Chapter 4 – Organizational Redesign
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Organizational design refers to:
a. formal arrangements that an organization calls upon to help shape employee
behavior.
b. informal arrangements that an individual or an organization calls upon to
help shape employee behavior.
c. informal and formal arrangements that an organization calls upon to help
shape employee behavior.
d. organizational process that an organization calls upon to help shape
employee behavior.
e. none of the above
2. Which of the following is a correct statement related to informal design elements?
a. compensation and measurement
b. defining roles and responsibilities of customers
c. defining relationships within the organization
d. defining relationships within the organization and between the organization
3. Company X implements a new system of rewards for its supervisors. This would be
considered:
a. informal design.
b. formal design.
c. job enrichment.
d. 360 degree performance enhancement.
4. Company Y introduces a new system of job design that includes a renewed focus
on customer service. This would be considered:
a. informal design.
b. formal design.
c. job enrichment.
d. performance enhancement.
5. Change pilots are best described as:
a. piecemeal and haphazard attempts at implementation.
b. small, experimental units of change implementation.
c. interconnected sets of activities that convert inputs to outputs.
d. a method of optimizing the direction of outsourcing.
6. Organizational redesign is best described as the process of:
a. changing the formal and informal arrangements an organization uses to
shape employee behavior.
b. changing an organization’s design in response to shifting dynamics in the
organization’s environment.
c. balancing differentiation and integration in the organizational structure.
d. the strategic and systemic change of business processes.
7. In selecting a target for early pilots, organizational leaders should select:
a. self-contained units with a clear customer and measurable outcome.
b. units that are not essential to company operation.
c. those units in which resistance is most likely.
d. those units that are experiencing the greatest number of problems.
8. Before embarking on change implementation, organizational leaders must face 3
key challenges in organization design:
a. integration, differentiation and commitment.
b. organic, mechanistic, and differentiating control systems.
c. integration/differentiation, control/creativity and decision-making allocation.
d. integration/differentiation, commitment/control and creativity/consensus.
9. Informal design addresses questions of ____________.
a. focus
b. coordination
c. behavior
d. both A and B
e. both B and C
10. Changing an organization’s design is a process known as ____________.
a. organizational alignment
b. organizational design
c. organizational redesign
d. organizational coordination
e. none of the above
11. Differentiation is determined by the degree of ____________.
a. functional strategies
b. formality of the units
c. environmental complexity
d. strategic integration
e. none of the above
12. Which of the following accurately describes the relationship between differentiation
and integration in organizational design?
a. Levels of differentiation must be matched by appropriate levels of
integration.
b. An organization’s external environment determines proper levels of
differentiation and integration.
c. Differentiation and integration are related to environmental complexity and
dynamism.
d. none of the above
e. all of the above
13. An organization’s level of differentiation is best determined by examining:
a. environmental complexity.
b. environmental dynamism.
c. the level of employee commitment.
d. goals, time orientation, formality and interpersonal style.
14. An organization’s level of integration is best determined by examining:
a. environmental complexity.
b. environmental dynamism.
c. the level of employee commitment.
d. goals, time orientation, formality and interpersonal style.
15. ____________ refers to the number of external factors impacting organizational
operation.
a. Organizational change
b. Environmental complexity
c. Environmental change
d. Organizational dynamics
e. Environmental dynamism
16. Cross-functional teams are a good way to establish:
a. differentiation.
b. integration.
c. efficiency.
d. organic control.
17. As part of an organizational change effort, organizations often work to enhance the
sense of common purpose and direction among their employees, combined with a
unified commitment to core values and business strategy. This is done in order to:
a. reduce turnover.
b. enhance commitment.
c. promote creativity and control.
d. create integration.
18. Which of the following applies to traditional control mechanisms?
a. They may hamper an organization’s ability to achieve flexibility and
creativity.
b. They work well when core tasks are routine and repetitive.
c. They rely on rules, procedures and authority relationships.
d. They are congruent with a business strategy of predictability and
standardization.
e. all of the above
19. Which of the following applies to organic control mechanisms?
a. They enhance organizational flexibility and creativity.
b. They rely on shared values.
c. They pay attention to performance outcomes.
d. They involve interactive and open dialogue.
20. ____________ involve(s) the rights to initiate, approve, implement, and control
various types of strategic or tactical decisions.
a. Decision-making rights
b. Dynamic control
c. Dynamic leadership
d. Strategic decision-making
e. none of the above
21. ____________ refers to design elements called upon to establish order, create
predictability, and ensure efficiencies of operation.
a. Differentiation
b. Dynamics
c. Integration
d. Control
e. none of the above
22. Organic controls typically rely:
a. more on specific rules and procedures.
b. less on shared value.
c. more on clarity of organizational strategy.
d. less on complex understanding of risks.
e. more on closed dialogue.
23. When allocating decision-making rights, the ideal design:
a. centralizes decision making in the hands of management.
b. emphasizes efficiency and control.
c. grants rights to those who have the best relevant information.
d. advocates dialogue and inclusion.
24. ____________ refers to the internalized desire of employees to expend energy and
discretionary effort on behalf of the goals of the organization.
a. Motivation
b. Cross-functional teams
c. Integration
d. Commitment
25. Which of the following is NOT an approach that characterizes high-commitment
design?
a. wide sharing of performance information
b. greater employee access to managers
c. individual development opportunities
d. dialogue confluence
26. Which of the following statements is correct?
a. The challenge for multidivisional organizations is to allocate a limited level of
autonomy to separate divisions as a way of achieving marketplace
responsiveness while simultaneously making corporate-level decisions that
allow the exploitation of synergies across the divisions.
b. The challenge for multidivisional organizations is to allocate no level of
autonomy to separate divisions as a way of achieving marketplace
responsiveness while simultaneously making corporate-level decisions that
allow the exploitation of synergies across the divisions.
c. The challenge for multidivisional organizations is to allocate a high level of
autonomy to separate divisions as a way of achieving marketplace
responsiveness while simultaneously making corporate-level decisions that
allow the exploitation of synergies across the divisions.
d. The challenge for small organizations is to allocate a high level of autonomy
to separate divisions as a way of achieving marketplace responsiveness
while simultaneously making corporate-level decisions that allow the
exploitation of synergies across the divisions.
e. The challenge for small organizations is to allocate a limited level of
27. ____________ refers to the advantages of efficiency and effectiveness conferred
by the combined effect of interaction and collaboration among multiple units.
a. Dynamic control
b. Synergy
c. Systematic focus
d. Organizational effectiveness
e. none of the above
28. ____________ refers to control exerted through peer pressure, organizational
culture and expectations of outstanding performance reinforced through
performance feedback.
a. Dynamic control
b. Synergy
c. Systematic focus
d. Organizational effectiveness
e. Organic controls
29. The statement “the degree to which the job provides substantial discretion to the
individual in scheduling work and determining procedures for carrying it out” refers
to which element of job description?
a. task identity
b. task significance
c. feedback
d. autonomy
e. skill variety
30. What are the characteristics of job enrichment?
a. skill variety and task identity
b. skill variety, task identity and task significance
c. autonomy and feedback
d. Both A and C
e. Both B and C
31. Which of the following statements is correct?
a. Teams succeed or fail in organizations based not just on the efforts of team
members but on the overall design and context of the organization, which
must support and reinforce joint effort.
b. Organizational design involves both formal and informal elements; effective
implementation targets informal design elements first and then addresses
more formal elements, such as structure and systems, later in the process.
c. Creating effective teamwork requires providing a group of individuals with
shared purpose and responsibility, empowering those individuals to make
shared decisions, and making sure they have the competencies and
resources required to be effective as a team.
d. all of the above
e. A and C only
32. In this type of team, the multiple functions and tasks of the value chain are linked in
order to enhance quality, coordination, and customer responsiveness.
a. work team
b. product development team
c. problem-solving team
d. project management team
e. synergetic team
33. Compensation and measurement are components of formal design elements.