Question 1

The principle of ________ helps preserve the concept of an unbroken line of authority.
A)span of control
B)departmentalization
C)cross-functionality
D)centralization
E)unity of command

Accepted Answer

E)Chain of command can't be discussed without also discussing unity of command.The principle of unity of command helps preserve the concept of an unbroken line of authority.It says a person should have one and only one superior to whom he or she is directly responsible.If the unity of command is broken, an employee might have to cope with conflicting demands or priorities from several superiors.

Question 2

Which of the following terms refers to the rights inherent in a managerial position to give orders and expect them to be obeyed?
A)chain of command
B)authority
C)power
D)span of control
E)leadership

Accepted Answer

B)Chain of command can't be discussed without also discussing authority.Authority refers to the rights inherent in a managerial position to give orders and expect them to be obeyed.To facilitate coordination, each managerial position is given a place in the chain of command, and each manager is given a degree of authority in order to meet his or her responsibilities.

Question 3

A ________ is consistent with recent efforts by companies to reduce costs, cut overhead, speed up decision making, increase flexibility, get closer to customers, and empower employees.
A)wider span of control
B)high degree of formalization
C)longer chain of command
D)lack of work specialization
E)high degree of centralization

Accepted Answer

A)The trend in recent years has been toward wider spans of control, which are consistent with efforts to reduce costs, cut overhead, speed decision making, increase flexibility, get closer to customers, and empower employees.

Question 4

A narrow span of control ________.
A)encourages employee autonomy
B)is expensive because it adds levels of management
C)simplifies vertical communication
D)increases the speed of decision making
E)discourages overly tight supervision

Accepted Answer

B)Narrow spans of control are expensive because they add levels of management.The added levels of hierarchy slow down decision making and tend to isolate upper management.

Question 5

The term used to describe the degree to which tasks in an organization are subdivided into separate jobs is called ________.
A)social clustering
B)bureaucracy
C)work specialization
D)centralization
E)departmentalization

Accepted Answer

C)We use the term work specialization, or division of labor, to describe the degree to which activities in the organization are subdivided into separate jobs.The essence of work specialization is to divide a job into a number of steps, each completed by a separate individual.

Question 6

Which of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument favoring increased span of control?
A)Mike has a reputation of handling interpersonal conflicts effectively.
B)Performance reports from the last few years show that teams that were monitored closely had higher productivity.
C)Porco Rosso recently launched its latest engine model, the PR-4.
D)Market trends indicate that the demand for aircraft is expected to increase substantially over the next few years.
E)When additional workers were assigned to Mike on a previous occasion, it led to favorable and productive results.

Accepted Answer

B)Mike's ability to handle conflicts effectively and his track record, which shows that increasing his span of control led to good results in the past, if anything, strengthen the argument.Market trends and the fact that Porco Rosso recently released a new engine are irrelevant as they neither strengthen nor weaken the argument.As previous performance reports show that teams that were monitored closely have higher productivity, it weakens the argument considerably.Monitoring Mike's team closely would benefit the productivity, and assigning more workers to him would retard it.

Question 7

Which of the following statements, if true, would support the argument favoring increased span of control?
A)Mike's team consists of highly experienced and skilled labor.
B)Porco Rosso recently became the world's leading aircraft manufacturer.
C)Mike is receiving increasing complaints about interpersonal conflicts within the team.
D)Mike's team is highly dependent on his guidance, even on minor issues.
E)When additional workers were assigned to Mike on a previous occasion, it led to unfavorable results.

Accepted Answer

A)As Mike's team consists of highly experienced and skilled labor, Mike's managerial abilities would complement his team's abilities and certainly improve the average productivity.Porco Rosso becoming the leading aircraft manufacturer is simply stating a mere and irrelevant fact.If Mike is receiving increasing complaints about interpersonal conflicts within his team, then he isn't doing a very good job to begin with and hence must not be assigned more workers.If Mike's team is highly dependent on his guidance, his hands are already full and assigning more workers certainly wouldn't be advised.The fact that assigning additional workers to Mike had previously led to unfavorable results indicates that he is incapable of handling more than the present number.

Question 8

For much of the first half of the twentieth century, managers viewed work specialization as ________.
A)a means to encourage employee satisfaction
B)an effective solution to overcentralization
C)an unending source of increased productivity
D)difficult to implement without automation technology
E)a frustrating cause of reduced efficiency

Accepted Answer

C)For much of the first half of the twentieth century, managers viewed work specialization as an unending source of increased productivity.And they were probably right.When specialization was not widely practiced, its introduction almost always generated higher productivity.

Question 9

The basis by which jobs are grouped is called ________.
A)social clustering
B)span of control
C)work specialization
D)centralization
E)departmentalization

Accepted Answer

E)The basis by which jobs are grouped is called departmentalization.

Question 10

According to the principle of unity of command, ________.
A)managers should limit their oversight to a maximum of 12 employees
B)managers should oversee 1-4 employees on average
C)an individual should be directly responsible to only one supervisor
D)an organization should be departmentalized on the basis of functions
E)employees should report directly to two supervisors to maintain task balance

Accepted Answer

C)Chain of command can't be discussed without also discussing unity of command.The principle of unity of command helps preserve the concept of an unbroken line of authority.It says a person should have one and only one superior to whom he or she is directly responsible.If the unity of command is broken, an employee might have to cope with conflicting demands or priorities from several superiors.

Question 11

The ________ refers to the number of subordinates that a manager directs.
A)span of control
B)unity of command
C)chain of command
D)line of responsibility
E)leadership web

Accepted Answer

A)The number of employees that a manager can efficiently and effectively direct describes the span of control.It is important because it largely determines the number of levels and managers an organization has.

Question 12

AgriProducers has customers all over the United States that need their soil and crops tested in their labs. The crops and soil are different in the various large areas of the nation, such as the West Coast and the Midwest. Which type of departmentalization would be best for AgriProducers?
A)functional
B)process
C)product
D)geographic
E)temporal

Accepted Answer

D)AgriProducers' needs would best be served by departmentalizing on the basis of geography.This form is valuable when an organization's customers are scattered over a large geographic area and have similar needs based on their location.

Question 13

Span of control is a key element of an organization's structure. Which of the following key questions is addressed by this element?
A)On what basis will jobs be grouped together?
B)To whom do individuals and groups report?
C)To what degree will there be rules and regulations to direct employees and managers?
D)How many individuals can a manager efficiently and effectively direct?
E)To what degree are activities subdivided into separate jobs?

Accepted Answer

D)Span of control determines the number of levels and managers an organization has.All things being equal, the wider or larger the span, the more efficient the organization.

Question 14

Anna's company needs to dramatically cut costs, speed decision making, and increase flexibility. Which of the following structural decisions will help her achieve the desired objectives?
A)increasing the span of control
B)decreasing the unity of command
C)increasing the degree of formalization
D)decentralizing management decisions
E)departmentalizing the company on the basis of products

Accepted Answer

A)The trend in recent years has been toward wider spans of control.They're consistent with firm's efforts to reduce costs, cut overhead, speed decision making, increase flexibility, get closer to customers, and empower employees.

Question 15

A plant manager organizes a plant by separating engineering, accounting, manufacturing, personnel, and purchasing into departments. The plant is departmentalized on the basis of ________.
A)target customer
B)product
C)function
D)geography
E)service

Accepted Answer

C)One of the most popular ways to group activities is by functions performed.A manufacturing manager might organize a plant into engineering, accounting, manufacturing, personnel, and supply specialists departments.

Question 16

Procter & Gamble has separate departments for Tide, Pampers, Charmin, and Pringles. This is an example of departmentalization by ________.
A)function
B)process
C)geography
D)product
E)interest

Accepted Answer

D)Firms can departmentalize jobs by the type of product or service the organization produces.For example, Procter & Gamble places each major product, such as Tide, Pampers, Charmin, and Pringles, under an executive who has complete global responsibility for it.

Question 17

Wiper Inc., a parts supplier, has separate departments for government aircraft and contracts, large commercial aircraft clients, and small personal aircraft clients. This is an example of departmentalization on the basis of ________.
A)product
B)function
C)geography
D)customer
E)service

Accepted Answer

D)A firm can departmentalize based on the particular type of customer the organization seeks to reach.Microsoft, for example, is organized around four customer markets: consumers, large corporations, software developers, and small businesses.Customers in each department have a common set of problems and needs best met by having specialists for each.Wiper Inc.is departmentalized to meet different customer needs.

Question 18

Which of the following statements is true regarding work specialization?
A)Work specialization indicates to what degree will there be rules and formalized regulations to direct employees and managers.
B)Work specialization decreases the time spent in changing tasks.
C)Work specialization increases the cost of finding and training workers to do specific and repetitive tasks.
D)Work specialization decreases efficiency and productivity.
E)Work specialization hinders efficient use of employee skills.

Accepted Answer

B)Work specialization indicates the degree to which activities in the organization are subdivided into separate jobs.Work specialization makes the most efficient use of employees' skills.Less time is spent in changing tasks, putting away tools and equipment from a prior step, and getting ready for another.

Question 19

Chain of command is a key element of an organization's structure. Which of the following key questions is addressed by this element?
A)How many individuals can a manager efficiently and effectively direct?
B)To whom do individuals and groups report?
C)On what basis will jobs be grouped together?
D)To what degree are activities subdivided into separate jobs?
E)To what degree will there be rules and regulations to direct employees and managers?

Accepted Answer

B)The chain of command is an unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of the organization to the lowest echelon and clarifies who reports to whom.It answers questions such as To whom do I go if I have a problem? and To whom am I responsible?

Question 20

The unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of the organization to the lowest echelon and clarifies who reports to whom is termed ________.
A)chain of command
B)path of power
C)span of control
D)line of responsibility
E)web of authority

Accepted Answer

A)The chain of command is an unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of the organization to the lowest echelon and clarifies who reports to whom.It answers questions such as To whom do I go if I have a problem? and To whom am I responsible?

Quiz 15: Foundations of Organization Structure

The principle of ________ helps preserve the concept of an unbroken line of authority.

Which of the following terms refers to the rights inherent in a managerial position to give orders and expect them to be obeyed?

A ________ is consistent with recent efforts by companies to reduce costs, cut overhead, speed up decision making, increase flexibility, get closer to customers, and empower employees.

A narrow span of control ________.

The term used to describe the degree to which tasks in an organization are subdivided into separate jobs is called ________.

Which of the following statements, if true, would weaken the argument favoring increased span of control?

Which of the following statements, if true, would support the argument favoring increased span of control?

For much of the first half of the twentieth century, managers viewed work specialization as ________.

The basis by which jobs are grouped is called ________.

According to the principle of unity of command, ________.

The ________ refers to the number of subordinates that a manager directs.

AgriProducers has customers all over the United States that need their soil and crops tested in their labs. The crops and soil are different in the various large areas of the nation, such as the West Coast and the Midwest. Which type of departmentalization would be best for AgriProducers?

Span of control is a key element of an organization's structure. Which of the following key questions is addressed by this element?

Anna's company needs to dramatically cut costs, speed decision making, and increase flexibility. Which of the following structural decisions will help her achieve the desired objectives?

A plant manager organizes a plant by separating engineering, accounting, manufacturing, personnel, and purchasing into departments. The plant is departmentalized on the basis of ________.

Procter & Gamble has separate departments for Tide, Pampers, Charmin, and Pringles. This is an example of departmentalization by ________.

Wiper Inc., a parts supplier, has separate departments for government aircraft and contracts, large commercial aircraft clients, and small personal aircraft clients. This is an example of departmentalization on the basis of ________.

Which of the following statements is true regarding work specialization?

Chain of command is a key element of an organization's structure. Which of the following key questions is addressed by this element?

The unbroken line of authority that extends from the top of the organization to the lowest echelon and clarifies who reports to whom is termed ________.