Business Exam 3

Corporate culture has little real influence on the performance of a firm. (T/F)

False

One of the common errors made by managers appraising employees is

​overusing one portion of an evaluation instrument.

​Starbucks strives to make its cups from recyclable materials, to give back to the communities where it has stores, to aid the communities where the coffee beans are harvested, and to reduce its environmental impact. Starbucks promotes

​sustainability

​Marek, a manager for a computer assembly department, has toured the assembly floor where employees are performing specialized tasks and noticed that employees seem to be bored and dissatisfied with their work. To promote satisfaction and retain employees' interest in their jobs, Marek may do any of the following except

​transfer everyone out of the department.

Refer to HR Solutions, Inc. Maintaining human resources involves which of the following?

Compensation

Which of the following is the objective of purchasing?

Ensure that required materials are available when they are needed, in the proper amounts, and at minimum cost.

A service economy is one in which more effort is devoted to the production of goods than to the production of services. (T/F)

False

According to management experts, increased government regulations have increased productivity among American workers. (T/F)

False

Older, larger firms producing and selling various products base departmentalization on function. (T/F)

False

The assessment center technique for selecting employees is ideal for small firms because such centers involve limited expense. (T/F)

False

The cost of running out of inventory is referred to as a holding cost. (T/F)

False

Which of the following is a disadvantage of departmentalization by function?

This method tends to emphasize the department rather than the organization as a whole.

Among an ad hoc committee, a standing committee, and a task force, only a standing committee is relatively permanent. (T/F)

True

An organization is a group of two or more people working together to achieve common goals. (T/F)

True

No federal law forbids age discrimination against people younger than 40. (T/F)

True

The matrix organizational structure facilitates greater communication between employees. (T/F)

True

Probably the most obvious advantage of a matrix structure is that of

added flexibility.

A team of engineers at General Motors is in charge of discovering new knowledge that can be used to make automobiles safer and more economical. These engineers are conducting

applied research.

Scientists at R&E Labs worked for two years on a project to eventually add more knowledge to the science of photography. But in a meeting with the board of directors last week, they had nothing new to report. This is always a risk with

basic research.

The number of customers that an Outback Steakhouse can serve at one time is the restaurant's

capacity.

A business will usually choose to produce a new product in an existing facility if the cost is less than the cost of building a new one and the

existing factory has enough capacity to handle demand for the new product as well as the existing products.

The television has undergone a large number of changes since its introduction. For example, Sony now produces not only color televisions but also such innovative products as televisions that include video equipment. This sort of product evolution is referred to as product

extension.

In an organization with a ____, a manager is most likely to spend considerable time supervising and working with employees.

flat organizational height and a wide span of control

Affirmative action in human resources practices requires employers with fifty or more employees holding federal government contracts in excess of $50,000 to actively encourage job applications from members of minority groups and

hire qualified employees from minority groups not fully represented in their organizations.

A wage is a specific amount of money paid per

hour.

A corporate culture is generally defined as the

inner rites, rituals, heroes, and values of a firm.

At a Schlage Lock factory, many employees are needed to use tiny screwdrivers and other tools to carefully assemble the inner workings of door knobs and locks. They must sit at a station and look through a magnifying glass to complete this work. This production process could best be described as

labor-intensive technology.

A consulting manager at SAP America has a very wide span of control. This is probably because the

manager and his or her subordinates are very competent.

As a new manager for Sears, Peter is unwilling to delegate work. He realizes that, although he can delegate assignments to others, he cannot delegate his

obligation to see that tasks are completed.

The choice of a particular location for production facilities

often involves balancing the variables.

The number of layers in the organizational structure of Dayton Hudson Corporation indicates the company's

organizational height.

Authority and ____ are synonymous terms.

power

Phil Johnson is the owner of a small firm that manufactures customized oil-drilling equipment. The company's manufacturing facility is organized into a fabrication section, a heat treatment section, a welding section, and a quality control section. This type of plant layout is referred to as a(n) ____ layout.

process

Refer to HR Solutions, Inc. Since HRSI puts a great deal of emphasis on cultural diversity, it needs to inform its clients about its advantages. These include all of the following except

profit-sharing.

Senior management in your organization wants you to explain to the board of directors the key concept that makes compensation systems work. It would be correct to tell them that the ideal compensation system must

provide for employees needs while keeping labor costs within reasonable limits.

Sarah regularly spends an entire working day ensuring that goods and services are produced in accordance with design specifications. Obviously ____ is important in her company.

quality control

The process of attracting qualified job applicants is called

recruiting.

People who can verify background information and provide personal evaluations of candidates are called

references.

When Panasonic improves the sound, clarity, and ease of operation offered by its DVD player, it is

refining its existing product.

A set of activities intended to identify new ideas and technical advances that may result in new goods and services is called

research and development.

Through informal talks with employees, managers realized employees thought their plant would close, resulting in massive layoffs. A few were already seeking other employment. The managers responded promptly and aggressively to this rumor, assuring employees of the health of the corporation and the reasonable security of their jobs. Your managerial know-how tells you that these managers are attempting to

respond to inaccurate grapevine information to minimize the damage such misinformation might cause.

The HRM specialists at A&C Company took the opportunity to increase productivity and decrease manual data analysis by using their microcomputer along with a commercial database management system (DBMS) to develop a ____. Now the company can readily identify specific organizational skills, eliminating the need to comb personnel files manually.

skills inventory

Generally speaking, a narrow span of management implies that the height of the organization will be ____; a wide span of management implies that the height of the organization will be ____.

tall; flat

A committee created to investigate a major problem or pending decision is called a(n)

task force.

The number of workers who report directly to one manager is called

the span of management.

Job evaluation is almost always the basis for developing a

wage structure.

​A business grapevine is best defined as

​an informal communications network.

The ___ is the line of authority that extends from the highest to the lowest levels of the organization.

​chain of command

​A method of training and development in which participants attend courses in a room with lessons taught by either an instructor brought in for the training session or an individual within the company who has special expertise in the subject matter is

​classroom teaching and lectures.

​Meadowlark Medical Offices noticed that appointments taken by receptionists resulted in a lag between patients arriving, checking-in, being directed to an open treatment room, and the doctor being notified that they were in the treatment room waiting. To eliminate this lag, an electronic check-in system was installed. Patients now enter their information in the computer in the waiting room and all of the other functions are handled electronically with the receptionist only required to open the door, greet the patient, and walk them to the treatment room. When the treatment room door closes, a light above the door notifies the staff that the room is occupied. This is an example of a way to _____ productivity.

​increase