Chapter 3 – Organizational Capability: Structure, Culture and Roles
TRUE/FALSE
1. In a functional organization, staff are grouped by areas of specialization and managed by a person with
expertise in that area.
2. In a projectized organization the functional manager has the most control.
3. In a functional organization workers can learn readily from others in their discipline and keep their
skills sharp.
4. In a projectized organization most people are assigned to a project and report upward through the
project manager.
5. In a projectized organization the project manager has extensive authority for budgets, personnel and
decision making.
6. Projectized organizations are especially effective at helping team members to maintain their
discipline-specific competencies.
7. A matrix organization is any organizational structure in which the project manager shares
responsibility with the functional manager for assigning priorities and directing the work of persons
assigned to the project.
8. A form of matrix organization in which the functional manager and project manager have equal
amounts of power is called a weak matrix.
9. If the project scope is hard to define early in the project or much change is expected, a traditional or
plan-driven approach should be adopted.
10. Organizational culture is comprised of the values, social rituals, and symbols that are shared among
members of the organization and taught to new members.
11. In “role cultures” reliable workers have the utmost respect for regulations and laws.
12. Hallmarks of “personal cultures” are skill-based assignments, self-motivated workers, and more
deference paid to knowledge than to formal authority.
13. In “personal cultures” people display an attitude that collaboration is satisfying and stimulating.
14. When the project sponsor and manager are determining how to create the project culture, it is
important to make the project culture as ethical as possible.
15. While differing in details, all of the major types of project life cycle models have a series of exactly
four phases with activities that need to be completed and approvals that must be received before the
project can proceed to the next phase.
16. The project sponsor is the person or group that provides resources and support for the project and is
accountable for enabling project success.
17. A scrum master is a project manager who serves and leads in a collaborative, facilitating manner.
18. The steering team is often responsible for ensuring that several customer related tasks are performed,
including identification of the customers and prioritization of their desires.
19. Among the most important behaviors required of project managers are honoring trust, protecting
people, establishing a culture of honesty, defending core values and leading major change.
20. The decision to kill a project if needed is typically reached jointly through agreement between the
project customer and the project contractor.
21. Core teams on agile projects need strong direction from the sponsor and project manager.
22. It is generally unnecessary to have every function represented on the core team of the project, as that
would make communications and scheduling of meetings more difficult.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which of the following characteristics is NOT associated with a functional organization?
a.
Each employee has one clear superior.
b.
Resources are easily shared between departments and projects.
c.
Staff are managed by a person with expertise in their area.
d.
Staff are grouped by areas of specialization.
2. Which of the following is an advantage associated with managing projects in a functional
organization?
a.
Each unit contains a variety of specialists suited to solving complex problems.
b.
Unity of command – one clear supervisor for each worker.
c.
Rapid communication between the various functions working on the project.
d.
Combines task focus with technical capability.
3. All of the following are advantages associated with managing projects in a projectized organization
EXCEPT:
a.
One boss – the project manager
b.
Response times and decision making are swift.
c.
Departmental barriers are reduced.
d.
New assignment is guaranteed after the project ends
4. Projectized organizations often adopt which of the following techniques where project team members
are physically placed close to one another to improve communications and working relationships?
a.
collaboration
b.
co-location
c.
coordination
d.
consolidation
5. Which of the following is a disadvantage associated with managing projects in a projectized
organization?
a.
Response times and decision making are slow.
b.
Team members assigned to a project are often underutilized.
c.
Team members have difficulty focusing on project issues.
d.
Traditional department barriers are reduced.
6. Which of the following organizational structures is designed to achieve a balance of task focus and
technical capability?
a.
functional organization
b.
projectized organization
c.
matrix organization
d.
siloed organization
7. Which of the following organizational structures runs contrary to the unity of command principle – that
each employee works for a single supervisor?
a.
functional organization
b.
projectized organization
c.
matrix organization
d.
siloed organization
8. Which of the following is an advantage associated with the matrix organization?
a.
Resources can be shared between departments and projects.
b.
Unity of command – one clear supervisor for each employee.
c.
Faster response times and decision making.
d.
Having multiple bosses.
9. Through shared values, organizational cultures can informally do all the following EXCEPT:
a.
motivate the ethical actions and communications of managers and subordinates.
b.
determine how people are treated, controlled and rewarded.
c.
establish how cooperation, competition, conflict and decision making are handled.
d.
eliminate politics in the workplace
10. When trying to understand a corporate culture, it is helpful to understand the types of power that are
used. In “power cultures”:
a.
workers closely follow their appointed roles.
b.
supervisors exert a great deal of economic and political power.
c.
deference is paid to knowledge rather than authority.
d.
collaboration is believed to be satisfying and stimulating.
11. Some organizational culture characteristics make project success more likely. These characteristics
include all of the following EXCEPT:
a.
collaboration to meet organizational goals
b.
lack of appreciation for project management
c.
engagement of stakeholders
d.
teamwork across cultures
12. The project life cycle where the majority of the project work is conducted in iterations (sometimes
called sprints) is called:
a.
Construction project life cycle
b.
DMAIC model
c.
Agile project life cycle
d.
R & D project life cycle
13. Project planning teams use project life cycle models because various types of projects have differing
demands. Which of the following sequences of stages is most appropriate for a life cycle model for
construction projects?
a.
define – measure – analyze – improve – control
b.
concept definition – demonstration – development – production
c.
pre-planning – design – procurement – construction – start up
d.
concept – requirements – design – code – test – turnover
14. Project planning teams use project life cycle models because various types of projects have differing
demands. Which of the following sequences of stages is most appropriate for a life cycle model for
research and development (R & D) projects?
a.
define – measure – analyze – improve – control
b.
project envisioning – requirements gathering – incremental implementation – production
release
c.
pre-planning – design – procurement – construction – start up
d.
idea generation – idea screening – concept development – validation – transition
15. In agile projects, the individual who leads in a collaborative manner by guiding teams and removing
obstacles to their progress is called the:
a.
project manager
b.
sponsor
c.
scrum master
d.
facilitator
16. According to PMI’s “Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct”, project managers should exhibit all of
the following behaviors EXCEPT:
a.
authority – exert economic and political power
b.
fairness – make decisions and act impartially
c.
honesty – understand the truth and act in a truthful manner
d.
responsibility – take ownership for decisions
17. Which of the following executive roles is responsible for overall priority setting, project selection and
prioritization, general guidance and encouragement?
a.
Steering Team
b.
Sponsor
c.
Project Management Office
d.
Chief Projects Officer
18. During project execution, the project sponsor’s responsibilities include all of these EXCEPT:
a.
ensure communications
b.
charter the project
c.
nurture key stakeholders
d.
ensure quality
19. The Chief Projects Officer (CPO) is responsible for the individuals working on a project in all of the
following ways EXCEPT:
a.
that they follow the detailed project plan that the CPO has created.
b.
that they capture lessons learned from completed projects.
c.
that they use templates and standards when appropriate.
d.
that they receive the training they need.
20. Which of the following are among the challenges faced by project managers?
a.
They frequently have more authority than responsibility.
b.
They must determine how networks of people function in the organization.
c.
They must learn how to accomplish project work unilaterally – on their own.
d.
They are not allowed to be flexible about how the project should be accomplished.
21. There are several tasks that a project customer (or sponsor acting in that capacity) can do to enhance
the probability of success. Which of the following are generally performed independent of the project
contractor who will perform the work?
a.
conduct kick-off meeting
b.
develop clear requirements
c.
prioritize project
d.
write and sign the project charter
22. There are several tasks that a project customer (or sponsor acting in that capacity) can do to enhance
the probability of success. All of the following are generally performed jointly with the project
contractor who will perform the work EXCEPT:
a.
terminate project if needed
b.
develop clear requirements
c.
use a control system
d.
conduct a kick-off meeting
23. In agile projects, overall planning is at a high level, and only the near-term work is planned in detail.
The project work is conducted in iterations (sprints) that are normally:
a.
no more than one calendar year
b.
a variable length depending on project scope
c.
a fixed length of two or four weeks
d.
assigned to one person on the team
24. Which of the following roles and attributes do NOT describe the core team members on a project?
a.
Core team members often make project decisions jointly with the project manager.
b.
Core team members are the small group of people who are usually on the project from
start to finish.
c.
Core team members join the project on a temporary basis to perform specific project
activities as necessary.
d.
Core team members may supervise the work of subject matter experts.
25. Subject matter experts often perform specific project activities when necessary. Which of the
following statements regarding subject matter experts is accurate?
a.
The number of subject matter experts is generally limited to fewer than the number of core
team members.
b.
The subject matter experts are typically assigned to the project from start to finish.
c.
The subject matter experts may not relate strongly with a project due to the temporary
nature of their involvement.
d.
The subject matter experts should only be used for staff augmentation.
ESSAY
1. The PMI “Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct” provides guidelines for ethical behavior by
project management practitioners. It describes four main values that should guide a project manager’s
actions. List these four values and give one example per value of why it should guide a project
manager’s actions.
2. How might the behaviors of a project manager be different in an agile project life cycle, versus a
plan-driven or traditional project life cycle?
3. Describe the role of the steering team with respect to projects.
