Lesson 1.3.2

1.3.2 Structural Characteristics Quiz: NCFE Business & Enterprise, Unit 1

20 questions · by Revision Ninja

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This free Structural Characteristics quiz has 20 multiple choice questions for the NCFE Level 1/2 Technical Award in Business and Enterprise (NCFE Business & Enterprise), Unit 1: Entrepreneurship. It covers lesson 1.3.2, Structural Characteristics, one of the ready-made revision sets written with Revision Ninja and organised by unit on Qwiz Rush.

Use it as a starter, a plenary or an end-of-unit check: host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices — no student accounts and nothing to install — or set it for independent revision with Free Play, where each student works through the questions alone.

Every question runs on a 20-second countdown and the fastest correct answers score the most. All the questions and their choices are listed below so you can see what the quiz covers; the answers are revealed in the game. Want to change something? Make your own copy and edit it in your library.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which of these is a feature of a tall organisational structure?

    • Few layers of management
    • A narrow span of control
    • Fast, informal communication
    • A wide span of control

  2. In business, what does it mean for a manager to delegate?

    • Sharing a task equally with colleagues
    • Passing a task down to a subordinate
    • Contracting a task out to another firm
    • Passing a task upwards to your manager

  3. In a flat structure, why does a message from the top reach shop-floor staff quickly?

    • There are fewer employees in total
    • There are fewer layers to pass through
    • Decisions are made at head office
    • Each manager has fewer staff to brief

  4. What does the chain of command in a business describe?

    • The order in which jobs must be completed
    • The number of staff under one manager
    • The line of authority from top to bottom
    • The passing of tasks to subordinates

  5. A manager's span of control widens from 4 staff to 15. What is the likely result?

    • The manager can supervise closely
    • The manager must delegate more work
    • The business needs more managers
    • The chain of command gets longer

  6. How does being given delegated tasks usually benefit the employee doing them?

    • It lowers the business's wage costs
    • It shortens the chain of command
    • It develops skills and motivation
    • It reduces the manager's workload

  7. What is a key advantage of delegation for the manager who delegates?

    • It cuts the number of managers needed
    • It passes the blame onto their staff
    • It widens their span of control
    • It frees up time for key decisions

  8. Span of control measures which of the following?

    • The number of levels between top and bottom
    • The number of staff a manager oversees
    • The number of tasks a manager is responsible for
    • The route orders travel down a business

  9. What is a likely disadvantage of a tall organisational structure?

    • Managers lose control of their staff
    • Managers supervise too many workers
    • There are few chances of promotion
    • Messages get distorted on the way down

  10. A business removes two layers of middle managers. What is the likely effect?

    • Narrow each manager's span of control
    • Add extra levels to the hierarchy
    • Increase promotion chances for staff
    • Reduce costs and speed up decisions

  11. A firm has eight levels of management between the shop floor and the chief executive. What structure is this?

    • A matrix structure of project teams with two bosses
    • A delayered structure with a layer stripped out
    • A tall structure with a long chain of command
    • A flat structure with few levels and a wide span

  12. In a tall structure, what is a manager's span of control usually like?

    • Wide at the top, narrow at the bottom of the firm
    • Wide, as each manager looks after a large team
    • Long, as there are many levels below the manager
    • Narrow, as each manager looks after a few staff

  13. What is a common drawback of a long chain of command?

    • Workers have fewer chances of being promoted
    • Managers have too many staff to supervise well
    • Orders take a long time to reach the front line
    • Junior staff are given too much authority

  14. How does a tall structure affect a worker's chances of promotion?

    • There are fewer layers, so fewer rungs to climb
    • There are more layers, so more rungs to climb
    • Promotion depends on service length, not on layers
    • Workers move sideways between teams, not upwards

  15. Which of these best describes a flat organisational structure?

    • Many levels of hierarchy and a narrow span of control
    • Few levels of hierarchy and a wide span of control
    • Levels of hierarchy that change with each project
    • Staff report to several managers at the same time

  16. A flat structure gives a manager a wide span of control. What is one drawback of this?

    • Workers must report to more than one manager
    • Wage costs rise because many managers are needed
    • Orders take a long time to travel down the levels
    • Staff may get less support from a busy manager

  17. A small firm has just two levels of management. Why can it react to customers quickly?

    • More layers of management mean more people deciding
    • The chain of command is short, so orders travel fast
    • Authority is centralised at the firm's head office
    • The span of control is narrow, so fewer staff to ask

  18. A business closes a whole layer of middle management to cut costs. What is this called?

    • Delayering
    • Delegation
    • Centralisation
    • Outsourcing

  19. Which of these is the best description of delegation?

    • Passing a task to an outside firm that specialises in it
    • Passing a decision up to a manager for approval
    • Passing a task, and the authority for it, to a junior
    • Sharing a task equally between two senior managers

  20. Why might a manager delegate a task to a trusted team member?

    • It removes the manager's responsibility for the task
    • It cuts the number of layers in the hierarchy
    • It widens the manager's span of control to more staff
    • It frees the manager's time and motivates the worker