Strategy - Week 3 Seminar Notes

Question 1

work specialization

Answer 1

Extent to which jobs in an organization are narrowly or broadly divided among employees

Question 2

departmentalization

Answer 2

Process of grouping activities into departments

Question 3

formalization

Answer 3

Extent to which organization’s policies, procedures, job descriptions, and rules are written and explicitly articulated

Question 4

span of control

Answer 4

Number of subordinates supervised by a manager

Question 5

chain of command

Answer 5

Lines of reporting authority or levels of management

Question 6

boundary spanning

Answer 6

Roles in which individuals reach across internal and external organizational boundaries to facilitate communication and coordination

Question 7

Designing organizational structures
is not a written answer but …

Answer 7

a dynamic process

Question 8

structural contingency theory

Answer 8

the best organizational structure design depends on its task and environment

Question 9

configurational theories: what are the 4 types

Answer 9

informal
functional
divisional
matrix

Question 10

informal configuration

Answer 10

flat, fluid, few rules and no hierarchy

a startup!

Question 11

functional configuration

Answer 11

structure is divided based on the function or role … accounting has goals specific to accounting

Question 12

divisional configuration

Answer 12

structure is divided by product, customer, or geography

Question 13

matrix configuration

Answer 13

structure is divided based on multiple lines of reporting

Question 14

what was the outcome of the simulation done on organizational theory

Answer 14

as environments and customer demands change, an organization may need to change its org. structure

(relates to structural contingency theory)