MGT 2010 Test 2 (CH. 6-8)

Eastside Community Center (ECC) operates to "foster inclusiveness and empower teens" in underprivileged neighborhoods. Jane, the center's executive director, is one year into a three-year plan to double ECC membership. At this point, she has seen only a 10 percent increase in membership. Which of the following is the best tactical plan to better achieve the organization's goals?

Assigning two key employees as liaisons to the local high schools for the next year

Which type of strategy would allow an organization to try and maintain its current business while also trying to be innovative and pursue new businesses?

Analyzer

How can managers use information provided by the GE Business Screen to manage their various business opportunities more effectively?

To determine asset allocation

Which is the act of choosing one alternative from among a set of alternatives?

Decision making

Darien wants to introduce a new product within the organization's existing product line. Which type of plan should he use to do so?

Project

Anke's organization is constantly looking for new opportunities and new markets for its products. Her firm is highly innovative and not afraid of taking risks. Which type of business-level strategy does Anke's organization use?

Prospector

What occurs when goals are consistent up and down the organization, and strategic, tactical, and operational goals agree with one another?

Vertical Consistency

What does proper execution of tactical plans depend on?

Vertical and horizontal communication

Where is power and authority held in a multidomestic corporation?

With the managers of subsidiaries in host countries

Ramkumar works in an organization's European office, and Atmir works in the Asia Pacific office. Even though they both work for the same firm, both offices operate differently, based on the unique needs in each country. Which of the following contributes to that?

Worldwide Learning

Dajhia has assembled a task force to consider ways to respond to the threat of unionization by some hourly employees. This task force is an example of a(n) _____ .

interacting team

Which of the following is used to provide a source of motivation for an organization's employees?

Goals

In which way is crowdsourcing a solution different than using the Delphi technique?

Not everyone is an expert

Carduci Corporation is a food processing company that specializes in a complete line of artisan sausage products. The top leaders in the organization have established a strategy that involves increasing the marketing budget to grow sales. Neal is the head of the marketing department, and it is his job to develop a plan that flows from and is consistent with the strategic plan. Which type of plan will Neal work to develop?

tactical

In order to further an organization's goal of increasing sales by a large margin, the managers coordinate the acquisition of a number of retail outlets in smaller cities. These acquisitions represent the implementation of a(n)

tactical plan

Who establishes the corporate mission and strategy?

Board of directors

Which of the following is true of nominal groups?

There is very little interaction among members

Which of the following is true of strategic goals?

They focus on broad, general issues.

Which of the following helps an organization perceive, or even generate, new opportunities in its environment?

creativity

The decision-making process begins by _____.

defining the decision situation

Horizontal consistency of goals means that _____.

goals should be consistent from one department to the next.

Renata, the manager of Bath and Beauty Boutique, expects her staff to make a certain amount of decisions based on their experience and the practice they have in making decisions in similar situations. In other words, she wants them to rely on _____.

intuition

Because the process of group or team decision making takes longer, _____.

it is costlier

It is difficult to imitate a distinctive competence because _____.

its nature might not be understood by competing firms

Smiles and Rainbows, a not-for-profit organization, defines the reason for its existence as follows: "To provide effective vocational education for underprivileged children throughout the United States." This is an example of an organization's _____. strategic goals

mission

As the head of human resources, Woojin has assembled a team to consider ways to manage the cost of health care and other benefits. He made sure to include a variety of employees—single, married, single parents, and older workers—on the team. Which of the following advantages will this team provide?

more alternatives can be identified and evaluated

Blair works at a convenience store. One of the three slushy machines in the store has clogged four times this week. Now Blair is looking at the machine and trying to decide if the problem is a bad machine, if employees are not filling it properly, or if people are just using it incorrectly. Blair is currently _____.

recognizing and defining the decision situation

JJ's Auto Repair is where most residents go for any type of car repair. JJ wants to use his profits to expand the business. He is not sure whether to open a detailing shop on an adjoining property or to open an auto repair shop in the neighboring county. This choice of how to invest in his business would be a decision about _____.

resource deployment

The market for memory chips for electronic devices is growing at an incredible rate, and GloTech has the largest share of that market. According to the BCG matrix, GloTech is a _____.

star

Junhua has been working toward his goals, but a change in the market has created conflict between the goals. He is unsure which goals he should now pursue. What should Junhua do to balance his goals?

use optimizing

Which model reflects the subjective considerations that often impact decision making and explain why, when a decision is made with little regard for logic, it can still turn out to be correct?

Administrative

Apoorva's organization makes decisions using evidence-based management. What can Apoorva do to support a culture in which facts are encouraged?

Allow people to tell the truth, even if it is unpleasant.

The local party store developed a busy lunch business by offering slices of pizza and deli sandwiches to go. They also offered a wide selection of soft drinks in their coolers. Recently, a fast-food restaurant opened down the street, and it offers salads and bottled water. To compete, the party store did the same and expanded its other menu offerings. Which type of business strategy did this

Analyzer

Which concept can be used by managers to develop a better understanding of their inherent biases and limitations?

Bounded rationality

In a SWOT analysis, how will the identification of strengths help to accomplish an organization's mission?

By allowing the exploitation of skills and capabilities

How can organizations make the best use of goal setting and the goal-setting processes?

By understanding the purpose of goals and planning

Who is considered to be the single most important person or entity in any organization's planning process?

Chief executive officer

Which type of decision-making approach assumes that managers are logical, that they have complete information, that they can eliminate uncertainty, and that all of the decisions they make will be in the best interests of the organization?

Classical

What is the essence of formal goal setting?

Collaborative goal setting

What does the GE Business Screen use to determine the attractiveness of an organization?

Competitive position

A small retail shop in the local community offers a wide variety of women's clothing at low prices. In order to be competitive with larger chains found at the mall, the store owner frequently works alone, and she has adjusted store hours to capitalize on busy days. What should this retail shop owner be pursuing as part of her general business-level strategy?

Concentrating on reducing operating costs

Which of the following best explains what occurs during the step of selecting the best alternative when completing the rational decision-making process?

Consider all situational factors, and choose the alternative that best fits the situation.

What is the first step in developing contingency plans?

Considering contingency events when developing strategic, tactical, and operational plans

What does an organization use to manage its operations across several industries and several markets simultaneously?

Corporate-level strategy

What is the set of strategic alternatives from which an organization chooses as it manages its operations simultaneously across several industries and several markets?

Corporate-level strategy

In the event of a disaster or other unexpected calamity, where can a plan with procedures for handling the disaster be found?

Crisis management

What is considered to be the cornerstone of planning?

Decision making

Product differentiation, low costs, and the development of new products or services are key to a company's success at which stage of the product life cycle?

Decline

Lupita's products are in the mature stage of the product life cycle. To remain competitive, Lupita's organization has improved the efficiency of its manufacturing process, which allowed it to lower costs. Which strategy is Lupita's firm pursuing?

Defender

Which of the following can be used to achieve a consensus from ideas that have already been generated, through the process of averaging the opinions of all task force members?

Delphi group

When a new line of organic salad dressing was launched, it was very successful. Competitors soon began to produce a similar product. What should the organization do to keep its competitive advantage?

Develop strategies to slow the entry of competitors.

According to the proponents of evidence-based management (EBM), what does it mean to treat your organization as an unfinished prototype?

Encourage experimentation and learning by doing.

What is the first step that a manager should take in executing a tactical plan?

Evaluate every possible course of action in light of the goal it is intended to reach.

In which type of strategy does an organization concentrate on a specific regional market, product line, or group of buyers?

Focus

To manage a large seasonal order, Teresita's firm instituted an overtime policy instead of hiring additional staff or adding a second shift. Six months later, Teresita is reviewing production costs to determine how well this approach worked so that she can begin planning for this year's seasonal increase. Which step in the rational decision-making process is Teresita in?

Following up and evaluating the result

Nila has formed a task force to develop a cafeteria-style benefits package for all employees. They have generated many alternatives and provided a great deal of information as to which benefits will be most important to employees. What else will this task force help provide?

Increased acceptance of the decision

Aisha's organization produces a unique line of leather goods that it sells to large retail department stores. Recently, the organization opened a small store where it sells discontinued items or items with small flaws that were rejected by the large retailers. Which type of diversification did Aisha's firm engage in?

Forward vertical integration

As Summer Fair was preparing to open its newest roller coaster, numerous problems and questions arose regarding the safety of the ride. At each step of the way, the decision makers argued that the ride met all safety regulations and everything would be fine. Within the first week of operation, the ride experienced a serious malfunction, injuring many of its riders. What disadvantage of group decision making does this scenario represent?

GroupThink

What does the BCG matrix use to evaluate an organization's set of businesses?

Growth rate and market share

What is the premise of the administrative model of decision making?

How decisions are actually made

Which of the following questions is least important to ask when evaluating alternatives in the decision-making process?

How will the alternative affect the competitors?

Aisha is putting together a task force, but she is concerned that one key member may become dominant and not allow others to offer input. Unfortunately, that person is important to the ability of the group to understand the background of the problem. What can Aisha do to manage this?

Include other strong-willed people on the task force

During recent union negotiations, Hua, the company's labor expert, refused to concede to a demand made by the union. While this could have resulted in a strike, Hua felt the union was bluffing and would not strike. What was Hua's decision to refuse the union's demand based on?

Intuition

Jewel often uses standing plans while managing inventory levels and ordering within her organization. Why are standing plans effective for this process?

Inventory and ordering occur regularly.

When a firm identifies a weakness within its organization, what can it do to address that weakness?

It can modify its mission

In the context of SWOT analysis, which of the following would be considered as an organization's weakness?

Low Cash Reserves

In which stage of the product life cycle should an organization begin to search for new products or services as part of its strategy?

Maturity

Lighthouse Cinema has remained a popular entertainment option for the surrounding area, but sales have been stagnant over the past few years. Which stage of the product life cycle is the theater in?

Maturity

Dajhia must make significant budget cuts in order for her organization to remain profitable. No matter what is decided, employees will be impacted. If employees disagree with the specific cuts that are made, there is great potential to harm morale, which could, in turn, impact productivity and cut profits even more. Dajhia has the authority to make all budget decisions, but she has opted to assemble a team from across the organization to make these decisions. How will she benefit from the group decision-making process?

More acceptance of the final decision is likely.

Which types of events are used in the contingency planning process?

Only those that will impact the organization

Tariq knows the production levels he wants to achieve this week and for the next three months. What does Tariq need to use when he determines the schedules of his employees?

Operational plan

How can encouraging creativity and flexibility help an organization that is pursuing a prospector strategy?

Opportunities can be created and it can quickly change to take advantage of them.

Janelle is in the process of selecting a new location for her beauty salon. She is using a rational decision-making model to evaluate the alternatives before her. Each of her four options is feasible and satisfies her decision criteria. Which of the following options should Janelle choose?

Option C, which has low financial costs and low nonfinancial costs

Using simple product design coupled with efficient high-volume manufacturing capacity may help a company achieve what?

Overall cost leadership

What is a standing plan that specifies the organization's general response to a designated problem or situation?

Policy

Decisions about when to reorder standard supplies based on quantity-on-hand information are most likely to be which type of decisions?

Programmed

Which type of decisions are relatively structured or recur with some frequency?

Programmed

Hua has developed a list of monthly production goals, and he has now broken those down by production levels that must be reached each week. However, a key piece of equipment broke down, and Hua must now readjust his plans. Which type of plan will be required for Hua to make these adjustments?

Reaction

At Montazar's organization, there is a specific start time, and all employees must be at work on time and ready to be at their workstation. This allows for a smooth transition between shifts. Which type of plan narrowly focuses on specific activities such as start times?

Rules and regulations

Bishop must select a new supplier for ink before the next print run for the product's packaging or risk missing a critical shipping deadline. The first bid he received met his price point, and he accepted the bid immediately, without waiting for the other bids to arrive or do any further research. This is an example of _____.

Satisfying

Maya would like to increase sales for the upcoming holiday season. She plans to increase advertising in the local paper, cut prices on selected items, or implement a loyalty program. Which step has Maya reached in the rational decision-making process?

Step 2: Identifying alternatives

When developing tactical plans, what should be included so they can be properly executed?

Step-by-step process

What are the primary inputs for developing tactical goals?

Strategic goals

Marah has been tasked with the job of outlining decisions about resource allocation, priorities, and action steps that are necessary to reach one of her company's strategic goals. What is Marah developing?

Strategic plan

How does strategy formulation relate to strategy implementation?

Strategy formulation is the set of processes involved in creating an organization's strategies, whereas strategy implementation is the methods by which those strategies are operationalized.

What is a potential downfall when using a SWOT analysis?

Subjective assessment

Rumi has found that selling gluten-free products at her bakery has been an effective strategy and has allowed her to achieve some of her strategic goals for sales. Which of the following makes this an effective strategy for Rumi?

Superior alignment with her environment

What exists among a set of businesses when the businesses' economic value together is greater than their economic value separately?

Synergy

Ahmed is responding to a situation that does not happen often. He talked with a colleague about how to resolve the issue. When a colleague suggested Ahmed change his tactical plan, he did not. Why wouldn't Ahmed change his tactical plan to resolve this situation?

Tactical plans address several goals.

How do tactical plans differ from strategic plans?

Tactical plans focus on people and action.

As the most common form of decision-making groups, which of the following includes members who openly discuss, argue about, and agree on the best alternative?

Team

What must a decision maker understand in order to make the most effective decision possible?

The situation driving the decision

What is satisficing?

The tendency to search for alternatives only until one is found that meets some minimum standard of sufficiency

Bhavik used management by objectives to set goals for his department and clearly communicated goals to all of his employees. However, very few of his employees actually achieved their goals. Why might have Bhavik's goal setting process failed?

There was a lack of top management support

Which of the following is true of tactical plans?

They must specify resources and time frames.

Why is it important that organizations do not place too much emphasis on short-term performance?

To avoid long term goals from being ignored

What is one of the reasons why an organization would have organizational goals?

To set a unified direction for employees

Once an alternative has passed the test of feasibility, what must be considered as it relates to that alternative?

Whether the alternative satisfies the conditions of the decision situation

The market for mountain bikes, while large, is not expected to grow much more. Ruff'n'Tuff Bikes has a major share of that market. According to the BCG matrix, Ruff'n'Tuff Bikes is a _____.

cash cow

Most grocery stores carry a wide variety of national brands in addition to their own private label brands. The private label brands are often made by the same national brands they are competing with. Which type of strategy is a firm using when it creates a lower-priced private label brand in addition to its other, higher-priced brands?

cost leadership