Chapter 08 Organizational Culture, Structure, and Design: Building
Blocks of the Organization Answer Key
True / False Questions
1.
Oakland, California, productivity expert Odette Pollar proposed that “To do more in a day, you
must do more and do everything faster.”
2.
Productivity expert Odette Pollar recommends that managers delegate emergencies and any
matters that are confidential or involve counseling of subordinates to qualified assistant
managers.
Topic: Delegation
3.
The organizational culture is also called corporate culture.
4.
A system of shared beliefs and values that develops within an organization and guides the
behavior of its members is known as the corporate system.
5.
Just as human beings have a personality, organizations also have a “personality”—the
product(s) they sell and the type(s) of market(s) they participate in.
6.
The elements that drive an organization’s culture also vary, representing the values of the
founder, the industry and business environment, the national culture, the organization’s vision
and strategies, and the behavior of leaders.
7.
The formal and informal marketing systems of goods, services, and ideas, along with the
customer relationships, that an organization sells are known as its organizational structure.
8.
A clan culture is a type of dysfunctional organization that has little collaboration and cohesion
among employees, thus worker job satisfaction and commitment are low.
9.
Another type of culture that stems from a dysfunctional organization, with an internal focus and
little flexibility, innovation, and creativity, is an adhocracy culture.
10.
A market culture has a strong internal focus, and it concentrates on developing the business
and marketing plans and helping employees market their product(s).
11.
Dave, a graphic designer with Development Advertising, enjoys the flexibility of his
management and its culture, which encourages risk taking, innovation, and creativity. Because
it is a small company, Dave gets quick answers from his boss, which allows him and
Development Advertising to quickly respond to changes in the marketplace. Development
Advertising is an example of an adhocracy culture.
12.
In order to be more profitable by increasing sales, Thrifty Bank has an external focus,
concentrating on strategic planning, risk taking, and flexibility over stability. This is an example
of a hierarchy culture.
13.
Upper-, middle-, and lower-level management and nonmanagement workers are the layers of
organizational culture.
14.
Joe, the owner of Ace Product Sales, emphasizes a professional culture. He is strict when it
comes to the way his employees dress in the office and while visiting customers, saying “Our
image and success is based on how people view us, so the way we dress is a priority.” In
addition, Joe strongly believes in awarding his employees during monthly ceremonies. Joe
said, “We reward our employees so they feel good about what they are doing, which is the
mark of a professional organization.” This is a good example of how organizational culture is
expressed in observable artifacts.
15.
Global Oil has posters hanging in the break rooms, offices, and lobbies of its offices and
drilling rigs globally that talk about trust, caring, and teamwork as the driving company values.
At the same time, upper management advises all company managers to exhibit these values
with employees and while dealing with all stakeholders. The values of trust, caring, and
teamwork that Global Oil exhibits are examples of enacted values.
16.
The community values of an organization’s culture that typically do not change are
represented by an organization’s basic assumptions.
17.
North Community College strives to portray its image to citizens of the community through
advertising and the actions of its faculty and staff that “community is our middle name.” This
act of trying to depict this image is a symbol.
18.
Philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates recently spoke about their Global Development Division
that works to help the world’s poorest people lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. This is
an example of a story, which is a narrative based on true events emphasizing a particular
value.
19.
While a college student at the University of Texas, Michael Dell, the CEO and founder of Dell
Computer, started a computer business in his dorm room. Michael Dell is a hero, as a person
whose accomplishments embody the values of the organization “to empower countries,
communities, customers and people everywhere to use technology to realize their dreams.”
20.
The activities and ceremonies, planned and unplanned, that celebrate important occasions
and accomplishments in the organization’s life are known as rites and rituals.
21.
A recent study demonstrated that the eight types of organizational outcomes had significant
and positive relationships with clan, adhocracy, and market cultures, especially with the
outcomes of job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
22.
The employees of XYZ Production enjoy a culture that has developed over time to become a
model for local companies. A manager with XYZ mentioned that “Through a careful selection
process while hiring and the strong culture we have developed, our employee turnover is one
of the lowest our industry.” This is an example of how low turnover can be a consequence of a
good organizational culture.
23.
In cases where the culture of an organization is strong, management must focus on the
structure found in the company’s rule book for orderliness and predictability that employees
look to for guidance rather than through the company culture.
24.
Changing organizational culture is essentially a teaching process, a process in which
members instruct each other about the organization’s preferred values, beliefs, expectations,
and behaviors.
25.
When Greg and his wife Amy bought a local landscaping business, they wanted to make sure
their values became embedded in the organization. Greg and Amy‘s company, like any
organization, can accomplish this by having rites and rituals, watching how they react to each
crisis, role modeling, training, and coaching.
26.
Managers can change organizational culture by maintaining rites and rituals; giving rewards,
promotions, and bonuses; setting company goals; and establishing performance–measurable
and controllable activities.
27.
According to Chester I. Barnard, an organization is defined as more than two people who try to
collaborate on activities to meet an organization’s goals.
28.
The AFL-CIO is an example of a for-profit organization, and the March of Dimes is an example
of a nonprofit organization.
29.
A box-and-lines illustration showing the formal lines of authority and the organization’s official
positions or work specializations is known as an organization chart.
30.
When the new nurse was hired at the hospital, HR gave her a handout containing a chart that
showed a family-tree-like pattern of boxes and lines, the formal lines of authority and the
organization’s official positions at the hospital. This is an organization chart.
31.
The typical three-part communication network between companies, their customers, and their
suppliers is known as a formal vertical hierarchy.
32.
Dave, the HR manager, was meeting with Amy, the new controller. He mentioned to her that
“If you glance left and right on the line of that chart, you will see horizontal specialization, the
different jobs and work specializations.” The chart that Dave was showing to Amy is an
organization chart.
33.
As a middle or upper-level manager, a good way to stay in touch and resist isolation is to talk
daily with senior managers, have “town meetings” with staffers several times a year, and
employ management by walking around.
34.
The arrangement of having discrete parts of a task done by different people is known as
division of labor.
35.
When employees and management work well together and they all believe in the mission and
vision of upper management, this is known as unity of command.
36.
The control mechanism utilized for making sure the right people do the right things at the right
time is known as the mechanism for authority.
37.
Tom’s Hardware has a simple organizational structure. There are no levels of middle
management, as all employees report to the owner, Tom, or his assistant managers. Tom’s
has a thin organizational structure.
38.
Sam is the general manager of a movie theater. In his position he makes decisions related to
managing the theater, giving orders, and using the company resources. These rights given to
Sam as a manager are known as power.
39.
At Ace Sales, the CEO and HR director are line managers, and the special adviser is an
example of a staff position.
40.
An advantage of centralization is that procedures are not uniform and thus easier to control.
41.
Two advantages of decentralization are that managers are encouraged to solve their own
problems, and decisions are made more quickly, increasing the organization’s flexibility and
efficiency.
42.
The simple structure is not often found in a firm’s very early, entrepreneurial stages.
43.
Becky, the CEO of an electronics retailer, is looking at the corporate structure that groups
employees by specialties, such as store sales, HR, and accounting. This is an example of a
functional structure.
44.
Reliable Office Equipment established a structure where people are grouped by similar
products, such as the copier and computer divisions. It also has groups that handle certain
types of customers, such as those in education and government. Reliable uses a divisional
structure.
45.
Fine Oil uses a structure that includes both functional divisions, such as marketing and HR,
and a divisional chain of command, such as the chemical and petroleum products divisions.
For example, Glen, a salesperson, reports to both the marketing manager and the petroleum
products manager as he starts to develop the Shell Oil account. Fine Oil is an example of a
matrix structure.
46.
When managers from different functional divisions are brought together in cross-functional
teams to solve particular problems, this is a team-based design.
47.
Key IT Products has decided to retain its computer design, human resources, and marketing
departments at its corporate office. But to cut costs and increase speed, it outsources many
other functions such as production in Canada, accounting in a neighboring city, warehousing
and distribution across town. Many components are manufactured overseas. This is an
example of a matrix structure.
48.
Beautiful Homes builds new homes with products from numerous companies, such as garages
from Home Depot and specially designed kitchens from a company in North Carolina.
Beautiful Homes is an example of a modular structure.
49.
While figuring out how to save money for a bride who is having financial problems, Paula, the
catering manager, asked her assistant, “What do you think is the best menu to offer under
these particular circumstances?” Paula and her assistant are trying to use the contingency
approach.
50.
Authority is decentralized, tasks and rules are flexible, and employees are given a lot of
freedom at Reliable Copy Products, where the sales representatives are not closely
supervised. Reliable is an example of a mechanistic organization.
51.
The tendency of the parts of an organization to disperse and fragment is known as
differentiation.
52.
When there are fewer rules and procedures, and networks of employees are encouraged to
cooperate and respond quickly to unexpected tasks, this is known as integration.
53.
Paulina works as an order-taker at a fast food restaurant. She does not cook food, or even
package the final order, but inputs the order and takes payment. Paulina reports directly to the
shift manager, and seldom interacts with the general manager. This is an example of a
mechanistic organization.
54.
Companies that have gone through a rough start-up period may decide to change their
structures so that they are less mechanistic, with greater flexibility.
Multiple Choice Questions
55.
Routine tasks and paperwork, as well as jobs that help your subordinates grow are __.
Topic: Delegation
56.
According to productivity expert Odette Pollar, “To do more in a day, ____.”
57.
Adam, the owner of Adam’s Roofing, was talking to a visitor in his office, telling her that “We
are a fun-loving group that believes in teamwork and a family atmosphere at work, which
significantly affects our work outcomes. Plus, we do things together outside of work. This is
the ‘social glue’ that binds the members of our company together.” Adam was referring to his
company’s _____.
58.
Jean-Paul, the store manager, was speaking with Patty, his new assistant manager, about the
store’s system of job relationships and whom she will report to and who will report to her. He
said, “This structure is one of the things that motivates our workers to work together to achieve
our company’s goals.” Jean-Paul was telling Patty about the store’s _____.