Question

You instruct the trainees to ask the client organization if they have clearly defined procedures covering most of the jobs in the organization and lots of rules and policies. You want to help them understand the ________.

A) chain of command
B) degree of formalization
C) span of control
D) degree of departmentalization
E) degree of centralization

Answer 1

The instruction to the trainees aims to help them understand the degree of formalization within an organization, which relates to the standardization of jobs and the use of rules and procedures to guide employee behavior.

Step-by-step explanation:

You want to help the trainees understand the degree of formalization within an organization when you instruct them to ask about clearly defined procedures covering most jobs and numerous rules and policies. Formalization refers to how standardized an organization’s jobs are and the extent to which employee behavior is guided by rules and procedures. Organizations with a high degree of formalization often have explicit job descriptions, lots of rules, and clearly defined procedures.

In contrast to the chain of command, which describes the hierarchy of authority, or the span of control, which refers to the number of subordinates managed by a superior, formalization is about the extent to which an organization uses rules and procedures to prescribe behavior. Similarly, it differs from degree of departmentalization, which indicates how jobs are grouped together, and degree of centralization, which refers to where decisions are made within the organization