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Exam 8: Adapting Organizations to Todays Markets

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Question 191

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One of Javier's coworkers was recently promoted to a middle management position at their company.He seems to have quickly distanced himself from Javier and their other coworker,Carlos.In fact,yesterday Carlos described the situation by saying,"He's gone to the dark side." Javier understands what Carlos means because management keeps themselves removed from other employees,and seldom seriously solicit ideas for improvements or change from those in the trenches.The disadvantage in continuing this type of organizational culture is:

A) nobody takes management seriously.
B) the company will have to look outside the firm for new managers.
C) small,incremental improvements rather than radical change will become the norm.
D) the informal organization can hinder effective management.

E) A) and C)
F) All of the above

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Question 192

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Andrew's company is a bureaucratic organization.Andrew is likely to encounter which of the following conditions?

A) Real time decisions
B) Cross-functional teams
C) Empowerment of first line employees to better serve customers
D) Many layers of management

E) B) and C)
F) A) and D)

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Question 193

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When Bret started his auto mechanic shop his business plan included a(n) _______________ that showed the relationship among employees in his organization and the lines of authority and responsibility.

_________ is the term used to describe those functions that a firm can do as well or better than others.It agrees to perform these functions in-house,rather than outsourcing.

Which of the organization models follows all of Fayol's traditional management rules?

One key to organizational success is to go back to basic principles and build the business on a sound foundation.

A weakened corporate image is one of the disadvantages of a decentralized business organization.

Line organizations follow Fayol's traditional management rules.

Division of labor is difficult to achieve in small businesses. Division of labor is a basic organizational principle in all organizations.All businesses (both large and small)should contemplate the division of labor in their organizations.

As depicted in the Reaching Beyond our Borders,box,"General Electric Looks for More Profits",in order to compete globally,corporate strategy should not try to match the performance of competitors. In order to compete globally,it is often necessary to increase or reduce operational segments in order to match or exceed the performance of global competitors.

Joe,a production engineer at Freestone Tires recently joined a team of specialists from other areas,such as marketing and finance.His long-term assignment to this team has produced several new products.Joe enjoys this work environment,in part because Freestone's management has given the team the freedom and flexibility to make decisions.A recent development is the inclusion of "outsiders" from Freestone's major distributors and suppliers on the team.It appears that Joe's team is a(n) :

A study at the Slumber Inn Corporation identified poor employee morale.Employee respondents indicated frustration with their inability to deal directly with customers' concerns and complaints.These employees feel that if they were empowered with the authority to make decisions,customer satisfaction would dramatically increase.This illustrates one of the disadvantages of decentralized authority. This organization is an example of centralized authority with decision-making authority maintained at the top level of management at the company's headquarters.This usually results in less responsiveness to customers,the cause of the poor employee morale.

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. -In order to encourage more interdepartmental communication and cooperation,Angelica is thinking about setting up groups of workers from different departments to work together on a long-term basis.She is even thinking about asking people from some of Mucho Dinero's suppliers,customers and distributors to join these groups.The type of group that Angelica is considering is known as a(n) :

While most organizations have a formal organization structure,only poorly managed firms also have an informal organization.

Small businesses often use a line organization model.

Competitive benchmarking rates an organization's products and operations against the industry average.

Organizations with positive images for performing exceptional service to customers are usually friendly places to work,as well.

Inverted organizations define the role of front-line employees as those workers who follow the orders of top and middle management.

Which of the following describes an environment in which data is instantly available via the Internet to organizational partners?

Rapid Response Security Firm,a company that provides on-site security services for malls and other retail environments needs to review current procedures used by its professional officers to make certain they are in compliance with new laws.On crucial issues such as this,it is more important to gather information through the informal organization,as opposed to the formal organization. The informal organization is not well suited to making critical decisions of long term significance.It is too unstructured and emotional to allow for careful,reasoned decision making on such important topics.