Exam 11: Designing Organizational Structure

Bill manages the quality department. His people check parts made by the production departments to assure all specifications are met. Bill is ________.

In a university setting, it is common for a professor to report to an academic supervisor in his/her area of educational expertise and to a supervisor overseeing a particular degree such as baccalaureate or master's. This illustrates the ________ structure.

________ is the formal arrangement of jobs within an organization.

Customer departmentalization works well because it emphasizes interdepartmental communication regarding customer's needs.

Marcus was asked to represent the cardiac unit as part of a Total Quality Management (TQM) initiative that is aimed at improving the overall quality of care at his hospital. Other departments, such as orthopedics, neurology, oncology, and pediatrics also have representatives on this team. This TQM team is an example of ________.

Which of the following is a characteristic of a mechanistic organization?

Given other things unchanged, managers with well-trained and experienced employees can function well with a wider span of control than those with a less talented workforce.

Work specialization is also known as division of labor.

In a ________ structure the parent corporation typically acts as an external overseer to coordinate and control the various divisions and provide financial, legal, or other such support services.

Worldwide economic downturn, global competition, accelerated product innovation by competitors, and increased demands from customers for high quality and faster deliveries encourage organizations to become more ________.

In the early 20th century, automobiles were made one at a time by craftsmen who could perform every operation necessary to build the car. Henry Ford decided to limit the number of tasks each worker performed so each person could become expert in his position. With this practice, Ford introduced ________.

As the number of employees in an organization grows, structure tends to become more ________.

Today's organizations mostly rely on strict rules and standardization to guide and regulate employee behavior.

Robert owns a small engineering firm serving customers on three continents. He has only three employees and contracts with freelancers as needed to fulfill his customers' needs. At any given time, he could have 50 or more engineers under contract. Robert operates a ________.

To counteract the diseconomies of division of labor, a company can increase the range of tasks the employee performs.

A disadvantage of ________ departmentalization is poor communication across the different groups.

At the Saturn plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, groups of employees decided how their work would be done, by whom, and with what resources. These groups were given authority to decide who became members and to release any member who did not meet performance standards. Saturn had instituted a(n) ________ structure.

A refinery that transforms crude oil into gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel would be an example of ________.

Ben operates a farmer's market. Every year he offers the same vegetables to the same customers and faces the same rivalry from other truck farmers. A(n) ________ would best fit Ben's situation.

As organizations become more flexible and responsive to environmental trends, there is a distinct shift toward ________ decision making.