The process by which top executives seek to cope with the constraints and opportunities posed by an organization's environment is called strategy.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:539
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.3 Define “strategy” and describe how organizational structure can serve as a strategic response to environmental demands.
130) Strategic alliances are various kinds of actively cooperative relationships between legally separate organizations.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:544
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.4 Explain how “vertical integration, mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, interlocking directorates,” and the establishment of “legitimacy” reflect strategic responses.
131) Technology includes the activities, equipment, and knowledge necessary to turn organizational inputs into desired outputs.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:547
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.5 Describe the basic dimensions of organizational “technology.”
132) When one person serves on two or more boards of directors a(n) interlocking directorate exists.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:546
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.4 Explain how “vertical integration, mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, interlocking directorates,” and the establishment of “legitimacy” reflect strategic responses.
133) In terms of J.D. Thompson's classification, a taxi company is an example of pooled interdependence.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:549
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.5 Describe the basic dimensions of organizational “technology.”
134) An assembly line is an excellent example of Thompson's sequential interdependence.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:549
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.5 Describe the basic dimensions of organizational “technology.”
135) Joan Woodward's research showed that unit and process technologies called for organic organizational structures.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:551
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.6 Explain how organizations must match organizational structure to technology.
136) The most uncertain environment is complex and dynamic.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:537
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.2 Explain how “environmental uncertainty” and “resource dependence” affect what happens in organizations.
137) Taking formal control of sources of supply and distribution to strategically manage the environment is called vertical integration.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:543
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.4 Explain how “vertical integration, mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, interlocking directorates,” and the establishment of “legitimacy” reflect strategic responses.
138) The “two faces” of technology means that a given form of advanced information technology can have opposite effects depending upon its application.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:553
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.7 Discuss the impact of “advanced information technology” on job design and organizational structure.
139) Open systems take inputs from the external environment, transform some of these inputs, and send them back into the environment as outputs.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:533
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.1 Discuss the “open systems” concept of an organization and the components of an organization's “external environment.”
140) The development of an association with a higher status organization is a good way for an organization to develop legitimacy.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:546
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.4 Explain how “vertical integration, mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, interlocking directorates,” and the establishment of “legitimacy” reflect strategic responses.
141) In the Lawrence and Lorsch study, the most effective container firms had mechanistic organizational structures.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:541
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.3 Define “strategy” and describe how organizational structure can serve as a strategic response to environmental demands.
142) According to Joan Woodward's research, mass production technologies were most effective under mechanistic organizational structures.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:551
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.6 Explain how organizations must match organizational structure to technology.
143) Because advanced information technology is so flexible, it can lead either to a more or a less centralized organization.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:553
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.7 Discuss the impact of “advanced information technology” on job design and organizational structure.
144) Organizations often use vertical integration to reduce resource dependence.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:542
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.7 Discuss the impact of “advanced information technology” on job design and organizational structure.
145) The conditions for an interlocking directorate exist when one director serves on two or more boards.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:546
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.4 Explain how “vertical integration, mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, interlocking directorates,” and the establishment of “legitimacy” reflect strategic responses.
146) Speaking generally, more uncertain organizational environments require more organic organizational structures.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:542
Skill: Applied
Objective: 15.3 Define “strategy” and describe how organizational structure can serve as a strategic response to environmental demands.
147) In the Lawrence and Lorsch study, managerial goals and time spans varied such that the plastics firms were more highly differentiated than the container firms.
Difficulty: 3
Page Reference:541
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.3 Define “strategy” and describe how organizational structure can serve as a strategic response to environmental demands.
148) Parties or organizations other than direct competitors that have some vested interest in how an organization is managed are called interest groups.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:535
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.1 Discuss the “open systems” concept of an organization and the components of an organization's “external environment.”
149) Events in various components of the environment provide both constraints and opportunities for organizations.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:536
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.1 Discuss the “open systems” concept of an organization and the components of an organization's “external environment.”
150) Environmental uncertainty exists when an organizations is vague, difficult to diagnose, and unpredictable.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:536
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.2 Explain how “environmental uncertainty” and “resource dependence” affect what happens in organizations.
151) Uncertainty depends on the environment's complexity and rate of change.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:537
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.2 Explain how “environmental uncertainty” and “resource dependence” affect what happens in organizations.
152) Strategy is the process by which top executives seek to cope with the constraints and opportunities posed by an organization's environment.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:539
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.3 Define “strategy” and describe how organizational structure can serve as a strategic response to environmental demands.
153) According to Perrow, the key factor that differentiates various technologies is the routineness of the transformation task that confronts the department or organization.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:548
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.5 Describe the basic dimensions of organizational “technology.”
154) The most common way of achieving legitimacy is to imitate management practices that other firms have institutionalized.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:547
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.4 Explain how “vertical integration, mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, interlocking directorates,” and the establishment of “legitimacy” reflect strategic responses.
155) According to Perrow, the key factor that differentiates various technologies is the routineness of the transformation task that confronts the department or organization.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:548
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.5 Describe the basic dimensions of organizational “technology.”
156) Technological routineness is a function of exceptions and problems.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:548
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.5 Describe the basic dimensions of organizational “technology.”
157) The technology becomes less routine as exceptions increase.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:548
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.5 Describe the basic dimensions of organizational “technology.”
158) The technology becomes less routine as problems become more difficult to analyze.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:548
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.5 Describe the basic dimensions of organizational “technology.”
159) As technologies become increasingly interdependent, problems of coordination, communication, and decision making increase.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:550
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.5 Describe the basic dimensions of organizational “technology.”
160) The most famous study of the relationship between technology and structure is that of Joan Woodward.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:550
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.5 Describe the basic dimensions of organizational “technology.”
161) The flexibility of information technology means that it is not deterministic of a particular organization structure or job design.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:553
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.7 Discuss the impact of “advanced information technology” on job design and organizational structure.
162) An example of the influence of the external environment is the SARS outbreak of 2003.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:532
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.1 Discuss the “open systems” concept of an organization and the components of an organization's “external environment.”
163) As uncertainty increases, cause-and-effect relationships become less clear.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:537
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.2 Explain how “environmental uncertainty” and “resource dependence” affect what happens in organizations.
164) Much of the impact that the environment has on organizations is indirect rather than direct.
Difficulty: 1
Page Reference:540
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.3 Define “strategy” and describe how organizational structure can serve as a strategic response to environmental demands.
165) In the Lawrence and Lorsch study, the most successful plastics company had adopted an organic structure.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:542
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.3 Define “strategy” and describe how organizational structure can serve as a strategic response to environmental demands.
166) In a joint venture two or more organizations form an alliance in the creation of a new organizational entity.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:544
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.4 Explain how “vertical integration, mergers, acquisitions, strategic alliances, interlocking directorates,” and the establishment of “legitimacy” reflect strategic responses.
167) According to Perrow, routine technologies should function best under mechanistic structures.
Difficulty: 2
Page Reference:551
Skill: Recall
Objective: 15.6 Explain how organizations must match organizational structure to technology.
168) What are the main components of an organization's external environment? Which of these components may contain or influence interest groups which are relevant to your college or university? Cite examples.
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