Management exam 1 Multiple choice questions

Which is the best question to ask to start the strategic management process? a. "What is our mission?" b. "How well are we currently doing?" c. "How can we get where we want to be?" d. "Why aren't we doing better?"

"What is our mission?"

When you buy music downloads online, the firm selling them to you is engaging in which type of e-business strategy? a. B2C b. B2B c. infomediary d. crowdsourcing

B2C

A management consultant who advises managers to carefully study jobs, train workers to do them with efficient motions, and tie pay to job performance is using ideas from ____. a. scientific management b. contingency thinking c. Henri Fayol d. Theory Y

Scientific Management

Emotional intelligence helps us to manage ourselves and our relationships effectively. Someone who is high in emotional intelligence will have the capacity to ____, an ability to think before acting and to control potentially disruptive emotions and actions. a. set agendas b. show motivation c. self-regulate d. act as a leader

Self-regulate

General Electric is a complex conglomerate that owns many firms operating in very different industries. The strategies pursued for each individual firm under the GE umbrella would best be called ____level strategies. a. corporate b. business c. functional d. transnational

business

The planning process isn't complete until ____. a. future conditions have been identified b. stretch goals have been set c. plans are implemented and results evaluated d. budgets commit resources to plans

plans are implemented and results evaluated

A manager who is reactive and works hard to address problems after they occur is described as a ____. a. problem seeker b. problem solver c. rational thinker d. strategic opportunist

problem solver

Having a clear sexual harassment policy won't help an organization much unless it is accompanied by clear ____ that let all members know for sure how it will be implemented. a. contingencies b. benchmarks c. procedures d. budgets

procedures

One reason why certainty is the most favorable environment for problem solving is because the problems can be addressed by using ____ decisions. a. satisficing b. optimizing c. programmed d. intuitive

programmed

Planning is best described as the process of ____ and ____. a. developing premises about the future; evaluating them b. measuring results; taking corrective action c. measuring past performance; targeting future performance d. setting objectives; deciding how to accomplish them

setting objectives; deciding how to accomplish them

If a manager approaches problems in a rational and analytical way, trying to solve them in step-by-step fashion, he or she is well described as a/an ____. a. systematic thinker b. intuitive thinker c. problem seeker d. behavioral decision maker

systematic thinker

Personal creativity drivers include creativity skills, task expertise, and ____. a. strategic opportunism b. management support c. organizational culture d. task motivation

task motivation

If an organization was performing poorly, what would Henri Fayol most likely advise as a way to improve things? a. teach managers to better plan, organize, lead, and control b. give workers better technology c. promote only the best workers to management d. find ways to improve total quality management

teach managers to better plan, organize, lead, and control

A person's desires for a comfortable life and family security represent ____ values, whereas his or her desires to be honest and hard working represent ____ values. a. terminal; instrumental b. instrumental; terminal c. universal; individual d. individual; universal

terminal; instrumental

If an organization is considered an open system, work activities that turn resources into outputs are part of the ____ process. a. input b. transformation c. output d. feedback

transformation

Someone who exposes the ethical misdeeds of others in an organization is usually called a/an ____. a. whistleblower b. ethics advocate c. ombudsman d. stakeholder

wistleblower

Which ethical position has been criticized as a source of "ethical imperialism"? a. Individualism b. Absolutism c. Utilitarianism d. Relativism

Absolutism

Which of the following is a responsibility that is most associated with the work of a CEO, or chief executive officer, of a large company? a. Aligning the company with changes in the external environment b. Reviewing annual pay raises for all employees c. Monitoring short-term performance of lower-level task forces and committees d. Conducting hiring interviews for new college graduates

Aligning the company with changes in the external environment

When MBO is done right, who does the review of a team member's performance accomplishments? a. The team member b. The team leader c. Both the team member and the team leader d. The team leader, the team member, and a lawyer

Both the team member and the team leader

If the direction in managerial work today is away from command and control, what is it toward? a. Coaching and facilitating b. Telling and selling c. Pushing and pulling d. Carrot and stick

Coaching and Facilitating

The intellectual capital equation states: Intellectual Capital × _______ = Commitment. a. Diversity b. Confidence c. Competency d. Communication

Competency

According to Robert Katz, ____ skills are more likely to be emphasized by top managers than by first-line managers. a. human b. conceptual c. informational d. technical

Conceptual

____ planning identifies alternative courses of action that can be quickly taken if problems occur with the original plan. a. Benchmark b. Participatory c. Staff d. Contingency

Contingency

The big interest today in ____ refers to the management practice of using mathematics and computing power to examine "big data" for insights on business. a. continuous improvement b. Theory X c. analytics d. total quality management

Continuous Improvement

The management function of ____ is being activated when a bookstore manager measures daily sales in the magazine section and compares them with daily sales targets. a. planning b. agenda setting c. controlling d. delegating

Controlling

____are an organization's special strengths that help it outperform competitors. a. Core competencies b. Strategies c. Alliances d. Operating objectives

Core competencies

____ is the active oversight by boards of directors of top management decisions in such areas as corporate strategy and financial reporting. a. Value chain analysis b. Productivity c. Outsourcing d. Corporate governance

Corporate Governance

if a sales department supervisor is held accountable by a middle manager for the departments performance, on whom is the department supervisor dependent in making this performance possible? a) Board of Directors b) Top management c) Customers or clients d) Department sales person

Department sales person

In a social responsibility audit of a business firm, positive behaviors meeting which of the following criteria would measure the highest level of commitment to socially responsible practices? a. Legal—obeying the law b. Economic—earning a profit c. Discretionary—contributing to community d. Ethical—doing what is right

Discretionary—contributing to community

When a manager denies promotion to a qualified worker simply because of personally disliking her because she is Hispanic, this is an example of ____. a. discrimination b. accountability c. self-management d. a free-agent economy

Discrimination

Which decision-making error is most associated with the old adage: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again"? a. Satisficing b. Escalating commitment c. Confirmation d. Too late to fail

Escalating commitment

When managers make decisions based on solid facts and information, this is known as ____. a. continuous improvement b. evidence-based management c. Theory Y d. the scalar chain

Evidence-Based management

What organizational stakeholder would most likely get top priority attention if a corporate board is having a serious discussion regarding how the firm could fulfill its obligations in respect to sustainable development? a. Owners or investors b. Customers c. Suppliers d. Future generations

Future generations

The ____ chart graphically displays the scheduling of tasks required to complete the project. a. exception b. Taylor c. Gantt d. after-action

Gantt

A company buys cloth in one country, has designs made in another country, has the garments sewn in another country, and sells the finished product in yet other countries. This firm is actively engaging in the practice of ____. a. job migration b. performance effectiveness c. value creation d. global sourcing

Global Sourcing

The Hawthorne studies were important in management history because they raised awareness about the influence of ____ on productivity. a. organization structures b. human factors c. physical work conditions d. pay and rewards

Human Factors

Which of the following is one of the characteristics of Weber's ideal bureaucracy? a. Few rules and procedures b. Impersonality c. Promotion by privilege not by merit d. Ambiguous hierarchy of authority

Impersonality

After objectives and standards are set, what step comes next in the control process? a. Measure results. b. Take corrective action. c. Compare results with objectives. d. Modify standards to fit circumstances.

Measure results.

Which major approach to management thinking assumes that people and organizational systems are complex and ever changing? a. Classical b. Neoclassical c. Administrative d. Modern

Modern

Two employees are talking about ethics in their workplaces. Jay says that ethics training and codes of ethical conduct are worthless; Maura says they are the only ways to ensure ethical behavior by all employees. Who is right, and why? a. Jay—no one really cares about ethics at work. b. Maura—only the organization can influence ethical behavior. c. Neither Jay nor Maura—training and codes can encourage but never guarantee ethical behavior. d. Neither Jay nor Maura—only the threat of legal punishment will make people act ethically.

Neither Jay nor Maura—training and codes can encourage but never guarantee ethical behavior.

The process of building and maintaining good working relationships with others who may someday help a manager to implement his or her work agendas is called ____. a. governance b. networking c. emotional intelligence d. entrepreneurship

Networking

An effective manager is someone who helps others to achieve high levels of both ____ and ____. a. pay; satisfaction b. performance; satisfaction c. performance; pay d. pay; quality of work life

Performance; sastifaction

When a team leader clarifies desired work targets and deadlines for a work team, he or she is fulfilling the management function of ____. a. planning b. delegating c. controlling d. supervising

Planning

The best planning goals or objectives would have which of the following characteristics? a. Easy enough so that no one fails to reach them b. Realistic and possible to achieve, while still challenging c. Open ended, with no clear end point identified d. No set timetable or due dates

Realistic and possible to achieve, while still challenging

When a worker is a responsible parent, makes car payments, and is active in local organizations, how might Argyris explain her poor work performance? a. She isn't treated as an adult at work. b. Managers are using Theory Y assumptions. c. Organizational subsystems are inefficient. d. She doesn't have the right work skills.

She isn't treated as an adult at work.

If your local bank or credit union is a complex system, then the loan processing department of the bank would be considered a ____. a. subsystem b. closed system c. learning organization d. bureaucracy

Subsystem

The manager's role in the "upside-down pyramid" view of organizations is best described as providing ____ so that operating workers can directly serve ____. a. direction; top management b. leadership; organizational goals c. support; customers d. agendas; networking

Support; customers

A proponent of the classical view of corporate social responsibility would most likely agree with which of these statements? a. Social responsibility improves the public image of business. b. The primary responsibility of business is to maximize profits. c. By acting responsibly, businesses avoid government regulation. d. Businesses should do good while they are doing business.

The primary responsibility of business is to maximize profits.

Which principle states that a person should only receive orders from one boss in an organization? a. Scalar b. Contingency c. Hawthorne d. Unity of command

Unity of command

A business owner makes a decision to reduce a plant's workforce by 10% to cut costs and save jobs for the other 90% of employees. This decision could be justified as ethical by using the ____ approach to moral reasoning. a. utilitarian b. individualism c. justice d. moral rights

Utilitarian

In a CPM/PERT analysis, the focus is on ____ and the event ____ that link them together with the finished project. a. costs; budgets b. activities; sequences c. timetables; budgets d. goals; costs

activities; sequences

An amoral manager ____. a. always acts in consideration of ethical issues b. chooses to behave unethically c. makes ethics a personal goal d. acts unethically but does so unintentionally

acts unethically but does so unintentionally

A problem is a discrepancy between a/an ____ situation and a desired situation. a. unexpected b. risk c. actual d. uncertain

actual

The research of Mintzberg and others concludes that most managers ____. a. work at a leisurely pace. b. have blocks of private time for planning. c. always live with the pressures of performance responsibility. d. have the advantages of short workweeks.

always live with the pressures of performance responsibility.

You go to your boss and ask for a pay raise. She says: "Well, let's take a look first at what you are making now." The risk you face in this situation is that your boss's decision will be biased because of ____. a. a framing error b. escalating commitment c. anchoring and adjustment d. strategic opportunism

anchoring and adjustment

A manager who decides against hiring a new employee who just graduated from Downstate University because the last person hired from there turned out to be a low performer is falling prey to ____ error. a. availability b. adjustment c. anchoring d. representativeness

availability

A good performance objective is written in such a way that it ____. a. has a flexible timetable b. is general and not too specific c. is impossible to accomplish d. can be easily measured

can be easily measured

A ____in the BCG Matrix would have a high market share in a low-growth market. a. dog b. cash cow c. question mark d. star

cash cow

When one team member advises another team member that "your behavior is crossing the line in terms of our expectations for workplace civility," she is exercising a form of ____ control over the other person's inappropriate behaviors. a. clan b. market c. internal d. preliminary

clan

The ____ decision model views managers as making optimizing decisions, whereas the ____ decision model views them as making satisficing decisions. a. behavioral; judgmental heuristics b. classical; behavioral c. judgmental heuristics; ethical d. crisis; routine

classical; behavioral

The ability of a business firm to consistently outperform its rivals is called ____. a. vertical integration b. competitive advantage c. strategic intent d. core competency

competitive advantage

When a supervisor works alongside an employee and corrects him or her immediately when a mistake is made, this is an example of ____ control. a. feedforward b. external c. concurrent d. preliminary

concurrent

When a manager puts Danté in a customer relations job because he has strong social needs and gives Sherrill lots of daily praise because she has strong ego needs, he is displaying ____. a. systems thinking b. Theory X c. contingency thinking d. administrative principles

contingency thinking

A TQM program is most likely to be associated with ____. a. EOQ b. continuous improvement c. return on equity d. breakeven analysis

continuous improvement

At what Kohlberg calls the ____ level of moral development, an individual can be expected to act consistent with peers, meet obligations, and follow rules of social conduct. a. postconventional b. conventional c. preconventional d. nonconventional

conventional

The alliances that link firms in supply chain management relationships are examples of how businesses can use ____strategies. a. B2C b. growth c. cooperation d. concentration

cooperation

In CPM/PERT, "CPM" stands for ____. a. critical path method b. control planning management c. control plan map d. current planning matrix

critical path method

Among the financial ratios often used for control purposes, Current Assets/Current Liabilities is known as the ____. a. debt ratio b. net margin c. current ratio d. inventory turnover ratio

current ratio

The first step in the planning process is to ____. a. decide how to get where you want to go b. define your objectives c. identify possible future conditions or scenarios d. act quickly to take advantage of opportunities

define your objectives

If a manager fails to enforce a late-to-work policy for all workers—that is, allowing some favored employees to arrive late without penalties—this would be considered a violation of ____. a. human rights b. personal values c. distributive justice d. cultural relativism

distributive justice

If Google's top management were to announce that the firm was going to buy Federal Express, this would be a strategy of growth by ____. a. diversification b. concentration c. horizontal integration d. vertical integration

diversification

The triple bottom line of organizational performance would include measures of financial, social, and ____ performance. a. philanthropic b. environmental c. legal d. economic

environmental

Costs, benefits, timeliness, and ____ are among the recommended criteria for evaluating alternative courses of action in the decision-making process. a. ethical soundness b. past history c. availability d. simplicity

ethical soundness

When an automobile manufacturer is careful to purchase only the highest quality components for use in production, this is an example of an attempt to ensure high performance through ____ control. a. concurrent b. statistical c. inventory d. feedforward

feedforward

Management by exception means ____. a. managing only when necessary b. focusing attention where the need for action is greatest c. the same thing as concurrent control d. the same thing as just-in-time (JIT) delivery

focusing attention where the need for action is greatest

The last step in the decision-making process is to ____. a. choose a preferred alternative b. evaluate results c. find and define the problem d. generate alternatives

generate alternatives

If a team leader wants to tap the advantages of participatory planning, what type of decision-making method should he or she use? a. Authority b. Quantitative c. Group d. Zero-based

group

One of the conclusions from the Hawthorne studies was that ____. a. motion studies could improve performance b. groups can sometimes restrict the productivity of their members c. people respond well to monetary incentives d. supervisors should avoid close relations with their subordinates

groups can sometimes restrict the productivity of their members

The first step in the decision-making process is to ____. a. generate a list of alternatives b. assess the costs and benefits of each alternative c. identify and define the problem d. perform the ethics double-check

identify and define the problem

When managers use benchmarking in the planning process, they usually try to ____. a. set up flexible budgets b. identify best practices used by others c. find the most accurate forecasts that are available d. use expert staff planners to set objectives

identify best practices used by others

The benefits of planning often include ____. a. improved focus b. less need for controlling c. more accurate forecasts d. guaranteed success

improved focus

When a soccer coach tells her players at the end of a losing game, "You did well in staying with our game plan," she is using a/an ____ as a measure of performance. a. input standard b. output standard c. historical comparison d. relative comparison

input standard

If a manager takes a lot of time explaining to a subordinate why he did not get a promotion and sincerely listens to his concerns, this is an example of an attempt to act ethically according to ____ justice. a. utilitarian b. commutative c. interactional d. universal

interactional

A common mistake made by managers facing crisis situations is ____. a. trying to get too much information before responding b. relying too much on group decision making c. isolating themselves to make crisis decisions alone d. forgetting to use their crisis management plan

isolating themselves to make crisis decisions alone

In respect to the link between bad management and ethical behavior, research shows that ____. a. managers who set unrealistic goals can cause unethical behavior b. most whistleblowers just want more pay c. only top managers really serve as ethics role models d. a good code of ethics makes up for any management deficiencies

managers who set unrealistic goals can cause unethical behavior

In a hierarchy of objectives, plans at lower levels are supposed to act as ____ for accomplishing higher-level plans. a. means b. ends c. scenarios d. benchmarks

means

One of the expected benefits of participatory planning is ____. a. faster planning b. less need for forecasting c. greater attention to contingencies d. more commitment to implementation

more commitment to implementation

Among the global strategies that international businesses might pursue, the ____strategy most directly tries to customize products to fit local needs and cultures in different countries. a. concentration b. globalization c. transnational d. multidomestic

multidomestic

When the members of a special task force are asked to develop a proposal for hitting very aggressive targets for the international sales of a new product, this problem most likely requires a ____ decision. a. routine b. programmed c. crisis d. nonprogrammed

nonprogrammed

As a first step to implement her firm's strategic plans, the CEO of a business firm would want marketing, manufacturing, and finance executives to develop clear and appropriate ____. a. procedures b. operational plans c. zero-based budgets d. forecasts

operational plans

If an organization's top management establishes a target of increasing new hires of minority and female candidates by 15% in the next 6 months, this is an example of a/an ____ standard for control purposes. a. input b. output c. clan d. market

output

According to research on ethics in the workplace, ____ is/are often a major and frequent source of pressures that create ethical dilemmas for people in their jobs. a. declining morals in society b. long work hours c. low pay d. requests or demands from bosses

requests or demands from bosses

An organization that is downsizing by cutting staff to reduce costs can be described as pursuing a ____strategy. a. liquidation b. divestiture c. retrenchment d. stability

retrenchment

In which decision environment does a manager deal with probabilities regarding possible courses of action and their consequences? a. Risk b. Certainty c. Uncertainty d. Optimal

risk

A marketing plan in a business firm would most likely deal with ____. a. production methods and technologies b. money and capital investments c. facilities and workforce recruiting d. sales and product distribution

sales and product distribution

The highest level in Maslow's hierarchy is ____. a. safety b. esteem c. self-actualization d. physiological

self-actualization

A team leader is not living up to the concept of MBO if he or she ____. a. sets performance objectives for individual team members b. stays in touch and tries to support team members in their work c. jointly reviews performance results with each team member d. keeps a written record of performance objectives for team members

sets performance objectives for individual team members

From a time management perspective, which manager is likely to be in best control of his or her time? One who ____. a. tries to never say "no" to requests from others b. works on the most important things first c. immediately responds to instant messages d. always has "an open office door"

works on the most important things first

If Douglas McGregor heard an instructor complaining that her students were lazy and irresponsible, he would say these assumptions ____. a. violated scientific management ideas b. focused too much on needs c. would create a negative self-fulfilling prophecy d. showed contingency thinking

would create a negative self-fulfilling prophecy

When a manager is asked to justify a new budget proposal on the basis of projected activities rather than as an incremental adjustment to the prior year's budget, this is an example of ____. a. zero-based budgeting b. strategic planning c. operational planning d. contingency planning

zero-based budgeting