Management class midterm chapters 1-3

Which of the following is an explanation that accounts for the limited use of quantitative management? Question 1Select one: a. It is difficult to discontinue the use of this process once it has been established .b. Many of the decisions managers face are nonroutine and unpredictable c. Managers are oriented more toward things than toward people. d. Most managers are not aware of the pressing concerns of their job .e. Management decisions are unsystematic.

B.

The growth of contingent workers in the U.S. labor force due to unpredictable labor demand is an illustration of:

buffering

The immediate environment surrounding a firm including suppliers, customers, and rivals is known as _____.

competitive environment

In the context of the systems theory, factors that determine the appropriateness of managerial actions are known as _____.

contingencies

The _____ refutes universal principles of management by stating that a variety of factors, both internal and external to the firm, may affect the organization's performance.

contingency perspective

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 management function of

controlling

In his book the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, Stephen Covey:

discussed how a leader's success hinges on balancing between personal and professional effectiveness.

All relevant forces outside a firm's boundaries, such as competitors, customers, the government, and the economy are referred to as _____.

external environment

_____ are companies that stay within a stable product domain as a strategic maneuver.

Defenders

The ex-CEO of General Electric, _____, is widely viewed as having mastered "all of the critical aspects of leadership: people, process, strategy and structure."

Jack Welch

________ is the process of working with people and resources to accomplish organizational goals.

Management

In the context of the systems theory, human resources, capital, and raw material are examples of _____.

inputs

Goodwill stemming from social relationships is called

social capital

In the context of contemporary approaches to management, research on _____ promoted the use of teamwork and semiautonomous work groups as important factors for creating efficient production systems.

sociotechnical systems theory

Domain selection, diversification, mergers/acquisitions and divestitures are all examples of:

strategic maneuvering

T or F ? Quality is the excellence of your product (including goods and services).

true

_____ is a contemporary management approach that studies and identifies management activities that promote employee effectiveness by examining the complex and dynamic nature of individual, group, and organizational processes.

Organizational behavior

_______________ is specifying the goals to be achieved and deciding in advance the appropriate actions needed to achieve those goals.

Planning

A centralized, bureaucratic approach with standardized work processes for managing uncertainty is ideal for which of the following environments?

Simple and stable

__________--rapid execution, response, and delivery of results—often separates the winners from the losers.

Speed

CEO, President, COO and Vice President are all titles typical of which level of management?

Strategic

_____ is an organization's conscious efforts to change the boundaries of its task environment.

Strategic maneuvering

Which of the following is the first level of organizational culture?

Visible artifacts

A decentralized, organic approach with mutual adjustment for managing uncertainty is ideal for which of the following environments?

Complex and dynamic

T or F ? To become an effective manager you should choose one or two of the four management functions and become expert in only those. An outstanding manager only needs to be proficient in one or two of the functions as he or she can hire others to do the remaining functions.

False

T or F? "Cost competitiveness" means pricing your products lower than all competitors' products.

False

T or F? Dynamism is the number of issues to which a manager must attend, and the degree to which they are interconnected.

False

T or F? In the context of Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y, an important implication for managers who subscribe to Theory X is known as a contingency.

False

T or F? In the context of contemporary approaches to management, sociotechnical systems theory helps a manager make a decision by developing formal mathematical models of the problem.

False

The fundamental success drivers for an organization are innovation, quality, speed, and product delivery time. T or F?

False

Tor F? Top managers are also called tactical managers since they must translate the general goals into specific objectives and activities.

False

In an attempt to improve customer service, Tailpin Toys decided to assign a team to investigate the kinds of services offered by competing companies. The team discovered that a smaller company, Nuance Games, seemed to have outstanding customer service. The team then determined the major differences between the two companies and developed a plan to incorporate the best elements of Nuance Games into Tailpin Toys. Which of the following does this illustrate?

Benchmarking

_____ is the information that helps managers determine how to do better than others.

Competitive intelligence

A centralized, organic approach with direct supervision for managing uncertainty is ideal for which of the following environments?

Dynamic and simple

Which of the following is a way to measure quality? Product performance b. Customer service c. Reliability d. Aesthetics e. All of the above can be used to measure quality.

E

_____ means that managers do not have enough information needed to understand or predict the future.

Environmental uncertainty

Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman wrote the best-selling book _____, which urged U.S. firms to fight their competition by refocusing their business strategies on several drivers of success: people, customers, values, culture, action, and an entrepreneurial spirit.

In Search of Excellence

__________ is the introduction of new goods and services.

Innovation

Which type of manager has responsibility for translating the general goals and plans developed for an organization into more specific activities?

Tactical managers

Kegg's Cereals is a major supplier to almost all grocery store chains. It has most of the valuable shelf space in the cereal aisle. What is true based on this information?

The threat of new entrants is low.

A manager assume workers are lazy and irresponsible and require constant supervision and external motivation to achieve organizational goals. What theory of management does that sound like?

Theory X

McGregor advocated a _____, suggesting that managers who encourage participation and allow opportunities for individual challenge and initiative would achieve superior performance.

Theory Y perspective

Corporate speed often separates the winners from the losers in business. T or F?

True

T or F ? In managing your career, it is important to know that now, more than ever individuals will be accountable for their actions and for results.

True

T or F ? In the context of contemporary approaches to management, research on sociotechnical systems theory was a precursor to the total quality management (TQM) movement.

True

T or F ? The evolution of management thought is divided into two major sections: classical approaches and contemporary approaches.

True

T or F? Change continually creates both new opportunities and new demands for lowering costs and for achieving greater innovation, quality, and speed.

True

T or F? Controlling monitors performance and implements necessary changes.

True

T or F? Cooptation means absorbing new elements into the organization's leadership structure to avert threats to its stability or existence.

True

T or F? Forecasts are most useful when the future will look radically different from the past.

True

T or F? If one does not anticipate change and adapt to it, one's firm will not thrive in a competitive business world.

True

T or F? In the context of contemporary approaches to management, managers do not rely on the methods of quantitative management as the primary approach to decision making.

True

T or F? In the context of modern contributors, Jim Collins discovered that "level 5 leaders" often leave enduring legacies without drawing a lot of attention to themselves.

True

T or F? Understanding contingencies helps a manager know which sets of circumstances dictate which management actions.

True

When you view yourself as an employee and expect your employer to tell you what to do and give you pay and benefits, you are acting as a

passive employee