Organisational Structure & Teamwork

Question 1

What is an organisation chart?

Answer 1

A pictorial representation of an organisation’s formal structure

Question 2

Give three advantages of specialisation and division of labour.

Answer 2

• High level of skills in certain activities can be developed
• Workers do not waste time changing from task to task
• Simple jobs can be directed to those activities where they have most ability

Question 3

Give three disadvantages of specialisation and division of labour.

Answer 3

• Workers tend to be demotivated
• Teamwork and creativity are inhibited
• A restricted range of skills means workers cannot be deployed in a flexible way

Question 4

There is a tendency for productivity to be high when specialisation is…

Answer 4

Moderate

Question 5

List six characteristics of jobs, which motivate people.

Answer 5

• Skill variety
• Task identity
• Task significance
• Autonomy
• Authority
• Feedback

Question 6

Early writers recommend that the span of control shouldn’t exceed…

Answer 6

6

Question 7

Ergonomics is…

Answer 7

the specialised area of psychology that aims to ensure jobs are designed in a way that makes them suitable for human beings to perform

Question 8

Which work schedule involve employees sharing offices or expensive equipment?

Answer 8

Office sharing and hoteling

Question 9

An organisation which has separate accounting, operations, human resources, and sales departments is organised according to…

Answer 9

function

Question 10

List four potential disadvantages of organisations structured by function.

Answer 10

• Duplication of equipment
• Functional chimneys/silos
• Employees feel isolated
• Confused lines of command

Question 11

An organisation that groups activities according to women’s footwear, men’s footwear, apparel and accessories is organised according to…

Answer 11

product

Question 12

Explain the matrix structure.

Answer 12

It combines the advantages of the functional specialisation with the focus and accountability of product departmentalisation.

Question 13

Self-managing teams are also called

Answer 13

Semi-autonomous workgroups or self-directed teams

Question 14

List five stages of team development discussed by Tuckerman.

Answer 14

• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing
• Mourning

Question 15

Describe the organisational structure of network structures.

Answer 15

Where a core of employees subcontract most activities to outside organisations (suppliers)

Question 16

What is the main advantage of network organisations?

Answer 16

The organisation is flexible and able to redefine itself quickly based on the market demands

Question 17

Why is Peter Drucker significant?

Answer 17

He was one of the first people to emphasise the importance of knowledge and learning in organisations.

Question 18

List five characteristics of organisations that have learning structures and actively manage knowledge.

Answer 18

• Employees share the same vision of the organisation
• Employees understand how the whole organisation operates
• Employees are willing to discard old ways
• Employees feel confident in their position
• Information is distributed widely among employees

Question 19

Burns and Stalker differentiated which types of organisational structure?

Answer 19

Mechanistic vs. organic systems