59. The purpose of Weber’s and Fayol’s principles was for the benefit of management, as
opposed to pleasing customers.
60. Weber put great trust in the creativity, skills, and pride of employees and believed that
managers should act more as coaches than as bosses.
61. Blake is a manager at a car seat manufacturing company. He believes that it is very
important and less confusing if each worker has only one boss. Blake’s view is consistent with
Fayol’s unity of command principle.
62. Rob is a middle manager who spends much of his time devising ways to implement the
ideas of top management. Max Weber would have considered Rob a bureaucrat.
63. Paige believes all workers should receive the same wage rate regardless of their position
within a company. Paige’s views on wages illustrate Fayol’s principle of equity.
64. Kate holds a middle-management position with a large corporation. She prefers to involve
her subordinates in decision making. She also favors allowing workers a fair amount of flexibility
in how they do their jobs. Kate’s approach to management exemplifies the principles first
popularized by Max Weber.
65. Most businesses adopt a bureaucratic organization in order to speed up their decision–
making process.
66. Antonio works in the accounting department of a large firm. This is an example of Fayol’s
division of labor concept.
67. As a new employee in a bureaucratic organization, Nelle can expect a great deal of
independence and authority.
68. Soprano Industries follows a chain of command with authority moving from the top of the
hierarchy down to lower-level managers. The company is organized by department with
established rules and regulations that everyone is expected to follow. These characteristics
suggest that Soprano Industries is an example of a bureaucratic organization.
69. At Dilly-Dally Sportswear Store a manager needs to be called to the front of the store and
sign off on every return that a cashier performs. The CEO continues this policy because he wants
every manager to “look those customers right in the eye” and “stake their job on taking those
items back.” Clearly, Dilly-Dally empowers its employees to make decisions at their jobs.
70. Sam supervised a group of people in a very large organization. The refrigerator in their
lunchroom stopped functioning. He started the paperwork on the day it died, and the refrigerator
request went out for bid; two middle managers needed to approve acceptance of the bid and
document their decision, and the purchasing director had final approval. The refrigerator arrived
six months later. Max Weber would have approved of the decision process and documentation of
it at Sam’s company to back up such a refrigerator purchase.
71. The degree to which an organization allows lower-level managers to make decisions
reflects the degree of decentralization.
72. An advantage of decentralized authority is that those individuals closest to the customers
and more familiar with local conditions make decisions.
73. Centralized authority provides for the delegation of authority to employees who are then
better able to respond to customers’ needs.
74. As a result of rapidly changing markets and global differences in consumer tastes, more
firms are considering centralized authority.
75. A weakened corporate image is one of the disadvantages of a decentralized business
organization.
76. In firms with centralized authority, each business unit is treated as if it is a completely
separate and independent organization.
77. Span of control refers to the number of different markets a business can serve efficiently.
78. The optimum number of subordinates a manager should supervise is referred to as the
span of control.
79. In today’s business environment, the trend is to decrease the span of control.
80. The more standardized the work, the wider the span of control.
81. Managers near the top of an organization have the broadest span of control.
82. The more complex the job, the narrower the span of control.
83. When employees are self-managed, a company can implement a wider span of control.
84. Improvements in information technology have permitted companies to increase their span
of control.
85. A tall organization structure consists of multiple levels of management.
86. A flat organizational structure is designed to be more responsive to the needs of
management.
87. Flat organizations have fewer managers.
88. An advantage of a tall organization is that it ensures fast and efficient communications
throughout the organization.
89. A recent business trend is the elimination of layers of management, creating flatter
organizations and subsequently, a wider span of control.
90. Departmentalization is the dividing of organizational functions into separate units.
91. The traditional way to departmentalize an organization is by geographical area served.
92. Departmentalization by function allows employees opportunity to further develop their
skills.
93. Departmentalization by function typically increases the cost of doing business.
94. Departmentalization by function groups employees based on similar skills, expertise, or
resource use.
95. An advantage of departmentalization is groupthink.
96. Organizations that utilize functional departmentalization benefit from improved
communication between departments.
97. Departmentalization creates an environment in which people are trained in a variety of
managerial responsibilities.
98. Economies of scale can be achieved through departmentalization.
99. Some firms use a combination of departmentalization techniques.
100. The decision on how to departmentalize should depend on the customer and the product
or service the firm is offering.
101. Departmentalizing by customer group has proven ineffective.
102. If there are several steps in getting the product to its final state, the company may choose
to departmentalize by
process
.
103. Some companies have created
hybrid
versions of departmentalization, where they
combine two or more traditional ways of departmentalizing.
104. When management structures the organization, it clarifies who gets to make decisions,
how many people report to one manager, and how many different departments the company
needs in order to operate effectively.
105. When management structures the organization, it makes decisions about which products
and services it will offer and how it is going to finance the company.
106. Because top managers supervise the firm’s most talented workers, they generally have a
broader span of control than middle or first-line managers.
107. As the span of control widens, there is usually a reduction of middle management and an
emphasis on empowerment.
108. A flat organization is less likely to respond quickly to customer needs.
109. To avoid losing that small company feel, fast growing companies try to maintain a flat
organization structure.
110. Although a firm may experience better cost controls through departmentalization, it may
not increase its responsiveness to customer needs.