17 Questions
Match the following organizational structure dimensions with their descriptions:
Specialization = The extent to which there are different specialist roles and how they are distributed Standardization = The extent to which an organization uses regularly occurring procedures supported by bureaucratic procedures Formalization = The extent to which written rules, procedures, instructions, and communications are set out for employees Centralization = The extent to which authority to make decisions lies with the top of the organization
Match the following concepts with their descriptions:
Actor-Network Theory (ANT) = Explains the process of creating and maintaining networks for projects, focusing on rationales and concerns. Interessement = Occurrence leads to behavior aligned with desired outcomes by enrolling actors. Mobilization = Successful enrolment creates a network working towards solutions. Institutional Theory = Highlights cultural influences on decisions and stability of organizational arrangements, but not change.
Match the following theories with their emphasis:
Institutional Theory = Emphasizes stability, but environmental triggers and technology use impact structure. Chandler's Strategy-Structure thesis = Structure follows strategy due to economic efficiency, but Amburgey and Dacin show a more complex relationship. Isomorphism = Organizations in the same sector adopt similar structures due to conformity, mimesis, and risk aversion. Strategy-Structure relationship = Complex relationship where strategy influences structure more than vice versa.
Match the following outcomes with their causes:
Ineffective organizational structures = Can result in low motivation, inadequate decision making, conflict, and rising costs. Strategy and structure linkage = Organizations change strategies in response to the environment and technology. Institutional Theory's influence on strategy-structure relationship = Complex influence where strategy influences structure more than vice versa. Institutional Theory's emphasis on cultural influences = Cultural influences impact decisions and stability of organizational arrangements, but not change.
Match the following organizational structures with their characteristics:
Departmentalization by product or service = Maximization of employee skills and market knowledge Muldivisional structure = Facilitates new and modified product ideas, product division profit centers, customer concentration, and opportunities for general manager training Matrix organization design = Involves overlaying a hierarchical structure with a horizontal one around big projects Project organizations = Operate primarily through project teams with functional departments having a supporting role
Match the following statements with the appropriate organizational structure:
Matrix structures have stages ranging from traditional functional structures to mature matrices with equal power for matrix bosses. = Matrix organization design New organizational forms, such as project organizations, operate primarily through project teams with functional departments having a supporting role. = Project organizations Advantages of matrix structures include connecting specialized knowledge to all projects, increased flexibility to form cross-functional teams, facilitating mechanisms for dealing with multiple sources of power, and building project loyalties. = Matrix organization design Disadvantages of matrix structures include complexity, administrative expense, difficulty in implementation, confusion over responsibilities, and potential conflict between functional and project managers. = Matrix organization design
Match the following characteristics with the appropriate organizational structure:
Matrix structures are beneficial when there's external pressure for a dual focus, a need for high information-processing capacity, and pressure for shared resources. = Matrix organization design Project organizations have characteristics similar to Mintzberg's 'Adhocracy,' which is a loose, organic network with few formal rules and regulations. = Project organizations Project organizations have internal, vertical, and dynamic types of networks. = Project organizations Matrix structures have stages ranging from traditional functional structures to mature matrices with equal power for matrix bosses. = Matrix organization design
Match the following organizational structures with their descriptions:
Network organizations = Offer flexible and adaptive responses to fast-moving environments, creating specialized units focused on customers and markets. Internal networks = Typical in situations where an organization owns most or all of the business assets. Verbal networks = Have assets owned by several entities dedicated to a particular business. Dynamic networks = Loosely coupled, with a lead firm identifying and assembling assets owned by other companies and functioning as a broker.
Match the following statements with the concepts they describe:
Structuration theory = Offers an alternative view of organizational structure, explaining how structures emerge from human behaviour. Actor-Network Theory (ANT) = Recognizes that actors build networks involving both human and non-human actors. Successful translation in ANT = Involves four stages: problematization, interessement, enrolment, and mobilization. Managing lateral relationships in network structures = Is challenging due to the autonomy of autonomous organizations.
Match the following characteristics with their corresponding organizational structures:
Rapid expansion and synergistic results = Network organizations Reluctance to give up autonomy = Members in networks Use of technology to link people and ideas = Virtual organizations Emphasis on understanding social context shaping behavior = Structuration theory
Match the following organizational structure concepts with their descriptions:
Decentralization = Distribution of authority and decision-making power to lower levels of the organization Bureaucracy = Characterized by rational legal authority, the idea of office, and impersonal order Flat structures = Wide span of control and fewer levels, reducing the number of levels while retaining the same number of staff Multifunctional structures = Common in organizations during stages of growth, characterized by functional departments such as marketing, finance, and production
Match the following organizational structure dimensions with their descriptions:
Structuring of activities = Concerned with how work is organized and divided within the organization Concentration of authority = Involves the centralization or decentralization of decision-making power Line control of work = Refers to the direct supervision and control of employees' work activities Support component = Includes functions such as human resources, IT, and administrative support
Match the following organizational structure characteristics with their descriptions:
Weber's ideal organizational structure = Includes specialization and division of labor, a hierarchical arrangement of positions, a system of impersonal rules, and impersonal relationships Post-structuralist approach = Argues that there is no natural way of ordering management of organizational activities, contradicting Weber's ideas Horizontal differentiation = Departmentalization of work based on the nature of work, size of the organization, and the need for a balance between strategic and operational decision making Multidivisional structures = Built around outputs rather than inputs and allow for faster responses to market conditions and better coordination between divisions
Match the following factors influencing organizational structure with their descriptions:
Congruence factors = Stable and certain environment, small to medium size, routine technology, and goals of efficiency and technical quality favoring the adoption of multidivisional structures Size of the organization = A determining factor for horizontal differentiation or departmentalization of work Advantages of multifunctional structures = Clear career structure for functional specialists and development of technical skills, but can also have drawbacks such as difficult coordination and narrow thinking Multifunctional structures in stages of growth = Common in organizations during stages of growth and characterized by functional departments such as marketing, finance, and production
Match the organizational forces with their corresponding descriptions:
Direction = Encourages standardization and formalization Efficiency = Balancing costs and benefits Proficiency = High levels of knowledge and skills Innovation = Searching for new products or services
Match the organizational forms with their characteristics:
Entrepreneurial form = Low formalization and standardization, high centralization, authority located in a single person Machine form = High formalization and standardization, centralized authority vested in rules and regulations, functional departments Professional form = High complexity and formalization, low centralization, trained specialists for core work Adhocracy form = Very low standardization and formalization, little hierarchy, much use of temporary project teams
Match the organizational influences on structure with their descriptions:
Size = Positively correlated to overall role specialization and formalization of procedures Technology = Influences organizational structure and production systems Informational technology = Supports decentralization and matrix structures, gives managers the ability to push information closer to the point of use External and environmental influences = Depends on the capacity, stability, and complexity of the environment
Study Notes
- Mintzberg's "forces" and "forms" and their roles in strategy and organization.
- Seven forces driving organizations: direction, efficiency, proficiency, concentration, innovation, cooperation, and competition.
- Forces for direction and efficiency: strategic vision, balancing costs and benefits, encourages standardization and formalization.
- Forces for proficiency, concentration, innovation: high levels of knowledge and skills, serving particular markets, searching for new products or services.
- Forces for cooperation and competition: pulling together ideology and culture, pulling apart policies and non-legitimate behavior.
- Mintzberg's "organizational forms": entrepreneurial, machine, professional, adhocracy, and diverse.
- Entrepreneurial form: low formalization and standardization, high centralization, authority located in a single person.
- Machine form: high formalization and standardization, centralized authority vested in rules and regulations, functional departments.
- Professional form: high complexity and formalization, low centralization, trained specialists for core work.
- Adhocracy form: very low standardization and formalization, little hierarchy, much use of temporary project teams.
- Diverse form: a combination of functions and products, with products dominating.
- Other influences on structure: size, technology, and informational technology.
- Size: positively correlated to overall role specialization and formalization of procedures.
- Technology: influences organizational structure and production systems.
- Informational technology: gives managers the ability to push information closer to the point of use, increases responsibility on employees, supports decentralization and matrix structures, and reduces hierarchy.
- External and environmental influences: the choice of organizational structure depends on the capacity, stability, and complexity of the environment.
- Socio-cultural influences: employees' desire for more flexible ways of organizing their work-life balance.
Learn about the benefits and drawbacks of network organizations, including their flexibility and ability to create synergistic results, as well as the challenges of managing lateral relations and motivating members.
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