Management Final Question bank
Which of the following is the best example of a manager discounting the future?
A manager focusing on quarterly profits instead of the long-term vision
Farah's Falafels, a chain of Middle Eastern restaurants, periodically compares its customer reviews and menu options to other successful restaurants in order to continually improve its own performance. This practice is known as
Benchmarking
Eco Lawn Care Corporation, a company that manufacturers environmentally friendly lawn care products, has been operating as a business for a year. The CEO, Markus, started his venture by deciding on the activities that would be involved and what his goals and objectives for the business were. He then started to recruit professional chemists and other personnel and grouped them according to their responsibilities. Every month Markus conducts a meeting where he brings attention to those who are doing good work and motivates everyone to achieve organizational goals. He also checks the daily productivity of each of the workers, monitoring them and providing training to those with low productivity. Markus monitors his employees and provides training to those who are performing poorly. In this case, which of the following functions of management is Markus performing?
Controlling
Marta decided that a growing Latino population has created an opportunity to market her family's salsa recipes. Which type of opportunity is she focusing on?
Demographic change
Senior management at Value Products is attending a corporate retreat, and the first item for discussion is corporate social responsibility (CSR). The group has discussed this before and then shot it down because it generally costs Value Products' shareholders in the form of reduced distributions. But the new VP, Isabella, is about to explain why she believes CSR will actually benefit the shareholders and Value Products management alike. Her team begins the presentation with a discussion of CSR, both its current definition and reconciliation of past views. Jessica then discusses the importance of being a good global corporate citizen by supporting the local school system. Valentina takes the floor to make the case for doing what is expected by global stakeholders even though there are no laws requiring those actions. Finally, Scott wraps up the discussion by defining why Value Products should take legal responsibility for the firm's performance. Valentina's presentation most likely centered on taking which of the following actions?
Doing the right thing regardless of what the law says
Contingency plans should be developed only after a decision has been made and implemented. True/ False
False
Done properly, sustainability encourages people to live in ways that can be maintained for a short period without harming environmental resources. True/False
False
Emotional intelligence should be viewed as something you inherit and cannot change. True/False
False
Emotional intelligence should be viewed as something you inherit and cannot change. true/False
False
Ethical decisions are NOT guided by the underlying values of the individual. True/False
False
Large corporations are merely passive bystanders watching entrepreneurs create new businesses. True/False
False
The first formal step in the planning process is goal and plan evaluation. True/False
False
The most constructive type of conflict is affective conflict. True/False
False
When investors bid up stock prices, companies have less capital to fuel their strategies. True/False
False
Nadia wants to open and run her own sandwich shop. However, she wants to leverage an existing, proven model so she can focus on managing. Which of the following should Nadia consider being, based on her desires?
Franchisee
Gina, a sales manager, has increasing pressure from other vendors who have shifted production of their parts overseas. She calls one of his customers who normally buys at least once a month, but hasn't placed an order with Gina in three months. The customer states that they are buying from an alternate supplier based on price. Gina is competing for orders with companies who have reduced costs by shifting production overseas. Gina faces the management challenge involved with
Globalization
The manager of the Silver Sands Hotel noticed a tremendous decrease in the number of convention bookings. He promptly ordered the redecoration of the hotel's meeting rooms. Customer feedback later indicated that the problem had not been the meeting facilities but poor service from the cleaning staff. In this scenario, to try and solve the problem, the manager should have first tried to
Identify the problem
Henry was having a few friends over for dinner, many of whom Henry knew from an international management association. Henry's company provides services to create detailed maps of world areas from satellites, which the firm then sells via the Internet to firms, countries, and others around the world. One of his guests, Tamia, bakes cakes for a living. Her recipes are so well liked that her company has grown dramatically. She has just sold the right to manufacture her cakes to a firm in eastern Alpland. Another friend, Chang, is a director at InSpiral, and his wife, Chloe, has contracted with the breakfast chain Flapjack Frank's to open a branch in their state, bearing all the preliminary expenses and development costs. Chang also announced that InSpiral and another company, McElwee's, are starting a new venture. Finally, Kamala works for New Frontier Technologies, which is headquartered in her home country, and is soon to go abroad to work in New Frontier's new facility, which is an independent company that New Frontier owns and controls in another country. The guests were discussing how their companies decided to "go global." Which of the following ways of entering into the global marketplace is Tamia's company using?
Licensing
Mindful Maids Incorporated, a housecleaning services firm, has completed a SWOT analysis as part of its ongoing strategic planning process. Management has uncovered the following information through extensive research: - New regulations have been passed limiting the number of hours per week the company's employees can work without receiving benefits. - Mindful Maids is a company that uses environmentally friendly products; its competitors do not. - More and more homeowners are concerned about the environment; it is expected that this trend will continue for decades. - Compared to its competitors, its management team is by far the best in the industry. It has fallen behind in staff training over the last few years. - The company has adequate financial resources to invest in its operations. The percentage of people hiring cleaning services has fallen off due to a difficult recession. Which of the following findings is a weakness for Mindful Maids?
Mindful maids has fallen behind in staff training over the last several years
The Ascent, a mountain bicycle manufacturer, has been in the bicycle industry for a year now. The CEO wishes to better the company. He starts by looking at the sales records of the year that they have been in business and notices that the company's sales have been declining at a steady pace for the past six months and that at present they are selling only half as many bicycles as they want to. In an attempt to increase sales, he either wants to bring down the prices of his bicycles or expand the company by opening a new branch in another area. The CEO shares his views with the sales manager and finance managers. Together they decide that reducing the prices would definitely increase sales, although the profits would come down. They also determine that opening a new branch would only increase expenses. They conclude that they will reduce the prices of the bicycles. The plan is implemented and the CEO keeps a record of the sales every month to make sure the change is effective. Which of the following steps in the basic planning process does the CEO perform when he closely watches the sales reports each month?
Monitor and control
The two strategic models that have relatively high manufacturing costs are
Mutlinational and international
Steven is marketing manager for Abrams Technologies, a firm that sells environmental control systems to the coal-fired power industry. Steven's business is highly competitive, with many existing rivalries and new players. However, coal-fired power plants are being shut down in favor of substitute forms of energy, e.g., wind and natural gas. Thus, opportunities to sell environmental control systems to coal-fired power plants are rare, and his clients have many choices of providers and technologies. Steven's firm has long-term pricing agreements with its equipment suppliers, so Steven knows what external costs Abrams will incur on potential new projects for environmental control systems. The competitive force that appears to represent the lowest risk to Steven's firm is
Power of suppliers
Ellie manages a restaurant and must decide on next week's work schedule for the employees. This is an example of a ________ decision
Programmed
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act
Requires strict adherence to accounting rules
Which of the following is one of the six major components of the strategic management process?
SWOT analysis and strategy formulation
Jimena works for a small company that makes nut butters from ingredients like cashews and macadamia nuts, and jams from mixtures of tropical fruits. She reports to the CFO. It is her job to predict the costs of raw materials for the next five years. She uses various research sources, including the news, to learn who the competitors are and what they have been doing. In fact, she subscribes to an analyst e-newsletter that tells her about crop availability and weather conditions all around the globe. Every month she develops a spreadsheet for her boss indicating the likely costs of fruits and nuts given the type of weather conditions expected in each area of the world and thus the availability of particular crops. She is also involved in a team that is investigating how to cut production costs. They have recently met with Spicy Sides, a company that produces jars of condiments. Spicy Sides is considered the top company in the condiment industry, especially in its knowledge of how to pack food products in jars. Jimena's team is comparing their processes to those of Spicy Sides to see how they might improve. The spreadsheet that Jimena uses gives her a chance to examine different projections, which is a form of
Scenario development
Javi Torres, general manager of Fabricated Products, Incorporated, told his mentor, "I find it difficult to support our corporate social performance without corporate financial performance." His mentor replied, "Javi, the accumulated evidence indicates that
Social responsibility is associated with better financial performance.
Crowley Heat Exchangers, Incorporated, is the only provider of a patented high-efficiency heat exchanger. Global Construction Corporation desires to include Crowley's heat exchanger in a proposal for a major project for Global's largest client. However, Crowley charges a premium price for its patented equipment. As a result, Global's potential profit on the major project is eroded, which is an example of the high bargaining power of
Suppliers
Which of the following statements about planning is accurate?
Tactical plans may have a time horizon of a year or two, whereas operational plans may cover a period of less than a year.
Which of the following job titles indicates that a person is a frontline manager?
Team Leader
Utilitarianism directly seeks
The greatest good for the greatest number of people
Jean-Michel is the CEO of Kronos Timepieces, a retailer and manufacturer of fashion watches and watch accessories. The company, which was founded in 1925, is based in Switzerland and employs around 1,000 people in five countries. It currently sells its watches in 27 countries, with a recent expansion into several Middle Eastern and far Eastern countries. Kronos has decided to introduce a lower-priced unisex wristwatch. Jean-Michel has been considering contracting a new factory located in Singapore to manufacture the lower-priced line of wristwatches, rather than using Kronos' older, main factory, which is located in nearby Grenchen. Which of the following factors best supports Jean-Michel's decision to outsource production of the watches?
The manufacture of watches is standardized and the company is sufficiently well-established, making outsourcing an attractive option
Louise and Cecile want to start an online matchmaking service. They decide who will assume the various roles in the company, evaluate who their target customers will be, research their competitors and how they will differentiate themselves, assess the financial and regulatory issues they might expect to face, and anticipate the future risks they might encounter. Which of the following situations is most likely to happen as a result of Louise and Cecile forgetting to include certain elements in their business plan?
They may realize they have not decided how to get their message out to customers
Katya is evaluating whether she has the right personality to be an entrepreneur. Which of the following characteristics should she have if she wants to succeed?
Tolerance of risk and uncertainty
One of the consequences of an increasingly integrated global economy is that imports are penetrating deeper into the world's largest economies. True/False
True
To be successful, entrepreneurs should be innovators and also have good knowledge and skills in management, business, and networking. True/False
True
Using host-country nationals at an overseas subsidiary is generally less expensive than using expatriates.
True
Which of the following is an example of a potential substitute product?
chipotle burrito bowl for a chick-fil-A meal
Renaldo is creating a business plan. His first formal step should be to
conduct an opportunity analysis
Perfect Pasta plans to open five new stores before 2021. However, if the economy does not improve and if consumer confidence does not rise as hoped, it might open just two stores. This backup plan is an example of a(n) ________ plan
contingency
Through careful monitoring of the financial budgets of a firm, managers can detect potential problems in reaching their financial goals and take actions to reverse the problem. This is an example of the ________ function of management
controlling
Senior management at Value Products is attending a corporate retreat, and the first item for discussion is corporate social responsibility (CSR). The group has discussed this before and then shot it down because it generally costs Value Products' shareholders in the form of reduced distributions. But the new VP, Isabella, is about to explain why she believes CSR will actually benefit the shareholders and Value Products management alike. Her team begins the presentation with a discussion of CSR, both its current definition and reconciliation of past views. Jessica then discusses the importance of being a good global corporate citizen by supporting the local school system. Valentina takes the floor to make the case for doing what is expected by global stakeholders even though there are no laws requiring those actions. Finally, Scott wraps up the discussion by defining why Value Products should take legal responsibility for the firm's performance. Valentina's presentation most likely centered on taking which of the following actions?
doing the right thing regardless of what the law says
Phil Colley, a project manager, finds an envelope in his office mailbox. The return address indicates that it was sent by a salesman for HiTek Instruments, a long-time supplier to Phil's firm. Inside the envelope is a "thanks for the business" note and $2,000 in cash. Afraid that he will be perceived as receiving a "kickback," Phil immediately takes the envelope and cash to his manager to report what he found. Phil uses ________ as an ethical system in his decision making
egoism
By leaving her job and starting her own business, Jana will become a(n)
entrepeneur
Aliya and Samuel, managers from different departments at Finger Lakes Financial, are discussing the troubling behavior of an employee. Aliya says that it is the responsibility of high-level managers to take steps to prevent legal wrongdoing by punishing offenders. However, Samuel believes that every individual should take personal responsibility for his or her own behavior and that everyone needs to understand how to do the right thing. Each of the managers tends to be responsible for creating a different ________ in their respective departments.
ethical climate
Sophie was very excited to be on a one-month project in Japan. While at work, Sophie's Japanese coworkers rarely tell their boss what they are thinking. Because she thinks the actions of her coworkers are not making the company as efficient as it would be back in Germany, Sophie is exhibiting
ethnocentrism
Contingency plans should be developed only after a decision has been made and implemented. True/False
false
The first formal step in the planning process is goal and plan evaluation. True/False
false
Most entrepreneurs start their own firms because they
feel satisfaction in creating something from nothing
Randall, senior product development manager at WasteTech Corporation, is considering the acquisition of a new waste treatment technology from a small development firm. The asking price is $10 million. However, the environmental uncertainty of the waste treatment marketplace is both complex and dynamic. Randall wants to acquire the new technology but seeks to manage the risk associated with his decision, or "hedge his bets." Key elements of his risk management strategy might be to
gain competitive intelligence through environmental scanning, develop business scenarios, forecast sales, and benchmark technology
Nurul is a native of Malaysia where Regal Menswear is building its new plant. If Nurul goes to work at Regal's factory, she will be considered a(n)
host-country national.
Nasim's employees have requested that he switch the office to flextime so that they can better manage their childcare and commuting schedules. Nasim is reluctant to make a drastic change all at once, so he agrees to experiment with staggering the starting and ending times of the workday over a 90-minute period for three months. If, at the end of that time, productivity does not decline, he will consider implementing a more extreme version of flextime. What model of decision making is Nasim using?
incremental
Yolanda is a consultant for four companies with international operations. Each of them has selected a different global strategy. Acme Gaskets uses its established skills in producing gaskets that it will sell in foreign markets. Krunchers Chips produces locally targeted snacks for which it has built specialized plants in each local region. It customizes its snacks according to the tastes and preferences of the local consumers. Harman Motors offers a standardized economy automobile and has a single worldwide corporate headquarters from which it centrally manages the entire company's operations. Finally, Gold Medal Industries is located in Tajikistan where wages are quite low. The company produces machine housings that are fairly easy to manufacture and require little employee skill. These pieces are then sent to its locations abroad to be finished by a more skilled workforce, taking into account the customs and benefits desired by each of those particular populations. Which of the following global strategies is Acme Gaskets using?
international
Michelle Caldwell, finance manager, told her president, "David, I have determined appropriate revenue recognition for each of the 16 projects this month, based upon company policy and our standard procedures. Each of the projects has routine revenue accrual. I have prepared the monthly financial affidavits for each of these 16 projects, and I recommend that you approve the revenues by signing the affidavits." David's decision to approve the revenues is an example of a programmed decision because the underlying problem
is frequent, repetitive, and routine
Louise and Cecile want to start an online matchmaking service. They decide who will assume the various roles in the company, evaluate who their target customers will be, research their competitors and how they will differentiate themselves, assess the financial and regulatory issues they might expect to face, and anticipate the future risks they might encounter. Which of the following situations is most likely to happen as a result of Louise and Cecile forgetting to include certain elements in their business plan?
licensing
Scenario B: Two entrepreneurs, Fred and Ming, were discussing the potential for success or failure of their ventures. They described their startups in the following manner: - Fred stated that he had very little money invested, but he was the first in the market with his product. - Ming stated that her investment in the business was very small and that her product was similar to those already in the market. According to the entrepreneurial strategy matrix, Ming's scenario can be described as involving
low innovation/low risk
Katherine Lilly is considering talking to the human resources director about her manager's fraudulent behavior. However, she is reluctant because she knows
many whistleblowers suffer consequences such as being ostracized.
Bill Wessels has reviewed the strategic plan from corporate headquarters and is considering how to develop an annual business plan for his business unit that fulfills its part of the strategic plan. Bill is probably a(n)
middle-level manager
Love Your Home is a housewares manufacturing company. The company's basic purpose is "to be the place you want to call home." The management states that the company's long-term strategic intent is "to build an empire in the housewares industry, setting the trend for people to have fashionable and affordable household goods, easily available, wherever they may be." Love Your Home's basic purpose—"to be the place you want to call home"—is an example of a(n)
mission statement
Gerard is a general manager for Handy Dandy Corporation, a tool-manufacturing firm. He is considering some changes to the production floor, which include layout adjustments and the purchase of new equipment to improve efficiency. He also wants to promote one of his employees to team leader. Which of the following functions of management is Gerard performing?
organizing
Joaquín, a human resources manager, has to lay off either of two department heads, Coral or Mike, because the downsizing process that is going on in the organization calls for the merging of their two departments. However, Joaquín cannot decide whom to lay off, since they are both excellent managers and he does not want to dismiss either of them. In this case, Joaquín is having a difficult time making a decision due to experiencing ________ conflict
psychological
Trade allows each country to obtain products and produce products more efficiently, which
raises the standards of living
Haru, a new manager at an electronics company, has been asked to focus on the competitive environment of the organization. Which of the following is a factor Haru should focus on?
rivals
Leonardo has just been promoted to manage a staff of 10 people and wants to make a good impression on top management. He recently held his first staff meeting to solve a fairly large problem with the project, but it did not go well. All 10 staff members were there. His goal was to get buy-in from the group, but instead little progress was made. Since the first meeting did not go well, Leonardo read several management books on working with groups and thought perhaps a longer meeting would allow time to explore several points of view. He chose a Friday afternoon so everyone could go home afterward and not have to rush off to other work appointments. To his surprise, the first idea he suggested was accepted by the group, and the meeting was over in no time. The group was most likely engaging in ________blank so they could end the meeting and go home early.
satisficing
Karl's office has always used Bentley computers. His technical people have suggested that he switch all his employees over to Best computers. Karl is reluctant because it will mean not only replacing all the computers but also buying all new software and taking the time to train everyone. Karl is worried about
switching costs
In order to achieve cost economies, Geo Manufacturing bases its production plants in Mexico to manufacture their base product and then ship it to Japan for final assembly using higher technical skills and customizing the product to fit local needs. In this case, Geo Manufacturing is using the ________
transnational
In order to achieve cost economies, Geo Manufacturing bases its production plants in Mexico to manufacture their base product and then ship it to Japan for final assembly using higher technical skills and customizing the product to fit local needs. In this case, Geo Manufacturing is using the ________ model of organizational structure
transnationsal
Using host-country nationals at an overseas subsidiary is generally less expensive than using expatriates. True/ False
true
Talia, store manager for Best Value Foods, learned that the store's commercial freezer failed overnight, and, for several hours, the frozen foods reached temperatures that were potentially unsafe. She decided to discard the food, at a cost of many thousands of dollars, because she believed it was the right thing to do; the health of consumers was at stake. Talia used ________ as an ethical system to make her decision
universalism
Talia, store manager for Best Value Foods, learned that the store's commercial freezer failed overnight, and, for several hours, the frozen foods reached temperatures that were potentially unsafe. She decided to discard the food, at a cost of many thousands of dollars, because she believed it was the right thing to do; the health of consumers was at stake. Talia used ________ as an ethical system to make her decision.
universalism
