MGMT 3140 Chapter 8 – Flashcards
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Which of the following depicts the positions in the firm and how they are arranged?
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Organization chart
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Which of the following is true of an organization chart?
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It shows the reporting structure in the organization
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_____ is an aspect of an organization's internal environment created by job specialization and division of labor
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Differentiation
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The degree to which differentiated work units work together and coordinate their efforts is known as
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integration
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The assignment of different tasks to different people or groups in an organization is known as
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division of labor
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The process by which different individuals and units perform specific parts of the larger task is called ____.
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specialization
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_____ is most closely related to the division of labor within an organization
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Specialization
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Coordination refers to the
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procedures that link the various parts of the organization
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The procedures that link the various parts of the organization for the purpose of achieving the organization's overall mission is known as
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coordination
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Lawrence and Lorsch found that
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highly differentiated firms were successful if they had high levels of integration
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The _____ of a firm's structure is the starting point in understanding the organizational issues such as reporting relationships, authority, and responsibility
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vertical dimension
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The legitimate right to make decisions and to tell other people what to do is referred to as ____.
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authority
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Which of the following statements is true of the board of directors?
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The board is responsible for selecting the CEO
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Corporations have boards of directors elected by
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stockholders
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Several top executives of Waterton Corporation are part of the corporation's board and are called
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inside directors
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Corporate boards hire _____ directors to provide different information and perspectives and to prevent big mistakes
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outside
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The organizational pyramid composed of authority levels is commonly called the
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hierarchy.
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Of the three broad levels of the organizational pyramid, the top managerial level excludes the
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first-line managers
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The oversight of the firm by its executive staff and board of directors is called corporate ____.
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governance
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Who among the following individuals belongs to the top managerial level?
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Chief financial officer
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The three levels of the organizational hierarchy include
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top, middle, and operational levels
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The operational level of the organization includes
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frontline managers, supervisors, and employees
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Who among the following belongs to the middle managerial level?
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Departmental head
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The number of subordinates who report directly to an executive or supervisor is called the
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span of control
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Narrow spans of control build _____ organizations
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tall
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A _____ span of control creates a flat organization
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wide
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The optimal span of control should be wide when
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jobs are similar
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According to Napoleon Bonaparte, the optimal number of subordinates is ____.
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5
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The assignment of authority and responsibility to a subordinate at a lower level is referred to as
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delegation
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_____ exists for an employee when his or her manager has an expectation that the job will be performed and has the right to take corrective action if it is not
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Accountability
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Which of the following statements is true about delegation?
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It helps develop effective subordinates
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George is an operations manager at Gershwin Corp. He has been put on a big project with a tight deadline. George distributes half the work to two other supervisors, taking care of the bigger aspects of the project himself. This is an example of
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delegation
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Clarissa, VP of operations, was looking for a new direction and asked Jack to manage the reorganization of the call center, even though he was less experienced than many of the managers in that department. Jack found that the other managers were not cooperative in giving him access to their current procedures or ideas about new ones, and he felt powerless to compel them. Clarissa most likely made the mistake of
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delegating responsibility without adequate authority to Jack
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An organization in which lower-level managers make important decisions is a(n) _____ organization
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decentralized
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In a _____ organization, important decisions usually are made at the top
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centralized
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Pendant Insurance has strictly defined job responsibilities and lines of communication. In this formal atmosphere, approval for any changes to standing procedures must be made by upper management. Here, the insurance firm has a
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high degree of centralization
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Ideally, decision making should be done by the
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people who are most affected by the issue
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Mason Engineering is run in a very traditional way, with experienced top managers making all the decisions and passing them down to lower levels for implementation. Mason can be described as a(n) _____ organization
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centralized
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Which of the following is true of line departments?
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They deal directly with the organization's primary goods and services
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The _____ department is an example of a line department
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manufacturing
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Subdividing an organization into smaller subunits is known as ____.
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departmentalization
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In a _____ organization, jobs are specialized and grouped such as marketing, finance, operations, accounting, and human resources
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functional
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Which of the following is an advantage of functional departmentalization?
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Decision making and lines of communication are simple and clearly understood
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An organization with departmentalization that groups units around products, customers, or geographic regions is called a
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divisional organization
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Which of the following is a characteristic of product organizations?
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Decision making is decentralized
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The Hot Peppers Kitchen Inc. was voted producer of the best hot sauce in Calia. It soon expanded and now manufactures and distributes sauces, kitchen equipment, and specialty spices worldwide, with a separate department for each. Which of the following forms of departmentalization does Hot Peppers Kitchen Inc. have?
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Product
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Sports International began its business by making athletic shoes. Its departments are structured based on products sold to professional athletes, products sold to novice athletes, and products sold to non-athletes. In this case, the company uses _____ departmentalization
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customer
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An organization composed of dual relationships in which some employees report to two superiors is a _____ organization
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matrix
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Which of the following statements is true of matrix organizations?
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It involves dual reporting relationships
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In a matrix organization, each employee reports to a functional and a(n) _____ manager
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divisional
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KrackerJack Corp., a breakfast cereal manufacturer, has a production, finance, and accounts team. The company has two categories that are departmentalized into a cereal division and instant pancakes division. Each of its employees has to report to two bosses—a functional manager and a divisional manager. In this case, KrackerJack Corp. is an example of a _____ organization
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matrix
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Which of the following is a disadvantage of the matrix design?
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Additional time is required for meetings and coordination
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A very flexible version of the network organization is the:
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virtual corporation
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Establishing common routines and operating procedures that apply uniformly to everyone is called ____.
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standardization
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The presence of rules and regulations governing how people in the organization interact is called
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formalization.
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_____ occurs when interdependent units are required to meet deadlines and objectives that contribute to a common goal
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Coordination by plan
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An approach that involves feedback and discussions to figure out jointly how to approach problems and devise solutions that are agreeable to everyone is known as
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coordination by mutual adjustment
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Creating slack resources means that
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more resources are made available to each unit in case they need them in a pinch
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A specific technique used to reduce the need for information is to
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create self-contained tasks
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Danilo's job with a local utility is to maintain the relationship between it and the community. This involves communicating with local organizations to find those in need of help with their electric bills in order to ensure that no one is without heat during the winter. In this scenario, Danilo performs the role of a ____.
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liaison
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Investing in information systems and creating horizontal relationships most likely results in:
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an organization's ability to process more information
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The CEO distributes work and assigns responsibility to the various department managers through the process known as ____.
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delegation
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each manager has ten supervisors who are required to report to them. This is an example of:
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span of control
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Each unit performs their set of tasks in Freckles Corp. This is an example of ____.
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differentiation
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All managers in Freckles Corp. are required to report to the CEO alone. This is an example of an organization following
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unity of command
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Kristen is the top manager, followed by managers of each department, and then the supervisors. This is an example of
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a hierarchy
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By requiring all employees to follow specific procedures, Semitone Inc. is following
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standardization
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By requiring all employees to wear the corporation's T-shirt, Semitone Inc. is utilizing ____.
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formalization