Question 1

Cash Now Industries just hired 500 new workers to build ATMs and self-service check-out systems at its manufacturing plant in Tennessee. The company also plans to hire several hundred more employees by 2021. In the past, these machines were built primarily in Asia. Both shipping costs and quality control were cited as the reasons these companies have elected to change production strategy to
A) competency control.
B) benchmarking.
C) insourcing.
D) outsourcing.

Accepted Answer

U.S. headquartered companies are slowly bringing production back closer to the U.S. consumer. Insourcing refers to the idea to re-think where goods are currently produced. When firms decide to eliminate the production of goods abroad, and start producing goods domestically, or when foreign firms operating in the U.S. decide to produce goods that are sold in the U.S., this is considered insourcing.

Question 2

Younger people today are often called ________ because they have never known life without the Internet and cell phones.
A) the high-tech heroes
B) social networkers
C) digital natives
D) electronic eggheads

Accepted Answer

The term "digital natives" is commonly used to refer to younger generations who grew up with technology as a natural part of their lives. They are seen as being more comfortable and adept at using digital devices and navigating the online world.

Question 3

Electrolush manufactures a variety of home appliances and has historically produced the components for their products in-house. However, the company now contracts with other firms to produce these components. This strategy of ________ is a current trend among U.S. manufacturers.
A) outsourcing
B) core positioning
C) foreign competency
D) competitive benchmarking

Accepted Answer

Outsourcing is the assigning of various functions, such as accounting, production, security, maintenance, and legal work, to outside organizations.

Question 4

Which of the following describes the redesigning of an organization so that it can more effectively and efficiently serve its customers?
A) reinventing
B) restructuring
C) radical reorganizing
D) extroverted reorganizing

Accepted Answer

Restructuring is the process of redesigning the organization to improve its effectiveness and efficiency. This can include changes to the company's structure, processes, systems, and culture to better serve its customers. Reinventing and radical reorganizing may also involve major changes to the organization but do not necessarily focus on customer service. Extroverted reorganizing is not a recognized term in organizational design.

Question 5

For an inverted organization to be effective, it requires
A) managers with strong position power.
B) managers who are both technologically savvy and conceptually savvy.
C) better educated, better trained, and better paid employees.
D) a focus on what is best for production.

Accepted Answer

Due to the fact that the inverted organization empowers front-line employees to make important customer decisions, the workforce of such an organization is typically better educated, better trained, and better paid.

Question 6

Last Stop Shop, a regional discount retailer, carefully watches and compares its operations with the operations of its closest rivals. Last Stop Shop does
A) outsourcing.
B) functional positioning.
C) core competency ranking.
D) competitive benchmarking.

Accepted Answer

Competitive benchmarking is rating an organization's practices, processes, and products against the world's best.

Question 7

Which of the following are common responses of employees when faced with change?
A) "That's the way we've always done things."
B) "Perhaps I'll be able to get a promotion now."
C) "I'm excited to learn something new."
D) "This should be easy to accept."

Accepted Answer

"That's the way we've always done things" is a common response of employees when faced with change because they may struggle to let go of familiar processes and routines.

Answer: B
 "Perhaps I'll be able to get a promotion now" is a common response of employees when faced with change because they may see the change as an opportunity for career advancement.

Answer: C
 "I'm excited to learn something new" is a common response of employees when faced with change because they may see the change as a chance to gain new skills and knowledge.

Answer: D
 "This should be easy to accept" is not a common response of employees when faced with change because change can often be difficult to accept and may require a period of adjustment.

Question 8

Excite Enterprises, a corporation of amusement parks, uses an accounting firm to handle the payroll and tax functions for the company. Using the services of another firm in this manner is an example of
A) outsourcing.
B) functional reassignment.
C) core competencies.
D) benchmarking.

Accepted Answer

Outsourcing is assigning various functions, such as accounting and legal work, to outside organizations that excel in those areas.

Question 9

An organization that has contact people at the top and the chief executive officer at the bottom is known as a(n)
A) bureaucracy.
B) oligarchy.
C) improvised organization.
D) inverted organization.

Accepted Answer

An organization with contact people at the top and the chief executive officer at the bottom is an inverted organization. This is a less common structure, but it can be used for companies or teams that prioritize employee empowerment and decision-making.

Question 10

Donna is a sales representative for the Eastern Essentials Company. She really enjoys working for Eastern Essentials, because she and others are treated as highly valued employees. Sales reps are given freedom and flexibility in their relationships with customers. While there are only a few layers of management at Eastern Essentials, Donna has found that these managers try their best to support and assist her efforts. Based on Donna's experience, it appears that Eastern Essentials is a(n)
A) bureaucratic organization.
B) inverted organization.
C) tall organization.
D) casual organization.

Accepted Answer

An inverted organization is one with few layers of management, and in which the most important employees are front-line employees who deal directly with customers. In this type of organization, the job of managers is to assist and support front-line employees, not boss them around.

Question 11

In today's competitive environment, cost containment is extremely important to survival. Which of the following increases efficiency in the production and distribution of goods?
A) tablets
B) real-time data
C) assembly lines
D) self-managed teams

Accepted Answer

Real time simply means the present moment or the actual time in which an event takes place. Online data is readily available between firms to help create efficiencies in production and distribution.

Question 12

Which of the following statements best describes the evolution of organization design?
A) Companies have evolved to cross-functional teams because line models and line-and-staff models have become too costly to maintain.
B) Most companies are finding that the stages of product development are much slower than in the past because new products are much more complicated than products of several years ago. Matrix models work much better in the current environment.
C) The development of new technology allows for companies to be much more self-contained and able to maintain their competitive advantage due to more privacy.
D) Companies are now part of a vast network of global businesses, and part of a larger system.

Accepted Answer

Companies are no longer self-sufficient or self-contained. Networking and other technological advances have permitted firms to link together in a transparent manner. Organization charts today may depict the network among firms.

Question 13

One of the most difficult management challenges today is managing change. Why is this?
A) Change requires cooperation and an awareness of a need for change.
B) Change requires a lot of bailout money from the government.
C) Change requires decentralization of decision making.
D) Change will invariably result in an inverted organization and management does not want to relinquish its position power in order to make that happen.

Accepted Answer

Change requires recognition by employees and management that it is necessary in order to stay competitive. It often requires management to pursue unpleasant actions such as layoffs. In some cases, change requires extensive retraining of employees who have worked in a comfort zones for several years.

Question 14

________ refer to those functions that an organization does as well as, or better than, any other organization in the world.
A) Primary functions
B) Comparative strengths
C) Residual functions
D) Core competencies

Accepted Answer

Core competencies are those functions that an organization excels in and can potentially give them a competitive advantage in the marketplace. These can include skills, knowledge, systems, technologies, and processes that are unique to the organization and difficult for competitors to replicate.

Question 15

Companies benefit today from interfirm cooperation. One of the ways they cooperate is through networking. Another way is by seeking technological knowledge and new processes from exemplary firms sometimes outside their own industries. This is called
A) competency capturing.
B) technology swapping.
C) benchmarking.
D) broadening the knowledge base.

Accepted Answer

Companies today are sharing their best practices through from each other. Benchmarking compares an organization's practices, processes, and products against the world's best. Management of one company seeks out another company whose technology or process in doing a particular function rivals all others. The goal is to replicate that process.

Question 16

Empowering employees to better serve customers requires ________ front-line employees.
A) fewer
B) less training for
C) more support for
D) uniforms for

Accepted Answer

Empowering employees to better serve customers requires more support for front-line employees. Providing adequate training, resources, and support can help employees feel empowered to make decisions and take actions that benefit the customer. Having uniforms or fewer employees does not necessarily enhance their ability to serve customers.

Question 17

OnTrend, a cosmetology trade publication, utilizes the resources of other organizations as needed and business relationships are temporary as well as flexible. OnTrend is a networked organization made up of replaceable firms that join the network and leave it as needed. This unique organization is an example of
A) competitive benchmarking.
B) a virtual corporation.
C) core competency ranking.
D) real-time transparency.

Accepted Answer

A virtual corporation is a temporary networked organization, made up of replaceable firms that join the network and leave it as needed.

Question 18

The management of Entertainment Electronics sees itself as a topnotch producer of components used in DVD and Blu-ray players. The outstanding performance of the production department indicates that this activity is one of the firm's
A) fiscal responsibilities.
B) core competencies.
C) benchmark assets.
D) target competitive advantages.

Accepted Answer

A company's core competencies are those functions that it performs as well as or better than anyone else in the world.

Question 19

In an inverted organization, the job of management is to
A) closely monitor employee performance.
B) establish rules and regulations to guide worker behavior.
C) make all of the basic decisions.
D) assist and support front-line people.

Accepted Answer

In an inverted organization, the most important people are the front-line personnel who are in direct contact with the customers. These employees are given the flexibility and decision-making authority to meet the needs of the customers. The job of management is to assist and support these contact people, not boss them around.

Question 20

________ is the term used to describe those functions that a firm can do as well or better than others. It performs these functions in-house, rather than outsourcing.
A) Benchmarks
B) Standard responsibilities
C) Operational requirements
D) Core competencies

Accepted Answer

Core competencies are the key strengths, skills, and abilities that a business possesses, which enable it to provide unique value to customers and compete in the market. By keeping these functions in-house, a firm can maintain their competitive advantage and differentiation from other businesses.

Quiz 8: Structuring Organizations for Todays Challenges

Younger people today are often called ________ because they have never known life without the Internet and cell phones.

Electrolush manufactures a variety of home appliances and has historically produced the components for their products in-house. However, the company now contracts with other firms to produce these components. This strategy of ________ is a current trend among U.S. manufacturers.

Which of the following describes the redesigning of an organization so that it can more effectively and efficiently serve its customers?

For an inverted organization to be effective, it requires

Last Stop Shop, a regional discount retailer, carefully watches and compares its operations with the operations of its closest rivals. Last Stop Shop does

Which of the following are common responses of employees when faced with change?

Excite Enterprises, a corporation of amusement parks, uses an accounting firm to handle the payroll and tax functions for the company. Using the services of another firm in this manner is an example of

An organization that has contact people at the top and the chief executive officer at the bottom is known as a(n)

In today's competitive environment, cost containment is extremely important to survival. Which of the following increases efficiency in the production and distribution of goods?

Which of the following statements best describes the evolution of organization design?

One of the most difficult management challenges today is managing change. Why is this?

________ refer to those functions that an organization does as well as, or better than, any other organization in the world.

Companies benefit today from interfirm cooperation. One of the ways they cooperate is through networking. Another way is by seeking technological knowledge and new processes from exemplary firms sometimes outside their own industries. This is called

Empowering employees to better serve customers requires ________ front-line employees.

The management of Entertainment Electronics sees itself as a topnotch producer of components used in DVD and Blu-ray players. The outstanding performance of the production department indicates that this activity is one of the firm's

In an inverted organization, the job of management is to

________ is the term used to describe those functions that a firm can do as well or better than others. It performs these functions in-house, rather than outsourcing.