49) Which of the following dimensions of an environment describes the degree to which the
environment can support growth?
A) capacity
B) flexibility
C) volatility
D) sustainability
E) complexity
50) Volatility refers to the degree of ________ within an environment.
A) sustainability
B) instability
C) flexibility
D) complexity
E) adaptability
51) The ________ of an environment refers to the degree of heterogeneity and concentration
among environmental elements.
A) volatility
B) flexibility
C) complexity
D) adaptability
E) permeability
52) Work specialization contributes to higher employee productivity—but at the price of
________.
A) reduced economies of scale
B) increased cost
C) reduced job satisfaction
D) restricted flow of information
E) increased complexity
53) Some individuals want work that makes minimal intellectual demands and provides the
security of routine; for them, ________ is a source of job satisfaction.
A) free flow of information
B) wide span of control
C) low formalization
D) high work specialization
E) high decentralization
54) One of the questions you tell the trainees to ask is, “To what degree are tasks subdivided into
separate jobs?” This question addresses the issue of ________.
A) formalization
B) work specialization
C) span of control
D) chain of command
E) matrix restructuring
55) ________ is addressed by asking the question, “On what basis are jobs grouped together?”
A) Departmentalization
B) Work specialization
C) Centralization and decentralization
D) Formalization
E) Span of control
56) Your trainees are given a case study concerning a local manufacturing firm called Acme
Products. In assessing Acme’s organizational structure, your trainees notice that all of the
company’s decisions are made by top management, with little or no input from lower-level
personnel. The trainees most likely identify Acme as a(n) ________ organization.
A) highly decentralized
B) highly formalized
C) highly departmentalized
D) highly centralized
E) informally structured
57) The Acme Products case study notes that the senior management at Acme is concerned
because the company takes so long to bring new products to the market. Which of the following
approaches would your trainees identify as the most likely solution to resolve this problem?
A) reducing the use of cross-functional work teams
B) decentralization of the decision-making process
C) decreased work specialization
D) decreased formalization of policies and procedures
E) reduced diversity within the company’s work force
58) You instruct the trainees to ask the client organization if they have clearly defined
procedures covering most of the jobs in the organization and lots of rules and policies. You want
to help them understand the ________.
A) chain of command
B) degree of formalization
C) span of control
D) degree of departmentalization
E) degree of centralization
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Matthew is a new divisional manager. In reorganizing his division, he must make some decisions
regarding the span of control for management within his division.
59) The question of span of control determines ________.
A) the employee grievance policy of the organization
B) the number of levels and managers an organization has
C) where decisions are made
D) how jobs will be grouped
E) how employees will be compensated
60) While observing the departments in his division, Matthew notices that some managers with
wide spans of control seem to perform more effectively than other managers with similarly sized
spans of control. Which of the following statements is most likely to be true regarding the high-
performing managers?
A) These managers are paid higher salaries than the low-performing managers.
B) These managers have eternal locus of control.
C) The employees within their departments tend to compete to reach productivity goals, which
boosts performance.
D) The employees within their departments score high on agreeableness.
E) The employees within their departments are highly skilled and very knowledgeable about
their jobs.
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You are interested in explaining the different types of organizational designs to students of basic
management. These students need to know the advantages and disadvantages of each structure as
well as the structure’s characteristics.
61) You extol the virtues and benefits of standardization. You are probably promoting the
________.
A) matrix structure
B) virtual organization
C) bureaucracy
D) team structure
E) simple structure
62) You describe to your students a new committee within the university that brings together
specialists from all different departments to develop a new interdisciplinary program. The
structure of the committee best meets the definition of the ________.
A) matrix structure
B) simple structure
C) boundaryless organization
D) virtual organization
E) bureaucracy
63) You assign your students a project that involves developing a business plan for a retail chain.
The retail chain will have 1000 employees and will serve customers both locally and
internationally via a storefront and an Internet catalog. Which of the following organizational
designs is least likely to be suitable for this retail store?
A) matrix
B) virtual
C) bureaucracy
D) team
E) simple
64) You are the CEO of Apex Systems. You have decided to hire other organizations to perform
many of the basic functions of your business. You have hired an accounting firm to keep your
records, a recruiting firm to handle human resource functions, and a computer firm to handle all
records. To keep costs down, you are looking for other areas in which to outsource operations.
You have chosen to operate your business as a ________.
A) matrix organization
B) virtual organization
C) highly centralized organization
D) boundaryless organization
E) bureaucracy
65) Work specialization increases the time spent in changing tasks.
66) The chain of command is an unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of the
organization to the lowest echelon and clarifies who reports to whom.
67) Narrow spans of control make vertical communication in the organization more complex.
68) Departmentalization refers to the degree to which jobs within the organization are
standardized.
69) Narrow spans of control increase the speed of decision making.
70) In centralized organizations, top managers make all the decisions, and lower-level managers
merely carry out their directives.
71) As compared to a decentralized organization, a centralized organization can act more quickly
to solve problems.
72) The simple structure is characterized by a high degree of departmentalization and narrow
span of control.
73) The simple structure becomes increasingly inadequate as an organization grows.
74) The organizational design of simple structure is highly risky.
75) The strength of the bureaucracy lies in its ability to perform standardized activities in a
highly efficient manner.
76) The bureaucracy is characterized by decentralized authority and wider spans of control.
77) The matrix structure breaks the unity-of-command concept.