34. Reporting structures are components of informal design elements.
35. Effective change implementation separates the two aspects of design, targeting
formal design before seeking to alter informal design.
36. The most effective way to change organizational design is one piece at a time.
37. Pilot projects are an effective way to test out a strategic change process by
focusing on one small unit or process at the early stage of change implementation.
38. In selecting a pilot project, organizational leaders should focus on units where
resistance to change is highest.
39. Pilot projects should be implemented in units where the change is most likely to be
successful.
40. Integration is the degree to which different functions are allowed to develop their
own response to the environment.
41. Integration refers to the required level of coordination across differentiated
functions, units and divisions.
42. Decentralization enables different functions, departments and units in an
organization to develop their own responses to their particular goals and unique
competitive environments.
43. High integration enables the organization to achieve efficient operations among
different functions, departments, and units.
44. Differentiation is not necessary to implement strategic renewal and achieve
outstanding performance.
45. Organizations operating in a complex and dynamic competitive environment will
have to develop increasingly sophisticated mechanisms for integration to match the
requirement for high differentiation.
46. Traditional mechanistic control tools can create unpredictability and non-
standardization but can undermine creativity, flexibility and collaboration.
47. Pushing down operational decision making to employees with the “best information”
is intended to unleash motivation and creativity.
48. High employee commitment can improve organizational performance by enhancing
productivity, creativity, collaboration and the willingness to change.
49. The manner in which work is performed is most fundamental to high employee
commitment design.
50. Autonomy refers to the degree to which the performance of the task has a
substantial impact on outcomes that are deemed important to employees, to the
organization and/or to society as a whole.
51. What are the common design challenges among all organization?
a. All organizations require some level of differentiated activities: focusing on
b. All organizations, regardless of their histories, strategies, and competitive
52. What are the common design elements in a high-commitment work system?
Briefly explain each factor.
a. Clarity of organizational goals: Employees at all levels and in all units are
53. What are the 5 dimensions of job enrichment? Give a brief explanation of
each.
a. Skill variety: The degree to which a job requires a variety of different
54. Explain the formal and informal aspects of organizational design, the design
elements related to each and their relationship in implementing change.
55. Explain the difference between traditional and organic controls.
56. Your first move as CEO is to work on:
a. informal organizational redesign.
b. formal organizational redesign.
c. enhanced differentiation relationships.
d. internal company alignment.
57. You decide to initiate a pilot project, aimed at providing small companies with
complete, integrated HR services. This project addresses what organizational
design challenge?
a. control and creativity
b. integration and differentiation
c. allocating decision-making rights
d. need for a change laboratory
58. The pilot project requires staff from each of the 4 divisions. You select staff for the
project by:
a. picking the worst performers from each of the divisions.
b. asking for experienced and enthusiastic volunteers from each of the
divisions.
c. randomly picking from each of the divisions.
d. picking the best performers from each of the divisions.
59. You assign your pilot project staff the task of structuring its work as it sees fit,
based on what best serves the needs of the clients. This approach to job design
can exemplify what principle(s) of organizational redesign?
a. job enrichment
b. allocating decision-making rights to fit with relevant information
c. high commitment design
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
Copyright © 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall 61
60. The pilot project has designed an approach that uses cross-functional teams to
interact directly with each client, thus creating a seamless well-integrated business
process. In order for this team to work effectively, it will require:
a. shared purpose and shared responsibility.
b. enablement and empowerment.
c. high commitment design.
d. job enrichment.
e. All of the above