UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT
MGT3360 MIDTERM EXAM OVERVIEW
1.
2.
20 Multiple Choice Questions................................ 20 x 1........................ 20
3 Essay Questions from choice of 5..................... 3 x 15........................ 45
65
Space available for each essay will be one side of one page. Think through your answers
ahead of time and be concise. Group discussion of questions is encouraged, but the formulation
of answers must be an individual effort. The objective of this method of testing is to encourage
you to give more sustained thought to the application of a conceptual framework than might
normally be the case in a standard time-limited exam. Be sure that your answers strive to apply
and illustrate the theories we have discussed.
Numbers in parentheses following each question give a breakdown of marks where applicable.
This is not an “open book” exam. No papers will be permitted into the exam. Time available
for the exam: 75 minutes.
The five essay questions you will see on your exam (from which you must choose three) will be
taken from the following eight:
Essay Questions
1.
About a year ago, the President of your firm read an article in Canadian Business
magazine about how all the best companies were adopting modular structures and reorganized
the company in that form. The firm was quite large before the reorganization with substantial
investments in production and distribution facilities. In the 20 years since it came into being, the
company has always been very successful with its three standardized products and had built a
reputation for the on-time delivery and high quality that are critical in your industry. During the
year since the reorganization, however, the business has had more than its share of troubles and
has been showing poor earnings. The President wonders if it wouldn’t be wise to reorganize
again to remedy the situation. (1) Is the modular structure a good fit? Do its strengths and
weaknesses suit your situation? (2) What has likely gone wrong? (3) If the modular structure
isn’t working, are the strengths and weaknesses of another structure a better fit for your firm?
(5+5+5)
2.
Examine the Organizational Design Outcomes of Strategy in Exhibit 2.5. (1) Describe
how a clothing manufacturer might operate using the organization design elements for the
differentiation strategy. (2) Describe how a clothing manufacturer might operate using the
organization design elements for the low-cost leadership strategy. (3) Provide the name of a
famous actual manufacturer for each or make up a name that would communicate your strategy
to your intended customers. NOTE: Do not simply re-use the terms in Ex. 2.5… illustrate them!
(6+6+3)
3.
The culture of universities is built on the notion of individual achievement and
assessment but the reality of the emerging organizational workplace is that collaboration and
team outcomes are increasingly the norm. (1) Work through the materials on each side of Ex. 5-3
one at a time providing examples to illustrate whether you believe the relationship between the
university and its students is primarily adversarial or primarily a partnership. (2) What is your
overall conclusion?
(7+7+1)
4.
Your firm has been very successful domestically with its product, Iron Laces – a virtually
indestructible shoelace that lasts for longer than most shoes. Now you are ready to take on the
world and have already lined up some great advertising where you show some children (always
rough on laces) breaking your competitors’ laces but not yours. (1) Because your product is
pretty basic, you figure that you’ll organize using a globalization strategy. Draw a chart of what
such an organization might look like. (2) Given that you might want to expand into other
personal care products, do you have any reason to believe that the globalization strategy might
not be your best approach? Why? (3) Is there an alternative strategy that you would suggest to go
international? Draw a chart of what this organization might look like. NOTE: It is important that
you make the effort to apply the theory from the text to this particular product and its industry
segment.
(5+5+5)
5.
For each of the five organizational phenomena below, tell me which of the perspectives
from the Interorganizational Relationships Framework (Ex. 5.2) you feel would be most suited to
understand it and use it to briefly explain what is going on. (All are different.)
(3 x 5)
1. While most people like to know what to expect when they need a place to stay when
away from home, Best Western also knows that people travel to see something different.
2. With the Olympics coming to town and the organizers looking for a company to handle
all of the driving of athletes from venue to venue, Joe (of Joe’s Taxi) starts calling up all
of the other independent taxi operators to talk about making a joint bid for the business.
3. Let’s invite that crazy woman who hugs beech trees (the one with the great shoes) onto
our Board of Directors here at Oxford Plastics.
4. I sure don’t understand how the Chinese market works but Charlene’s business has
gone in by using a joint venture approach. I think I’ll try that too.
5. Here we go again. Take on extra workers at Christmas and lay them off again after the
peak. I wonder if I talked to Joe, my supplier and Estelle, my distributor, whether we
couldn’t work out a better way. I think we all trust each other.
6.
Choose any two real organizations (not used in the text) that you believe typify the
mechanistic and organic structural types. Use actual aspects of these two organizations to
illustrate the 5 differences between the two types. NOTE: your chances of getting full marks on
this question increase with real details from organizations that you have been a part of yourself.
(5 x 3)
7.
Your text argues that the amounts of environmental complexity and instability faced by
an organization have a large impact on its structure. Categorize, with supporting argument, the
environmental uncertainty faced by each of the following organizations.
(3 x 5)
(1) Budweiser
(4) Telus
(2) United Nations
(5) Disney
(3) Harvard
8.
You own and operate a local restaurant. Think about what you want to be known for in
this community and come up with a short mission statement.
(3)
Given your mission statement, tell me how you plan to evaluate the effectiveness of your
organization by developing 6 measures of effectiveness as follows:
(1) Two measurements based on the Resource-based approach
(4)
(2) Two measurements based on the Internal process approach
(4)
(3) Two measurements based on the Goal approach
(4)
NOTE: Your measurements should relate specifically to the restaurant industry and be clearly
linked to the achievement of your organizational mission.