Chapter 10

Question 1

Formal organization

Answer 1

The order and design of relationships within a company; consists of two or more people working together with a common objective and clarity of purpose

Question 2

Division of labour

Answer 2

The process of dividing work into separate jobs and assigning tasks to workers

Question 3

Specialization

Answer 3

The degree to which tasks are subdivided into smaller jobs

Question 4

Departmentalization

Answer 4

The process of grouping jobs together so that similar or associated tasks and activities can be grouped together

Question 5

Functional departmentalization

Answer 5

Departmentalization that is based on the primary functions performed within an organizational unit

Question 6

Product departmentalization

Answer 6

Departmentalization that is based on the goods or services produced or sold by the organizational unit

Question 7

Process departmentalization

Answer 7

Departmentalization that is based on the production process used by the organizational unit

Question 8

Customer departmentalization

Answer 8

Departmentalization that is based on the primary type of customer served by the organizational unit

Question 9

Geographic departmentalization

Answer 9

Departmentalization that is based on the geographic segmentation of the organizational units

Question 10

Organization chart

Answer 10

A visual representation of the structured relationships among tasks and the people given the authority to do those tasks

Question 11

Managerial hierarchy

Answer 11

The levels of management within an organization; typically includes top, middle, and supervisory management

Question 12

Chain of command

Answer 12

The line of authority that extends from one level of an organization’s hierarchy to the next, from top to bottom, and make clear who reports to whom

Question 13

Authority

Answer 13

Legitimate power, granted by the organization and acknowledge by employees, that allows an individual to request action and expect compliance

Question 14

Delegation of authority

Answer 14

The assignment of some degree of authority and responsibility to persons lower in the chain of command

Question 15

Span of control

Answer 15

The number of employees a manager directly supervises; also called span of management

Question 16

Centralization

Answer 16

The degree to which formal authority is concentrated in one area or level of an organization

Question 17

Decentralization

Answer 17

The process of pushing decision-making authority down the organizational hierarchy

Question 18

Mechanistic organization

Answer 18

An organizational structure that is characterized by relatively high degree of job specialization, rigid departmentalization, many layers of management, narrow spans of control, centralized decision making, and a long chain of command

Question 19

Organic organization

Answer 19

An organizational structure that is characterized by a relatively low degree of job specialization, loose departmentalization, few levels of management, wide spans of control, decentralized decision making, and a short chain of command

Question 20

Line organization

Answer 20

An organizational structure with direct, clear lines of authority and communication flowing from the top managers downward

Question 21

Line-and-staff organization

Answer 21

An organizational structure that includes both line and staff positions

Question 22

Line positions

Answer 22

All positions in the organization directly concerned with producing goods and services and directly connected from top to bottom

Question 23

Staff positions

Answer 23

Positions in an organization held by individuals who provide the administrative and support services that line employees need to achieve the company’s goals

Question 24

Matrix structure (project management)

Answer 24

An organizational structure that combines functional and product departmentalization by bringing together people from different functional areas of the organization to work on a special project

Question 25

Committee structure

Answer 25

An organizational structure in which authority and responsibility are held by a group rather than an individual

Question 26

Group cohesiveness

Answer 26

The degree to which group members want to stay in the group and tend to resist outside influences

Question 27

Work groups

Answer 27

The groups that share resources and coordinate efforts to help members better perform their individual jobs

Question 28

Work teams

Answer 28

Like a work group, but also requires the pooling of knowledge, skills, abilities, and resources to achieve a common goal

Question 29

Problem-solving teams

Answer 29

Usually members of the same department who meet regularly to suggest ways to improve operations and solve specific problems

Question 30

Self-managed work teams

Answer 30

Teams without formal supervision that plan, select alternatives, and evaluate their own performance

Question 31

Cross-functional team

Answer 31

Members from the same organizational level, but from different functional areas

Question 32

Informal organization

Answer 32

The network of connections and channels of communication based on the informal relationships of individuals inside an organization

Question 33

Re-engineering

Answer 33

The complete redesign of business structures and processes to improve operations

Question 34

Virtual corporation

Answer 34

A network of independent companies linked by information technology to share skills, costs, and access to one another’s markets; allows the companies to come together quickly to exploit rapidly changing opportunities