BUSI310: Principles of Management (D03) Week 3 Questions
A consumer who buys raw materials or wholesale products is called a(n) ______ consumer.
intermediate
Regulators are specific ______ organizations that have the power to investigate company practices to ensure compliance with the law.
government
The specific government organizations in a firm's more immediate task environment are known as ______.
regulators
Public involves establishing and maintaining a favorable image in the minds of others in a company's environment.
relations
The leveling of normal fluctuations at the boundaries of the environment is called ______.
smoothing
When a retailer discounts its merchandise at the end of a season to make room for new merchandise, the retailer is _____ fluctuations in its environment.
smoothing
The underlying qualities and desirable behaviors that are important to the organization are called ______.
values
The components of an organization that can be seen and heard (such as office layout, dress, stories, and written material) are called ______.
visible artifacts
Solan Inc. is externally oriented and focused on control. Its primary objectives are productivity, planning, and efficiency. Organizational members are motivated by the belief that performance that leads to the desired organizational objectives will be rewarded. These characteristics show that Solan Inc. has a(n) ______ organizational culture.
market
The set of important assumptions about the organization and its goals and practices that members of the company share is called ______.
organizational culture
_____ action occurs when an organization issues a lawsuit against an individual or another organization.
Legal
Better supply_____ management helps businesses avoid holding large inventories while waiting for orders to come in.
chain
The absorption of new elements into an organization's leadership structure to avert threats to its stability or existence is called ______.
cooptation
_____ occurs when an organization absorbs new elements into its leadership structure to avert threats to its stability or existence.
cooptation
When companies introduce family-supportive policies, including family leave, flexible working hours, and child care assistance, they are responding to ______.
social values
In a competitive market, a substitute for coffee would be ______.
tea
The fixed costs that buyers face when they change suppliers are called ______ costs.
switching
As ______ evolves, new industries, markets, and competitive niches develop.
technology
Competitors may include many types of companies. Which of the following would NOT be considered a competitor of yours?
A regional company that sells to a different customer group or industry.
Which of the following describes the situation in which a manager does not have enough information about the environment to understand or predict the future?
Environmental uncertainty
A negotiated agreement between an organization and another group to exchange things such as goods, services, information, and patents is called ______.
a contract
A group of local businesses that band together to curb environmental degradation is known as a(n) ______.
coalition
In order to cope with environmental uncertainty, organizations may adapt by ______ decision making and empowering their lower-level employees.
decentralizing
Age, gender, occupation, and income are all considered ______ characteristics.
demographic
Statistical characteristics of a group or population are called ______.
demographics
The process of sharing power with employees, thereby enhancing their confidence in their ability to perform their jobs and their belief that they are influential contributors to the organization, is called ______.
empowerment
Guessing future changes in some variable(s) is called _____ . (Enter one word in the blank.)
forecasting
A scenario is a narrative that describes a particular set of ______ conditions.
future
Resources generally provided by suppliers include information, raw materials, financial capital, and ______.
people
Independent action and cooperative action are two general types of ______ responses for the purpose of changing the environment.
proactive
A consumer who buys a good or service from a retailer is a(n) ______ consumer.
final
______ management is the managing of the entire network of facilities and people that obtains raw materials from outside the organization, transforms them into products, and distributes them to customers.
Supply chain
When one firm buys another, it is called a(n) ______.
acquisition
In terms of business competition, a substitute is a(n) ______.
alternative to a product
Which of the following is an independent strategy a company can use to influence its environment?
Competitive pacification
Which one of the following is NOT a component of the competitive environment?
Demographic groups
Strategies used by an organization acting on its own to change some aspect of its current environment are called ______.
independent strategies
Two types of general proactive responses aimed at changing the environment are _____ action and _____ action. (Enter one word in each blank.)
Blank 1: independent Blank 2: cooperative
True or false: Strong cultures are always healthy and productive cultures.
False
Which of the following are common forces inside a firm's boundaries? (Choose every correct answer.)
Corporate culture Managers Employees
Nintendo's decision to use its expertise in video games to enter another suitable market is an example of ______ selection.
Domain
True or false: A weak culture is one in which everyone understands and believes in the firm's goals, priorities, and practices.
False
Which of the following are social issues that shape people's attitudes about an organization?
Flexible working hours Family leave policies Natural resource use
How does the stock market affect the behavior of individual managers? (Choose every correct answer.)
It causes them to focus more on short-term results rather than long-term strategies. It affects their compensation. It puts pressure on them to improve their budgets or sales.
Which of the following is an advantage of technology?
It provides more efficient ways to manage and communicate.
Which of the following are social issues that shape people's attitudes about an organization?
Natural resource use Family leave policies Flexible working hours
What tactics do competitors use to gain advantage over a rival? (Choose every correct answer.)
New-product introductions Advertising campaigns Price reductions
All the relevant forces inside a firm's boundaries, such as its managers, employees, and organizational culture, are part of its ______ environment.
internal
Fill in the blank question. _____ action occurs when an organization lobbies elected officials to achieve a more business friendly environment.
Political
What are the types of independent actions that organizations can take in order to influence the environment? (Choose every correct answer.)
Public relations Competitive aggression Political action Legal action Voluntary action
Which of the following people is an example of a final customer?
Someone who buys a lamp at Target
Which of the following are part of the macroenvironment of an organization? (Choose every correct answer.)
The economy Technology Demographics
What is the role of suppliers in an organization?
They provide resources needed for production.
A company might decide to develop scenarios for which of the following purposes? (Choose every correct answer.)
To identify possible new investments in an economic upturn. To list initiatives it can eliminate if necessary in an economic downturn. To have contingency plans in the case of a serious accident.
Which of the following types of independent actions represents a commitment to various interest groups, causes, and social problems?
Voluntary action
A complement to a DVD player would be ______.
a DVD
The combination of one or more companies is called ______.
a merger
If Nike launched a new advertising campaign with celebrity endorsements after determining that its rival, Reebok, had success with such an ad campaign, Nike's move would be an example of ______.
analyzing how a competitor competes
The first level of organizational culture that can be seen consists of _____ visible.
artifacts
Fill in the blank question. An organization's deepest level of culture, which consists of strongly held beliefs that guide behavior in the company, are called unconscious _____
assumptions
Retailers and industrial buyers are examples of _____ consumers.
intermediate
Conditions that prevent new companies from entering an industry are known as to entry. (Enter one word in the blank.)
barriers
Factors that make it difficult and costly for an organization to enter a particular task environment or industry are called ______.
barriers to entry
Collecting information about your company's operations and those of your competitors in order to determine gaps is called ______.
benchmarking
Identifying the best-in-class performance by a company and then comparing your processes to theirs is called _____.
benchmarking
Creating a supply of excess resources to help an organization prepare for unpredictable needs is called ______.
buffering
When a company uses an employment agency to hire part-time workers during periods of unpredictable needs, the company is ______.
buffering
Two or more groups that come together and act jointly with respect to some set of issues for some period of time are using the cooperative strategy of ______.
coalition
The information necessary to decide how best to manage in the competitive environment is called ______
competitive intelligence
When managers secure answers to questions posed during environmental scanning, they develop ______.
competitive intelligence
Organizations that produce goods and services that are similar to another organization's goods and services are known as ______.
competitors
In a competitive market, a ______ is a potential opportunity because customers buy more of a given product if they also demand more of the product that goes with it.
complement
The ink cartridges that are used with printers are an example of a(n) ______.
complement
A firm's investment in different products, businesses, or geographic areas is known as ______.
diversification
Google's decision to develop different types of products, such as smart home devices and self-driving cars, is an example of ______.
diversification
Ford Motor Company's selling Land Rover and Jaguar to a foreign company is an example of ______.
divestiture
When a firm sells one or more businesses, it is called ______.
divestiture
When a company in one market enters another suitable market, the company is said to be engaging in ______.
domain selection
Predicting exactly how some variable or variables will change in the future is called ______.
forecasting
Engaging a company in a private litigation is called ______ action.
legal
The ______ is characterized by the most general elements in the external environment, such as governments and economic conditions, that can influence strategic decisions.
macroenvironment
Differences in the way company employees interact with each other and with customers and the behavior that is expected by their managers are examples of ______.
organizational culture
Efforts to influence elected representatives to create a more favorable business environment or limit competition are called ______ action.
political
The establishment and maintenance of favorable images of an organization in the minds of those making up the environment is called ______.
public relations
Changing an organization's environment is a form of _____ maneuvering. (Enter one word in the blank.)
strategic
An important economic influence is ______.
the stock market
When managers do not have enough information about the environment to understand or predict the future, it is called environmental _____. (Enter one word in the blank.)
uncertainty
The part of organizational culture that cannot be directly observed but is inferred from the behavior of managers is called the organization's ____
values
Managers can take several approaches to managing culture. Which of the following is one of these approaches?
Celebrate and reward members who behave in ways that exemplify the desired culture.
Niche services or products developed to go with an existing product would be called ______.
complements
Making a conscious effort to change the boundaries of a business's competitive environment is called ______.
strategic maneuvering
When everyone understands and believes in the firm's goals, priorities, and practices, the organization has a ______ culture.
strong
Luis trained all his employees in WritePro software four years ago. Now, the best software for the department is WordME. The economic and psychological costs of changing from WritePro to WordME are called ______.
switching costs
Strongly held and taken-for-granted beliefs that guide behavior in the organization are called ______.
unconscious assumptions
Pledging to donate money to a charitable cause is an example of a business taking _____ action.
voluntary
When managers create a culture that is inconsistent and does not support goals and useful behaviors that will make the company more effective, they have a(n) ______ culture.
weak
Which of the following are well-known types of organizational culture? (Choose every correct answer.)
Clan Hierarchy Adhocracy
Which of the following are steps that should be taken to manage organizational culture? (Choose every correct answer.)
Craft an inspirational vision of "what can be" for the organizational culture. Celebrate and reward members who behave in ways that exemplify the desired culture. "Walk the talk" and show members of the culture that you are serious about long-term change.
Which of the following is NOT one of the three general considerations that helps guide management's response to the environment?
Environmental responses are useless when elements of the environment cause the company problems.
Which of the following are clues to understanding a company's culture? (Choose every correct answer.)
Mission statements and official goals Stories about past decisions and actions Business practices
Which general considerations help guide management's response to the environment? (Choose every correct answer.)
Organizations should attempt to change appropriate elements of the environment. Companies should choose responses that offer the most benefit at the lowest cost. Organizations should choose responses that focus on pertinent elements of the environment.
Weak cultures are typified by all the following, EXCEPT ______.
consistent values
A(n) is a formal agreement between two or more organizations to exchange goods, services, information, patents, and the like.
contract
Fill in the blank question. Two or more organizations that work together to influence the environment are using _____ strategies.
cooperative
Strategies that are used by two or more organizations working together to manage the external environment are called ______ strategies.
cooperative
A company's symbols, rites, and ceremonies are most relevant to determining its ______.
culture
With a strong organizational ______, shared beliefs, values, and norms can be very beneficial to an organization.
culture
The components of the competitive environment include rivalry among current competitors and the affect of new entrants, substitute and complementary products, suppliers, and ______.
customers
