Exam 17: Strategy,Technology,and Organizational Design

__________ is the process of choosing and implementing a structural configuration for an organization.

___________is an organizational structure that emphasizes shared,decentralized decision making; extreme horizontal specialization; few levels of management,the virtual absence of formal controls and few rules,policies and procedures.

The __________ should involve individuals at all levels of the firm to ensure that there is a recognizable,consistent pattern - yielding a superior capability over rivals - up and down the firm's hierarchy and across all of its activities.

Process technology is the combination of resources,knowledge,and techniques that creates a product or service output for an organization.

__________ refers to the firm's adjustment to external changes even as it shapes some of the challenges facing it.

Environmental __________ refers to the magnitude of the problems and opportunities in the organization's environment,as evidenced by three main factors: the degree of richness,the degree of interdependence,and the degree of uncertainty stemming from both the general and the specific environments.

With __________ technology,an organization produces one or a few products through an assembly-line system.

An automobile assembly line is an example of __________ technology.

Starting from the bottom,organizations can be separated into three major zones: 1)the production zone,2)the employee zone,and 3)the process zone.

Mimicry is important to a new firm for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

In terms of information distribution,a primary challenge for large firms is to quickly locate who has the appropriate information and who needs specific types of information.

Two common classifications of operations technology that have received considerable attention are Thompson's classification and Woodward's classification.

The __________ and the __________ are important ways in which firms learn to co-evolve by altering their environments.

__________ is the combination of machines,artifacts,procedures,and systems used to gather,store,analyze,and disseminate information for translating it into knowledge.

Since few managers question a successful managerial script,managers often try to __________.

For the production segments of firms using __________ technology such as auto assembly plants and canneries,IT can be linked to total quality management programs and be embedded in the machinery.

__________ learning involves capturing the lessons of others' experiences.

Discuss the emergence of the virtual organization. Suggested

A(n)__________ is characterized by few rules,policies,and procedures; substantial decentralization; shared decision making among members; extreme horizontal specialization; few levels of management; and virtually no formal controls.

__________ is the ability to learn.