Deck 9: Designing Organisation Structure

Question 1

The set of formal tasks and formal reporting relationships provides a framework for vertical control of the organisation.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Work can be performed inefficiently if employees are allowed to specialise.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Delegating decision making to lower level managers and employees can be highly motivating and improve speed, flexibility, and creativity.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The functional, divisional and matrix are the innovative approaches that have emerged to meet changing organisational needs in a turbulent environment.

Question 5

In a functional structure, people within a department communicate primarily with others in the same department to coordinate work and accomplish tasks or implement decisions that are passed down the hierarchy.

Question 6

The vertical functional approach to departmentalisation has been criticised because it leads to poor communication across functional departments in an organisation.

Question 7

The team-based approach evolved as a way to improve horizontal coordination and information.

Question 8

The team-based approach gives managers a way to delegate authority, push responsibility further down the organisation and create participative teams that engage the commitment of workers.

Question 9

Permanent teams are used to provide needed horizontal coordination to complement an existing divisional or functional structure.

Question 10

Farming out certain activities, such as manufacturing or credit processing, which has become a significant trend that allows organisations, small and large, to focus on their core strengths and products is referred to as offshoring.

Question 11

Innovations such as cross-functional teams, task forces and project managers work within the vertical structure but provide a means to increase horizontal communication and cooperation.

Question 12

To build relational coordination into the fabric of the organisation, managers invest beyond physical office layouts, and also focus on training people in the skills needed to interact with one another and resolve cross-departmental conflicts.

Question 13

_______________________ is the basis on which individuals are grouped int departments and departments into total organisations.

A) Departmentalisation
B) Degree of formalisation
C) Chain of command
D) Organisational bureaucracy
E) Matrix structure

Question 14

The following are advantages of a vertical functional approach except:

A) efficient use of resources, economies of scale
B) slow response to external changes, lagging innovation
C) in-depth skill specialisation and development
D) career profess within functional departments
E) excellent coordination with functions

Question 15

Which of the following is a disadvantage of a team-based approach?

A) dual loyalty and conflicts
B) reduced barriers among departments, increased compromise
C) less response time, quicker decisions
D) better morale, enthusiasm from employee involvement
E) reduced administrative overheads

Question 16

In a(n) _________________________ system, the structure is more horizontal, and decision-making authority is decentralised.

Question 17

Define coordination, collaboration and re-engineering.

Question 18

What is chain of command? What are the two underlying principles associated with it?

Question 19

A fundamental characteristic of organisation structure is departmentalisation, which is the basis for grouping positions into departments and departments into the total organisation. Managers make choices about how to use the chain of command to group people together to perform their work. Write a short essay that describes and compares and contrasts the advantages and disadvantages of two approaches - the functional approach and the divisional approach - to departmentalisation. In most instances, which do you think would be the preferred approach, and why?

Question 20

Discuss the concept 'Span of management'.