprises is outsourcing the payroll and tax functions to an accounting firm.

Question 15

Companies benefit today from interfirm cooperation. One of the ways they cooperate is through networking. Another way is by seeking technological knowledge and learning new processes from exemplary firms sometimes outside their own industries. We call this:
A) competency capturing.
B) technology swapping.
C) benchmarking.
D) broadening the knowledge base.

Accepted Answer

The described practice is known as benchmarking, which involves identifying and studying the best practices, processes, and technologies of other companies, especially those outside one's industry, and incorporating them into one's own operations to improve performance and innovation.

Question 16

__________ 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

Core competencies are those functions that an organization excels in, and they are often a unique set of skills or capabilities that give the organization a competitive advantage. These competencies are not easily replicable by other organizations giving the company a competitive advantage in the market.

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 may be resistant to altering their established habits and routines. Options B, C, and D are not as common and may depend on the specific circumstances of the change.

Question 18

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 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 an organization's structure, systems, and processes to improve its efficiency and effectiveness in serving customers. Radical reorganizing and extroverted reorganizing are not commonly used terms in organizational design, while reinventing would suggest a complete overhaul of the organization's identity and purpose.

Question 20

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

Real-time data allows for better decision-making and coordination, which can lead to increased efficiency in production and distribution.

Quiz 8: Structuring Organizations for Todays Challenges

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

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

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:

Which of the following describes a temporary networked organization made up of replaceable firms that join and leave as needed?

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

According to the Spotlight on Small Business box titled "Cutting Back While Cutting Costs," overseas outsourcing is_________________

The process of rating an organization's practices, processes, and products against the best of the world is known as:

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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:

Companies benefit today from interfirm cooperation. One of the ways they cooperate is through networking. Another way is by seeking technological knowledge and learning new processes from exemplary firms sometimes outside their own industries. We call this:

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

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

For an inverted organization to be effective, it requires:

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

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?