EN103: Academic English                                                                               Name _____________
for Critical Thinking and Communication in Business (BU113)
 Ch. Bauer-Ramazani

LECTURE GUIDE/QUIZ
 The Structure of Organizations

DIRECTIONS:          Use the notes you took in class to complete the following questions.  T/F, MC, and Fill-in-the-blank questions count 2 points; points for essay questions vary (see points in parentheses).

1.      STATE the definition of management (4 points).

 

2.  T/F     The most efficient way to organize a business is to have a financial expert in each area, e.g. marketing, production, human resources.

3.      The benefits of organizing include

  1. creating a work environment where each area fulfills the strategic plan of the company.

  2. Establishing clear reporting relationships

  3. Setting up a chain of command

  4. Clarifying, coordinating, and unifying the work environment

  5. All of the above

  6. None of the above

4.      STATE the scalar principle.

 

5.      Unity of command refers to

  1. reporting relationships in general

  2. reporting to more than one supervisor

  3. reporting to only one supervisor

  4. supervisors that give too many commands

6.      Delegation means _______________________________________________.

7.  Organization charts show

  1. Differences in structure among all companies

  2. The chain of command in an organization

  3. Reporting relationships in an organization

  4. The span of control of each manager

  5. All of the above

  6. None of the above

8.      A manager to whom 30 or 40 employees report has a WIDE  /  NARROW span of control.

9.      DEFINE span of control.

10.  T/F             Employees in an organization where managers have a wide span of control receive more support and training than employees in an organization with a narrow span of control.

11.      ILLUSTRATE a narrow span of control and STATE its advantages and disadvantages.

 

 

 

 

12.  T/F              A major advantage of decentralization is that decisions can be made faster.

13.   An organization with 3 VPs, 2 middle managers, and 2 assistant managers is CENTRALIZED  /  DECENTRALIZED.

14.  T/F            A line position typically has a supporting function.

15.  T/F            Line personnel typically make the decisions in the company. 

16.    DEFINE departmentalization.

 

17.    NAME the major functions in an organization.

 

18.    A company that has offices in different parts of the country probably is departmentalized by

  1. function

  2. product

  3. customer

  4. region

  5. matrix

19.    A company that has several product lines such as sedans, trucks, airplane engines, etc. probably departmentalizes by

  1. region

  2. matrix

  3. customer

  4. product / division

  5. function

20.    A company that has a human resources manager, a finance manager, a marketing manager, and a production manager in each branch departmentalizes by

  1. region

  2. matrix

  3. customer

  4. product

  5.  function

21.  T/F     Tall organizations typically have a hierarchical structure and many layers of management.

22.   T/F    In a matrix organization, employees may have two supervisors for the duration of a project.

23.  A company that gives a handbook of policies and procedure to each new employee is probably a FORMAL / INFORMAL organization.

24.  COMPARE/CONTRAST the formal / informal organization.

 

 

25.  T/F    In an informal organization employees tend to follow the person with the most power.

26.  T/F    The boss/supervisor/manager is always the person with the most power in an organization.