Tag: Topic 16

Alex plc is a modern manufacturing operation.

It uses components manufactured by suppliers and sub-contractors all over the world to assemble finished goods to customer specifications in its assembly plant.

Operations managers are technically competent and their competence within the area of their expertise is rarely questioned.

There is a high degree of specialisation of labour and procedures ensure that, regardless of who carries out tasks, they are executed in the same way each time.

From this description of Alex plc, identify which of the following statements about the company are likely to be true.

I Innovation is suppressed.
II Employees are concerned with completing the task efficiently, rather than with how the task can be improved upon for the benefit of the organisation.
III Everyone in the organisation finds it easy to learn from their mistakes.

Select ONE answer:

1. Statements I and II
2. Statements II and III
3. Statements I and III
4. Statements I and II and III

Show your workings to arrive at your answer, and explain and justify your reasons:

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

This multiple-choice question is suitable for Accounting KS5 classes.

The answer is 1

1. Correct –> The company could be described as a bureaucracy or mechanistic organisation. As well as innovation being suppressed (statement I), this type of structure can inhibit creativity, initiative and openness to new ideas and ways of doing things. People would certainly be concerned with completing the task efficiently (statement Il) – task specification and efficiency is a feature of a bureaucratic design. Jobs are generally broken down into narrow areas of work/responsibility to secure the benefits of specialisation. In bureaucracies’ it is hard to learn from mistakes (statement III) due to the lack of feedback (especially upwards).
2. Not correct
3. Not correct
4. Not correct

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Alex Computing Ltd adopts a wide, flat organisational structure.

Which of the following is Alex Computing Ltd likely to encounter problems?

Select ONE answer:

1. Ensuring enough face-to-face contact takes place between superiors and staff members
2. High management overhead costs
3. Internal communication
4. Superiors not delegating enough work to staff

Show your workings to arrive at your answer, and explain and justify your reasons:

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

This multiple-choice question is suitable for Accounting KS5 classes.

The answer is 1

1. Correct –> – If there are many subordinates to supervise, there would be in a wide, flat organisation, it can be difficult to give each employee enough individual time. High management overhead costs (2), internal communication difficulties (3) and superiors not delegating enough work to staff (4) are problems associated with tall, narrow organisational structures.
2. Not correct
3. Not correct
4. Not correct

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.