78) You have recently started your business with a small capital investment. Your business needs
a very high degree of flexibility so that you can quickly respond to environmental changes and
you are also interested in minimizing costs. Which of the following types of organizations is best
suitable for your business?
A) a highly centralized organization
B) a virtual organization
C) a formalized organization
D) a bureaucracy
E) a hierarchical organization
79) In structural terms, a virtual organization is highly centralized, with little or no
departmentalization.
80) A virtual organization lacks flexibility.
81) ________ is a systematic effort to make an organization leaner by selling off business units,
closing locations, or reducing staff.
A) Removing boundaries
B) Departmentalizing
C) Decentralizing
D) Downsizing
E) Formalizing
82) Describe the various ways in which the negative impact of downsizing can be minimized.
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83) A(n) ________ model is generally synonymous with the bureaucracy in that it has highly
standardized processes for work, high formalization, and more managerial hierarchy.
A) mechanistic
B) organic
C) network
D) boundaryless
E) pyramidal
84) A(n) ________ model is a structure that is flat, uses cross-hierarchical and cross-functional
teams, has low formalization, possesses a comprehensive information network, and relies on
participative decision making.
A) mechanistic
B) organic
C) boundaryless
D) network
E) pyramidal
85) Which of the following is typically a characteristic of an organic model of organization?
A) narrow spans of control
B) centralization
C) free flow of information
D) high formalization
E) inflexibility
86) Which of the following is typically a characteristic of the mechanistic model of organization?
A) low formalization
B) extensive departmentalization
C) decentralized management
D) wide spans of control
E) low specialization
87) A(n) ________ strategy emphasizes the introduction of major new products and services.
A) innovation
B) cost-minimization
C) imitation
D) organic
E) mechanistic
88) Organizations following a(n) ________ strategy try to both minimize risk and maximize
opportunity for profit, moving into new products or new markets only after innovators have
proven their viability.
A) innovation
B) cost-cutting
C) imitation
D) organic
E) mechanistic
89) Which of the following is most likely to be a characteristic of an organization pursuing an
innovation strategy?
A) high formalization
B) high specialization
C) decentralized control
D) rigid departmentalization
E) narrow span of control
90) Which of the following is most likely to be a characteristic of an organization pursuing a
cost-minimization strategy?
A) lack of tight control
B) wide span of control
C) low work specialization
D) high centralization
E) low formalization
91) Which of the following terms refers to the way an organization transfers inputs into outputs?
A) volatility
B) formalization
C) complexity
D) technology
E) environment
92) What are the key dimensions to any organization’s environment?
A) conformity, criticality, and diffusivity
B) complexity, volatility, and capacity
C) complexity, diffusivity, and criticality
D) conformity, criticality, and capacity
E) criticality, volatility, diffusivity
93) 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
94) Volatility refers to the degree of ________ within an environment.
A) heterogeneity
B) instability
C) flexibility
D) diffusivity
E) conformity
95) The ________ of an environment refers to the degree of heterogeneity and concentration
among environmental elements.
A) density
B) simplicity
C) complexity
D) intricacy
E) permeability
96) Harald is opening a manufacturing plant with a mechanistic and centralized structure.
Employees from which of the following countries will be least comfortable with this type of a
structure?
A) Greece
B) Peru
C) Canada
D) France
E) Chile
97) Institutions are cultural factors that act as guidelines for appropriate behavior for
organizational structure.
98) The more scarce, dynamic, and complex the environment, the more organic a structure
should be.
99) Compare and contrast the three primary organizational strategies: innovation, cost-
minimization, and imitation.
100) What are the three dimensions that characterize the environment of an organization?
101) What is the difference between a mechanistic model and an organic model of organizational
structure?
102) In general, less ________ organizations have a greater amount of ________.
A) centralized; authority
B) organized; autonomy
C) authoritarian; control
D) centralized; formality
E) centralized; autonomy
103) 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
104) 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
105) There is much research to suggest that people tend to select employers randomly.
106) Research indicates that the success of a work-from-home position depends on the job’s
structure even more than on its tasks.