MGT 370 Management Principles: Exam 2

Myeshia works for a charter school in New Orleans and is committed to infusing the arts into her math lesson plans. Her principal warns her that as a new teacher, it may take a while for her lessons to come together the way she imagines and to give it some time. When things don't go well her first semester at the school, Myeshia is devastated. As an individual who has a high internal locus of control, Myeshia most likely responds to the situation by saying:

"I should have tested out the lesson plans before implementing them in the classroom."

A __________ is a process that uses multiple raters, including self-rating, to assess employee performance and guide development.

360-degree feedback

Jael is a trusting and forgiving individual who gets along with others because she is good-natured and cooperative. Which of the Big Five personality factors does she possess?

Agreeableness

Darius works for a technology company that has recently had to outsource some jobs because of a competitive market and less than ideal economy. Consequently, leaders at the company are considering laying off employees, but also want them to continue to stay connected to the company. Identify the strategy that best illustrates that company leaders are committed to the new social contract.

All of these options are correct.

Which of the following is an example of compensation?

All of these options are correct.

Shanice has real strengths in visualizing the benefits of new ventures. She also has a knack for supporting these ventures politically. Shanice is an excellent example of which of the following?

An idea champion

The founders of a medical device company need to take a different direction, after they did not receive FDA approval for their equipment. What would not be part of an after-action review of their original decision?

Assign responsibility for the failure

A partnership of three former teachers started an online resource to help high school teachers teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. However, their early success has been overshadowed by new education requirements from both federal and state education departments. Also, many competitors have emerged. The partners agree that they do not have solid non-political information that would help them predict the future of STEM support. Which approach is reasonable for them to take in making decisions?

Be prepared for conflicts over goals and decision alternatives

Which major decision style is characterized by having deep concern for others as individuals?

Behavioral

Cabinets and Bins is a new storage furniture company that is in the process of recruiting staff. The CEO of the company wants to market his company as an environment that is highly creative and encourages staff to think critically. How can the CEO attract and recruit the right kind of workers?

By developing a strong employer brand

Miles is a marathoner who travels internationally to compete. In a conversation with a friend, Miles expresses that he thrives off the stress of competing and pushes himself harder in situations where he knows he will be running with the world's best marathoners. Identify the kind of stress Miles has described.

Challenge stress

Sadia recently submitted a resume and cover letter to a small marketing firm and is invited for an interview. At her interview; however, the company representative is short with her and does not give her ample time to respond to his questions. Sadia suspects that she is being discriminated against because she is Muslim and is wearing a hijab. Which of the following laws will protect Sadia in the event she decides to press charges against the firm?

Civil Rights Act, Title VII

Which approach to change implementation should be used when a crisis exists?

Coercion

Leroy has always been a goal-oriented worker who meets all deadlines without challenge. He is usually the team member who envisions the bigger picture and helps others accomplish their tasks. However, he often makes silly mistakes that his colleagues and managers have to fix. What can Leroy do to address this blind spot?

Complete regular self-assessments so he can improve in certain areas

A small Internet start-up in California has contracted with a web designer in the U.K., a manufacturing company in China, a customer-service provider in India, and a legal team in New York. What is the largest benefit of this organizational structure?

Concentrating on what the core employees do best

Emmanuel likes to be involved in giving input into the decisions that affect his team. Which two kinds of managerial decision styles, directing his work, would give him that opportunity to be heard?

Conceptual and behavioral styles

Which federal regulation requires continued health insurance coverage (paid by employee) following termination?

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act

What type of team is composed of workers from different functional departments of the organization who meet together in an attempt to solve an important organizational problem?

Cross-functional teams

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is organized to focus on these four groups of taxpayers: individuals, small businesses, corporations, and non-profit and government agencies. What type of organizational structure does this represent?

Customer-based division

Alli needs to make a quick decision under conditions of high uncertainty. She identified the decision requirements and analyzed the causes of the situation. Which action does she need to take next?

Develop a custom solution that will satisfice for handling the problem

A(n)__________ is a mental state that arises spontaneously within a person based on interaction with the environment rather than through conscious effort and is often accompanied by physiological changes or sensations.

Emotion

Which is the last step used in managerial decision making?

Evaluation

T/F: Organizational change and innovation are only prompted by external forces such as customer demands and market competition.

False

T/F: Team-building activities are only useful when teams are new and are in the formative stages of development.

False

Fawn works for a web publishing company, and daily, she is charged with solving challenging software algorithms and ensuring that her clients' materials are managed efficiently and are secured. If Fawn thrives on the relationship management aspect of emotional intelligence, which of the following options best explains how Fawn might respond to a situation at work?

Fawn would call her clients and communicate about what their needs are and how she might be able to help them.

In his performance evaluation, Deandre heard his supervisor criticize him for settling for satisficing solutions, rather than maximizing solutions. Which action can Deandre take in making future decisions in order to change his supervisor's opinion?

Get some solid criteria for what constitutes a maximizing solution

The new CEO is a strong believer in relational coordination. He achieved that in his own career as he moved from department to department, up the ladder, but always keeping his networking active. Which major contribution could he make to ensure that his new company moves from emphasizing departmental goals to shared goals?

Give employees freedom from strict work rules, for increased flexibility

__________ refers to the design and application of formal systems in an organization to assure the effective and efficient use of human talent to accomplish organizational goals.

Human resource management

Rosa was promoted into a management position from her specialist role. Her previous job let her experience firsthand the pros and cons of specialization. Which action could Rosa take as a manager to overcome the biggest disadvantage of specialization for those reporting to her?

Implement teams to provide greater challenges for employees

In order to ensure the company's success, the CEO of Hangout, a new social media interface that connects individuals and facilitates web-based "hangouts'' between individuals, has had to be highly creative in order to compete with dating sites. One of the managers has just come up with the idea of hosting real-time activities in various locations, such as speed dating, or bowling night to further enhance the company's mission. She is also able to rally enough support behind the idea and begins to work with her team to orchestrate the idea. Which of the innovation strategies for changing products and technologies is implemented here?

Innovation roles

Suppose that after forecasting the needs of the company, the president and human resource managers at Stagecoach decide to restructure the organization and to develop two high-level positions: one to oversee marketing and the other to oversee the expansion of the company in other European countries. They are looking for individuals who understand the organization's mission and values. Which of the following would be most advantageous for Stagecoach?

Internal recruiting

Gabe works for an entertainment company that has a robust offering of services for artists, including marketing, business, fashion, and social media promotion. The company employs a horizontal-linkage model so artists can have a one-stop shop experience. Which of the following is probably a benefit of the horizontal linkage model?

It encourages the pooling of resources.

Claudette works for a new eco-friendly fashion line in Vienna, Austria. After studying environmental science and economics in Canada, she decided that she wanted to live in Europe and pursue a career related to sustainable development. When the opportunity to work in eco-friendly fashion came up in Vienna, Claudette knew that this was the change and experience she needed to live a purposeful life. Claudette loves her job and is motivated to do well. Which of the following concepts illustrates Claudette's feelings about her work?

Job satisfaction

What type of bias is Anastasia, a regional manager exhibiting when she continues to support a past decision she has made even if the current circumstances no longer apply to the situation that occurred when that decision was originally made?

Justifying past decisions

The president of Digital Girls Inc, a startup committed to teaching young girls from urban areas how to code and develop computer-based programs and applications, wants to restructure the organization and refocus its mission to ensure that the most needy segment of their target population is accessing their free services. The president meets with all 75 of its managers, board members, and staff, and for several days, they work with an organizational development professional to identify best practices and new models to deliver their services. The model demonstrated here is an example of which of the following?

Large-group intervention

What type of departments within an organization performs tasks that reflect the organization's primary goal and mission?

Line departments

The managers at Nirvana's Sons have extremely high expectations of their architects. Lorenzo, a recent college graduate and a new hire wants to ensure that he is always prepared and ready to work. When he receives his first assignment, the first thing he does is creates an excel spreadsheet of all of his upcoming deadlines and what he needs to complete each; this way he can clear his mind and get things down on paper. What should Lorenzo do next?

Lorenzo should decide the next action.

The tendency to direct much of one's behavior toward the acquisition of power and the manipulation of others for personal gain is called:

Machiavellianism.

Sally-Jo, a long-standing director of marketing, believes that her company should acquire another company, a current competitor. Which outcome indicates that Sally-Jo has successfully built a coalition that supports that decision?

Managers commit to supporting the acquisition.

Marcia is the top leader of the matrix structure for an international company manufacturing environmental compliance equipment. Which action could she take to resolve conflicts between people in charge of product line goals and country goals?

Meet with matrix bosses and two-boss employees to work out differences

What type of management decision was involved when Toyota Motor Co. announced a recall of millions of units of its cars because of a faulty accelerator pedal problem?

Nonprogrammed

Jon was hired as a new manager and worked closely with Christine, a supervisor who had worked for the company for over a decade. For the first few weeks, Jon shadowed Christine and learned company policies and procedures through hands-on experiences. At the end of his first three months, Jon received a performance appraisal interview from Christine. He recalls feeling defeated after his evaluation because Christine gave him poor scores in most of the areas. He believes that Christine ranked him poorly because he was young and was just learning how to adjust to his new position. Identify the training method employed here, as well as Christine's performance evaluation error.

On-the-job training, stereotyping

__________ refers to loyalty to and engagement with one's work organization.

Organizational commitment

Which step is not part of the process of electronic brainstorming?

Participants identify themselves

Myra's company recently decided that in order to cut costs, they needed to change their compensation structure. Currently, full-time staff persons are paid a salary biweekly and are given a bonus every year. The company president wants to continue paying biweekly salaries but also wants to figure out a different structure for paying bonuses. What can the president implement to better manage his company?

Pay-for-performance

Which of the following enables individuals to screen and select the various objects and stimuli that vie for their attention?

Perception

When Google created its China-based search engine, Google.cn, it did not foresee eventually abandoning it because of censorship issues with the Chinese government. Which kind of bias could have been in effect when Google made its initial decision?

Perpetuating the status quo

Drugstore chains can be found located quite close to each other, serving a neighborhood of blocks, not miles. Which distinct feature of service technology does this distribution of facilities illustrate?

Placing employees close to their customers

All of the following are assumptions of the classical model of decision making except:

Pluralistic, conflicting goals are known

What type of decision refers to a specific situation that occurs frequently within an organization and the organization has a set of specific decision rules to apply whenever it occurs?

Programmed

DeAngelo did solid research before founding a food-tour company in a coastal community. He used information gained by his competitive analysis of another beachfront food-tour organization, in business for over 30 years. Which type of decisions is he basing his entrepreneurial activities upon?

Programmed Decisions

What term is used to indicate that a decision maker chose the first solution alternative that satisfied minimal decision criteria?

Satisficing

A person who has a sense of __________ is conscious of the internal aspects of his/her nature, such as personality traits, beliefs, emotions, and perceptions, and appreciates how his/her patterns affect other people.

Self-awareness

Examine the following examples and select the option that best illustrates people change within an organization.

Several universities send admissions officers to professional development activities and conferences throughout the year so they can learn new strategies for recruitment and strengthen their networking skills.

Emily Lu manages a team of fifteen visual artists in charge of creating ads and designing billboards for local restaurants in Chicago. Emily is generally seen as a leader because she knows everyone on her team and comes up with strategies and activities so that everyone feels included. Moreover, she values diversity and does not mind sharing with others. Nevertheless, some of Emily's teammates feel she is not approachable and is self-centered at time. Which of the following traits associated with introversion can Emily learn from?

She can practice listening and taking others' suggestions.

The original start-up company, founded in a garage, grew at a amazing rate, with employees added in groups as the organization expanded to fulfill its potential. Now the Advisory Board wants to improve cost, quality, service, and speed. Which effect on the structure should the Advisory Board expect from reengineering the structure of the company?

Shift away from a strong vertical structure to emphasis on horizontal coordination.

Dayonara has recently been hired as part of a small, creative team for a new software company to develop user-friendly accounting tools for young entrepreneurs. If all goes well, this project will secure the company's future in the market. While the company's headquarters are located in Chicago, Dayonara's new team will have private facilities in Simi Valley, California and will not be subject to the same regulations as the Chicago office. Dayonara is most likely joining a(n):

Skunkworks

Which type of production technology produces good in batches of one or a few products designed to customer specification?

Small-batch production

Two sisters work at the headquarters of the Zappos.com online shoe store. Susan works in over-the-phone customer support. Judy is a member of the warehouse stock supply group. Which functional approaches to structure do these departments reflect?

Susan is part of a staff department; Judy is part of a line department.

Stagecoach is the name of a company that operates bus and rail services in the United Kingdom. Which of the following is an external factor that could influence work forecasting for Stagecoach?

The availability of applicants who can drive for the company

Public Health Media develops interactive health interventions for adolescent youth. Their most effective programs have been those that incorporate theories and frameworks from different fields. If the company wants to develop another successful product, what would be best course of action to take?

They should use open innovation.

As a result of the restraining forces a cookware company, Plated Inc., is experiencing, the CEO decides to implement some changes at the managerial levels within each department. He decides that restructuring each of the departments will drive growth and company expansion. Initially, managers attempt to use education as a tool to overcome staff resistance; however this does not work. Managers then decide to use coercion, but the CEO does not approve. Which of the following strategies would be best implemented in this example?

Top management support

One of the major concerns of employees who work in HRM is to develop human capital. What is one of the best ways a manager can develop human capital?

Train unskilled workers so they can efficiently perform their tasks.

T/F: Elements of the new social contract include a focus on the worker's future employability, as well as on the worker's sense of personal responsibility.

True

T/F: In some cases, large, established companies buy small startup accompanies in order to obtain their products, services, and talent; this is one approach to innovation.

True

T/F: Uncertainty about what behaviors are expected of a person in a particular position is called role ambiguity.

True

Which concept of good organization does the dual authority structure of a matrix violate?

Unity-of-command concept

The __________ approach means incorporating structures and processes that are appropriate for both the creative impulse and the systematic implementation of innovations.

ambidextrous

All of the following are characteristics of creative organizations except:

centralization.

The basic principles for self-management include:

clarity of mind.

Temporary workers, contract employees, or leased employees are all examples of __________ workers.

contingent

Several cable companies, including Time Warner, are under tremendous pressure to identify new strategies that will help them stay relevant and competitive in the market. Cable companies not only have to compete with each other, but also the Internet, because customers are able to watch their favorite shows online through companies like Netflix and Hulu. The process by which online streaming expands to the point where it annihilates the cable industry is an example of:

disruptive innovation.

One of the reasons staff resist organizational change is because with change sometimes comes a new set of goals and assessments. A reason why a television producer might resist organizational change within the company she works for, specifically as it relates to different assessments and goals, is because:

her director wants to pilot a new show that she thinks will fail.

The __________ shows the importance of combining the efforts of various departments to develop and contribute to new products and technologies.

horizontal linkage model

A visual drawing of the reporting relationships within an organization is called a(n):

organization chart.

The workers at a small tech start up in Rhode Island are often stressed and complain about having heavy workloads. The president of the company wants to figure out how to eliminate some stressors while keeping productivity high. He should most likely:

organize weekly activities in the office so his staff have an opportunity to unwind and mingle.

Sheree oversees the creation of books at a publishing company. That means she has to coordinate the efforts of designers, editors, typesetters, proofreaders, marketing people, and several other members of other departments. Sheree is a:

project manager.

Type A behavior pattern is characterized by all of these except:

relaxed lifestyle.

Xavier has been working for a local market for about 6 months now and admires the manager in his department because she is extraverted, bold, and extremely creative. Because Xavier struggles with his shyness and has a difficult time making new friends, he respects anyone who is outgoing. Even though other staff members have complained about the manager's abrupt and confrontational behavior, Xavier thinks she can do no wrong. Xavier's perceptions are a result of:

the halo effect.

The first stage in achieving behavioral and attitudinal change is:

unfreezing.