Exam 5: Designing Organizational Structure: Authority and Control

Decentralization enables even a relatively tall structure to be more flexible in its responses to changes in the external environment.

Define span of control. What are the various factors that affect the span of control?

Bob and Amy are simply instructed to attract new clients, but are not given specific guidelines regarding how to accomplish this goal. Because they work for a conservative company, they are afraid to take risks. Bob and Amy are experiencing a role ________.

A manager's ability to supervise and control subordinates' behavior directly is limited by two factors: the complexity and the interrelatedness of subordinates' tasks.

A manager's span of control includes subordinates he or she supervises directly and subordinates that he or she supervises indirectly (by supervising their direct boss).

________ teams are formal work groups consisting of people who are jointly responsible for ensuring that the team accomplishes its goals and who are empowered to lead themselves.

According to the principle of minimum chain of command, ________.

Which of the following is one of the ways in which an organization can avoid becoming too tall yet maintain effective control of its workforce?

With reference to Weber's principles of bureaucratic structure, which of the following terms refers to the authority a person possesses because of his or her position in an organization?

If tasks are routine and similar so that all subordinates perform the same task, then the span of control should be small.

A manager associated with which of the following entities is most likely to have the widest span of control?

As compared to a tall organization, an organization with a flat structure is most likely to experience ________.

As an organization grows, ________.

An organization with a tall structure will also experience fewer communication, motivation, and cost problems than a flat organization.

An organization that has few levels in its hierarchy relative to its size is known as a ________ organization.

Which of the following terms refers to the number of subordinates a manager directly supervises?

Discuss the significance of decentralization.

Which of the following is most likely to happen if the span of control is too wide?

When subordinates tasks are complex and dissimilar, a manager's span of control needs to be wide.

Usually, Sales has a relatively ________ hierarchy because supervisors use ________.