MGMT 425 Final Exam
Which of the following performance improvements resulting from Veridian Homes' quality initiatives is NOT stated accurately? a. Model homes sold cycle time was reduced from 32 to 15 days. b. Drafting time on models was reduced by more than 10 hours. c. Material variance went down by 20 percent for lumber, 24 percent for siding, and 38 percent for trim. d. Defects were cut in half.
B
Which of the following personal leadership competencies refers to the ability to discern what is right from wrong and commit to the right path? a. Accountability b. Integrity c. Creativity d. Perseverance
B
Which of the following personal leadership competencies refers to the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty with a firmness of mind and will, allowing leaders to navigate into the unknown? a. Integrity b. Courage c. Well-being d. Humility
B
Which of the following perspectives of the balanced scorecard focuses on market share? a. Internal b. Customer c. Innovation and learning d. Learning
B
Which of the following stages of the Baldrige Roadmap to Performance Excellence marks the transition from the singular focus on change through projects, however well executed, to systematic evaluation and improvement of leadership approaches? a. Stage 4 b. Stage 2 c. Stage 1 d. Stage 0
B
A $50 million information system has been upgraded by a health care organization as it discovered weaknesses in the organization's ability to collect and analyze information. This is an example of a _____ change within the organization. a. policy b. strategic c. process d. tactical
C
A _____ statement articulates the basic characteristics that shape an organization's view of the future and its strategy. a. value b. mission c. vision d. leadership
C
A firm purchasing a key supplier to strengthen its value chain is an example of a. collaboration. b. outsourcing. c. vertical integration. d. unrelated diversification.
C
According to the policy deployment process diagram, a catchball situation occurs between the _____ stage and the _____ stage. a. corporate vision; long-term objectives b. long-term objectives; midterm objectives c. short-term objectives; policy deployment plan d. policy deployment plan; plan approval
C
Culture is driven by a. process. b. attrition. c. leadership. d. quality.
C
In the context of the leadership styles defined by Hersey and Blanchard, in which of the following styles of leadership do managers define tasks and roles and closely supervise work? a. Coaching b. Delegating c. Directing d. Supporting
C
In the context of the leadership styles defined by Hersey and Blanchard, which of the following styles of leadership is characterized by a minimal task-oriented and a minimal relationship-oriented behavior? a. Directing b. Supporting c. Delegating d. Coaching
C
The ability to identify and transfer best practices within the organization is sometimes called a. enterprise resource planning. b. interlinking. c. internal benchmarking. d. data mining.
C
The concept of _____ is defined as "a person's ability to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility, think strategically, and work with others to initiate changes that will create a viable future for the organization, and its competitive advantage to the organization in this way." a. situational leadership b. quality forum c. strategic leadership d. corporate social responsibility
C
Which of the following organizations is one of the most prominent vendors of ERP software? a. STMicroelectronics b. Convergys c. Oracle d. Analog Devices
C
Which of the following perspectives of the balanced scorecard includes intellectual assets, employee satisfaction, market innovation, and skills development? a. Financial b. Internal c. Innovation and learning d. Customer
C
Which of the following perspectives of the balanced scorecard includes service levels, satisfaction ratings, and repeat business? a. Internal b. Financial c. Customer d. Innovation and learning
C
Essentially, strategy deployment links the _____, who focus on "doing the right thing," with the _____, whose focus is on "doing things right." a. management; employees b. leaders; supervisors c. innovators; coordinators d. planners; doers
D
Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad suggested that a core competency meets three conditions. Which of the following is NOT one of them? a. It is difficult for competitors to imitate. b. It contributes significantly to customer benefits. c. It provides access to many products and markets. d. It provides focus to the organizational objectives.
D
In the context of Max Weber's classifications of the way leaders exercise authority, which of the following leadership styles is established by policies, rules, and laws? a. Charismatic leadership b. Traditional leadership c. Absorptive leadership d. Rational-legal leadership
D
In the context of organizational structure, which of the following is one of the factors that affects how work is organized? a. Suppliers and partners b. Competitiveness c. Unionization of personnel d. Customer influences
D
In the policy deployment process, the _____ forms the basis for shorter-term planning. a. operational plan b. organizational objective c. mission statement d. long-term strategic plan
D
The term _____ capacity refers to the ability of an organization to change. a. absorptive b. data mining c. interlinking d. adaptive
D
Which of the following analytical approaches or technologies is most likely to be used for data mining? a. Histogram b. Pareto diagram c. Quincunx experiment d. Fuzzy logic
D
True or False: A good balanced scorecard contains only leading measures and indicators.
F
True or False: In line and staff organizations, staff departments carry out the functions of marketing, finance, and production for the organization.
F
True or False: Leaders who take on a transformational style of leadership have a short-term perspective.
F
True or False: Supervisory leaders develop executable action plans and projects that best use an organization's resources.
F
True or False: The Organizational Profile provides the "finer picture" of the various organizational parts and thus sets the context for good strategic decisions.
F
True or False: The Seven Management and Planning Tools had their roots in post-World War II operations research developments in Japan but were combined and refined by several U.S. companies over the past several decades as part of their planning processes.
F
True or False: The Six Sigma program provides two simple instruments called Are We Making Progress? (one for employees and one for leaders).
F
True or False: The major proposition of situational leadership theory is that the effectiveness of task and relationship-oriented leadership behaviors depends upon the maturity of a leader and not his subordinates.
F
True or False: The second group of questions in the Baldrige Organizational Profile is listed under the heading "Organizational Environment."
F
True or False: The term "management challenges" refers to those pressures that exert a decisive influence on an organization's likelihood of future success.
F
True or False: Traditional organizations tend to develop structures that help them to maintain flexibility.
F
Which of the following is a management and planning tool for organizing a large number of ideas, opinions, and facts relating to a broad problem or subject area? a. Affinity diagram b. Interrelationship diagraph c. Matrix diagram d. Process decision program chart
A
Which of the following personal leadership competencies refers to sticking to a task or purpose, no matter how hard or troublesome, which is vital for overcoming obstacles and motivating subordinates? a. Perseverance b. Accountability c. Well-being d. Creativity
A
Which of the following personal leadership competencies refers to taking responsibility for the organization, community, or self that the leader serves? a. Accountability b. Well-being c. Creativity d. Integrity
A
What is the vision statement of the Branch-Smith Printing Division? a. The objective of the Branch-Smith Printing Division is to provide expert solutions for publishers. b. Market-leading business results through an expert team providing turnkey solutions to customer partners. c. Our single focus will continue to be helping customers all over the world succeed in their businesses. d. Branch-Smith Printing will seek to continuously improve results for all stakeholders through the application of its Innovating Excellence Process.
B
An organization chart shows the _____ of the formal organization. a. business model b. apparent structure c. competitive position d. workforce distribution
B
An organization must address certain key practices to achieve a strategic focus on performance excellence. Which of the following is NOT one of them? a. Gather and analyze relevant data and information pertaining to such factors as the organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats b. Execute mergers and acquisitions, with an aim to expand business globally and to form coalitions and cartels to achieve the same c. Understand the competitive environment, the principal factors that determine success, the organization's core competencies, and strategic challenges d. Develop and refine a systematic approach for conducting strategic planning and setting strategic objectives
B
Decisions about work systems are a. operational. b. strategic. c. customer-focused. d. administrative.
B
In the context of managing information resources, the quality of information can be improved by a. avoiding electronic data capture. b. placing accountability on the creators of data and information. c. using multiple databases whenever feasible. d. using as many intermediaries as possible to handle data.
B
Point 12 of Deming's 14 Points addresses the importance of a. encouraging education and self-improvement. b. removing barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship. c. taking action to accomplish the transformation in organizational culture. d. teaching and instituting leadership in an organization.
B
The International Quality Study (IQS) performed by H. James Harrington with Ernst & Young and the American Quality Foundation indicated that all of the following best practices are "universal" EXCEPT a. cycle-time analysis. b. strategy simplification. c. process value analysis. d. formal supplier certification programs.
B
The _____ organization is the most prevalent type of structure for medium-sized to large firms. a. line b. line and staff c. staff d. matrix
B
Which of the following descriptions regarding a key challenge of the U.S. health care marketplace is true? a. A shift away from value-based models of health care toward a performance-based system b. Demographic changes that necessitate the need for more care availability c. The decreasing number of Americans who use emergency rooms for primary care because they lack health insurance d. Rising consumer expectations curtailed by greater transparency of quality
B
True or False: According to Bass, compared to transactional leaders, transformational leaders are more focused on the satisfaction of self-interests and the maintenance of the organization's status quo.
F
True or False: A major benefit of Baldrige is that it naturally provides a framework for organizational learning and, therefore, helps to enhance and sustain an organization, no matter what its current level of maturity.
T
True or False: A strategy is a pattern or plan that integrates an organization's major goals, policies, and action sequences into a cohesive whole.
T
True or False: A useful approach to ensuring data reliability is for internal cross-functional teams or external auditors to conduct periodic audits of the processes used to collect the data.
T
True or False: A well-aligned organization has its processes focused on achieving a shared vision and strategy.
T
True or False: According to situational leadership theory, leadership styles might vary from one person to another, depending on the "readiness" of subordinates.
T
True or False: According to the observations of A. V. Feigenbaum and Donald S. Feigenbaum, quality has become one of the twentieth century's most important management ideas.
T
True or False: An effective knowledge management system should include a common framework for managing knowledge and some ways of validating and synthesizing new knowledge as it is acquired.
T
True or False: A balanced scorecard greatly helps in identifying the real drivers of customer satisfaction.
F
True or False: A process focus is not a prerequisite for the effective implementation of Six Sigma within an organization.
F
True or False: A vision statement of a firm defines its reason for existence; it answers the question "Why are we in business?"
F
True or False: A knowledge-enabled culture is created when an organization employs a system of aligned human resource policies, tactics, processes, and practices that ensure knowledge is created, captured, used, and reused to achieve superior organizational results as a sustainable advantage.
T
True or False: An emphasis on machine utilization in an organization encourages having fewer, but larger, general-purpose machines, which results in increased inventory and throughput time.
T
True or False: An important aspect of an organization's leadership is its responsibility to the public and practice of good citizenship.
T
True or False: An important element of organizational sustainability is ensuring future leadership; thus, the development of future leaders and a formal succession plan are vital.
T
True or False: An iterative process in which senior management asks what lower levels of the organization can do, what they need, and what conflicts may arise can avoid many of the strategy implementation problems that managers typically face.
T
True or False: An organization must align its performance measurement system to its vision and strategy and select meaningful measurements.
T
True or False: Strategic planning is the process of envisioning the organization's future and developing the necessary goals, objectives, and action plans to achieve that future.
T
True or False: Successful leaders use newsletters and e-mails to continually promote their vision throughout the organization.
T
True or False: Sustainability requires continual learning.
T
True or False: The American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC) noted that executives have long felt frustrated by their inability to identify or transfer outstanding practices from one location or function to another.
T
True or False: The key to developing learning organizations is effective leadership.
T
True or False: The leadership system refers to how leadership is exercised, formally and informally, throughout an organization.
T
True or False: The managers of small organizations and non-profits are wrapped up in entrepreneurial activities that typically focus on sales strategies and market growth, day-to-day cash flow problems, and routine firefighting.
T
True or False: The purpose of the balanced scorecard is "to translate strategy into measures that uniquely communicate your vision to the organization."
T
True or False: The quality of information can be improved by capturing data only once, and as close to the origin of the data as possible.
T
True or False: A key role of strategic planning is to align work processes and learning initiatives with an organization's strategic directions.
T
True or False: An effective leadership system encourages initiative and risk taking.
T
True or False: Outsourcing refers to the practice of transferring the operations of a business function to an outside supplier.
T
True or False: Setting targets for each performance measure provides the basis for strategy deployment.
T
Which of the following statements regarding Stage 0 of the Baldrige Roadmap to Performance Excellence is true? a. At this stage, organizations commit to a proactive approach to improvement. b. At this stage, organizations opt to wait for mandates and regulations, and they implement change when required to maintain compliance. c. At this stage, senior leaders begin to experience traction on their organizational transformation strategies. d. At this stage, approaches and processes of leadership, such as values deployment and culture building, begin to link and align with the operational processes of the organization.
B
With respect to American Express's change process, which of the following steps answers the question "What needs to happen to make the change work?" a. Create a vision b. Sustain momentum c. Accelerate the transition d. Drive commitment
B
With respect to American Express's change process, which of the following steps answers the question "What will the change look like?" a. Drive commitment b. Create a vision c. Sustain momentum d. Accelerate the transition
B
Which of the following statements regarding Stage 4 of the Baldrige Roadmap to Performance Excellence is true? a. This project-focused phase brings new capabilities to execute initiatives that change routine practices and processes for the better. b. At this stage, organizations opt to wait for mandates and regulations, and they implement change when required to maintain compliance. c. This stage can result in continued improvement or decline as organizations lose focus or become distracted. d. At this stage, senior leaders begin to experience traction on their organizational transformation strategies.
C
Which of the following measures of the Baldrige Criteria of performance measurement includes revenue, return on equity, return on investment, and operating profit? a. Workforce-focused measures b. Leadership and governance measures c. Product and process measures d. Financial and market measures
D
Data _____ is the process of searching large databases to find hidden patterns in data. a. mining b. interlinking c. planning d. benchmarking
A
Effective implementation of a strategy through action plans is called a. deployment. b. installation. c. proactive implementation. d. strategic implementation.
A
If everyone can answer the question, "What does strategy mean in terms that I can act on?" which of the reasons for poor strategy deployment will have been addressed? a. Lack of alignment across the organization b. Improperly defined organizational goals c. Misallocation of resources d. Insufficient operational measures
A
In policy deployment, the _____ process is called catchball. a. negotiation b. implementation c. review d. communication
A
In the context of Max Weber's classifications of the way leaders exercise authority, government officials who legislate, execute, and enforce regulations exhibit _____ leadership. a. rational-legal b. absorptive c. charismatic d. traditional
A
In the context of Max Weber's classifications of the way leaders exercise authority, which of the following leadership styles extends from customs, habits, and social structures, and often involves the passing of position and power from one generation to the next? a. Traditional leadership b. Charismatic leadership c. Rational-legal leadership d. Absorptive leadership
A
In the context of Max Weber's classifications of the way leaders exercise authority, which of the following leadership styles is based on an individual's ability to inspire others and usually is tied to that person's personal characteristics? a. Charismatic leadership b. Absorptive leadership c. Rational-legal leadership d. Traditional leadership
A
In the context of the leadership styles defined by Hersey and Blanchard, in which of the following styles of leadership do leaders allocate tasks and set direction, but the subordinate has full control over the performance of the work? a. Supporting b. Delegating c. Directing d. Coaching
A
In the context of the leadership styles defined by Hersey and Blanchard, in which of the following styles of leadership do leaders set the overall approach and direction but work with subordinates and allow them to manage the details? a. Coaching b. Directing c. Supporting d. Delegating
A
In which of the following stages of the Baldrige Roadmap to Performance Excellence do visionary leaders recognize the inherent limitations of a project-based approach to performance improvement? a. Stage 1 b. Stage 4 c. Stage 0 d. Stage 3
A
Pal's Sudden Service uses an automated data collection, integration, and analysis system called _____ to generate store-level and companywide reports on sales, customer count, and product mix. a. SysDine b. Knowledge Network c. Quincunx d. eTracker
A
Point 7 of Deming's 14 Points addresses the importance of a. teaching and instituting leadership in an organization. b. encouraging education and self-improvement. c. removing barriers that rob people of pride of workmanship. d. taking action to accomplish the transformation in organizational culture.
A
The _____ theory takes the intriguing view that in many organizations, if characteristics of subordinates (team members), the nature of the tasks that they perform, and the guidance and incentives provided by the organization are aligned, then formal leadership tends to be unproductive or counterproductive. a. Substitutes for Leadership b. Transformational Leadership c. Emotional Intelligence d. Transactional Leadership
A
The first of Deming's 14 Points discusses creating and publishing to all employees a statement of the aims and purposes of the company and the need for _____ to constantly demonstrate their commitment to this statement? a. management b. the CEO and CFO c. all employees d. the Human Resource Department
A
The process in which locations, divisions, and functions in an organizational structure focus on maximizing their own accomplishments and rewards was called _____ by Deming. a. suboptimization b. return on quality c. interlinking d. lean production
A
The quality of information can be improved by all of the following methods EXCEPT a. capturing data twice. b. capturing data as close to the origin of the data as possible. c. capturing data electronically where possible. d. placing accountability on the creators of data and information.
A
The term _____ capacity refers to the ability of an organization to learn. a. absorptive b. interlinking c. adaptive d. data mining
A
What is the mission statement of the Branch-Smith Printing Division? a. To provide expert solutions for publishers b. To provide market leading business results through an expert team providing turnkey solutions to customer partners c. To continuously improve results for all stakeholders through the application of its Innovating Excellence Process d. To become the industry leader and achieve superior growth and market share
A
Which of the following concepts and assumptions are included in GE's virtuous teaching cycle (VTC)? a. Leadership at all levels b. Passive-aggressive behavior c. Rigid top-down process d. Boundary-laden, turf-oriented organization
A
Which of the following first developed the concept of a balanced scorecard? a. Art Schneiderman b. W. Edwards Deming c. Joseph Juran d. Kaoru Ishikawa
A
Which of the following statements regarding Stage 1 of the Baldrige Roadmap to Performance Excellence is true? a. At this stage, projects succeed often enough for most of the organizations, but the overall culture does not change, and system-wide performance excellence is elusive. b. At this stage, approaches and processes of leadership, such as values deployment and culture building, begin to link and align with the operational processes of the organization. c. At this stage, organizations opt to wait for mandates and regulations, and they implement change when required to maintain compliance. d. At this stage, senior leaders begin to experience traction on their organizational transformation strategies.
A
Which of the following statements regarding Stage 3 of the Baldrige Roadmap to Performance Excellence is true? a. At this stage, approaches and processes of leadership, such as values deployment and culture building, begin to link and align with the operational processes of the organization. b. At this stage, projects succeed often enough for most of the organizations, but the overall culture does not change, and system-wide performance excellence is elusive. c. At this stage, senior leaders begin to experience traction on their organizational transformation strategies. d. At this stage, organizations opt to wait for mandates and regulations, and they implement change when required to maintain compliance.
A
With _____, top management is responsible for developing and communicating a vision, and then building organization-wide commitment to its achievement. a. policy deployment b. value development c. mission development d. quality deployment
A
With respect to American Express's change process, which of the following steps answers the question "What have we learned and how can we leverage it?" a. Sustain momentum b. Drive commitment c. Create a vision d. Accelerate the transition
A
With respect to American Express's change process, which of the following steps answers the question "Why are we doing this?" a. Scope the change b. Drive commitment c. Create a vision d. Sustain momentum
A
With respect to the six competencies summarized by the Human Development and Leadership Division of the American Society for Quality, which of the following competencies in a leader entails assuming responsibility for ensuring necessary resources are available and the evaluation of processes to ensure effective resource use? a. Builder b. Learner c. Navigator d. Motivator
A
With respect to the six competencies summarized by the Human Development and Leadership Division of the American Society for Quality, which of the following competencies in a leader involves providing others with a role model to guide their actions? a. Mentor b. Navigator c. Learner d. Communicator
A
With respect to the six competencies summarized by the Human Development and Leadership Division of the American Society for Quality, which of the following competencies involves the creation of an environment that reduces barriers and fosters the use of open, honest, and honorable means for exchanging information? a. Communicator b. Navigator c. Learner d. Builder
A
With respect to the six stages of a quality life cycle, the implementation stage of a new quality initiative is called a. adoption. b. regeneration. c. maturation. d. energizing.
A
With respect to the types of challenges facing present and future management as classified by the "changing nature of leadership" (CNL) studies conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership, _____ challenges were those that leaders and their organizations had faced in the past and built competence in solving. a. technical b. adaptive c. absorptive d. critical
A
Within GE, Six Sigma includes a diverse population of technical and nontechnical people, managers, and others from key business areas who work together as a team to attack a problem using the _____ approach. a. DMAIC b. FADE c. TRIZ d. PDCA
A
_____ coordinate the internal work processes and the external resources necessary to develop, produce, and deliver products and services to customers and to succeed in the marketplace. a. Work systems b. Operations scheduling systems c. Organizational charts d. Personnel management systems
A
_____ is essentially a quality-based approach to executing a strategy by ensuring that all employees understand the business direction and are working according to a plan to make the vision a reality. a. Policy deployment b. Mission development c. Value development d. Quality orientation
A
_____ is the ability to address current needs and have the agility and management skills and structure within an organization to prepare successfully for the future. a. Sustainability b. Integrity c. Self-assessment d. Accountability
A
_____ knowledge is easily captured, stored, and disseminated using computer technology. a. Explicit b. Indirect c. Tacit d. Allusive
A
_____ refers to an examination of facts and data to provide a basis for effective decisions. a. Analysis b. Data warehousing c. Interlinking d. Clustering
A
_____ systems are software packages that integrate organizational information systems and provide an infrastructure for managing information across the organization. a. Enterprise resource planning b. Balanced scorecard c. Juran's quality trilogy d. Quincunx experimental
A
Which of the following is an advantage of the matrix type of organization? a. It is a one-size-fits-all quality organization. b. It improves the efficiency of personnel use. c. The division of loyalty is especially advantageous in a quality assurance area. d. It is especially suited for small and medium firms.
B
True or False: Strategic objectives are what an organization must change or improve to remain or become competitive.
T
Which of the following personal leadership competencies refers to the ability to see possibilities, horizons, and futures that don't yet exist, enabling the leader to help build a shared vision? a. Well-being b. Creativity c. Accountability d. Integrity
B
Which of the following phases of the Baldrige Roadmap is characterized by action on the feedback, usually by incorporating it into the strategic planning process? a. Traction (Stage 2) b. Integration (Stage 3) c. Sustaining (Stage 4) d. False starts (Stage 1)
B
A _____ might include a definition of products and services an organization provides, technologies used to provide these products and services, types of markets, important customer needs, and distinctive competencies or the expertise that sets the firm apart from others. a. strategy roadmap b. mission statement c. value statement d. leadership statement
B
All the following are key factors included in an environmental assessment EXCEPT a. the organization's SWOT profile. b. the workforce profile and future requirements. c. early indications of major shifts in technology. d. the long-term organizational sustainability.
B
In times of change, organizational learning benefits more from _____ leadership. a. transactional b. transformational c. declining d. stagnant
B
Japanese firms introduced a newer deployment process adapted by Japanese and American companies known as a. SWOT. b. hoshin planning. c. management by exception. d. management by objectives.
B
The goal of _____ is to envision the future for purposes of decision making and resource allocation. a. environmental assessment b. strategy development c. work systems d. core competencies
B
The major drawback of the matrix-type organization is that it a. can be used only for project work. b. requires split loyalty. c. decreases the efficiency of personnel use. d. decreases the level of coordination in project work.
B
To achieve a high level of performance excellence, an organization requires a much broader set of performance measures that are aligned to an organization's strategy; this became known as the a. quality trilogy. b. balanced scorecard. c. quincunx. d. Taguchi loss function.
B
With respect to the "changing nature of leadership" (CNL) studies conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership, the leadership skills will have to change from a. a process to a position. b. a functional orientation to a boundary-less orientation. c. collaboration to competition. d. interdependent decision making to independent decision making.
B
With respect to the six competencies summarized by the Human Development and Leadership Division of the American Society for Quality, which of the following competencies in a leader involves creating shared meaning and providing direction toward a vision, mission, goal, or end-result? a. Builder b. Navigator c. Communicator d. Learner
B
With respect to the six stages of a quality life cycle, in which of the following stages is quality strategically aligned and deployed across the organization? a. Stagnation b. Maturation c. Regeneration d. Adoption
B
With respect to the types of challenges facing present and future management as classified by the "changing nature of leadership" (CNL) studies conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership, _____ challenges were those where current leadership skills had to be extended and adjusted to new environments. a. critical b. adaptive c. technical d. absorptive
B
_____ assets refer to the accumulated intellectual resources that an organization possesses, including information, ideas, learning, understanding, memory, insights, cognitive and technical skills, and capabilities. a. Personal b. Knowledge c. Strategic d. Deployment
B
_____ data refer to industry averages, competitor performance, world-class benchmarks, or performance measures of other organizations with similar product offerings. a. Cross-functional b. Comparative c. Reviewed d. Interlinked
B
_____ is the basis for Deming's plan-do-study-act cycle. a. Incremental gains b. Experimentation c. Stagnation d. Slow pace of change
B
_____ knowledge is information that is formed around intangible factors resulting from an organization's or individual's experience and is content-specific. a. Lucid b. Tacit c. Definitive d. Explicit
B
_____ refers to consistency of plans, processes, information, resource decisions, actions, results, and analyses to support key organization-wide goals. a. Creativity b. Alignment c. Sustainability d. Perseverance
B
_____ refers to the harmonization of plans, processes, information, resource decisions, actions, results, and analyses to support key organization-wide goals. a. Interlinking b. Integration c. Perseverance d. Accountability
B
Corning achieved a milestone in 1995 when its telecommunications products division received which of the following awards? a. Deming b. Six Sigma c. Malcolm Baldrige National Quality d. National Housing Quality
C
How much money did performance excellence tools save Corning over an eight-year period? a. $10 million b. $1 billion c. $1.5 billion d. $5 billion
C
In Cigna Corp.'s holistic Six Sigma model, _____ solves root cause problems to optimize existing processes a. hoshin kanri b. kaizen c. DMAIC d. DFSS
C
Research performed by H. James Harrington with Ernst & Young and the American Quality Foundation, called the International Quality Study (IQS), indicated that only _____ best practices are "universal," and the chances are _____ that they will improve performance. a. four; 5 percent b. five; 90 percent c. five; 95 percent d. seven; 75 percent
C
The term _____ refers to those pressures that exert a decisive influence on an organization's likelihood of future success. a. systems b. competencies c. strategic challenges d. strategic inertia
C
What is the quality policy of the Branch-Smith Printing Division? a. Our single focus will continue to be helping customers all over the world succeed in their businesses. b. Market leading business results through an expert team providing turnkey solutions to customer partners. c. Branch-Smith Printing will seek to continuously improve results for all stakeholders through the application of its Innovating Excellence Process. d. The objective of the Branch-Smith Printing Division is to provide expert solutions for publishers.
C
When organizational learning processes serve to refresh and reinforce current learning, _____ leadership is best suited to the task. a. transformational b. stagnant c. transactional d. declining
C
Which of the following is NOT part of Corning's guidelines for performance excellence? a. Concentrate on cost advantage. b. Preserve and enhance the historic culture of innovation that had been the guiding light of everything the company accomplished. c. Require 20 weeks of classroom instruction. d. Ensure that the continuous improvement system was the best in its class.
C
Which of the following is most likely to be used to obtain comparative data? a. Interlinking approach b. Cluster analysis c. Benchmarking approach d. Cause-and-effect approach
C
Which of the following is reflected in benchmarking practices? a. A slow pace of organizational process change b. Depleted organizational energy due to the change in organizational practices c. Learning from the experiences and best practices of others d. Avoiding change in routine practices and processes within an organization
C
Which of the following measures of the Baldrige Criteria of performance measurement includes internal quality measurements, defect levels, service errors, and response times? a. Leadership and governance measures b. Customer-focused measures c. Product and process measures d. Financial and market measures
C
Which of the following perspectives of the balanced scorecard includes such measures as quality levels, productivity, cycle time, and cost? a. Innovation and learning b. Customer c. Internal d. Financial
C
Which of the following statements regarding the practical guidelines suggested by Mark Graham Brown for designing a performance measurement system is true? a. The system should concentrate on measuring many trivial variables. b. The system should avoid changing and adjusting measures even if the environment and strategy changes. c. Measures should be based around the needs of customers, shareholders, and otherkey stakeholders. d. Measures should start at the bottom and flow up to all levels of top management in the organization.
C
With respect to the Baldrige Criteria performance measures, _____ performance indicators include measures of business growth and percentage of new product sales. a. product and process b. leadership and governance c. financial and market d. workforce-focused
C
With respect to the six competencies summarized by the Human Development and Leadership Division of the American Society for Quality, which of the following competencies in a leader involves continuously developing personal knowledge, skills, and abilities through formal study, experience, reflection, and recreation? a. Builder b. Navigator c. Learner d. Communicator
C
With respect to the six competencies summarized by the Human Development and Leadership Division of the American Society for Quality, which of the following competencies in a leader involves shaping processes and structures to allow for the achievement of goals and outcomes? a. Learner b. Communicator c. Builder d. Navigator
C
With respect to the six stages of a quality life cycle, in which of the following stages has quality not been strategically driven or aligned? a. Adoption b. Regeneration c. Limitation or stagnation d. Decline
C
With respect to the six stages of a quality life cycle, in which of the following stages has the quality initiative had a limited impact, is failing, and is awaiting termination? a. Limitation or stagnation b. Maturation c. Decline d. Adoption
C
With respect to the six stages of a quality life cycle, in which of the following stages is an existing quality initiative refocused and given new resources? a. Decline b. Stagnation c. Energizing d. Adoption
C
_____ involves the discovery, learning, creation, and reuse of knowledge that eventually becomes intellectual capital—knowledge that can be converted into value and profits. a. Rapid knowledge costing b. Knowledge internationalization c. Rapid knowledge transfer d. Knowledge interlinking
C
_____ involves the process of identifying, capturing, organizing, and using knowledge assets to create and sustain competitive advantage. a. Knowledge mining b. Suboptimization c. Knowledge management d. Lean production
C
_____ is an organization's value system and its collection of guiding principles. a. Strategy b. Governance c. Culture d. Emotional intelligence
C
_____ is the term that describes the quantitative modeling of cause-and-effect relationships between performance measures, such as the customer satisfaction and product quality or employee performance. a. Programming b. Mining c. Interlinking d. Enterprise resource planning
C
_____ knowledge includes information stored in documents or other forms of media such as databases, policies and procedures, and technical drawings. a. Tacit b. Allusive c. Explicit d. Indirect
C
_____ of product and service performance and customer indicators is a critical management tool for defining and focusing on key quality and customer requirements, identifying product and service differentiators in the marketplace, and determining cause-effect relationships between product and service attributes and measures of customer satisfaction and loyalty, as well as positive referrals. a. Regression analysis b. Benchmarking c. Correlation analysis d. Quincunx experimentation
C
_____ refers to the system of management and controls exercised in the stewardship of an organization. a. Charisma b. Contingency c. Governance d. Perseverance
C
_____ represents the critical stage in planning when strategic objectives and goals are made specific so that effective, organization-wide understanding and deployment are possible. a. Mission statement development b. Vision statement development c. Action plan development d. Operations planning and scheduling
C
n Cigna Corp.'s holistic Six Sigma model, tactical execution through _____ refers to an accelerated process streamlining event. a. DMAIC b. hoshin kanri c. kaizen d. DFSS hi
C
The clarification of authority, responsibility, reporting lines, and performance standards among individuals at each level of the organization is referred to as a. core competencies. b. the QID. c. organizational governance. d. the organizational structure.
D
When Six Sigma was launched at Cigna Corp., leadership made it clear the approach would a. focus exclusively on productivity improvement. b. focus on health insurance. c. be innovative. d. be holistic.
D
Which of the following is NOT a personal leadership characteristic that underlies the six competencies for leadership summarized by the Human Development and Leadership Division of the American Society for Quality? a. Courage b. Humility c. Perseverance d. Adeptness
D
Which of the following is NOT considered in strategic human resource plans? a. Redesign of the work organization to increase empowerment and decision-making or team-based participation b. Partnerships with educational institutions to help ensure the future supply of well-prepared employees c. Initiatives to foster knowledge sharing and organizational learning d. Initiatives to reduce collective bargaining through union involvement
D
Which of the following is a proper description of a tree diagram? a. A tool for organizing a large number of ideas, opinions, and facts relating to a broad problem or subject area b. A method for mapping out every conceivable event and contingency that can occur when moving from a problem statement to possible solutions c. A tool to take data and arrange them to display quantitative relationships among variables to make them more easily understood and analyzed d. A tool to map out the paths and tasks necessary to complete a specific project or reach a specified goal
D
Which of the following personal leadership competencies refers to the ability to stay healthy in both work and play, demonstrating the importance of being ready to implement leadership competencies when needed? a. Courage b. Accountability c. Perseverance d. Well-being
D
Which of the following perspectives of the balanced scorecard directs attention to the basis of a future success —the organization's people and infrastructure? a. Internal b. Customer c. Financial d. Innovation and learning
D
Which of the following perspectives of the balanced scorecard includes profitability, revenue growth, return on investment, economic value added (EVA), and shareholder value? a. Internal b. Innovation and learning c. Customer d. Financial
D
Which of the following perspectives of the balanced scorecard measures the ultimate results that the business provides to its shareholders? a. Customer b. Internal c. Innovation and learning d. Financial
D
Which of the following statements regarding Stage 2 of the Baldrige Roadmap to Performance Excellence is true? a. At this stage, projects succeed often enough for most of the organizations, but the overall culture does not change, and system-wide performance excellence is elusive. b. At this stage, approaches and processes of leadership, such as values deployment and culture building, begin to link and align with the operational processes of the organization. c. At this stage, organizations opt to wait for mandates and regulations, and they implement change when required to maintain compliance. d. At this stage, senior leaders begin to experience traction on their organizational transformation strategies.
D
Which of the following statements regarding the policy deployment process is true? a. The supervisory level has the primary responsibility of actively participating in generating strategies and action plans to attain a vision. b. At the top management level, progressively more detailed and concrete means to accomplish the objectives are determined. c. Employees negotiate the final short-term objectives with the implementation teams. d. Middle management negotiates with senior management regarding the objectives that will achieve the strategies.
D
With respect to American Express's change process, which of the following steps answers the question "How are we going to manage the effort on an ongoing basis?" a. Drive commitment b. Create vision c. Sustain momentum d. Accelerate the transition
D
With respect to the six competencies summarized by the Human Development and Leadership Division of the American Society for Quality, which of the following competencies in a leader includes the evaluation of people's actions to ensure they are performing consistently with the mission, goal, or end-result? a. Communicator b. Learner c. Builder d. Motivator
D
With respect to the six competencies summarized by the Human Development and Leadership Division of the American Society for Quality, which of the following competencies in a leader involves effectively listening and articulating messages to provide shared meaning? a. Builder b. Navigator c. Motivator d. Communicator
D
With respect to the six stages of a quality life cycle, in which of the following stages is a new quality initiative used in conjunction with an existing one to give rise to new energy and impact? a. Stagnation b. Adoption c. Maturation d. Regeneration
D
_____ is the first category in the Baldrige framework, signifying its importance in driving quality and performance excellence throughout an organization. a. Operations focus b. Knowledge management c. Analysis d. Leadership
D
_____ is the process by which certain business functions are acquired and consolidated within a firm. a. Acquisition b. Outsourcing c. Collaboration d. Vertical integration
D
_____ set an organization's longer-term directions and guide resource allocation decisions. a. Management values b. Workforce principles c. Core competencies d. Strategic objectives
D
_____ systems allow organizations to share databases in a networking environment and store and process key data in a unique database and distribute it to a large group of users. a. Juran's quality trilogy b. Quincunx experimental c. Balanced scorecard d. Enterprise resource planning
D
True or False: According to Bass, compared to transformational leaders, transactional leaders have greater interest in continuous organizational change and improvement transcending or aligning self-interests for the longer-range greater good of the organization and its members
F
True or False: According to the situational leadership theory, the choice of leadership style applied by the leader must be driven by personal preference.
F
True or False: All organizations must take the one best route to quality and performance excellence, which is Six Sigma.
F
True or False: An example of a dysfunctional culture is a high-tech company that stresses team rewards while innovation depends on individuality.
F
True or False: An interrelationship digraph shows that every idea can be logically linked with more than one other idea at a time and allows for "linear thinking" rather than "lateral thinking."
F
True or False: Compared to money, labor, and capital equipment, knowledge is always the easiest to manage.
F
True or False: Data mining is the most effective method of establishing cause-and-effect relationships among variables.
F
True or False: Fully empowered TQ organizations and those with strong self-directed teams typically use the coaching style of leadership.
F
True or False: Impatient managers often find immediate positive results by adopting off-the-shelf quality programs and practices, or by imitating other successful organizations.
F
True or False: Leading indicators of a balanced scorecard represent long-term results.
F
True or False: Mid-level leaders are normally involved in vision and strategy formulation.
F
True or False: Mission is the pattern of decisions that determines and reveals an organization's goals, policies, and plans to meet the needs of its stakeholders.
F
True or False: Organizations that share quality, customer satisfaction, and financial performance results with their employees and customers often exhibit poor performance in comparison with organizations that do not share such information.
F
True or False: Performance reviews in an organization are usually conducted on a daily or weekly basis for long-term control decisions, and periodically throughout the year for short-term decisions and improvement.
F
True or False: Physical and financial assets have become more important than knowledge assets in most organizations.
F
True or False: Process changes within an organization are the ones that impact the organization's culture the most rapidly.
F
True or False: Process decision program charts are spreadsheets that graphically display relationships between ideas, activities, or other dimensions in such a way as to provide logical connecting points between each item.
F
True or False: Small organizations and nonprofits have generally been quick to adopt quality initiatives.
F
True or False: Strategic change is confined to a particular unit, division, or function, while process change motivates organization-wide changes in behavior.
F
True or False: The concept of strategic leadership has moved leadership perspectives away from the team- and system-based "great group" concept toward a solitary "great leader" paradigm.
F
True or False: As managers work with different individuals in different stages of careers and maturity, it is their responsibility to adapt the leadership style to the individual and the situation.
T
True or False: As performance excellence practices are used routinely within an organization, its people learn to believe in the underlying principles of total quality, and cultural changes can occur.
T
True or False: As the firm grows, the process of creating and disseminating the desired culture tends to become increasingly difficult because the entrepreneur is no longer involved in the day-to-day activities of the organization.
T
True or False: Catchball is an up, down, and sideways communication process as opposed to an autocratic, top-down management style.
T
True or False: Compared to transactional leadership, transformational leadership is more aligned with organizational change required by total quality and Baldrige-like performance excellence models.
T
True or False: Confidentiality and security are critical in managing data, particularly with the increasing use of electronic data transfer.
T
True or False: Core competencies may involve technology expertise, unique service offerings, a marketplace niche, or a particular business acumen.
T
True or False: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is the "responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society."
T
True or False: Corporate social responsibility implies that organizations must behave ethically and be sensitive to social, cultural, economic, and environmental issues.
T
True or False: Data accessibility empowers employees and encourages their participation in quality improvement efforts.
T
True or False: Effective leadership demands continual learning and adaption to the changing global business landscape.
T
True or False: Effective strategy deployment is dependent upon, and tends to shape, organizational structure because the organizational structure must be aligned with and support the accomplishment of strategic initiatives.
T
True or False: Financial measures of performance measurement in the Baldrige Criteria are generally tracked by senior leadership to gauge overall organizational performance and are often used to determine incentive compensation for senior executives.
T
True or False: For quality and performance excellence to truly succeed in an organization, it must define and drive the culture of the organization.
T
True or False: Harry Hertz, former director of the Baldrige Program, noted that "Skills do not matter if there isn't a cultural fit."
T
True or False: In many cases, the decision to vertically integrate is based solely on costs without considering the impact on other business priorities.
T
True or False: In the context of transactional leadership theory, contingent reward behavior includes clarification of the work required to obtain rewards to influence motivation.
T
True or False: In the line and staff form of organization structure, quality managers and inspectors may take on the role of guardians of quality.
T
True or False: In the policy deployment process, middle management negotiates with the implementation teams the final short-term objectives and the performance measures that are used to indicate progress toward accomplishing the objectives.
T
True or False: In times of change, organizational learning benefits more from transformational leadership than from transactional leadership.
T
True or False: In viewing the three core principles of total quality (TQ), a focus on customers is clearly vital to small enterprises.
T
True or False: Interlinking is the term that describes the quantitative modeling of cause-and-effect relationships between performance measures, such as the customer satisfaction and product quality or employee performance.
T
True or False: Leading organizations continually improve their performance measurement systems, staying abreast of new techniques.
T
True or False: Learning organizations have become skilled in creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge and in modifying the behavior of their employees and other contributors to their enterprises.
T
True or False: Managers must take a positive approach to self-assessment findings, no matter how unpleasant they might appear.
T
True or False: Matrix data analysis takes data and arranges them to display quantitative relationships among variables to make them more easily understood and analyzed.
T
True or False: Measurement reliability in manufacturing demands careful attention to metrology, the science of measurement.
T
True or False: Oracle is one of the most prominent vendors for enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
T
True or False: Organizational changes resulting from strategy development and its implementation is called strategic change.
T
True or False: Passive management by exception includes use of contingent punishments and other corrective actions in response to deviations from acceptable performance standards.
T
True or False: Senior management is responsible for creating an environment in which employees' decisions and actions and stakeholder interactions conform to the organization's moral and professional principles.
T
True or False: Strategic challenges frequently are driven by an organization's future competitive position relative to other providers of similar products or services.
T
True or False: The significance of emotional intelligence for effective total quality lies in translating the "vision" of an integrated leadership system and long-range planning process into action.
T
True or False: The situational leadership theory classifies leader behaviors into two broad classes of task-oriented and relationship-oriented behaviors.
T
True or False: The transfer of knowledge within organizations and the identification and sharing of best practices often set high-performing organizations apart from the rest.
T
True or False: The use of arrow diagramming has generally been confined to technical experts.
T
True or False: Transferring knowledge quickly and efficiently throughout the organization is the basis for modern knowledge management practices.
T
True or False: Welch's process for continuous learning led to the discovery that business must simplify first, then automate best practices that have been designed for robust performance in the face of variation in business conditions.
T
True or False: Workforce-focused outcomes used for performance measurement in the Baldrige Criteria show how well the organization has created and maintained a productive, engaging, and caring work environment.
T