Chpt 11 Flashcards
If General Electric were to divest its NBC or Money (consumer finance) divisions it would be a change in ____ level strategy, which we would expect to result in changes in its ____ as well.
corporate; structure
Which of the following is TRUE?
a.
Organizations tend to change structure too frequently, which erodes their competitive advantage.
b.
Large organizations can retain a simple structure as long as they have a focus strategy.
c.
Flexibility in structure is more important than stability.
d.
Strategy has a more important influence on structure than structure has on strategy.
Strategy has a more important influence on structure than structure has on strategy.
Organizational structure
specifies the firm’s formal reporting relationships, procedures, controls, and authority and decision-making processes.
The Amos Ball Printing Company was established in 1866. Currently, Amos Ball V is the CEO and chairman of the board. The company has traditionally used a functional structure. Five years ago, the company branched into online publishing and small-batch printing in addition to its regular large-batch operations. Both new businesses are significantly different in technology and marketing from each other and from Ball’s traditional business. Despite the hiring of experienced professionals in these new endeavors, performance continues to be poor and is affecting Ball’s overall performance. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
Amos should consider adopting the multidivisional structure
A firm’s ____ specifies the work to be done and how to do it
structure
Structural stability affects the organization’s ability to:
redictably manage its daily work routines.
Selecting the organizational structure and controls that effectively implement the chosen strategy is a challenge for managers because
firms must be flexible while retaining a degree of stability.
One reason why a long-tenured top-level manager may hesitate to conclude the firm’s structure is a problem is that doing so
suggests that their previous choices were not the best ones.
Best Buy has implemented a structural program within their Geek
give greater predictability to store staffing levels
Strategic controls allow corporate-level managers to
xamine the fit between what the firm might do and what it can do
Financial controls are most important in the ____ strategy.
unrelated diversified
____ controls are objective criteria that allow corporate managers to evaluate the returns earned by individual business units.
Financial
- Alfred Chandler found that firms grow in a predictable pattern, and that the firm’s growth patterns determine its structural form. Which form corresponds to the FINAL stage in Chandler’s theory?
multidivisional
Andermeyer Jewelers has been in existence since the 1870s. What type of biz is it?
Simple
- Typically, an organization using a simple structure would be
small
- In most cases, the focus strategy is best managed using a ____ structure.
simple
- The benefits of a simple structure include all of the following EXCEPT
specialists can develop deep expertise.
- Functional structures work best for firms with
single or dominant business strategies.
Leslie is a newly-graduated certified public accountant with a specialty in corporate tax
functional
One disadvantage of the functional structure is that
communication is difficult among organizational functions.
- Which of the following does NOT cause a firm to move from a functional structure to a multidivisional structure?
need for knowledge-sharing among specialists
The multidivisional structure was initially designed to produce three major benefits over the functional form. Which of the following is NOT one of the three benefits?
aligning the corporate structure
Jumbo Industrial Supply
coordination and control problems.
The noted business historian Alfred Chandler viewed the multidivisional structure as an innovative response to
coordination and control problems.
Some experts consider the ____ structure to be one of the 20th century’s
multidivisional
- The three structural characteristics which differ between organizational structures include all of the following EXCEPT
intermediation
- Which of the following is NOT associated with an organizational structure that supports a cost leadership strategy?
integration
- ____ is the degree to which rules and procedures govern work.
Formalization
____ is the degree to which decision making authority is retained at higher managerial levels.
Centralization
To successfully implement a cost leadership strategy, there is a need for
centralization of authority.
