Typically, the manufacturing function in an organization uses an organic structure and
decentralized decision-making.
Both collusions and cartels are illegal in the United States.
The strategy of related diversification involves an organization entering a new domain
in which it can use one or more of its existing core competences to create a low-cost or
differentiated competitive advantage in that new domain.
Organizations die or are transformed when the needs satisfied by them are no longer
important.
The managers who have an obstructionist approach to corporate social responsibility
actively embrace the need to behave in socially responsible ways, go out of their way to
learn about the needs of different stakeholder groups, and are willing to use
organizational resources to promote the interests not only of stockholders but of the
other stakeholders.
Role conflict occurs when a person’s tasks or authority are not clearly defined and the
person becomes afraid to act on or take responsibility for anything.
A contingency is an event that might occur and must be planned for.
Craftswork is the organizational technology based on competences in using a
standardized, progressive assembly process to manufacture goods.
Organizations following a low-cost business-level strategy typically produce a wide
range of products to suit the needs of different groups of customers.
As compared to an organic structure, a mechanistic structure is more likely to give rise
to a culture in which innovation and flexibility are desired end states.
When an organization uses a personalization approach to knowledge management,
information systems are designed to show employees who in the organization might
possess the knowledge they might need or who might have confronted a similar
problem in the past.
Which of the following persons can be an inside director in an organization?
A) a government official
B) a professional director who holds positions on the board of many companies
C) a full-time employee of the organization
D) an executive of another company that operates in the same industry
Which of the following statements is true about an outside director?
A) An outside director of an organization should have worked with the organization for
at least 10 years at some point during his career.
B) Outside directors tend to dominate boards because as compared to inside directors,
these people have better access to most of the information about the company.
C) An outside director should be a current employee of the organization.
D) An outside director of an organization can be an executive of some other company.
Which of the following are the two principal types of organizational learning strategies
proposed by James March?
A) incremental and radical
B) structured and unstructured
C) exploration and exploitation
D) association and differentiation
According to the population ecology theory, which of the following strategies advocates
entering a new environment early?
A) r-strategy
B) K-strategy
C) generalist strategy
D) specialist strategy
In the context of global expansion strategies, which of the following strategies involves
R&D and marketing being centralized at home and all the other value-creation
functions being decentralized to national units?
A) multidomestic strategy
B) vertical integration strategy
C) market penetration strategy
D) international strategy
According to Joan Woodward, the ________ of a production process is a measure of the
extent to which a production process can be programmed so that it can be controlled
and made predictable.
A) technical complexity
B) resource customizability
C) situational adaptability
D) environmental compatibility
Which of the following is the major integrating mechanism used in mechanistic
structures?
A) hierarchy of authority
B) task forces
C) teams
D) integrating departments
The ________ stage in a product life cycle begins when market demand peaks because
most customers have already bought the product.
A) embryonic
B) growth
C) mature
D) decline
________ are people who are closest to an organization and have the strongest or most
direct claim on organizational resources.
A) Early adopters
B) Free riders
C) Whistle-blowers
D) Internal stakeholders
A ________ is a group of organizations, each of which owns shares in the other
organizations in the group, and all of which work together to further the group’s
interests. It is a Japanese system.
A) hoteru
B) byouin
C) hikouki
D) keiretsu
Which of the following terms refers to the deliberate decentralization of authority to
encourage subordinates to assume responsibility for organizational activities?
A) social loafing
B) empowerment
C) co-optation
D) attitudinal structuring
A patent is valid for a period of ________ years from the date the patent is issued by the
U.S. Patent Office.
A) 5
B) 10
C) 20
D) 50
Which of the following statements is true regarding a multidivisional structure?
A) A multidivisional structure is the least suitable for an organization which produces a
wide range of complex products.
B) A multidivisional structure decreases division of labor which ultimately decreases
organizational effectiveness.
C) As an organization moves from functional to multidivisional structure, the level of
vertical differentiation increases.
D) A multidivisional structure avoids duplication of organizational activities.
Which of the following statements is most likely to be true regarding a geographic
divisional structure?
A) A geographic structure allows some functions to be centralized at one headquarters
location and others to be decentralized to a regional level.
B) A geographic divisional structure is a divisional structure in which specialists from
the support functions are combined into product development teams that specialize in
the needs of a particular kind of product.
C) An organization using a geographic divisional structure employs a transfer pricing
mechanism to transfer its products from one geographic division to the other
geographic division.
D) Organizations that use geographic divisional structure operate in rich and dynamic
environment.
Which of the following is one of the ways in which an organization can avoid becoming
too tall yet maintain effective control of its workforce?
A) encouraging upward communication but discouraging downward communication
B) conducting 360 degrees appraisal of the employees
C) increasing its managers’ span of control
D) increasing the number of levels in the hierarchy
Which of the following is used for accomplishing revolutionary change?
A) implementing sociotechnical systems
B) reengineering
C) creating empowered and flexible work groups
D) implementing total quality management
________ are cost savings that result when an organization is able to use underutilized
resources more effectively because they can be shared across several different products
or tasks.
A) Economies of scale
B) Sunk costs
C) Deffered revenues
D) Economies of scope
With reference to the types of production technologies identified by Joan Woodward, a
mechanistic structure is most appropriate for an organization using ________
technology.
A) mass production
B) small-batch
C) intensive
D) continuous-process
According to the force-field theory, to get an organization to change, managers must
find a way to ________.
A) increase efficiency of the organization
B) reduce resistance to change
C) reduce environmental dynamism
D) increase economies of scope
Which of the following theories proposed the importance of changing roles and tasks to
increase organizational effectiveness?
A) sociotechnical systems theory
B) force-field theory
C) value engineering theory
D) hierarchy of needs theory
Which of the following organizational positions is a part of an organization’s top
management team?
A) functional manager
B) executive vice president
C) divisional manager
D) plant supervisor
Computer-aided materials management (CAMM) ________.
A) uses a push approach to manage inventory flows
B) increases the costs of carrying inventory
C) increases task interdependence
D) increases the cost of designing a product
Nonroutine research is characterized by ________.
A) high task variability and high task analyzability
B) low task variability and low task analyzability
C) low task variability and high task analyzability
D) high task variability and low task analyzability
Which of the following terms refers to the specific pattern of decisions and actions that
managers take to use core competences to achieve a competitive advantage and
outperform competitors?
A) strategy
B) value chain
C) organizational design
D) histogram
Comment on balancing differentiation and integration within an organization.
You are a consultant to Apex Corporation. The CEO insists that effectiveness must be
evaluated by an increase in stock price to satisfy stockholders. The marketing vice
president insists that the main goal is to reduce the time to bring products to the
customer. The manufacturing vice president states that production costs should be the
key focus of the organization. What approach is each manager using to evaluate
organizational effectiveness, and what can this organization do to ensure that
effectiveness is properly evaluated?
Distinguish between vertical differentiation and horizontal differentiation.
What is cognitive dissonance?
What is organizational mirroring?
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of decentralization.
Explain the different kinds of functions that exist within an organization.
Describe the significance of organizational conflict.
List the six bureaucratic principles developed by Max Weber.