Ch. 1 HW

A manager at the first level of management is called a(n):

A supervisor is a manager at the first level of management, which means the employees reporting to the supervisor are not managers.

Which of the following must be a supervisor's primary focus?

A supervisor's main task is to improve efficiency of work to achieve a department's goals. A supervisor must focus on efficiency, functions to be performed, and people.

The practice of imposing penalties for failing to adequately carry out responsibilities and giving rewards for meeting responsibilities is referred to as:

Accountability

________ is the right to do certain things.

Authority

Which of the following is a change-related activity?

Change-related activities involves efforts to modify components of the organization, such as monitoring the environment to detect a need for change, proposing new tactics and strategies, encouraging others to think creatively, and taking risks to promote needed changes.

Monitoring performance and making needed corrections is termed as the management function of:

Controlling

Assigning work to employees refers to which of the following characteristics of a successful supervisor?

Delegation of authority means giving employees authority and responsibility to carry out activities. A good supervisor must be able to delegate authority effectively.

In the context of skills of successful managers, ________ primarily involves providing coaching and advice, providing opportunities for skill development, and helping people learn how to improve their skills.

Developing

In the context of skills of successful managers, ________ primarily involves allowing substantial responsibility and discretion in work activities and trusting people to solve problems and make decisions without getting approval first.

Empowering

In the context of skills of successful managers, ________ primarily involves challenging people to question their assumptions about the work and consider better ways of doing it.

Encouraging Innovative Thinking

In the context of skills of successful managers, presenting an appealing description of desirable outcomes that the unit can achieve and describing a proposed change with enthusiasm and conviction is primarily part of ________.

Envisioning Change

In the context of important managerial skills, analyzing information about events, trends, and changes in a company's environment to identify threats and opportunities for the work unit is primarily part of ________ skill.

External monitoring means analyzing information about events, trends, and changes in the external environment to identify threats and opportunities for the work unit. It is an important managerial skill.

________ is often referred to as the "father of scientific management."

Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915) is often referred to as the "father of scientific management." Taylor believed that in order to improve efficiency, it is important to consider the best way in which a job could be completed.

________, a French industrialist, is often regarded as the pioneer of administrative theory.

Henri Fayol, a French industrialist, is often regarded as the pioneer of administrative theory. The ideas that he generated relative to general management principles are still considered to be important among contemporary thinkers.

Influencing employees to act (or not act) in a certain way is the primary part of the management function called:

Leading

In the context of skills of successful managers, ________ primarily involves checking on the progress and quality of the work and evaluating individual and unit performance.

Monitoring operations primarily involves checking on the progress and quality of the work and evaluating individual and unit performance.

Which of the following skills is relatively more important for first-level managers?

Most supervisors start out working in a department they now supervise. Because technical skills are relatively important for first-level managers, the person selected to be supervisor is often an employee with a superior grasp of the technical skills needed to perform well in the department.

Which of the following is a people-related activity?

People-related activities involve efforts to manage people, such as by providing support and encouragement, recognizing contributions, developing employees' skills, and empowering employees to solve problems.

Deciding on a department's goals and how to meet them most accurately describes the function of:

Planning

________ means the ability to do certain things.

Power

Providing praise for significant achievements and effective performance can be best categorized as part of the managerial skill called ________.

Recognizing involves providing praise and recognition for effective performance, significant achievements, special contributions, and performance improvements.

The activities involved in identifying, hiring, and developing the necessary number and quality of employees can be best categorized as the management function of:

Staffing

The characteristic of successful supervisors that involves listening to what employees have to say is known as:

Supervisors need to be good communicators. Employees and bosses alike depend on a supervisor to keep them informed of what is happening. Employees who receive clear guidance about what is expected of them will not only perform better but also be more satisfied with their jobs. Good communication also includes making contact with employees each day and listening to what they have to say.

In the context of skills of successful managers, being considerate when tasks are difficult and helping employees to get over anxiety and stress is the primary part of ________.

Supporting means being considerate, showing sympathy and support when someone is upset or anxious, and providing encouragement and support when a task is difficult or stressful. It is a people-related activity.

Efforts to carry out critical management-related duties, such as planning, setting objectives for employees, and monitoring performance can be best categorized as:

Task-related activities

________ skills are relatively important for first-level managers. Hence, most supervisors start out working in a department they now supervise.

Technical

Which of the following acts states that a supervisor is "any individual having authority, in the interest of the employer, to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employees, or responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their grievances, or effectively to recommend such action, if in connection with foregoing the exercise of such authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires the use of independent judgment"?

The Taft-Hartley Act

Which of the following is an example of the developing skills of a manager?

The developing skills of a manager involve providing coaching and advice, providing opportunities for skill development, and helping people learn how to improve their skills.

Supervisors typically spend most of their time:

Typically, supervisors spend most of their time leading and controlling, because they work directly with the employees who are producing or selling a product or providing support services. Planning, staffing, and organizing take up less of a supervisor's time.

A supervisor's responsibilities include:

providing an opportunity for employees to evaluate him or her.