75.
In which mechanism do senior managers provide members of a cross-functional team with
relevant information from other teams and divisions?
A.
Liaison roles
B.
Task forces
C.
Functional forces
D.
Integrating roles and departments
In integrating roles and departments, senior managers provide members of cross–
functional teams with relevant information from other teams and from other divisions.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain why managers must coordinate jobs, functions, and divisions using the hierarchy of
authority and integrating mechanisms.
Topic: Product Development Plan
Topic: Task Specialist Roles
76.
A team of managers from different functions or divisions is temporarily formed to solve a
specific, mutual problem. This is known as a ________.
A.
B.
confederate committee
C.
functional force
D.
task force
A task force is a temporary committee of managers from various functions or divisions
who meet to solve a specific, mutual problem. When more than two functions or divisions
share many common problems, direct contact and liaison roles may not provide sufficient
coordination. In these cases, a more complex integrating mechanism, a task force, may be
appropriate.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain why managers must coordinate jobs, functions, and divisions using the hierarchy of
authority and integrating mechanisms.
Topic: Task Force
77.
Fern Motor Co. brings together senior managers from its marketing, R&D, manufacturing,
accounting, and finance departments to work on a project as a team, to design a new type
of sport utility vehicle. In this scenario, Fern Motor Co. creates a ________.
A.
cross-functional team
B.
vertically integrated team
C.
mass-production team
D.
To address recurring problems effectively, managers are increasingly using permanent
integrating mechanisms such as cross-functional teams. An example of a cross-functional
team is a new product development committee that is responsible for the choice, design,
manufacturing, and marketing of a new product.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain why managers must coordinate jobs, functions, and divisions using the hierarchy of
authority and integrating mechanisms.
Topic: Task Specialist Roles
78.
Jason has been hired by Praltiz Inc., an IT firm, to increase coordination among functions
or divisions to achieve performance gains from synergies. What role is Jason hired to
perform?
A.
Liaison role
B.
Centralization role
C.
Consulting role
D.
Integrating role
An integrating role is a role whose only function is to increase coordination and integration
among functions or divisions to achieve performance gains from synergies.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-04 Explain why managers must coordinate jobs, functions, and divisions using the hierarchy of
authority and integrating mechanisms.
Topic: Task Specialist Roles
79.
A formal agreement that commits two or more companies to exchange or share their
resources in order to produce and market a product is known as a(n) ________.
A.
outsourcing alliance
B.
task force alliance
C.
strategic alliance
D.
market structure alliance
A strategic alliance is a formal agreement that commits two or more companies to
exchange or share their resources in order to produce and market a product. Most
commonly, strategic alliances are formed because the companies share similar interests
and believe they can benefit from cooperating.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 1 Easy
Learning Objective: 07-05 Describe how information technology (IT) is helping managers build strategic alliances and
network structures to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
Topic: Strategic Alliances
80.
Tot Beverages creates a series of agreements with its suppliers, manufacturers, and
distributors to produce and market Zing Cola. This is an example of a ________
organizational structure.
A.
decentralized
B.
vertically integrated
C.
network
D.
diversified product
A network structure is a series of strategic alliances that an organization creates with
suppliers, manufacturers, and/or distributors to produce and market a product. Network
structures allow an organization to manage its global value chain in order to find new ways
to reduce costs and increase the quality of products, without incurring the high costs of
operating a complex organizational structure.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 Describe how information technology (IT) is helping managers build strategic alliances and
network structures to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
Topic: Strategic Alliances
81.
Alkyl, Ltd., designs shoes using computer-aided design, and they electronically store all
new product information, including manufacturing instructions. When the designers have
finished their work, they electronically transmit all the blueprints for the new products to a
network of Southeast Asian suppliers and manufacturers with which Alkyl, Ltd., has
formed strategic alliances. Instructions for the design of a new sole are sent to a supplier
in India with instructions for the leather uppers to a supplier in Bhutan. The strategic
alliance Alkyl, Ltd., follows is an example of a ________ structure.
A.
network
B.
decentralized
C.
vertically integrated
D.
diversified product
A network structure is a series of global strategic alliances that one or several
organizations create with suppliers, manufacturers, and/or distributors to produce and
market a product. Network structures allow an organization to manage its global value
chain in order to find new ways to reduce costs and increase the quality of products—
without incurring the high costs of operating a complex organizational structure.
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 3 Hard
Learning Objective: 07-05 Describe how information technology (IT) is helping managers build strategic alliances and
network structures to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
Topic: B2B Network Structures
Topic: Strategic Alliances
82.
Alkyl, Ltd., one of the leading shoe manufacturers, enters into a contract with Blinx—a
foreign manufacturer—to only manufacture its shoes. In this scenario, Alkyl, Ltd. is
following the ________ strategy.
A.
franchising
B.
licensing
C.
green field venturing
D.
outsourcing
To outsource is to use outside or foreign suppliers and manufacturers to produce goods
and services.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Apply
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 Describe how information technology (IT) is helping managers build strategic alliances and
network structures to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
Topic: B2B Network Structures
Topic: Strategic Alliances
83.
Which of the following allows an organization to manage its global value chain and to find
new ways to reduce costs while increasing the quality of products?
A.
Communication networks
B.
Network structures
C.
B2B networking
D.
Functional alliances
Network structures allow an organization to manage its global value chain and to find new
ways to reduce costs while increasing the quality of products—without incurring the high
costs of operating a complex organizational structure (such as the costs of employing
many managers).
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 Describe how information technology (IT) is helping managers build strategic alliances and
network structures to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
Topic: B2B Network Structures
Topic: Strategic Alliances
84.
Which of the following is the series of global strategic alliances that an organization
creates with suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors to produce and market a product?
A.
Global network
B.
Complex network
C.
B2B network structure
D.
Communications network
A B2B network structure is a formal series of global strategic alliances that one or several
organizations create with suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors to product and market
a product. Network structures allow an organization to manage its global value chain and
to find new ways to reduce costs while increasing the quality of products—without
incurring the high costs of operating a complex organizational structure (such as the costs
of employing many managers).
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 Describe how information technology (IT) is helping managers build strategic alliances and
network structures to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
Topic: B2B Network Structures
Topic: Strategic Alliances
85.
An organization whose members are linked by computers, email, computer-aided design
systems, videoconferencing, and cloud-based software is a ________ organization.
A.
tall
B.
complex
C.
flat
D.
boundaryless
The ability of managers to develop a network structure to produce or provide the goods
and services customers want, rather than create a complex organizational structure to do
so, has led many researchers and consultants to popularize the idea of a boundaryless
organization. Such an organization is composed of people linked by technology—
computers, email, computer-aided design systems, videoconferencing, and cloud-based
software—who may rarely, if ever, see one another face–to-face. People are utilized when
their services are needed, much as in a matrix structure, but they are not formal members
of an organization; they are functional experts who form an alliance with an organization,
fulfill their contractual obligations, and then move on to the next project.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Accessibility: Keyboard Navigation
Blooms: Remember
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-05 Describe how information technology (IT) is helping managers build strategic alliances and
network structures to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
Topic: B2B Network Structures
Topic: Strategic Alliances
Essay Questions
86.
Briefly explain organizational structure, organizational design, and contingency theory.
Organizational structure is the formal system of task and job reporting relationships that
determines how employees use resources to achieve organizational goals. Organizational
design is the process by which managers make specific organizing choices about tasks
and job relationships that result in the construction of a particular organizational structure.
According to contingency theory, managers design organizational structures to fit the
factors or circumstances that are affecting the company the most and causing them the
most uncertainty. Thus, there is no one best way to design an organization: Design reflects
each organization’s specific situation, and researchers have argued that in some situations
stable, mechanistic structures may be most appropriate while in others flexible, organic
structures might be the most effective.
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
Blooms: Understand
Difficulty: 2 Medium
Learning Objective: 07-01 Identify the factors that influence managers’ choice of an organizational structure.
Topic: Organizational Development (OD)
87.
Identify the four factors that are important determinants of an organizational structure.
The four factors that are important determinants of the type of an organizational structure
or organizing method managers select are as follows:
• The nature of the organizational environment