Chapter 06: Understanding the Management Process
"Houston, we have a problem," is one of the most famous sentences in history resulting from a problem that arose during the Apollo 13 mission to the moon. When business managers identify a problem, they are identifying ______
A discrepancy between an actual condition and a desired condition
Administrative manager
A manager who is not associated with any specific functional area but who provides overall administrative guidance and leadership
Operational Plan
A type of plan designed to implement tactical plans
_____, one tool that is used for total quality management (TQM), is the process of evaluating the products, processes, or management practices of another organization for the purpose of improving quality.
Benchmarking
To build a business for the future requires the ability to think in abstract terms and to see "the big picture" to keep everyone on track toward fulfilling it. This best describes which of the following management skills?
Conceptual skills
What type of leader is one who consults workers before making decisions, helps workers understand their goals, and imposes and fosters a sense of ownership and commitment, and makes the final decisions him- or herself after gathering employee input?
Consultative
When a manager plans for the future of his business and is able to see how all of the parts of the organization work together, it is said that he or she is engaging ____ to see the "big picture."
Consultative
As a franchise operation, Camp Bow Wow requires consistency across locations, which calls most strongly for which of the following management functions?
Controlling
Discuss the steps in the managerial decision-making process.
Decision making, an integral part of a manager's work, is the process of developing a set of possible alternative solutions to a problem and choosing one alternative from among the set. Managerial decision making involves four steps, which are accurately identifying problems, generating several possible solutions, choosing the solution that will be most effective under the circumstances, and implementing and evaluating the chosen course of action.
When managers are engaged in problem solving, there are several steps they should go through in order to prevent themselves from providing a resolution to a problem that is unrelated to the actual issue under examination. Which of the following most correctly delineates the steps in problem-solving?
Defining the problem, generating alternatives, selecting an alternative, implementing and evaluating the solution.
Which leadership style is considered the best?
Each of the leadership styles can be highly effective in the right situation.
Sandra is a no-nonsense manager with excellent budgeting skills. On projects that Sandra manages, the team always comes in under budget. When forecasting costs for a plan, Sandra is extremely accurate. Sandra is skilled at managing which resource for her company?
Financial
The coordinated effort of the three levels of managers is required to implement the goals of any company. Which of the following best represents the three basic levels of management?
First-line managers, top managers, and middle managers
Leaders within an organization can be formed in a variety of ways. Which of the following best describes the difference between formal and informal leaders?
Formal leaders have authority within an organization to influence others to work towards the organization's objectives, but informal leaders usually have no such authority.
Management must coordinate four types of resources to produce goods and services, but another way to look at management is in terms of the different _____________ managers perform.
Functions
Heidi Ganahl brings a personal approach to managerial decision making and problem solving. In which of the following stages would she employ brainstorming with employees to address an issue?
Generating alternatives
_____ is the second step in the decision-making process and it depends on creativity for new and useful ideas, regardless of where the ideas come from.
Generating alternatives
Which managers are responsible for recruiting and hiring employees, developing and administering employee benefits, training and performance appraisal programs, and dealing with government regulations concerning employment practices?
Human Resources manager
Nadine manages the quality control department for her company. Recently, Nadine became aware of a quality problem with one of the company's products. After studying the issue Nadine determined the quality of raw materials used in the product was deficient and began looking at changing suppliers. Which step in the decision-making process did Nadine exemplify when she determined the quality of raw materials was substandard?
Identifying a problem
Total quality management (TQM) has been shown to benefit a company beyond improving a product. Which of the following is not a benefit of TQM?
Improved ability to engage in competitive pricing
Managers must coordinate an organization's resources to achieve the organization's goals. Which of the following is not typically considered as an organization's resource?
Intellectuals
Which skills are defined as the ability to deal with people, both inside and outside the organizations?
Interpersonal skills
Which of the following is true concerning total quality management (TQM)?
It is the coordination of efforts directed at improving customer satisfaction, increasing employee participation, strengthening supplier partnerships, and facilitating an organizational atmosphere of continuous quality improvement.
The process of coordinating people and other resources to achieve the goals of an organization is known as:
Management
____ is the process of coordinating people and other resources to achieve the goals of an organization.
Management
Define what management is.
Management is the process of coordinating people and other resources to achieve an organization's goals. Managers are concerned with four types of resources—material, human, financial, and informational.
Identify the key management skills of successful managers.
Managers need a variety of skills in order to run a successful and efficient business. Conceptual skills are used to think in abstract terms or see the "big picture." Analytic skills are used to identify problems correctly, generate reasonable alternatives, and select the "best" alternatives to solve problems. Interpersonal skills are used to deal effectively with other people, both inside and outside an organization. Technical skills are needed to accomplish a specialized activity, whether they are used to actually do the task or to train and assist employees. Communication skills are used to speak, listen, and write effectively.
Describe the four basic management functions: planning, organizing, leading and motivating, and controlling.
Managers perform four basic functions, which do not occur according to a rigid, preset timetable. At any time, managers may engage in a number of functions simultaneously. However, each function tends to lead naturally to the next. Managers engage in planning—determining where the firm should be going and how best to get there. One method of planning that can be used is SWOT analysis, which identifies and evaluates a firm's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Three types of plans, from the broadest to the most specific, are strategic, tactical, and operational. Managers also organize resources and activities to accomplish results in an efficient and effective manner, and they lead and motivate others to work in the best interests of the organization. In addition, managers control ongoing activities to keep the organization on course. There are three steps in the control function: setting standards, measuring actual performance, and taking corrective action.
Explain the different types of leadership.
Managers' effectiveness often depends on their styles of leadership—that is, their ability to influence others, either formally or informally. Autocratic leaders are very task-oriented; they tell their employees exactly what is expected from them and give them specific instructions on how to do their assigned tasks. Participative leaders consult their employees before making decisions and can be classified into three groups: consultative, consensus, and democratic. Entrepreneurial leaders are different depending on their personalities, but they are generally enthusiastic and passionate about their work and tend to take the initiative.
Distinguish among the various kinds of managers in terms of both level and area of management.
Managers—or management positions—may be classified from two different perspectives. From the perspective of level within the organization, there are top managers, who control the organization as a whole, middle managers, who implement strategies and major policies, and first-line managers, who supervise the activities of operating employees. From the viewpoint of area of management, managers most often deal with the areas of finance, operations, marketing, human resources, and administration.
Which of the following is NOT a component to be addressed by management in order for total quality management (TQM) programs to be effective?
Maximizing shareholder profits
_____ leadership can motivate employees to work effectively because they are consulted before making decisions. This helps them understand which goals are important and fosters a sense of ownership and commitment in decision making.
Participative
This deals with establishing organizational goals and deciding how to accomplish them; it is sometimes referred to as the "first" management function because all other management functions depend upon it.
Planning
Top managers spend most of their time performing which of the following management functions?
Planning
Management is not a step-by-step procedure that can be carefully mapped out and calendared, it is a _____ with a feedback loop that represents flow.
Process
Describe how organizations benefit from total quality management.
Total quality management (TQM) is the coordination of efforts directed at improving customer satisfaction, increasing employee participation, strengthening supplier partnerships, and facilitating an organizational atmosphere of continuous quality improvement. Another tool used for TQM is benchmarking, which involves comparing and evaluating the products, processes, or management practices of another organization that is superior in some way in order to improve quality. The five basic steps in benchmarking are identifying objectives, forming a benchmarking team, collecting data, analyzing data, and acting on the results. To have an effective TQM program, top management must make a strong, sustained commitment to the effort and must be able to coordinate all the program's elements so that they work in harmony. Benefits of TQM include lower operating costs, higher return on sales and on investment, and an improved ability to use premium pricing rather than competitive pricing.
When Heidi Ganahl first started out with Camp Bow Wow, she spent a lot of time "micromanaging" things, but as time went by, she spent more of her focus on which aspect of management functions?
Strategic planning
SWOT analysis
The identification and evaluation of a firm's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
Three business students are having a discussion regarding leadership styles. One argues that autocratic leadership is best, another argues that participative leadership is best, and the last argues that entrepreneurial leadership is best. Studies have shown however that the most effective style depends on the right balance between
The most effective style depends on the right balance between interaction among employees, characteristics of the work situation, and the manager's personality.
Management
The process of coordinating people and other resources to achieve the goals of an organization
First-line manager
a manager who coordinates and supervises the activities of operating employees
Middle manager
a manager who implements the strategy and major policies developed by top management
Financial manager
a manager who is primarily responsible for an organization's financial resources
Marketing manager
a manager who is responsible for facilitating the exchange of products between an organization and its customers or clients
Operations manager
a manager who manages the systems that convert resources into goods and services
Human resources manager
a person charged with managing an organization's human resources programs
Contingency plan
a plan that outlines alternative courses of action that may be taken if an organization's other plans are disrupted or become ineffective
Benchmarking
a process used to evaluate the products, processes, or management practices of another organization that is superior in some way in order to improve quality
tactical plan
a smaller-scale plan developed to implement a strategy
objective
a specific statement detailing what an organization intends to accomplish over a shorter period of time
Mission
a statement of the basic purpose that makes an organization different from others
goal
an end result that an organization is expected to achieve over a one- to ten-year period
strategic plan
an organization's broadest plan, developed as a guide for major policy setting and decision making
plan
an outline of the actions by which an organization intends to accomplish its goals and objectives
Top manager
an upper-level executive who guides and controls the overall fortunes of an organization
Knowing how to sort large amounts of information in order to find relevant facts to resolve a problem or issue is an example of:
analytical skills
Core competencies
approaches and processes that a company performs well that may give it an advantage over its competitors
Doug is a line manager at XYZ Corporation. He is very task-oriented and makes all of the decisions with little concern for employee opinion. Under his ____ leadership style, employees are told exactly what is expected from them and given specific guidelines, rules, and regulations on how to achieve their tasks.
autocratic
Doug is a line manager at XYZ Corporation. He is very task-oriented and makes all of the decisions with little concern for employee opinion. Under his _____ leadership style, employees are told exactly what is expected from them and given specific guidelines, rules, and regulations on how to achieve their tasks.
autocratic
What is the purpose of an organization's mission statement?
c. To make a statement of what makes the organization different from others
The CEO of a large beverage company led the company in the takeover of its two largest bottlers. The CEO pushed for the merger because buying the bottlers gave the company control of 80 percent of its North American distribution, making it easier for the company to test new products. The CEO's ability to think in abstract terms and see how parts of the company fit together to achieve long-term goals is an example of _____.
conceptual skills
When a manager plans for the future of his business and is able to see how all of the parts of the organization work together, it is said that he or she is engaging ___ to see the "big picture."
conceptual skills
What type of leader seeks input from almost all workers and makes the final decisions based on their support?
consensus
The three steps of the _____ process include setting standards against which performance can be compared, measuring actual performance and comparing it with the standard, and taking corrective action as necessary.
controlling
Total quality management can be a boon to a business in many aspects of its operation, however it will not work if management fails in two crucial areas. Which of the following statements most closely articulates the issues that, if left unaddressed, could cause TQM to fail?
Top management must be strongly committed to TQM and must coordinate the specific elements of a TQM program so they work in harmony with each other.
______ was forged by Toyota Motor Company in Japan as a way to coordinate efforts at improving customer satisfaction, employee participation, strengthening supplier partnerships, and improving the quality of their product.
Total Quality Management
was forged by Toyota Motor Company in Japan as a way to coordinate efforts at improving customer satisfaction, employee participation, strengthening supplier partnerships, and improving the quality of their product.
Total quality management
"Houston, we have a problem," is one of the most famous sentences in history resulting from a problem that arose during the Apollo 13 mission to the moon. When business managers identify a problem, they are identifying
discrepancy between an actual condition and a desired condition
A contingency plan outlines alternate courses of action that may be taken if an organization's other plans are ______ or become ______.
disrupted/ ineffective
A contingency plan outlines alternate courses of action that may be taken if an organization's other plans are _____ or become _____
disrupted/ineffective
Heidi Ganahl describes herself as visionary, goal-oriented, and having lofty ambitions for the brand and the company. Based on these terms, her type of leadership can best be described as:
entrepreneurial
The _____ personality tends to take initiative, be visionary, and be forward-looking. Their enthusiasm energizes and inspires employees.
entrepreneurial
Planning
establishing organizational goals and deciding how to accomplish them
The final step in managerial decision making entails _____.
evaluating the solution
Of the four resources managed within an organization, one is considered far more important than any of the others—so much so that management of this resource is considered to have a greater impact on the organization than even the vital components of the organization. Which of the following is the resource described in this paragraph?
human
participative leadership
leadership style in which all members of a team are involved in identifying essential goals and developing strategies to reach those goals
____is the process of coordinating people and other resources to achieve the goals of an organization.
management
The level of management that is responsible for developing tactical and operational plans and makes up the largest group of managers in most organizations is _____.
middle management
Employees have different _____; some are interested primarily in earning as much money as they can, while others may be spurred on by opportunities to get promoted.
motivations
Jake works in production for his company. Each week his work group is assigned a production quota to ensure enough product is available to meet the goals of the company. In this case, the production quota is an example of a(n) _____ plan.
operational
Mark's job involves purchasing raw materials, managing inventory, and scheduling the workers who build the company's product, Mark is a(n) _____ manager.
operations
Entrepreneurial leadership
personality-based leadership style in which the manager seeks to inspire workers with a vision of what can be accomplished to benefit all stakeholders
Management is not a step-by-step procedure that can be carefully mapped out and calendared, it is a ___ with a feedback loop that represents flow.
process
Technical skills
specific skills needed to accomplish a specialized activity
Planning is an essential part of managing an enterprise. A(n) ____ plan is developed as a guide during the planning process for major policy setting and decision making.
strategic
During the planning stage, managers develop a ____ plan which is smaller in scale and developed to implement strategy and will most likely cover a one- to three-year period.
tactical
Autocratic leadership
task-oriented leadership style in which workers are told what to do and how to accomplish it without having a say in the decision-making process
Interpersonal skills
the ability to deal effectively with other people
Analytical skills
the ability to identify problems correctly, generate reasonable alternatives, and select the "best" alternatives to solve problems
Leadership
the ability to influence others
Communication skills
the ability to speak, listen, and write effectively
Conceptual skills
the ability to think in abstract terms
Decision making
the act of choosing one alternative from a set of alternatives
Directing
the combined processes of leading and motivating
TQM
the coordination of efforts directed at improving customer satisfaction, increasing employee participation, strengthening supplier partnerships, and facilitating an organizational atmosphere of continuous quality improvement
Problem
the discrepancy between an actual condition and a desired condition
strategic planning process
the establishment of an organization's major goals and objectives and the allocation of resources to achieve them
Organizing
the grouping of resources and activities to accomplish some end result in an efficient and effective manner
Controlling
the process of evaluating and regulating ongoing activities to ensure that goals are achieved
Leading
the process of influencing people to work toward a common goal
Motivating
the process of providing reasons for people to work in the best interests of an organization