Deck 10: Designing Organizational Structures

Question 1

What is one of the five major building blocks that determines the design of an efficient and effective organizational structure?

A) departmentalization
B) functional structure
C) division of control
D) span of labour

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is the process of grouping jobs so that similar or associated tasks and activities can be coordinated?

A) departmentalization
B) standardization
C) centralization
D) specialization

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following is a commonly used method for departmentalizing a company?

A) by profitability
B) by product
C) by seniority
D) by managerial level

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What does the management activity of organizing include?

A) reorganizing problem divisions
B) setting corporate strategies
C) allocating employees to specific tasks
D) assigning authority and responsibilities

Question 5

The Cooke family has worked for various GM divisions for over four decades. Bennett Cooke works at the Cadillac division. Rondella Cooke works at the Buick division. Their son Tyrone works at the Corvette plant, and their daughter Niome works at the Saturn plant. The Cooke family could tell you that GM is departmentalized by which of the following?

A) geography
B) customer
C) size
D) product

Question 6

What does the management activity of organizing include?

A) a more productive workforce due to increased levels of compensation
B) determining goals, strategies, and tactics
C) determining groups and assigning work activities
D) planning and monitoring strategy implementation

Question 7

Which of the following activities involves coordinating and allocating a company's resources so that the company can carry out its plans and achieve its goals?

A) organizing
B) resource planning
C) controlling
D) implementing

Question 8

An advertising agency that has separate departments for artwork, creative design, print advertising, radio advertising, television advertising, and specialty advertising is using which type of departmentalization?

A) customer
B) functional
C) size
D) geographic

Question 9

On an automotive assembly line, John White checks to make sure that recently painted car bodies are free of paint bubbles. Other people are assigned the task of seeing that other parts of the car are built to specifications. Which of the following concepts have been employed in this situation?

A) product design and structured manufacturing
B) decentralization and unity of command
C) centralization and product departmentalization
D) specialization and division of labour

Question 10

Kohber is a Swiss-company that makes medical equipment. It recently purchased a company that manufactures packaging for high-value drugs. Since it will run the packaging company as a separate division for its own use, it would seem that Kohber is departmentalized by which of the following?

A) function
B) product
C) geography
D) customer

Question 11

What is a major building block for an efficient and effective organizational structure?

A) division of control
B) span of labour
C) managerial hierarchy
D) departmentalization

Question 12

A company that has separate divisions for finance, marketing, sales and production is using which type of departmentalization?

A) product
B) size
C) process
D) functional

Question 13

Which is NOT one of the five types of departmentalization commonly used in most organizations?

A) product
B) geographic
C) process
D) cost

Question 14

At your neighbourhood Wendy's, some employees take and fill orders, others prepare food, a few clean and maintain equipment, and some supervise. What is this process of dividing work into separate jobs and assigning tasks to workers?

A) task division
B) functional design
C) group division
D) division of labour

Question 15

Which of the following is the degree to which tasks are subdivided into smaller jobs?

A) specialization
B) task subdivision
C) functional divisionalization
D) task-objective division

Question 16

One of the primary goals of Burberry, a British retailer, is to expand its market. When the company allocated resources so that it could open two stores in Japan, it was engaged in which management function?

A) resource planning
B) benchmarking
C) organizing
D) implementing

Question 17

Which of the following is a supervisor engaged in when he or she groups people, tasks, and resources into organizational units to facilitate the planning, leading, and control processes?

A) job enrichment
B) functionalization
C) task integration
D) departmentalization

Question 18

What is the process of dividing the work and assigning tasks to workers?

A) task division
B) functional division
C) division of labour
D) grouping of workers

Question 19

What does the management activity of organizing include?

A) grouping jobs and employees
B) allocating human resources
C) implementing corporate strategies
D) restructuring organizational chart

Question 20

Which of the following is a visual depiction of the relationships among tasks and those employees given authority to do those tasks?

A) informal chart
B) relationship chart
C) organization chart
D) formal picture

Question 21

Which of the following refers to the levels of management within the organization?

A) functional group
B) managerial hierarchy
C) subordinated unit
D) authoritative span

Question 22

A research employee at the European Metabolic Diseases Group has a boss at the company's European Research department and a boss at the company's European Metabolic Diseases product group. Which principle does this violate?

A) unity of command
B) functionalization
C) unity of supervision
D) unity of structure

Question 23

Kaitlyn Somerset's supervisor is in charge of the arrangements for the annual company party. He has given Somerset the responsibility for finding a caterer for the event, arranging the entertainment, and selecting the door prizes. Somerset's supervisor used which of the following to make her accountable for most of the success or failure of the party?

A) job sharing
B) transposition
C) substitution
D) delegation of authority

Question 24

What is another name for the managerial hierarchy?

A) a management matrix
B) a control continuum
C) a management pyramid
D) a managerial continuum

Question 25

Which of the following defines the relationships of authority from one level of organization to the next, from top to bottom?

A) chain of accountability
B) chain of order
C) chain of command
D) functional chain

Question 26

Which of the following statements best describes the managerial hierarchy?

A) The lower a manager, the more power he or she has.
B) The amount of power decreases as you move up the managerial hierarchy.
C) The number of employees decreases as you move down the managerial hierarchy.
D) The managerial hierarchy is also called the management pyramid.

Question 27

When a person at a lower level skips a level in the organization chart and consults his or her boss's boss, that person is said to be violating which of the following principles?

A) chain of order
B) chain of command
C) chain of accountability
D) functional chain

Question 28

When the Chili restaurant chain was in financial trouble, its CEO directed the managers of each of the chain's restaurants to trim costs without sacrificing customer satisfaction. Which of the following did the CEO use to make restaurant managers accountable for cost-cutting measures?

A) substitution
B) transposition
C) delegation of authority
D) job sharing

Question 29

American Express is organized into four divisions that cater to businesses, consumers, travellers, and investors. American Express uses which of the following types of departmentalization?

A) customer
B) geographic
C) process
D) product

Question 30

Anthony Johnson works in the human resources department of a small wholesale company. His boss has delegated to Johnson the job of finding a replacement for the company's shipping dock supervisor who has recently retired. Johnson will have total responsibility for filling this position. Johnson will have which of the following?

A) accountability
B) task leniency
C) hierarchical authority
D) job security

Question 31

As part of her marketing project, Lily Unruh is studying how Marriott operates. Since she had thought it was simply a hotel chain, she was amazed to learn that its food divisions provide food for school cafeterias, airlines, hotels, and fast-food restaurants. Marriott's food division is departmentalized by which of the following?

A) geography
B) function
C) product
D) customer

Question 32

What is the term used when everyone reports to and gets instructions from only one boss?

A) singular authority
B) unity of command
C) common authority
D) sole command

Question 33

Mark Sorenson is the managing director of the British division of Exide Technologies. He has the legitimate power and right to make decisions about how the division is run and to influence others to carry out these decisions. Which of the following does he have?

A) empowerment
B) a span of power
C) functional power
D) authority

Question 34

Which of the following principles guarantees that each employee will have only one direct supervisor?

A) accountability
B) divisional unity
C) functional unity
D) unity of command

Question 35

What is legitimate power granted by the organization and acknowledged by employees that allows an individual to request action and expect compliance?

A) empowerment
B) authority
C) functional power
D) autocratic leadership

Question 36

Which of the following is the sharing of job duties and authority with subordinates?

A) job enrichment
B) responsibility sharing
C) delegation of authority
D) functionalization

Question 37

What are the three basic levels of the managerial hierarchy?

A) planning, coordinating, and controlling
B) strategic, tactical, and functional
C) top, middle, and supervisory
D) functional, process, and product

Question 38

Which of the following statements best describes the management pyramid?

A) The span of management is clearly defined in the management pyramid.
B) The management pyramid typically eliminates the need for a clear chain of command.
C) The person with the most formal authority is at the top of the pyramid.
D) All companies use the management pyramid structure.

Question 39

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) is the largest bottler and distributor of Coke products in the world. It is organized around its North America division and its European division. Which of the following types of departmentalization allows CCE to respond to the demands of different markets?

A) process
B) geography
C) customer
D) function

Question 40

A recent trend is for the leader to support everyone else in the company. What is this called?

A) bottom-up hierarchy
B) an inverted pyramid
C) empowerment management
D) reverse structure

Question 41

Which of the following is the practice of giving only limited authority and decision making to lower-level managers?

A) decentralization
B) accountability
C) functionalization
D) centralization

Question 42

Which of the following is the legitimate power granted by the organization and acknowledged by the employees?

A) functionalization
B) authority
C) coordination
D) centralization

Question 43

Hannah Keefer is a sales manager for a company that sells office equipment to retail stores in Ontario. She is responsible for five salespeople who report directly to her. Which of the following principles explains her relationship to these five people?

A) controllability
B) accountability
C) depth of authority
D) span of control

Question 44

Which of the following factors has little effect on the size of a manager's span of control?

A) nature of the task
B) age of the subordinates
C) level of skill and motivation of the workers
D) location of the workers

Question 45

Which of the following is a major building block for an efficient and effective organizational structure?

A) authority
B) span of control
C) responsibility
D) leadership

Question 46

Which of the following types of organizations are characterized by a relatively high degree of job specialization, rigid departmentalization, many layers of management, narrow spans of control, centralized decision making, and a long chain of command?

A) organic
B) line
C) hierarchical
D) mechanistic

Question 47

Which of the following is NOT one of the five factors that determines optimal span of control?

A) nature of the task
B) technological complexity
C) level of skill and motivation of the workers
D) location of the workers

Question 48

A company with few managerial levels and a short chain of command usually has a wide span of control. Which type of organizational structure best describes this company?

A) flat
B) tall
C) matrix
D) narrow

Question 49

A mechanistic organization has which of the following characteristics?

A) low job specialization
B) a short chain of command
C) few levels of management
D) centralized decision making

Question 50

What is one of the advantages of a wide span of control?

A) close supervision of employees
B) more decentralized decisions
C) spreads out responsibility
D) greater organizational flexibility

Question 51

Which type of organization is a company with a wide span of control and short chain of command?

A) matrix organization
B) networked organization
C) flat organization
D) tall organization

Question 52

Decentralization is usually desirable in a company under which of the following conditions?

A) Employees are willing to take responsibility.
B) The company is geographically centralized.
C) The company is very small.
D) The company is operating in a stable environment.

Question 53

What is the term for the number of people or subordinates that a manager effectively controls and directs?

A) accountability
B) span of control
C) delegation
D) responsibility

Question 54

A company with a narrow span of control, which tends to have many managerial levels and a long chain of command, is said to have which type of organizational structure?

A) tall
B) flat
C) networked
D) wide

Question 55

Kirk McCoy is district sales manager for the Jimmy Dean division of Sara Lee Corp. He has six sales managers who report to him. McCoy makes most of the decisions for his people and demands that they check with him on any changes in pricing, sales scheduling and routing, and sales presentation material. McCoy operates which of the following types of department?

A) centralized
B) decentralized
C) hierarchical
D) subordinated

Question 56

Decentralization is usually desirable in a company under which of the following conditions?

A) The organization has fewer than 30 employees.
B) The company is geographically concentrated.
C) The company is operating in a pure competition.
D) The company is operating in a dynamic environment.

Question 57

Which of the following is the practice of giving a great deal of authority and decision-making freedom to lower-level managers?

A) centralization
B) decentralization
C) autonomy
D) functionalization

Question 58

An organic organization has which of the following characteristics?

A) loose departmentalization
B) a relatively high degree of job specialization
C) narrow spans of control
D) centralized decision making

Question 59

Which type of organization is characterized by a relatively low degree of job specialization, loose departmentalization, few levels of management, wide spans of control, decentralized decision making, and a short chain of command?

A) hierarchical
B) organic
C) mechanistic
D) line

Question 60

Sunny Maroney is the head of the marketing research department for a cosmetics manufacturer. Maroney delegates as much authority as possible to her 14 subordinates, although she still retains ultimate responsibility. Maroney manages which type of department?

A) hierarchical
B) decentralized
C) centralized
D) functionally organized

Question 61

Which of the following is the organization structure that brings people from different functional departments to work on special projects?

A) networked organization
B) committee structure
C) matrix structure
D) functional organization

Question 62

Which of the following is designed with direct, clear lines of authority and communication flowing from the top managers downward?

A) line organization
B) functional organization
C) staff organization
D) matrix organization

Question 63

Which of the following personnel give expert advice in specialized areas?

A) staff
B) line
C) functional
D) lower

Question 64

Pharmacie & Upjohn, a pharmaceutical company, uses a functional structure (research, development, manufacturing, and marketing) within each of its three largest major product divisions. This company is an example of which of the following structures?

A) committee structure
B) matrix structure
C) functional organization
D) product organization

Question 65

Where are line positions typically found in organizations?

A) finance
B) public relations
C) human resource management
D) managerial consulting

Question 66

In which departments are typical line positions found?

A) human resources and production
B) human resources and legal
C) legal and marketing
D) production and marketing

Question 67

A network of Benetton retail sales agents select the Benetton designs that they feel will appeal to Benetton retail customers. The responsibility for picking the next "hot style" is in the hands of this group. This is an example of which of the following?

A) matrix structure
B) committee structure
C) functional structure
D) subordinated structure

Question 68

What is a structure in which authority and responsibility are held by a group of workers rather than a single manager?

A) subordinated
B) committee
C) matrix
D) functional

Question 69

What term describes individuals who are directly involved in the process to create goods and services?

A) blue collar
B) line
C) staff
D) subordinate

Question 70

What is the term for the implicit behavioural guidelines of the group or the standards for acceptable and non-acceptable behaviour?

A) rules
B) norms
C) ethics
D) values

Question 71

Ed Czerni works in the public relations office of a company that manufactures floor covering. Czerni does not produce, sell, or distribute the products his company makes. He is in which of the following positions?

A) line
B) centralized
C) functional
D) staff

Question 72

Which of the following is a drawback associated with committee organizations?

A) When a committee makes decisions, it's more difficult to hold individuals accountable.
B) Committees coordinate tasks more easily than individual managers do.
C) Committees usually bring diverse viewpoints to a problem.
D) People with higher formal authority sometimes dominate committees.

Question 73

Which of the following is the degree to which group members want to stay in the group and tend to resist outside influences?

A) group norming
B) team synergy
C) organizational culture
D) group cohesiveness

Question 74

In which departments are typical staff positions found?

A) human resources and marketing
B) legal and human resources
C) production and marketing
D) production and legal

Question 75

What is one of the advantages of work group cohesiveness?

A) the absence of resistance to change
B) the absence of conflict with other work groups
C) formalized group norms
D) reduced employee turnover

Question 76

Mario Laytana is a warehouse manager for a company that produces and sells peaches and peach-related products. In this small entrepreneurial company, there are direct lines of communication and authority flowing from the company's CEO down to Laytana, and through her to the workers in the warehouse. Laytana works in which of the following?

A) functional organization
B) matrix organization
C) staff organization
D) line organization

Question 77

Which of the following is a permanent organization structure that draws from horizontal and vertical authority relationships?

A) subordinated management
B) matrix structure
C) functional organization
D) committee structure

Question 78

What is another name for the matrix structure?

A) quality management approach
B) line-and-staff structure
C) project management approach
D) networking approach

Question 79

Charlie Li has been hired by Exide Technologies to be its legal counsel and handle all of Exide's legal affairs. Li is in which type of position?

A) staff
B) line
C) centralized
D) matrix

Question 80

Chloe Anyan works in the human resources department of a company that manufactures packaging machines. She handles payroll and insurance. Anyan is in which of the following positions?

A) staff
B) line
C) functional
D) matrix