Management Exam 2

Pallavi knows that if she can achieve the goals set by her manager, she is likely to receive a bonus. In this case, what does the setting of goals serve as for Pallavi?

A source of motivation

As part of Sushil's performance review, she was given a list of goals and objectives. How will her work on these goals affect her in the future?

They will serve as a mechanism for performance evaluation.

Which organizations are more likely to successfully weather a crisis?

Those with strong leadership

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

To avoid long-term goals from being ignored

Why is it important that a manager continuously monitor ongoing activities tied to a tactical plan?

To ensure they achieve desired results

Which of the following is a function of a planning staff?

To go beyond pet projects and particular departments

Which of the following is the starting point of ensuring commitment to the goal-setting process for organizational goals and plans?

Top management support and communication

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

What does proper execution of tactical plans depend on?

Vertical and horizontal communication

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

Vertical consistency

Tactical plans must flow from and be consistent with _____.

a strategic plan

Horizontal consistency of goals means that _____.

goals should be consistent from one department to the next

Which of the following is true of tactical plans?

They must specify resources and time frames.

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

To set a unified direction for employees

Weather Watches, a watch manufacturing company, faces a lot of problems while planning and setting goals, as its competitors' technology is constantly developing. It too has to upgrade the technology it uses to keep up with its competitors. Which of the following barriers to goal setting and planning does Weather Watches face?

A dynamic and complex environment

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 _____.

mission

What is the difference between a standard operating procedure (SOP) and rules and regulations?

An SOP typically describes a sequence of activities, whereas rules and regulations focus on one activity.

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

Who establishes the corporate mission and strategy?

Board of directors

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

What is the essence of formal goal setting?

Collaborative goal setting

Zereth uses management by objectives with her employees. Her employees are evaluated and rewarded based on how their performance relates to the achievement of those objectives. What does management by objectives allow Zereth and her staff to accomplish that other goal-setting methods do not?

Concurrent goal-setting and planning processes

What is the first step in developing contingency plans?

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

Which type of planning process requires a manager to determine alternative courses of action that can be taken if the intended plan becomes inappropriate?

Contingency

Two of Dharma's facilities are located in areas that are very volatile. Dharma has established long-range plans for all of her facilities, but what must managers at these two volatile facilities take extra care to do?

Continuously monitor the environment for possible changes.

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

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.

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

Goals

Due to an explosion at a supplier's plant, L'Meese will no longer be able to achieve goals set by her division manager. What should L'Meese remember about goals?

Goals are targets, not absolute objectives.

Mikel is a middle-level manager who is in the process of determining goals and objectives for his managers. He has set goals he feels are necessary to achieve the strategic goals given to him. Which of the following will these goals focus on?

How to operationalize actions

Bonafide Fresh offers an expanding brand of personal care products that are made with all-natural ingredients. The company has an organizational goal to increase the number of product lines that it offers. Which of the following is the best example of a tactical plan for achieving this objective?

Increasing efforts over the next year to develop a line of children's skin protection products

Which type of plan is usually for a one- to five-year period of time and, in many organizations, is the central focus of planning activities?

Intermediate

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.

What is true of a tactical plan?

It is developed to implement specific parts of a strategic plan.

Raphael has set a goal of improving employee satisfaction by 10 percent over the next year. Why might this goal be inappropriate?

It is difficult to quantify.

Why do operational plans tend to be narrowly focused with short time horizons?

They support tactical goals.

Paramita has made the decision that all her operations will get 75 percent of their energy from renewable sources by the year 2035. She has directed all of her managers to develop plans how to implement that goal in each of their facilities. Which type of plan has Paramita established for her organization?

Long-range

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

Only those that will impact the organization

A cell phone company manager has a goal of boosting the profitability of her store in the next year. Which type of goal has the manager set?

Operational

Which type of goals are set by and for lower-level managers?

Operational

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

Who is likely responsible for planning cost-cutting programs and inventory control systems?

Operations managers

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

Policy

Why is it important that those responsible for achieving goals have a voice in developing them?

They will be more committed to plans they have helped shape.

Aviva and her department are planning an elaborate six-month campaign to distribute samples to a wide variety of retail and restaurant outlets for the purpose of increasing brand identity. Which type of single-use plan will Aviva's department use to accomplish this goal?

Program

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

Nils is the head of the marketing department in his organization. Under his guidance, marketing supervisors have developed an operational plan to support the organization's goals. Stage 1 is a three-month national media blast to pump information into the market for the purpose of increasing brand awareness. This media blast has a narrow focus and involves only a few key activities, and it will not be repeated. Which type of single-use plan is the marketing department using at this stage?

Project

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

The manager of Follicle, a salon and spa, believes that the techniques they have followed for generations are superior to the latest techniques that are scientifically proven to be more effective. He fears that the use of new techniques may lead to failure and continues to use the existing techniques. In this scenario, which of the following barriers to goal setting and planning is most evident?

Resistance to change

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

The exact description of how specific activities are to be carried out would be found in which type of plan?

Rules and regulations

In order for a tactic to be successful, what must it include?

Specific resources and time frames

Avec's department is launching an online ordering system for retail and restaurant accounts. The new system simplifies and clearly outlines the steps to be followed from sales inquiry to final order payment. Which type of standing plan will be used to enhance the ongoing efficiency of the order management process?

Standard operating procedure

When training new salespeople, Dezmon teaches the employees a step-by-step process and the sequence of activities for qualifying prospects and arranging credit. What does Dezmon use to facilitate this process so he is certain the correct steps are followed in the correct order, every time?

Standard operating procedure

Which type of a standing plan outlines the steps to be followed in particular circumstances?

Standard operating procedure

Which of the following is developed for activities that recur regularly over a period of time?

Standing plan

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

Step-by-step processes

Rebeya is setting goals with the executive team of her organization. These goals include financial and productivity goals, as well as environmental and sustainability goals. Which type of goals is Rebeya establishing?

Strategic

Which type of plans are set by the board of directors and top management?

Strategic

Raj has empowered his senior managers and asked them to increase profitability by 20 percent over the next five years. What has Raj set for his senior managers?

Strategic goal

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 plans

As a middle manager, Luis sets goals for his staff. Which type of goals would Luis be expected to set?

Tactical

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

Which type of plans are an organized sequence of steps designed to execute strategic plans?

Tactical

What is the basis for operational plans?

Tactical plans

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.

Which of the following focuses primarily on people and action?

Tactics

What must a manager understand before beginning the planning process?

The environment

What is used to outline the organization's purpose, premises, values, and directions?

The mission

What does the ultimate success of a tactical plan depend on?

The way it is carried out

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.

What makes goals inappropriate?

They are unattainable.

Which of the following is true of strategic goals?

They focus on broad, general issues.

Decision making is the process of _____.

adopting one course of action as opposed to others

A fire broke out in a well-reputed hospital in a city. Despite the firefighters arriving within ten minutes of the occurrence, over a hundred people were severely injured. This was due to insufficient equipment necessary to evacuate people during an emergency. This was clearly a case of the hospital management's faulty _____.

contingency planning

A line manager at a brewery sets a target for the minimum number of beer cartons that must be shipped out by the end of each day. This is an example of a(n) _____.

operational goal

A program is a_____.

plan for a large set of activities

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.