Management Management 10e

Management, 10e (Robbins)

Chapter 9 Organizational Structure and Design

1) Organizational design is the organization’s formal framework by which job tasks are divided,

grouped, and coordinated.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 3 Page Ref: 185

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

2) Organizational structure is the degree to which tasks in an organization are divided into

separate jobs.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 185

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

3) The concept of work specialization can be traced back a couple of centuries to Adam Smith’s

discussion of division of labor.

Answer: TRUE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 185

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

4) Today, most managers see work specialization as a source of ever-increasing productivity.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 185

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

5) Grouping jobs on the basis of product or customer flow is termed customer

departmentalization.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 186

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

6) When decisions tend to be made at lower levels in an organization, the organization is said to

be decentralized.

Answer: TRUE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 188

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

7) The concept of centralization-decentralization is absolute.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 188

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

8) When effective implementation of company strategies depends on managers having

involvement and flexibility to make decisions, the company is probably more decentralized.

Answer: TRUE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 189

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

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9) A term for increased decentralization is employee empowerment, which is giving employees

more authority to make decisions.

Answer: TRUE

Diff: 1 Page Ref: 188

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

10) Many of today’s organizations are extremely reliant on strict rules and standardization to

guide and regulate employee behavior.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 190

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

11) An organic organization tends to be characterized by high specialization, extensive

departmentalization, narrow spans of control, high formalization, a limited information network,

and little participation in decision making by low-level employees.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 191

Topic: Mechanistic and Organic Structures

12) An organic organization would likely be very flexible.

Answer: TRUE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 191

Topic: Mechanistic and Organic Structures

13) Innovators need the efficiency, stability, and tight controls of the mechanistic structure.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 1 Page Ref: 191

Topic: Mechanistic and Organic Structures

14) The relationship between organizational size and structure tends to be linear.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 3 Page Ref: 191

Topic: Mechanistic and Organic Structures

15) Joan Woodward attempted to view organizational structure from a technological perspective.

Answer: TRUE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 192

Topic: Mechanistic and Organic Structures

Skill: AACSB: Technology

16) Woodward’s findings support that there is “one best way” to organize a manufacturing firm.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 192

Topic: Mechanistic and Organic Structures

Skill: AACSB: Technology

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17) Since Woodward’s initial work, numerous studies have demonstrated that organizations adapt

their structures to their technology.

Answer: TRUE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 192

Topic: Mechanistic and Organic Structures

Skill: AACSB: Technology

18) The strength of the functional structure is that it focuses on results.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 193

Topic: Common Organizational Designs

19) A simple structure is an organizational design that groups similar or related occupational

specialties together.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 1 Page Ref: 193

Topic: Common Organizational Designs

20) In divisional structures, the parent corporation typically acts as an external overseer to

coordinate and control the various divisions.

Answer: TRUE

Diff: 1 Page Ref: 193

Topic: Common Organizational Designs

21) Employee empowerment is a crucial aspect of team structure because there is no line of

managerial authority from top to bottom.

Answer: TRUE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 194

Topic: Common Organizational Designs

22) A matrix design creates a dual chain of demand.

Answer: TRUE

Diff: 1 Page Ref: 195

Topic: Common Organizational Designs

23) Project structures tend to be rigid and inflexible organizational designs.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 1 Page Ref: 195

Topic: Common Organizational Designs

24) Internal boundaries are boundaries that separate the organization from its customers,

suppliers, and other stakeholders.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 195

Topic: Common Organizational Designs

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25) To minimize or eliminate boundaries, managers might use virtual or network structural

designs.

Answer: TRUE

Diff: 1 Page Ref: 196

Topic: Common Organizational Designs

26) The inspiration of the virtual organization structural approach is the film industry.

Answer: TRUE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 196

Topic: Common Organizational Designs

27) Many organizational design concepts are not applicable to twenty-first century companies.

Answer: TRUE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 196

Topic: Common Organizational Designs

28) It is critical for members in a virtual organization to collaborate on work activities

throughout the entire organization.

Answer: FALSE

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 195

Topic: Common Organizational Designs

29) ________ is the formal arrangement of jobs within an organization.

A) Departmentalization

B) Organizational design

C) Organizational structure

D) Work specialization

Answer: C

Diff: 1 Page Ref: 185

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

30) Organizational design is based on decisions about ________.

A) work specialization and mechanisms

B) chain of command and span of control

C) centralization and matrices

D) strategy and structure

Answer: B

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 185

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

31) In describing the degree to which tasks in an organization are divided into separate jobs,

managers use the term ________.

A) work specialization

B) departmentalization

C) chain of command

D) span of control

Answer: A

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 185

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

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32) Which statement accurately defines work specialization?

A) It is the degree to which tasks are grouped together.

B) Individual employees specialize in doing part of an activity rather than the entire activity.

C) Jobs are ranked relative only to their worth or value to the businesses.

D) It clarifies who reports to whom.

Answer: B

Diff: 3 Page Ref: 185

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

33) On what basis are jobs grouped in order to accomplish organizational goals?

A) departmentalization

B) centralization

C) formalization

D) coordination

Answer: A

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 185

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

34) Functional departmentalization groups jobs by ________.

A) tasks they perform

B) territories they serve

C) products or services they manufacture or produce

D) type of customer they serve

Answer: A

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 186

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

35) Departmentalization based on ________ groups’ jobs is based on the territory or physical

location.

A) functional

B) product

C) geographic

D) matrix

Answer: C

Diff: 1 Page Ref: 186

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

36) ________ departmentalization is based on the product or customer flow through the

organization.

A) Product

B) Functional

C) Process

D) Organizational structure

Answer: C

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 186

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

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37) What kind of departmentalization would be in place in a government organization where

different public service responsibilities are divided into activities for employers, children, and the

disabled?

A) product

B) geographic

C) outcome

D) customer

Answer: D

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 186

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

38) ________ departmentalization is used more in recent years to better monitor the needs of

customers and to respond to changes in those needs.

A) Needs-based

B) Functional

C) Process

D) Customer

Answer: D

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 186

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

39) Work teams composed of individuals from various functional specialties are known as

________ teams.

A) differentiated

B) product

C) cross-functional

D) weak

Answer: C

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 187

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

40) The line of authority that extends from the upper levels of management to the lowest levels

of the organization is ________.

A) authorized line of responsibility

B) unity of command

C) responsibility factor

D) chain of command

Answer: D

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 187

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

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41) ________ refers to the rights inherent to a position that allows a manager to tell subordinates

what to do and expect them to do it.

A) Responsibility

B) Unity of command

C) Chain of command

D) Authority

Answer: D

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 187

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

42) ________ is the obligation or expectation to perform a duty.

A) Responsibility

B) Unity of command

C) Chain of command

D) Span of control

Answer: A

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 187

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

43) Which one of Fayol’s 14 principles of management helps preserve the concept of a

continuous line of authority?

A) unity of demand

B) unity of command

C) demand structure

D) continuous demand

Answer: B

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 187

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

44) The theory that a person should report to only one manager is called ________.

A) authorized line of responsibility

B) unity of command

C) responsibility factor

D) chain of command

Answer: B

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 187

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

45) Concepts such as chain of command and authority are considerably less relevant today

because of things like ________.

A) information technology

B) span of control

C) conflicting demands of multiple bosses

D) empowerment

Answer: A

Diff: 3 Page Ref: 187

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

Skill: AACSB: Technology

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46) The traditional view was that managers could notand should notdirectly supervise more

than ________ subordinates.

A) three or four

B) five or six

C) seven or eight

D) nine or ten

Answer: B

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 187

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

47) The concept that defines the number of subordinates that report to a manager and that

indirectly specifies the number of levels of management in an organization is called ________.

A) authorized line of responsibility

B) unity of command

C) responsibility factor

D) span of control

Answer: D

Diff: 3 Page Ref: 187

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

48) All other things being equal, as the span of control grows wider or larger, organizational

design becomes more ________.

A) bureaucratic

B) democratic

C) effective

D) efficient

Answer: D

Diff: 3 Page Ref: 188

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

49) When the span of control ________, employee performance suffers due to a lack of time,

leadership, and support.

A) remains too small

B) becomes moderate

C) becomes too large

D) becomes less cost efficient

Answer: C

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 188

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

50) Trends in the past few years have centered on a ________ span of control to reduce costs and

speed decision making.

A) narrower

B) wider

C) deeper

D) stable

Answer: B

Diff: 2 Page Ref: 188

Topic: Designing Organizational Structure

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51) What factor influences the amount of centralization an organization uses?