Chapter 5

A specific commitment to achieve a measurable result within a stated period of time is called a mission. T/F

FALSE A goal, also known as an objective, is a specific commitment to achieve a measurable result within a stated period of time.

An example of Miles and Snow's defender strategy was Kmart in its lack of response to Walmart's development of distribution and inventory management competencies. T/F

FALSE Kmart had a reactor strategy when it failed to respond to Walmart's development of its distribution and inventory management competencies, resulting in stalled growth and a significant reduction in market share. Kmart's core business never recovered from this reactive strategy.

Planning is coping with uncertainty by formulating future courses of action to achieve specified results. T/F

TRUE

Which of the following statements about planning is true? a. Planning helps you check your progress. b. Unfortunately one outcome of the planning process is that "the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing." c. Planning is spontaneous. d. A plan needs to be perfect to be executable. e. Planning prevents unwelcome surprises.

a. Planning helps you check your progress

A sales plan that arises as a result of goal-setting is an example of an action plan. T/F

TRUE

Which of the following statements about the MBO process is accurate? a. The purpose of MBO is to motivate employees. b. Meeting once per year to determine whether an employee has met his or her objectives and goals is sufficient. c. It's important to deal with personalities and emotional issues during an MBO conference. d. MBO works best if the manager sets the objectives for each of his or her subordinates. e. If the MBO process is used correctly, employee rewards are not necessary.

a. The purpose of MBO is to motivate employees. Management by objectives (MBO) is a four-step process in which (1) managers and employees jointly set objectives for the employee, (2) managers develop action plans, (3) managers and employees periodically review the employee's performance, and (4) the manager makes a performance appraisal and rewards the employee according to results. The purpose of MBO is to motivate rather than control subordinates.

Performance is maximized when goals are a. moderately difficult to challenging. b. low to moderately difficult. c. constantly changed to meet new circumstances. d. challenging to impossible. e. easily attainable.

a. moderately difficult to challenging

Implementing plans of top management and making decisions often without clearly defined procedures are part of a. tactical planning. b. functional planning. c. strategic planning. d. operational planning. e. departmental planning.

a. tactical planning Tactical planning is done by middle managers who implement policies and plans of top management, supervise and coordinate activities of first-line managers below, make decisions often without base of clearly defined information procedures (see Figure 5.3).

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a(n) ______ statement which is to be "a world leader in the natural sciences through our scientific excellence and responsiveness to society's needs." a. vision b. strategic c. mission d. tactical e. operational

a. vision The planning process begins with two attributes: a mission statement (which answers the question "What is our reason for being?") and a vision statement (which answers the question "What do we want to become?"). This statement expresses what the USGS wants to become.

Which of the following is the first step in the planning/control cycle? a. Set a planning agenda. b. Make the plan. c. Identify the goal. d. Control the direction. e. Implement the plan.

b. Make the plan The planning/control cycle has two planning steps (1 and 2) and two control steps (3 and 4), as follows: (1) Make the plan. (2) Carry out the plan. (3) Control the direction by comparing results with the plan. (4) Control the direction by taking corrective action in two ways—namely, (a) by correcting deviations in the plan being carried out, or (b) by improving future plans.

The accomplishment of low-level goals leads to the accomplishment of high-level goals, so the hierarchy may be called a(n) a. MBO. b. means-end chain. c. standing plan. d. action plan. e. program.

b. means-end chain

The "R" in S.M.A.R.T. goals stand for a. realistic. b. results-oriented. c. random. d. radical. e. reachable.

b. results-oriented

Determining the mission for an organization is the responsibility of a. the industry in which it operates. b. top management and the board of directors. c. the ethics committee. d. all levels of managers. e. all employees.

b. top management and the board of directors

According to Miles and Snow, when a company facing uncertainty responds by saying, "Let's let others take the risks of innovating and we'll imitate what works best," it would be classified as a(n) a. defender. b. replicator. c. analyzer. d. prospector. e. reactor.

c. analyzer

Which of the following statements about setting goals is true? a. "As many planes as possible should arrive on time" is a well-stated goal. b. A goal of "half the flights should arrive on time" will encourage people to make a special effort to accomplish that goal. c. All verbs are suitable for goal statements. d. Goals should have deadlines. e. The best goals avoid the use of numbers.

d. Goals should have deadlines

Which of the following statements about the planning/control cycle is true? a. The planning/control cycle loop exists only for the strategic plan. b. It is the primary tool for the MBO process. c. The cycle ends with carrying out the plan. d. It has two planning steps and one control step. d. One way to control the direction of the plan is by improving future plans.

d. One way to control the direction of the plan is by improving future plans Controlling the direction occurs in two ways: (a) by correcting deviations in the plan being carried out (return to step 2), or (b) by improving future plans (go to step 1 to start over).

The ______ cycle portrays businesses as continuously cycling through decisions about three kinds of business problems: entrepreneurial, engineering, and administrative. a. convergent b. proactive c. strategic d. adaptive e. cascading

d. adaptive The adaptive cycle, which portrays businesses as continuously cycling through decisions about three kinds of business problems: (1) entrepreneurial (selecting and making adjustments of products and markets), (2) engineering (producing and delivering the products), and (3) administrative (establishing roles, relationships, and organizational processes).

Operational planning is completed by a. the CEO. b. top management. c. middle management. d. first-line management. e. joint effort from all managers.

d. first-line management

A ______ plan is developed for activities that are not likely to be repeated in the future, whereas a ______ plan is a plan developed for activities that occur repeatedly over a period of time. a. standing; single-use b. policy; program c. project; program d. single-use; standing e. standing; program

d. single-use; standing

A posted sign that says "Eye protection required in this area" is an example of which type of plan? a. principle b. policy c. procedure d. guideline e. rule

e. rule