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Q:
An advantage of centralization is that it ________.
A) keeps the organization focused on organizational goals
B) gives top managers ample time to focus on strategic decision-making
C) allows lower-level managers to make on-the-spot decisions
D) promotes flexibility and responsiveness within an organization
Q:
A disadvantage of centralization is that ________.
A) the organization tends to lose its focus on achieving its goals
B) coordination becomes difficult to achieve within the organization
C) the top managers have little time for long-term strategic decision-making
D) the extent of standardization is reduced within the organization
Q:
________ refers to a situation in which the authority to make important decisions about organizational resources and new projects is delegated to managers at all levels in the hierarchy.
A) Formalization
B) Standardization
C) Integration
D) Decentralization
Q:
________ refers to a situation where the authority to make important decisions is retained by managers at the top of the hierarchy.
A) Centralization
B) Standardization
C) Formalization
D) Differentiation
Q:
Top-level managers make all the important decisions in an organization. This organization is said to be ________.
A) differentiated
B) formalized
C) centralized
D) decentralized
Q:
________ involves choices about distributing authority within an organization.
A) Standardization
B) Subunit orientation
C) Centralization
D) Vertical differentiation
Q:
A complex organization that is differentiated to a large extent needs a(n) ________.
A) high level of integration to coordinate its activities effectively
B) informal operating procedures and controls
C) lesser number of supporting functions and managers
D) simpler method of integrating the organizational departments
Q:
Which of the following is a difference between an integrating role and a liaison role?
A) A liaison role is a more complex integrating mechanism than an integrating role.
B) An integrating role is a full-time managerial position whereas a liaison role is a task involved in a full-time job.
C) The ranking of employees is irrelevant for the integrating role whereas it becomes very significant in the liaison role.
D) An integrating role's influence is limited to a single department whereas a liaison role's influence extends across multiple departments.
Q:
Which of the following integrating mechanisms is most appropriate for a complex and highly differentiated organization?
A) integrating role
B) direct contact
C) liaison role
D) hierarchy of authority
Q:
Which of the following integrating mechanisms involves creating a permanent committee to promote coordination within an organization?
A) task force
B) integrating department
C) team
D) liaison role
Q:
Which of the following refers to the integration mechanism where a new team of managers is created to coordinate the activities of functions or divisions?
A) integrating department
B) direct contact
C) task force
D) hierarchy of authority
Q:
A firm hires a supervisor to handle the communication between two functions. Which of the following integrating mechanisms is used in this case?
A) integrating role
B) direct contact
C) task force
D) integrating department
Q:
A cell-phone manufacturer forms a temporary committee to find new ways to position its products. Identify the integrating mechanism used in this case.
A) integrating role
B) team
C) task force
D) integrating department
Q:
Managers meet in temporary committees to coordinate cross-functional activities in some cases. This is an example of using a(n) ________ to integrate activities.
A) integrating role
B) task force
C) team
D) integrating department
Q:
Robert Downs, the CEO of a manufacturing firm, wants to improve the communication between marketing and production departments. He asks one manager from each department to coordinate the communication between these departments. Identify the integrating mechanism used in this case.
A) task force
B) integrating department
C) direct contact
D) liaison role
Q:
________ is an integration mechanism where a specific manager is given responsibility for coordinating with managers from other subunits on behalf of his or her subunit.
A) Liaison role
B) Task force
C) Integrating role
D) Direct contact
Q:
Which of the following is an integrating mechanism where an existing manager meets face to face to coordinate activities?
A) integrating role
B) task force
C) integrating department
D) direct contact
Q:
The marketing and manufacturing managers of the sportswear division of a sports goods company meet to discuss the launch of a new line of football jerseys. The integrating technique used in this case is ________.
A) integrating role
B) direct contact
C) task force
D) integrating department
Q:
A salesperson for a computer accessories manufacturer reports to the sales manager of the computer screen division. Identify the integrating technique used in this case.
A) hierarchy of authority
B) direct contact
C) integrating role
D) liaison role
Q:
Which of the following is the simplest integrating technique?
A) integrating role
B) hierarchy of authority
C) task force
D) integrating department
Q:
________ is the process of coordinating various tasks, functions, and divisions to work together and not be at cross-purposes.
A) Subunit orientation
B) Integration
C) Differentiation
D) Decentralization
Q:
Which of the following refers to the way in which an organization designs its hierarchy of authority and creates reporting relationships to link organizational roles and subunits?
A) vertical integration
B) horizontal differentiation
C) vertical differentiation
D) horizontal integration
Q:
________ refers to the way in which an organization groups organizational tasks into roles and roles into subunits.
A) Vertical integration
B) Horizontal differentiation
C) Vertical differentiation
D) Horizontal integration
Q:
A(n) ________ is a classification of people in an organization according to authority and rank.
A) hierarchy
B) architecture
C) culture
D) orientation
Q:
________ functions facilitate the control and coordination of activities within and among departments.
A) Managerial
B) Adaptive
C) Support
D) Maintenance
Q:
Which of the following is an adaptive function?
A) resource acquisition
B) purchasing
C) quality control
D) long-range planning
Q:
________ functions allow an organization to adjust to changes in the environment.
A) Maintenance
B) Adaptive
C) Support
D) Production
Q:
Recruiting and training employees to improve skills is a(n) ________ function.
A) adaptive
B) maintenance
C) production
D) managerial
Q:
Quality control is a part of ________ function.
A) managerial
B) support
C) production
D) maintenance
Q:
________ functions manage and improve the efficiency of an organization's conversion processes to create more value.
A) Managerial
B) Support
C) Production
D) Maintenance
Q:
Which of the following functions facilitate an organization's control of its relations with its environment and stakeholders?
A) production functions
B) support functions
C) adaptive functions
D) managerial functions
Q:
A ________ is a subunit composed of a group of people, working together, who possess similar skills or use the same kind of knowledge, tools, or techniques to perform their jobs.
A) hierarchy
B) class
C) function
D) division
Q:
________ is the power to hold people accountable for their actions and to make decisions about how to invest and use organizational resources.
A) Orientation
B) Motivation
C) Capability
D) Authority
Q:
________ is the process by which an organization allocates people and resources to organizational tasks and establishes the task and authority relationships that allow the organization to achieve its goals.
A) Differentiation
B) Decentralization
C) Integration
D) Standardization
Q:
Top managers should make all the decisions if an organization faces a rapidly changing environment.
Q:
The contingency approach to organizational design tailors organizational structure to the sources of uncertainty facing an organization.
Q:
Organic structures follow a centralized decision-making structure.
Q:
Organizations are very status conscious in mechanistic structures.
Q:
Tasks associated with a role are clearly defined in a mechanistic structure.
Q:
Integrating mechanisms such as task forces and teams help increase the level of standardization within an organization.
Q:
Norms are formalized rules of behavior within an organization.
Q:
Formalization is more appropriate in environments that require high levels of mutual adjustment.
Q:
Decentralization promotes flexibility and responsiveness within an organization.
Q:
Differentiation and integration are both expensive in terms of the number of managers employed and the amount of managerial time spent on coordinating organizational activities.
Q:
An integrating role is a full-time managerial position established specifically to improve communication between divisions.
Q:
A task force is a permanent committee formed to handle problems that exist within an organization.
Q:
The simplest integrating mechanism is to establish direct contact between people in different subunits.
Q:
Integration is the way in which a company allocates people and resources to organizational tasks.
Q:
Subunit orientation is the tendency to view one's role in the organization strictly from the perspective of the time frame, goals, and interpersonal orientations of one's subunit.
Q:
Research and development is an example of a maintenance function.
Q:
Support functions manage and improve the efficiency of an organization's conversion processes so that more value is created.
Q:
An organizational role is a set of task-related behaviors required of a person by his or her position in an organization.
Q:
Division of labor and differentiation are high in a complex organization.
Q:
Differentiation is the process of establishing and controlling the division of labor in an organization.
Q:
The union does not like the work rules of an automobile plant. The plant forms a joint union-labor committee and gets key union leaders to join the committee. This is an example of ________.
A) a strategic alliance
B) a joint venture
C) a merger
D) cooptation
Q:
Which of the following is the least formal and the least direct way to manage symbiotic interdependencies with suppliers and customers?
A) merger
B) developing reputation
C) cooptation
D) minority ownership
Q:
Nova Electronics is a company that manufactures computers. It depends on H&L, Inc. for the supply of microprocessor chips. H&L, Inc. is the only company that manufactures the particular type and quality of microprocessor chips that are required by Nova electronics. The relationship between Nova Electronics and H&L, Inc. is an example of a ________ interdependency.
A) competitive
B) sequential
C) symbiotic
D) distributive
Q:
Two computer manufacturing companies, operating in the same industry, pool their resources to develop a new computer technology. This is an example of ________.
A) licensing
B) an interorganizational linkage
C) franchising
D) a symbiotic interdependency
Q:
________ interdependencies exist among organizations that need the same scarce inputs and market their products to the same group of potential customers.
A) Competitive
B) Distributive
C) Symbiotic
D) Convolutional
Q:
________ interdependencies exist between an organization and its suppliers.
A) Competitive
B) Symbiotic
C) Distributive
D) Convolutional
Q:
As per the resource dependence theory, in which of the following situations is an organization said to be weak?
A) the organization is highly centralized
B) there are only a few suppliers of a resource needed by the organization
C) the organization uses a divisional organizational structure
D) the organization manufactures a wide variety of products
Q:
Which of the following theories states that an organization must respond to the needs and demands of other organizations in its environment?
A) contingency theory
B) the enacted environment concept
C) resource dependence theory
D) transaction cost theory
Q:
According to the ________, an organization should minimize its dependence on other organizations for resources and find ways of influencing them to make resources available.
A) organizational theory
B) resource dependence theory
C) contingency theory
D) group theory
Q:
The government attempted to control prescription drug prices during the 1990s. What would have been the effect of this change on this industry?
A) It would have increased competition, thereby reducing the complexity of this environment.
B) It would have made the environment more complex due to the reduction in profits.
C) It would have increased the demand for drugs, thereby making the environment less dynamic.
D) It would have enlarged the domain of this industry.
Q:
A poor environment is most likely to lead to ________.
A) a decrease in the level of environmental complexity
B) an increase in the level of environmental stability
C) an increase in the level of profit
D) an increase in the level of environmental uncertainty
Q:
Which of the following is most likely to increase environmental uncertainty?
A) increase in the richness of the environment
B) decrease in the dynamism of the environment
C) decrease in the depth of the environment
D) increase in the complexity of the environment
Q:
Which of the following is most likely to be a reason for poor environment?
A) resources are plentiful
B) environmental uncertainty is low
C) competition is high
D) the country is wealthy
Q:
Which of the following terms refers to the amount of resources available to support an organization's domain?
A) environmental dynamism
B) environmental complexity
C) environmental richness
D) environmental naturalness
Q:
In the context of environmental dynamism, a company is said to be stable if ________.
A) the number of outside stakeholders remains constant
B) the number of specific and general forces that an organization has to manage remains stable
C) forces affect the supply of resources in a predictable way
D) the company is structured as per the matrix organizational structure
Q:
Which of the following terms refers to the degree to which forces in the specific and general environments change quickly over time and thus contribute to the uncertainty an organization faces?
A) environmental dynamism
B) environmental richness
C) environmental complexity
D) environmental naturalness
Q:
An organization operating in the computer industry has to quickly respond to the changes in the technology. In this case, the environment of the organization is said to be ________.
A) complex
B) dynamic
C) rich
D) broad
Q:
As the ________, the environmental uncertainty decreases.
A) environmental complexity decreases
B) environmental dynamism increases
C) environmental richness decreases
D) environmental naturalness increases
Q:
Under which of the following situations, a company is most likely to experience high levels of environmental richness?
A) the company uses a matrix organizational structure
B) the company is not able to obtain sufficient quantity of required raw material due to new government restrictions
C) the company is highly centralized
D) the company has a monopoly in its industry
Q:
Which of the following is most likely to increase the environmental dynamism for a company?
A) the company increases the level of employee empowerment
B) the company changes its organizational structure from functional structure to matrix structure
C) the company enters into a long-term contract with one of its suppliers
D) the company enters into a foreign market with new products
Q:
Biotechnology companies in Boston have a large pool of high-quality scientists to choose from because of the presence of so many universities in the area. Based on the information given in this case we can say that the biotechnology companies in Boston have a ________ environment.
A) broad
B) complex
C) dynamic
D) rich
Q:
As the ________ of the environment increases, the resources become hard to obtain.
A) complexity
B) dynamism
C) richness
D) depth
Q:
Which of the following statements is true regarding environmental richness?
A) A rich environment is characterized by plentiful resources.
B) In rich environments, uncertainty is high.
C) Environmental richness and environmental complexity are directly proportional to each other.
D) Increase in the level of competition leads to a proportionate increase in the level of environmental richness.
Q:
Which of the following statements is definitely true regarding environmental dynamism?
A) As a company decreases the number of suppliers, its environmental dynamism increases.
B) A company can reduce its environmental dynamism by selecting a decentralized organizational structure.
C) When a company enters into a foreign market, the dynamism of its environment increases.
D) Environmental dynamism and environmental richness are directly proportional to each other.
Q:
An organization used to obtain supplies from 3,000 suppliers, but now deals with less than 300. By making this change, the organization has reduced its environmental ________.
A) dynamism
B) complexity
C) richness
D) depth
Q:
An organization's environment will be more uncertain when ________.
A) specific and general forces in the environment become interconnected
B) the number of stakeholders in the specific environment decreases
C) the company decreases the number of products it manufactures
D) the company begins to follow the cost leadership strategy