Management Test 2

Jim Collins is credited with the term BHAG (big, hairy, audacious goals). When identifying personal goals, which of the following would Collins not recommend?

Choose a short timeframe to get a quick victory, then set your next goal.

There are four building blocks of organizational structure. Which of these describes whether an organization uses a functional structure, divisional structure, or a hybrid of the two?

Departmentalization

Using Porter's five forces analysis, firms are likely to generate higher profits if the industry includes which of the following?

Difficult to enter

Resistance to change can take many forms and may occur for different reasons. Which of the following situations would be expected to cause the greatest resistance to change?

Dramatic change, such as entering a new market with all new products.

There are four building blocks of organizational structure. Which of these refers to the extent to which an organization's policies, procedures, job descriptions, and rules are written and explicitly articulated?

Formalization

Which of the following statements is not true about performance evaluations?

Giving performance evaluations ultimately decreases morale so they should be vague and infrequent.

There are four building blocks of organizational structure. Which of these indicates the number of layers of management between frontline workers and senior leaders?

Hierarchical levels

Which of the following is true about VRIO (valuable, rare, imitable, and organized)?

Providing a product or service that is not valuable to its customers places the company at a competitive disadvantage.

Which of the following statements is not true about SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats)?

SWOT is very complex and costly, and therefore should be done infrequently.

Which of the following is not true about corporate social responsibility (CSR)?

Social and environmental goals can be achieved only at the expense of economic performance.

Which of the following statements is not true about balanced scorecards?

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires all public corporations to include balanced scorecards in their quarterly and annual reports.

The values and assumptions that shape the organization's culture can be uncovered by observing all of the following except:

The stockholders/owners of the organization.

When an organization chooses how it will pursue its long-term purpose, articulated in clear goals and objectives, and these goals and objectives comprise a coherent plan of action, then we would say that the organization has __________.

a strategy

According to the organizational culture profile (OCP) framework, organizations with __________ cultures value competitiveness and outperforming competitors.

aggressive

In the ASA framework, __________ occurs when applicants perceive they will fit in and feel comfortable in the organization's working environment (person-organization fit).

attraction

In the ASA framework, __________ refers to the natural process where the candidates who do not fit in will leave the company.

attrition

The most common performance evaluation error is __________, and managers often realize they are committing this error.

being too lenient

There are four building blocks of organizational structure. Which of these can be described as the degree to which decision-making authority is concentrated at higher levels?

centralization

Those stakeholders most often emphasized in mission statements are __________.

customers and employees

With the introduction of the new compensation system, HR (human resources) knows that people are getting a little anxious. So along with the announcement of the new system, HR is sending out an email that will explain why the new system is necessary and how the system is going to benefit the employees and the organization. HR is trying to reduce the resistance to change by doing which of the following?

education and communication

Nominal group technique (NGT), sometimes called "structured brainstorming," can be used to generate numerous creative ideas in the workplace. True or false:NGT often generates superior results to other methods, but requires extensive preparation and takes significant time to achieve these results.

false

True or false:Breaking up a proposed organizational change into phases is generally a bad idea because it distracts members from the final, desired end state.

false

__________ refers to the strategy where a firm's competitive advantage is based on the bet that it can provide exactly what customers in a narrowly-defined market want.

focus on a market niche

__________ represent the steps to implement the strategy, leading to accomplishing the organization's mission. They may apply to the entire organization or just a single department.

goals

According to the organizational culture profile (OCP) framework, organizations that have a(n) __________ culture are flexible, adaptable, and experiment with new ideas.

innovative

Under Porter's generic strategy of cost leadership, the appeal to the customers should be based primarily on:

lowest price for reasonable quality

The broader principle behind __________ is to make sure that everybody within the organization has a clear understanding of the organization's goals, as well as awareness of their own roles and responsibilities in achieving objectives that will help to attain those goals.

management by objectives (MBO)

A __________ communicates the organization's reason for being and how it aims to serve its key stakeholders. It describes who the company is and what it does.

mission statement

__________ are precise, time-based, measurable actions that support the completion of a goal.

objectives

__________ is the function of management that involves developing an organizational structure and allocating human resources to ensure the accomplishment of objectives and goals.

organizing

According to the organizational culture profile (OCP) framework, organizations with __________ cultures value fairness, supportiveness, and respect toward individual rights.

people-oriented

As opposed to strategy implementation, where does strategy formulation fit within the POLC framework?

planning

Creating the vision and mission statements, and deciding upon a strategy, are part of the __________ function of management.

planning

In order to best support an organization's mission and goals, compensation systems should __________.

reward behaviors that support the goals and discourage behaviors that work against the goals

According to the organizational culture profile (OCP) framework, organizations that have a(n) __________ culture emphasize predictability, formal processes, and adherence to established rules and regulations.

stable

Under Porter's generic strategy of differentiation, the appeal to the customers should be based primarily on:

superior product design and features

According to the organizational culture profile (OCP) framework, organizations that have a(n) __________ culture encourage cooperation and collaboration among employees, and value personal interactions.

team-oriented

True or false:Goals and objectives that flow from an organization's vision and mission provide a basis for assessing actual versus desired performance.

true

While active resistance to change is usually seen as a negative, it also provides __________.

valuable feedback concerning the proposed change

A(n) __________ is a future-oriented declaration of the organization's purpose and aspirations. It defines the ideal future condition for the company.

vision statement