Grohar-Murray TIF
Chapter 6: An Overview of Organizations and Management
Learning Objective 1:
Describe the differences between general systems theory and classical theory.
1. Using the classical organizational theory model, which would be the most appropriate method
for the nurse to voice concern over unfair client workload assignments?
1. Invite the director of nursing to a unit meeting.
2. Circulate a petition to all staff seeking support for change in assignment policy.
3. Organize a unit meeting to discuss the problem on all shifts.
4. Discuss the problem with the team leader, then the manager if the problem
persists.
2. Which statement indicates that a nursing student is in need of additional instruction on
management theory?
1. “Chaos theorists believe change is inevitable.”
2. “General systems theorists discuss outputs and inputs.”
3. “Contingency theorists believe the environment forces organizational change.”
4. “Classical theorists believe in organizational hierarchy.”
3. Which is an example of staff authority in classical theory?
1. Nurse/manager relationship
2. Nurse/team leader relationship
3. Nurse/shift supervisor relationship
4. Nurse/mentor relationship
Learning Objective 2:
4. The nurse supervisor is planning a meeting for members of the nursing staff, and wants to
describe the word “team” when describing the desired behavior for the staff. Which definition is
appropriate to use in this description for the meeting?
1. A team always needs a leader to coordinate activities.
2. A team is a group of more than three people.
3. All members of the team contribute their talents.
4. Teams consist of members from the same job level.
5. If discussing the differences between centralized and decentralized management, which should
be omitted?
1. Decentralized management eliminates the need for nurse managers.
2. Decentralized delegation involves decision making at the operational level.
3. Centralized management involves decision making at the administrative level.
4. Centralized delegation requires more levels of management.
6. Which statement represents the type of decentralization of authority found in decision
making?
1. The nurse manager of a unit needs to discuss hiring decisions with the chief
nursing officer.
2. The charge nurse has responsibility for deciding which nurses are sent home early
on each shift.
3. The staff nurse discusses methods of fixing a problem with the nurse manager
prior to initiating a change in routine.
4. The nursing supervisor decides the budget expenditures for each nursing
department for the entire fiscal year.
Learning Objective 3:
Explain subsystems of an organization.
7. Which statement indicates an incorrect understanding of organizational subsystems?
1. “One way to classify organization is based on the subsystem of production or
technology.”
2. “The supportive subsystem has no effect on nursing staff or nursing
responsibilities.”
3. “The success of the adaptive subsystem affects the entire organization.”
4. “Education of the nursing staff falls under the maintenance subsystem.”
8. Which department would not be included within the supportive subsystem?
1. Hazardous Waste Disposal
2. Purchasing
3. Marketing
4. Biomedical Engineering
9. Which statement indicates that a nurse manager needs further education concerning the
benefits of breaking a health care organization into subsystems?
1. Looking at departments separately can assist in better understanding the whole.
2. The subsystems can assist in understanding the real and social aspects of the
organization.
2. The individual subsystems can be further broken down into levels of management
in each.
3. Subsystems allow for closer inspection of the organization as whole by looking at
the parts.
Learning Objective 4:
List the various components of a social system.
10. Which are components of a social system within a health care organization? Select all that
apply.
1. Medication administration
2. Physicians
3. Radiological testing
4. Admitting Department
5. Maintenance workers
Learning Objective 5:
Distinguish among different types of power as observed in a health care setting.
11. There is a shortage of nurses on weekends. The unit manager asks nurses to work an
additional two weekends per month in return for an additional 8 hours paid vacation per month.
Which type of power in the manager using?
1. Legitimate
2. Expert
3. Reward
4. Referent
12. Leaders and managers often exercise power differently. Select the powers frequently used by
leaders as represented by these clinical situations. Select all that apply.
1. The clinical specialist suggests changing the type of dressing.
2. The night shift nurse is the vice president’s niece.
3. The nurse manager asks a nurse to work more than 2 hours.
4. The charge nurse knows who has to take calls over the holiday weekend.
5. The day shift nurse has frequently been awarded “nurse of the year.”
Learning Objective 6:
Identify at least three properties of an organization.
13. With respect to the life cycle of an organization, which venture describes the necessary
action to prevent decline?
1. Avoid organizational crises.
2. Provide periodic personnel evaluations.
3. Consider change necessary for survival.
4. Allow only expected outcomes to occur.
14. If two nurse managers from different organizations are comparing their facilities, what
aspects should they expect to closely resemble one another, according to Peter Drucker? Select
all that apply.
1. Image
2. Vocabulary
3. Managerial hierarchy
4. Policies and procedures
5. History
15. Which statement most accurately represents conflict to a nurse manager in an organization?
1. “Conflict allows for meaningful communication.”
2. “Nurse managers must avoid conflict for an organization to survive.”
3. “Departments must have cooperation in order for work to get accomplished.”
4. “Conflict does not allow for the organization to evolve.”