Answer: A. Skill through focused practice Focused work can help employees build proficiency in particular tasks.
Overly narrow jobs may create which downside?
A Faster strategic planning
B More resource flexibility
C Clearer long-range goals
D Boredom and limited task variety
Answer: D. Boredom and limited task variety Highly specialized work can improve proficiency, but limited variety may reduce interest and challenge.
Why group similar tasks into organizational units?
A Avoid setting responsibilities
B Replace the firm’s plans
C Remove information channels
D Improve coordination among related work
Answer: D. Improve coordination among related work Grouping related jobs helps coordinate activities that are similar or connected.
After tasks and units are defined, what must managers assign?
A Ownership to suppliers
B Responsibility to specific roles
C Policies to competitors
D Sales targets to customers
Answer: B. Responsibility to specific roles Managers assign duties and responsibilities so each necessary activity has an owner.
Why does organizing allocate resources across activities?
A Budgets replace all work
B Structures remove resource needs
C Plans need people and inputs
D Customers perform every task
Answer: C. Plans need people and inputs People, materials, finances, and information must be available for the work in a plan.
Which set lists common organizational resources?
A Laws, taxes, rules, fines
B Meetings, holidays, titles, offices
C People, materials, money, information
D Brands, slogans, rivals, prices
Answer: C. People, materials, money, information Organizations coordinate human, material, financial, and information resources.
Coordinating resources with activities can improve which outcomes?
A Market demand certainty
B Work efficiency and information flow
C Employee ownership rights
D Product patents automatically
Answer: B. Work efficiency and information flow A well-designed structure can support efficient work processes and the flow of information.
Which management level usually has the fewest managers?
A Supervisory management
B Middle management
C Top management
D Frontline employees
Answer: C. Top management Top management is a relatively small group at the head of the managerial hierarchy.
Top managers usually focus on which issues?
A Long-range organizational issues
B Daily shift assignments
C Routine customer returns
D Every frontline task
Answer: A. Long-range organizational issues Top managers address broad, long-range questions about the organization and its direction.
During a decision about entering a new industry, who normally decides?
A Top management
B External suppliers
C Temporary project teams
D Frontline employees alone
Answer: A. Top management Decisions about which industries the firm should compete in are long-range strategic concerns for top managers.
Which managers convert strategy into specific unit plans?
A Frontline customers
B Middle managers
C Supervisory employees
D External consultants
Answer: B. Middle managers Middle managers implement strategic plans and create tactical plans for specific areas.
How do middle managers support strategic implementation?
A Set every company value
B Replace the strategic plan
C Allocate resources within units
D Perform all daily tasks
Answer: C. Allocate resources within units Middle managers begin allocating resources within their areas to meet organizational goals.
Who plans ongoing daily operations?
A Supervisors
B Board members
C External auditors
D Top executives
Answer: A. Supervisors Supervisory managers design and carry out operational plans for ongoing daily activities.
Which activity takes much of a supervisor’s time?
A Choose the firm’s industry
B Guide and motivate employees
C Approve every corporate policy
D Set long-term ownership
Answer: B. Guide and motivate employees Supervisors spend much of their time guiding and motivating employees who produce goods and services.
For plans to reach daily work, what should align across management levels?
A Plans, resources, daily actions
B Customer ages and locations
C Product names and logos
D Personal goals and hobbies
Answer: A. Plans, resources, daily actions Managerial levels connect broad plans with unit resources and the daily work needed to carry them out.
When two teams receive the same assignment, which organizing weakness is likely?
A Efficient specialization
B Excessive market demand
C Clear task ownership
D Overlapping responsibilities
Answer: D. Overlapping responsibilities Unclear assignments can cause the same work to be duplicated across roles or teams.
Clear job descriptions help employees understand which expectations?
A Duties and expected results
B A firm’s annual tax rate
C Every colleague’s private goals
D Competitors’ planned prices
Answer: A. Duties and expected results Clear role information helps employees know what work and results are expected of them.
When no role owns a necessary activity, what risk arises?
A Work may be missed
B Plans become certain
C All tasks speed up
D Authority becomes unlimited
Answer: A. Work may be missed Unassigned work can fall between roles and remain incomplete.
In an organization, what does formal authority allow a manager to do?
A Duty to complete every task
B Granted right to request action
C A record of past outcomes
D Personal influence outside work
Answer: B. Granted right to request action Authority is legitimate power granted by the organization that allows someone to request action.
How is responsibility best described?
A Ability to change ownership
B Power to set all policies
C Right to ignore procedures
D Duty to complete assigned work
Answer: D. Duty to complete assigned work Responsibility concerns the duties a role or person is expected to carry out.
Being accountable means role holders must do what?
A Avoid reporting results
B Answer for outcomes
C Guarantee future conditions
D Control every department
Answer: B. Answer for outcomes Accountability means being answerable for the results of assigned work.
Delegation moves some decision authority to whom?
A Every role becomes informal
B The organizational goal changes
C Some authority moves downward
D All accountability disappears
Answer: C. Some authority moves downward Delegation assigns some authority and responsibility to people lower in the chain of command.
After delegating work, for what does the manager remain accountable?
A Overall outcomes
B External market conditions
C Every individual work step
D The employee’s personal goals
Answer: A. Overall outcomes Delegation transfers some authority, while the manager remains accountable for the unit’s results.
Which pairing helps delegated work remain feasible?
A Goals without assigned people
B More tasks and fewer inputs
C Vague limits and no tools
D Sufficient authority and resources
Answer: D. Sufficient authority and resources People need enough authority and resources to carry out the responsibilities assigned to them.
To avoid confusion, what should define delegated decision boundaries?
A Personal preferences and hobbies
B Decision limits and expected results
C Competitors’ future actions
D Unrelated office procedures
Answer: B. Decision limits and expected results Clear decision limits and outcomes help a delegate understand the scope of the assignment.
Which positions directly support production or service work?
A Line positions
B External advisors
C Customer panels
D Staff positions
Answer: A. Line positions Line positions are directly involved in the activities that produce goods or services.
Which specialized contribution can staff positions give line managers?
A Ownership of production units
B All frontline supervision
C Direct control of customers
D Specialized advice and support
Answer: D. Specialized advice and support Staff positions provide specialized advisory or support services to line managers.
Suppose a marketing researcher advises a sales director without supervising sales staff. What role type is this?
A Customer department
B Line position
C Staff position
D Supervisory level
Answer: C. Staff position A specialist who advises and supports line managers occupies a staff position.
Who normally directs day-to-day line operations?
A Outside supplier
B Customer committee
C Line manager
D External advisor
Answer: C. Line manager Line managers direct the operating work that creates the firm’s goods or services.
How can staff specialists help line managers?
A Own the operating budget
B Provide expertise for decisions
C Set customer demand
D Replace all line authority
Answer: B. Provide expertise for decisions Staff experts contribute specialized knowledge that helps line managers make informed decisions.
Where should employees find formal reporting relationships?
A Customer feedback forms
B Informal social groups
C Organizational structure
D Product price lists
Answer: C. Organizational structure The formal structure defines roles and reporting relationships within the organization.
Besides authority, how can reporting channels help?
A Automatic employee promotion
B Information reaching responsible roles
C Guaranteed market growth
D Permanent job stability
Answer: B. Information reaching responsible roles Clear channels help relevant information reach the people responsible for decisions and work.
Two units depend on each other’s output. What should managers coordinate?
A Ownership and tax status
B Timing and task handoffs
C Employee hobbies and holidays
D Logo colors and slogans
Answer: B. Timing and task handoffs Interdependent work requires coordinated timing and clear handoffs between units.
Duplicated team work may signal which problem?
A Defined decision rights
B Unclear role boundaries
C Agreed task sequence
D Clear assignment ownership
Answer: B. Unclear role boundaries When roles overlap without clear boundaries, teams may repeat the same work.
Which outcome can clear role boundaries support?
A Unplanned work duplication
B Unclear reporting relationships
C Unlimited authority
D Reliable task ownership
Answer: D. Reliable task ownership Defined responsibilities make it easier to know who owns each task.
How can organizing decisions help a planned product launch?
A Change customer preferences
B Remove the launch objective
C Assign tasks, people, and resources
D Guarantee competitor responses
Answer: C. Assign tasks, people, and resources A launch plan needs assigned work, responsible people, and the resources required for implementation.
When a new delivery channel changes workload, what should managers review?
A Unrelated product colors
B Only the company slogan
C Work activities and role allocation
D Past employee birthdays
Answer: C. Work activities and role allocation A change in work can require managers to reconsider task assignments and resource needs.
When technology changes work, which arrangements may managers need to revise?
A Competitors’ legal status
B Historical sales records
C Customer identities
D Tasks and work relationships
Answer: D. Tasks and work relationships New technology can change activities and the relationships needed to coordinate them.
Why should managers check whether teams have needed inputs?
A Resources guarantee success
B Inputs replace responsibilities
C Plans eliminate uncertainty
D Assignments need usable resources
Answer: D. Assignments need usable resources Assigned work cannot proceed effectively if the people responsible lack needed tools, materials, or information.
Which resource issue can delay assigned work?
A Clear performance expectations
B Sufficient staff expertise
C Coordinated task timing
D Missing tools or information
Answer: D. Missing tools or information A task may stall when employees lack resources or information needed to complete it.
Clear roles paired with what help coordinate interdependent tasks?
A Hidden decision limits
B Duplicated responsibilities
C Clear roles and communication
D Unshared work schedules
Answer: C. Clear roles and communication Employees need to understand their roles and communicate across tasks that depend on one another.
If delegated authority is too limited, why might the assignment fail?
A The goal is automatically achieved
B Accountability moves to customers
C The task becomes unnecessary
D The delegate cannot act effectively
Answer: D. The delegate cannot act effectively Authority should be sufficient for the responsibility; otherwise the delegate may be unable to act.
Which work should managers reassign when priorities change?
A Tasks misaligned with plans
B Completed historical reports
C Unrelated customer preferences
D Permanent ownership rights
Answer: A. Tasks no longer aligned with plans When priorities change, managers may need to adjust work assignments so resources support current plans.
What is a practical signal that work roles may need redesign?
A Repeated delays at handoffs
B Consistent resource access
C Stable information flow
D Clear task ownership
Answer: A. Repeated delays at handoffs Repeated delays between dependent tasks can signal that responsibilities or handoffs need to be reorganized.
How can managers check whether the structure supports a plan?
A Replace goals with slogans
B Ignore implementation results
C Review workflow and outcomes
D Avoid employee feedback
Answer: C. Review workflow and outcomes Reviewing work flow and results helps managers see whether the structure is supporting planned activity.