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Exam 8: Adapting Organizations to Todays Markets

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Question 21

True/False

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As the span of control widens,there is usually a reduction of middle management and an emphasis on empowerment. A wider span of control lends itself to empowering lower level employees to make customer decisions.

A) True
B) False

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Question 22

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Line-and-staff organizations may suffer from inflexibility.

A) True
B) False

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Question 23

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Mini-Case Angelica Canizales is the CEO of Mucho Dinero Enterprises.Sales have declined for four consecutive years and the firm's accountants have reported net losses in each of the last two years.Employees appear demoralized and frustrated.Recently,Angelica met with managers from marketing,production,and finance to listen to their views regarding the company's problems.The managers unanimously agreed that the main problem was a lack of communication between the several functional areas of the business.Each manager felt that the firm could increase quality and customer satisfaction with better interdepartmental communication.Angelica also met with marketing and production employees to get their respective opinions on the problems of the firm.One employee from the production department observed that,"We have so many layers of management that it takes forever to make decisions." An employee from marketing complained that,"This place is so bogged down with rules and regulations that there is no opportunity to be creative." Several employees shared their opinions regarding their bosses.Specifically,one employee expressed "My boss never pays attention to my ideas.He just issues orders and expects me to obey them." Angelica decided,after listening to many comments from employees,suppliers,and customers,that the only way to end Mucho Dinero's slide was to completely rethink the firm's structure and to make radical changes in its organization.She presented her ideas to the board of directors,promising to voluntarily resign if her efforts to reorganize did not return the firm to profitability. -Angelica's decision to completely redesign Mucho Dinero's organization indicates that she believes the best approach to her firm's problems is:

_____________ is using communications technology and other means to link organizations and allow them to work together on common objectives.

An informal organization can be a valuable asset to managers attempting to create an environment of harmony among workers and establish the corporate culture.

Which of the following is true of cross-functional teams?

Martina is an experienced manager with excellent communications skills.The workers in her area are highly skilled and capable of doing their work with very little direct supervision.Martina's span of control is likely to be quite broad. The less direct supervision required by workers,the broader the span of control.

An advantage of decentralized authority is that those individuals closest to the customers and more familiar with local conditions make decisions.

If a particular function is one of a firm's core competencies,it typically performs this function itself rather than outsourcing it to another organization.

Staff personnel perform functions such as production and sales that contribute directly to the primary goals of the organization.

Within its production department,Sooner Manufacturing has shift leaders,supervisors,assistant plant managers,plant managers,product group managers,assistant division managers,division managers,an assistant vice president for production,and a vice president in charge of production.Given its multiple layer management structure,Sooner Manufacturing is an example of a(n) ____________ organization.

The concept of ____________ suggests that as a firm produces more,the average cost of goods produced goes down.

The Nutmeg Soccer Club outsourced its accounting work.This suggests that management at Nutmeg does not believe that accounting is one of the firm's core competencies. Core competencies are those functions a firm can perform as well as,or better than,anyone else.A firm should continue carrying out its core competencies,and should outsource only functions that others can perform more efficiently.

Organizations that require consistent production standards to help create a high quality public image would tend to favor:

A serious disadvantage of the matrix organization is the temporary nature of the teams.

Employees who perform functions that advise and assist line personnel are known as:

Due to changes in technology and competition,managing __________ has become a critical management skill.

The span of control for a manager:

In a line organization,there are many specialists who serve as advisors and assistants to the managers who make decisions.

Fayol believed that decision-making authority should remain in the hands of top management: